To think that obesity mostly has to do with your genes

[penandpaperlife]

I've been living with my best friend for a year now due to some personal issues with my STBXH, and this has been something I've been wondering about. My best friend eats the exact same thing as me, with the same exact portion size. She also snacks on nuts and/or biscuits throughout the day (we're a freelance team so we spend basically all day together) while I don't.

Why then, is she slim and I'm not?

The only difference in our lifestyle is that she goes for a 15min run every morning. I've read studies and charts though and that seems to only burn about 150kcals. Surely that wouldn't even offset her snacks? I come from a 'fat family', she doesn't. We're both almost 30, if that matters. That leads me to believe that genetics do play a huge part here, contrary to what's often being parroted in the press. Is that possible? Does anyone have any experience with this?

@DustyMaiden no that is impossible. It’s calories in calories out.

If your body is breaking the laws of thermodynamics then you should immediately present yourself to your nearest medical research lab because you would be a wonder of humanity.

THey might eat crisps and cakes but still stay below or at their daily calorie allowance.

You could be eating a diet consisting entirely of cake and chicken nuggets, and still lose weight. Sure, it wouldn't be a very healthy diet, and you'd have to consume very little volume wise, but as long as you're at or below your maintenance calories, you won't gain weight.

It is also why when many people have an accident or illness that affects their mobility they often put on weight. Because you have to eat a lot less food to not put weight on.

Your friend probably does a lot of other things you don't notice that burn calories - fidgets more, gets up more from her desk etc. Maybe her portion sizes are smaller.
I suspect there is a genetic component to some people's weight, but that doesn't mean that food intake and activity levels don't play a huge part too (no pun intended).

@Hoppinggreen

Fabulous!!! Honestly. Do that with some cardio. I bet that helps. Try to do 5-7 times a week. Do joe wicks every morning! He's good

There have been so many discussions on weight loss on MN, I'm amazed really at

• how many of us are armchair experts
• how all the science, food industry, research and medicine haven't delivered a consensus on any solution that works (as evidenced by increasing obesity)

I recommend read "the Obesity Code" by Jason Fung and see if you think it makes sense re insulin etc, if you do, the Fast Diet/5:2 is a good start on low-ish carb eating and intermittent fasting.

I'm not convinced by all the "thermodynamics" talk here , I actually studied thermodynamics at university and funnily enough it was an engineering degree not medicine.

Everyone agrees on the one true fact as do all scientists. If you take in more calories than you expend you will put on weight. Most over weight people in the UK eat too many calories. If they reduced them to 1000, 12000 or 1400 a day they would lose weight. Some will find it easier to eat fewer if they eat veg, good fats, and protein but as said above even if you just eat a few ryvita crisp breads and diet soups if you are on your 1000 calories a day you will lose weight.

Saw a documentary on TV about this, They followed people who were "naturally slim" and those that claimed to eat very little but were overweight,
Its turns out that in the main the "naturally slim" people moved a lot more than the average person ( not necessarily formal exercise just in general) and also ended up eating less calories over all. Might have a massive breakfast but then skipped lunch etc.
It was very interesting viewing and completely debunked the naturally slim/fast metabolism myth, It really is calories in versus calories out.]

@alloutoffucks what on earth has xenia said that is not true?

Woah, what’s Xenia said that warrants being told to f-off?

something allout didn't like.

Of course not, there's some right fatties in my family, they say it's genes.
Most of us are a normal weight but the fatties insist it's their genes, but you only have to see what they eat to know it isn't.

I’m not sure what Xenia has said wrong now?

Cut your calories and you will lose weight.
I know it’s right because I’ve done it.

touched a nerve allout

Thinking alloutoffucks isn't..

Genetics play a role but if it was all genetics than obesity would be the same over time and, to an extent, in different places. However, obesity has increased in the UK enormously over the last thirty years or so (I think a quarter of adults have a BMI of over 30 - that can't just be genetics).

@suggestionsplease1

I think my body is not as digestively efficient as theirs - I am presumably getting rid of calories that their bodies are retaining? On a dessert island they would be fine and I would die!

You do that on purpose? Making us all think of cheesecake! I’d love to live on a dessert island

How about "efficiency of the digestive system." ?

I had to have a colonoscopy a few years ago and was agog to see how much weight I might lose on the prep, I had heard many a tale . . .

I am not overweight but thought it would be cool to lose half a stone or so, I had heard that some people lose 10lb if they had colonic irrigation, I assumed it would be similar.

Well after a day on the loo and eating nothing I had only lost 2lb. I can lose that over a night's sleep !

Disappointed was not the word! I lamented mentioned this to a friend who said "well you must have a really efficient digestive system then." I took this to mean that things pass through me reasonably fast, because there wasn't loads lurking in my innards for the preparation to evict.

So could it be that the less time food has inside you then the less it gets absorbed and the fewer calories you absorb? Wasn't that what the F plan was about? Get your guts moving with lots of fibre and you lose weight.

Oh I see someone has suggested that and I missed it . . . sorry!

That is so interesting!

If you smoke, stop smoking cigarettes.

that's very sage advice, and very true too.

...now, back to the subject at hand.

I do, however, have 2 coffees with cream twice per day

I remember watching secret eaters when the man couldn’t understand why he was fat. After all he had ‘healthy’ special K for breakfast.......that he ate with cream instead of milk!

It’s great you are reducing your cream and starting to walk but it just shows there are big differences (her hill sprints and jogging) that are responsible for the difference in weight.

Does protein contribute to weight gain though? I thought it was always carbs and sugar that were the 'culprits'.

EVERYTHING contributes to weight gain. You could eat nothing but ‘heatly’ stuff but at the end of the day 100 calories of banana is the same as 100 calories of biscuits (not equal in nutrition, fullness or fat obvs) If you over eat more than you are burning you will gain weight

Work out your TDEE to see how many calories you need.
tdeecalculator.net

TDEe says I need 2800 cals a day

That is quite a lot

Hurrah!