To think that people pretend not to understand obesity

[Mezzoprezzo]

After 30 plus years of failed diets I've recently started on mounjaro. Because I've placed an order and spent weeks searching stuff about weight loss medication, my Facebook feed is full of adverts from suppliers, many of which use vlogs from real clients who have lost weight. And the vast majority of comments are along the lines of, couldn't you just eat less, haven't you heard of exercise, why not just stop eating crap etc. Surely people are faking ignorance to have the fun of fat bashing. Obesity is rife! Everyone knows someone who struggles with their weight and who talks openly about it. I and every other obese person I know have tried every diet under the sun. Walk into any gym and you'll see a fair number of larger people trying bloody hard. And I know someone's going to reply to this post by talking about an obese friend who they once saw eating an entire packet of biscuits. Well numerous times I've given in to the overwhelming urge to do that too. And hated myself afterwards. It's part of the horrible condition. People have got eyes and ears and they seriously know full bloody well how hard obese people try to lose weight. They just pretend not to so they can have the fun of hating.

Yeah I hear you. It must be a nightmare shopping the thin, desirable sizes that are easily available in mainstream shops. You poor thing having to buy a size 10, maybe even an 8. A much harder struggle than someone living in a size 20+ body, with the vast array of attractive, well designed, easily accessible options available to them. 🙄

An actual nightmare? How about ignoring the arbitrary number on the clothes and just picking the one that fits? It might be a 10. It might be a 14. Who cares? It’s not rocket science.

I don't want to waste my evening on my phone, so am leaving now!
My opinion really shouldn't matter anyway. I keep it to myself in real life and I'm just some random stranger on the internet!

My problem with all of your comments is that you're looking at the way that you are around food and how your body works, and assuming that everyone else is the same as you and therefore they're just not trying hard enough.

There's no point in engaging with anyone who refuses to entertain the possibility that it might be harder for other people to resist food cravings than it is for them.

This 100%.

I'm sorry it's not just my opinions on what can lead to obesity.

Still an addiction.

Thanks* *@PinkArt for typing out my thoughts so I don’t have to! 😆

Yeah, picking up a readily available size down must be nightmarish.
I’m not slim now but used to be and picking up a smaller hanger size was no hardship at all 🙃

The problem is all these diets and fads. Weight watchers and slimming world are quite literally designed for people to fail…stories of “I’ve been to slimming world 6 different times and I’ve always lost the weight” prove that, if it worked you wouldn’t need to keep going back. All they do is make you lose weight, demonise food, worsen your relationships with food (no food is a “sin”) rather than teach you how to maintain a healthy balance, enjoy life and have good relationships with food.

What leads to obesity in the immediate sense is a calorie surplus. What leads different people to accumulate (or not accumulate) a calorie surplus in the first place is driven by genes, environment and biology. Try this as a starting point. I don't know what you think your "gotcha" is here.

@Funnywonder - possibly 'nightmare' was too much slang of a word; just making a point. The reality is that I don't like shopping too much so don't want to try on and compare 15 pairs of jeans before I can find a pair that fits properly.

But since c.2000 consumerism is the driving force and this runs parallel to people becoming fatter as they 'consume' more.

And if the people are 'happy' with that, then fine, but the 'people' don't seem very happy about that to me - hence this thread.

I do t think they pretend not to, I think they genuinely can't understand it.

I used to be 'naturally' slim (BMI between 19 and 21 my entire life until I was 30). I would say I "worked hard" to maintain my figure but in reality I didn't. I used to think people who were overweight just had to eat less, eat the right things etc. they were greedy or lazy. I couldn't wrap my head around why they ate more, why they couldn't eat less.

Then it was just like bam, this insatiable hunger. I gained weight alarmingly quickly and over the next 10 years, with various diets, lifestyle changes, exercise regimes I ended up with a BMI of 35. And I just kept getting bigger.

Then I took ozempic. And it was like someone had flicked a switch. That insatiable hunger was gone, the constant thinking about food was just gone. And I realised how awful it had been and I also realised I hadn't always felt that way! I started to feel "normal" again.

The only way I can explain it is like when you are cooking and the extractor fan is on, and the oven is on and then you turn it all off and suddenly realise how noisy it had been. It was amazing.

So yeah, I was one of those people. I do think it's really really hard to understand if you haven't experienced it.

Why dont you try looking at the NHS website

I think what I struggle understanding is why people just dont buy the food- like realise you have a problem and just make a decision to change and stick to it.

I have been overweight most of my life and have moved from a size 20 to a 10 and am now at a more sustainable 14. So I can sympathise and I know that when I was bigger I was generally using food to fill a void. I did have an epiphany after a friend made a comment about her husband complaining about being fat constantly but eating huge portions and making bad choices with food, she said she has no sympathy for him and he needs to grow up and take control and at first I found it really harsh but actually she was right, I realised I needed to stop making excuses and start being responsible. I wanted a child and realised I needed to be better for them. I am still not at a weight I want to be at but I'm more realistic about what I eat and what I can eat before putting on weight, I don't kid myself other people eat as much crap as I do, I dont kid myself it's all genetics cause it's irrelevant frankly- it's not about anyone else or any excuse, i was fat cause i had poor self confidence, depression and ate too much.

I quit smoking taking champix tablets. They are the ‘shot’ to quit smoking.

it was genuinely easy and no withdrawal symptoms.

after years of trying to quit it took me a few days since snd seven years later ve never wanted another cigarette

prescribed by my GP

I base it on personal experience and the experience of the majority of people that I know.

if I ate whatever liked whenever I liked I would gain weight. So would most people.

it’s not about obsessing it’s about knowing that you cannot eat an entire packet of biscuits, even if you’d like to and having the will power not to do it. Most slim people are conscious of what they are putting into their bodies. They have to be or they would also be overweight. It’s very very easy to gain weight in our society.

when I was eating what I liked whenever (not excessive amounts) and just being generally active rather than doing a lot of exercise. I became over weight. I’ve lost weight but it’s taken a lot of effort and thought, along with an entire change of lifestyle to keep it off. It’s an effort, but it’s worth it.

You’ve only got to walk down supermarket aisles to realise that they are stacked full of food that is not good for us.

Crap food is literally everywhere and trying to avoid it is extremely difficult. It’s cheap easy and addictive!

I have mixed feelings on this tbh. I had no idea about the sheer quantities of food some people eat until I saw 'what I eat in a day' videos on tiktok. Baked potatoes with a slab of butter as big as the spud, huge portion sizes, eating out and take aways multiple times a week, just massive quantities of food really with large amounts of 'extras' like piles of cheese and butter. Lots of people seem to just eat whatever they fancy with no thought of their health.

Personally I believe most people if the ate less and moved more(the average number of steps people take in a day is ridiculously low) then they would see change. Yeah you will be hungry for the first few weeks if you are used to eating lots but your body will get used to it. Yeah you will think about food a lot, so do lots of people. You won't die from feeling hungry or thinking about food.

If people want to use weight loss drugs then more power to them though. I don't care, it's your money and your body.

I have and what it says about the causes of obesity is exactly what I said to you.

"Obesity is a complex issue with many causes. Obesity and overweight is caused when extra calories, particularly those from foods high in fat and sugar, are stored in the body as fat.
Obesity is an increasingly common problem because the environment we live in makes it difficult for many people to eat healthily and do enough physical activity.
Genetics can also be a cause of obesity for some people. Your genes can affect how your body uses food and stores fat.
There are also some underlying health conditions that can occasionally contribute to weight gain, such as an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism), although these types of conditions do not usually cause weight problems if they're effectively controlled with medicines.
Some medicines can also make people more likely to put on weight, including steroids and some medicines for high blood pressure, diabetes or mental health conditions."

I was right about it being a waste of my time to engage with you.

Right so we are in agreement then. I've never said that for every obese person its simply the most common things like eating too much, being inactive. Some people do have medical reasons for it.

Please point me to the bit where it says that obesity is caused by a lack of willingness to resist cravings? Because that's what you've been saying.

I’m 3stone overweight op
i go to the gym
i eat fish, eggs, and vegetables
i have a couple of glasses of wine at the weekend

i dont eat crap
my skinny friends drink way more than me
i am 49 and really trying here… its just not budging.

people are fuckwits Ignore them!

The bits where it talks about eating too much etc. If you dont resist your cravings you will eat too much. Or eat too much of the wrong foods.

It sounds really traumatic. I hope you can cope with buying jeans with a different number on them.

There's currently studies on the use of glp1 meds on other addictions, they look promising