To think that biscuits don’t make you obese?

[covidtired]

I’m 20 stone 7 . I’m not that weight because I ate too many biscuits - if biscuits weren’t there I would ate anything I could find, and a lot of it !! I’m slowly losing now (was 22 stone 13 on NYD) but I’m still eating biscuits, cake, etc - just in moderation and without a side order of guilt .

Surely the answer is to support mental health more, especially in children and adolescents - I ate for comfort because I wasn’t getting it from anything else - and promote exercise - I was removed from PE due to dyspraxia and bullying, and told not to bother trying ... hence I’m now an adult that finds exercising awful !

Surely fixing these things is the answer, not banning cheap biscuits ?!!

People are overweight because they eat more calories than they burn. So that could be biscuits, or it could be something else.

It will be biscuits for some and another food for others.

@DollyDoneMore

I eat a fuckton of biscuits and they make me fat so YABU.

Me too!

Well, I guess it depends.

I don't really see biscuits or cakes as an everyday part of a healthy diet. They are a treat - I eat good ones in cafes or made by friends from time to time and enjoy and savour them then, but I don't eat them every day. Same with crisps. I have crisps of my favourite flavours when I really fancy them, but not to fill a gap when I am properly hungry. I just don't really think that they are proper everyday food.

I don't otherwise restrict carbs and things - I will happily have a sandwich for lunch (though I prefer to make my own or choose somewhere where they don't skimp on protein, as often ship bought sandwiches can be so thin on filling that you feel hungry again), filled jackets with tuna mayo etc. Plus I always make sure I do 4-5 miles a day on foot - c.10,000 steps - as a minimum.

Today, I went for brunch at 10am with my toddler (only a yoghurt for breakfast before running out of the door to go to a toddler exercise class) - not hungry at lunchtime, but peckish at 2.30, so I had peanut butter on toast. Lots of diets would warn against eating this kind of thing, but it was so satisfying that that and an apple has seen me through to dinner. I would need to eat a lot of biscuits to make me feel that level of satiety.

So biscuits and cakes are absolutely not the whole story, but to be honest I think that if you do see them as a part of your everyday diet that you eat mindlessly rather than an occasional snack/treat when you actually really want one to enjoy it, then you are far more likely to be overweight.

Just to put snacking on biscuits into perspective, a hob nob is 67 calories. If you say have 8 biscuits at work over the course of two days, that is roughly the same number of calories as a Big Mac.

To be honest I am sick to death of the comments I have seen on SM today .

The announcement was in general that there should not be BOGOF on UNHEALTHY foods . Switch to discounts on fruit and veg etc .

Try and stop confectionary adverts while children are watching and take sweets away from displays near tills ( should save parents money )

This is not as people have said removing human rights 🙄 or stop people eating crap if they want .

Better labelling etc is going to be part of a strategy . I would think that if people are eating out and they see the calories in a meal they might be intelligent enough to make a choice depending on what else they have eaten in the week .

But to be honest from some of the comments I have seen to be honest I doubt it .

Btw I am overweight ( slightly) and I have a medical problem which does not help . But I welcome the changes .

And they are not banning cheap biscuits you can bet your bottom dollar the supermarkets will get round this if it means more sales

A lot of it is this narrative many people have that they "deserve" this treat or that snack. It's not a healthy way to think about food.

A lot of that comes from having a victim mentality where people feel like since they are sad or someone has upset them or they had a difficult childhood, then it's ok to be unhealthy/act like a dick/be rude to others or whatever. I get it, I had a shit childhood, several abusive relationships and mental health issues and for years I used those things as an excuse for never getting my life in order and not being a very nice person. But that's not a good way to live. We need to take control, despite hardships we've been through.

In the OP, you blame people for just letting you drop gym. OK, they shouldn't have done that but you recognise it as an issue so now you are the one who needs to take responsibility and get over that issue. Otherwise you will be overweight and doing nothing about it for the rest of your life.

itwasnotOk I don’t know how to do that . I wish I did; but I don’t . I’m not going out anymore alone, I only go out with my mum holding her hand . How stupid is that . I’m not happy at all . I don’t know how to fix it all or even where to start. Shouldn’t have started this thread as I’m making myself feel worse .

@covidtired therapy. If you can't afford it, self help books are angood alternative. It can take years. I'm not unsympathetic, it took me 20 years to get over my issues. But it starts with taking responsibility for yourself.

Most fat people underestimate how much activity is required to burn off these little, energy dense, treats and how so few of them are needed knock us over the calorie limit for the day.

4 or five biscuits on top of a maintenance diet is enough to add a pound a month.

YABU

and I understand about the agoraphobia, I also suffered for years (still do at times). It is hell.

I also agree with @ItWasNotOK in terms of the "deserve" narrative. If you start from the position that biscuits and cakes are an everyday food that you use to manage your mood then it is so much harder to lose weight, because you are just denying yourself all the time. It will affect your mood.

OP, try reframing it - eating those healthy foods that you like to eat, in moderation, is treating and nourishing your body. Cooking and trying new healthy food combinations to find what you like and what feels good in your body is good for the soul. Try putting a bit more self love into the narrative.

I don't think we should shame far people and I agree that it is utterly counterproductive. But I also think propagating that the idea that you can be fit and obese (professional rugby player aside) and that there is nothing wrong with being obese is absolutely wrong in health terms. (People can of course look good when overweight, they can have lovely features and qualities, of course, but it isn't in their interests to tell them there is no problem).

And OP, I really feel for you on the agoraphobia. Please get some help - finding a way to manage getting outside will be so good for you long term, regardless of how much weight you do or don't use.

None of my posts are intended to criticise you. You have a lot going on and deserve to find peace.

It's so complicated. I carry less weight than you but have been 3 stone overweight my whole adult life (in a cycle). Thats 25 per cent of my body weight. I ate from boredom during lockdown and comfort and just cos I love it.
I am trying properly hard now and viewing it as a addiction and a behaviour issue.

That's shit, they should have removed the bullies from the class - put them off being bullies, not put you off exercising. If calories in are matched with equal exercise, so no excess weight, and you are getting enough nutrition, then you can eat as many biscuits as you like, YANBU.

adding to those ideas of changing the narrative, when I want to reach for the biccies I visualise the contents, a massive slab of butter, sugar, white fortifield flour, egg yolk and that keeps me from going back for more. Cheap biccies, even worse, a massive glug of cheap oil, some sort of glucose fructose syrup, the sugar, flour fortified with the cheapest synthetic vits to mimic wholemeal, maybe some dried egg to finish it off. I remind myself that looking after myself for the hurt and loneliness I've suffered is not putting that stuff in my body.

It’s bizarre to single out one food item as the cause of obesity.

I calorie count and track macros and I’m off the attitude that there is no good or bad. Nothing is off limits for me at all.

My friend can’t believe that I would eat a snickers for breakfast with a cup of tea if I’m in a rush in the mornings. However, if we look at the granola and yogurt she eats daily my snickers is lower in fat and sugar! Plus I’m eating what I want so I don’t feel deprived.

Hang on - can I just ask you @Juno231 - or anyone else that might know, what an average weight for a tall 8yr old girl is? I was a similar weight to the pp @covidtired albeit 40 years ago... but it has never occurred to me it wasn't all my own fault for being fat/lazyy /greedy.
I STILL struggle with my weight and am currently trying desperately to hedge back into 'just' overweight having finally crept into the borders of obese...
What a waste of a lifetime to hate on myself so much.

I think that the cause of obesity is multifactorial and different for each individual. There will be some who eat too much because they love their food, others who don’t really like or can’t exercise and lead a sedentary life, those who have been given unhelpful messages around food since childhood, or who have limited access/finances to healthy food, those who lack knowledge about what a healthy diet looks like, self denial and those who eat for comfort, or have had past trauma etc etc. I think any weight loss support needs to be individually tailored to that person rather than a blanket approach and we need to establish the ‘why’ first before we go for the ‘how’.

How tall @wilkolampshade Dd was 6 stone at 8 but 145 cm and was in the healthy BMI bracket. You can look on the NHS BMI calculator, there is a children's option it's not perfect but give you a rough estimate.

If you are suffering from agoraphobia the GP should have referred you to your local mental health service. If you are in England look up your local IAPT service to whom you can self refer and they are offering phone or online options at the moment. Or the charity Anxiety UK offers sliding scale private therapy too. I guess it is hard to trust that others will be there and be helpful after what you have been through but please give it a try.

I think my biggest problem isn't what I eat. I work in an office with a fruit bowl and cheap salad buffet (well - I did. Can't see that making it into the new normal).

It's the whole sitting at a desk for 9 hours per day, and in a car for 2. People aren't designed to sit on their arse all day, and 30 mins or an hour of exercise doesn't put a dent on the impact of an otherwise sedentary lifestyle.

I think it’s a portion control issue with many people rather than a sweet tooth issue, I know I eat far too much pasta/bread/butter and that’s why I’m overweight it’s not I’m eating sweets and chocolate all day long!

Thanks @HPandTheNeverEndingBedtime Trouble is I don't know what my height was, as it was 40 plus years ago and mum wouldn't have kept any records... but I was always the tallest girl in class until secondary, but even then, I knew I was very fat, 8st at 8, and can remember standing crying and crying hot tears in the shower absolutely HATING myself.... 😳
Don't hate myself now, but it's really only just occurred to me that being that fat that young may not have been all my fault.

I am overweight too. I’ve learnt that crash diets do not work long term. It’s fine to have everything n moderation. I’m guilty of eating too much ie a whole packet of biscuits 😭

I use an app called nutracheck. Calorie counting isn’t for everyone but it really worked for me and meant I could have a little bit of what I fancy as long as it’s within my calories! So yes fine to eat biscuits and cake in smaller portions!

I feel it’s the large meals that don’t help me. Was given large portions as a child. Obviously my appetite and stomach got bigger and bigger and needed loads to fill me up.