Talking about weight and covid

[Iamsososoexcited]

In the 44-53 age group, 73% of people in the UK are overweight to obese. This is a government statistic according to the House of Commons library.

Does anyone else think this is massively concerning?

This awful virus arrived a year ago. It has a disproportionate effect on people who are overweight and obese.

People are washing hands, wearing masks, keeping their distance, isolating with families to stay safe. Why aren’t people losing weight to stay safe as well?

I don’t understand. It is like being told there is a course of action you can take (losing weight) that will drastically improve your chances of surviving this terrible virus, and yet people are not doing it?

Please help me understand?

These threads always make me sad. I want to lose weight
My "BS excuses" are
Hashimotos - under medicated and they won't refer to a consultant
I can't exercise at all (including walks)
I already eat low calorie and money is tight so probably eat too many carbs. I fast 16hrs a day and eat in an 8hr window. My calories need to be under 1100 for me to lose weight which at 5ft 10 is hard and even then it's a loss of maybe half a pound a week
It's not like I'm not trying but what else can I do? I'm eating less and less but can't move any more

I definitely agree that everyone should be addressing all risk factors where appropriate for them to do so. My weight loss is enabled by the fact that I'm not eating out/drinking a lot of alcohol/grabbing numerous takeaway flavoured coffees etc but for some people it has led to an increased consumption of alcohol and comfort foods to cope. I don't have any hot takes on how to combat this though.

There is no denying that there is a obesity crisis looming . Something that amazed me from a different thread recently where a mother asked for advice about her teenager daughters weight, half the answers were from people saying their parents mentioned their weigh abs restricted their food in some way and that was why they had food issues, the other half said their parents had let them eat what they want and never mentioned healthy eating and that was why they were heavy. The poor Op got totally conflicting advice from a range of posters many of them blaming them their parent for disordered eating. It seems to be a total mine field and there is no one right answer as to how you ensure kids are healthy weights.

We're too worried about offending people ... even if it saves lives

Which is perhaps ironic, considering the abuse handed out if someone dares to go shopping more than once a week, walks in the park too often or - god forbid - visits a sick relative. Obviously everyone's got an excuse, but how odd that folk expect the obesity one to go unchallenged

Odd, too, that nobody's remarked on why many of these "conditions" have existed for generations, and yet it's only comparatively recently that obesity's become so common

I understand that the issue with covid and obesity is actually about inflammation and general metabolic health.

Obese people usually have inflammation and poor metabolic health (hyper tension, insulin resistance), and you can do something about that reasonably quickly, even if weight loss takes months / years.

You improve your metabolic health by eating real food at fixed times (no snacking) , exercising /moving and good sleep. You can improve your metabolic health within a month, reducing the risk extremely quickly.

Obviously the government have communicated about weight, not the health of the body which is unfortunate because I’m sure many of the ICU patients would not be there had they been given the right information

I think the reasons why people overeat and become overweight can be any number of:

• Eating disorders such as BE disorder
• Not knowing how to cook or make food taste nice from scratch OR knowing but not having the time or energy to do the above.
• being raised in a culture where there is excessive talk of weight and diet, a lot of it conflicting advice
• food and eating being the thing that brings them most pleasure and not being able to find something that matches it
• not being permitted to regulate their intake as young children and either being made to finish everything on their plate OR not being allowed "seconds" etc. I see this with my DS. His favourite lunch is a "picky" plate which has on it bread and butter, a couple of different types of fruit, cucumber and ham or cheese with a glass of milk. Some days he eats every last scrap and asks for more. Some days he barely eats any of it. Both are fine. If I give him a plate of pasta for dinner he stops the second he is full up. He might only have 3 or 4 pieces of pasta left on the plate at that point. A lot of adults would think oh well, no point leaving that tiny amount. But for him, he's full up - why continue eating?
• misunderstanding of portion size. For a 5ft3 woman, a portion of pasta (dry weight) would be around 60g, served with a large side of salad or veg. Most people eat double that and skip the side.

People don’t gain weight because they’re idiots. People don’t then not lose weight because they’re idiots. A lot of overweight people have tried desperately to lose weight over the years.

In my experience, most overweight people are overweight because food is a coping mechanism. I am not overweight but I have binge eating disorder and have struggled to be a normal weight my entire life.

MrsSmith2021

I am on elvanse for ADHD but it is also prescribed to treat binge eating disorder. It is a wonder drug.

@QueenPawPaws

These threads always make me sad. I want to lose weight My "BS excuses" are Hashimotos - under medicated and they won't refer to a consultant I can't exercise at all (including walks) I already eat low calorie and money is tight so probably eat too many carbs. I fast 16hrs a day and eat in an 8hr window. My calories need to be under 1100 for me to lose weight which at 5ft 10 is hard and even then it's a loss of maybe half a pound a week It's not like I'm not trying but what else can I do? I'm eating less and less but can't move any more

I'm pretty much in the same situation. Low thyroid, but GP won't refer as its not bad enough (yet). I have to eat under 1,100 calories a day or I gain. I fast from approx 8pm to 2pm the next day. I'm the same height as you. I'm very lucky if I can drop a pound a week.

The only difference is I can now exercise a bit since having my hip replacement just before the first lockdown. Just need all the other joints replacing now

Everyone is giving up so much, freedoms, friendships and families. But they are not giving up excess food which would have a massive positive effect.
Maybe because they havent had the choice to give up friends, family and freedom "for their own good". If it was up to me I would see all my friends and family and take the risk, but the government have made that illegal. Until the government make chocolate and takeaways illegal without my consent, I'll keep eating them.

OP, it's a well-known fact that 98% of diets fail in the long term. Most people who've dieted will have tried and failed many, many times to lose weight. This process gets harder every time. It has very little to do with willpower and lots to do with hormones.

www.bbc.com/news/amp/health-49795808

Your lack of understanding really is astounding.

Sorry wrong link...

www.webmd.com/diet/news/20111026/weight-regain-may-not-be-due-to-lack-of-willpower

@QueenPawPaws, I am quite lazy when it comes to exercise (I am a fair weather walker with some old injuries) so I do most of my exercises in bed, eg leg lifts and stomach crunches without lifting my head or torso off the bed.

I occasionally hula hoop.

Trouble is with slim people (and I'm generalising because there's been so many generalisations about fat people made on this thread) is that some of them actually have no idea what it takes to lose weight.
I've always been bigger, between a size 14 and a 18. This year I lost weight for the first time due to doing intermittent fasting every weekday and only eating 1,200 on Saturday and Sunday. I'm now a bigger size 12 and hoping to lose more. When I talk to slim people, they often say 'oh that's not healthy, you need to eat three meals a day' and proceed to tell me how they eat and if I only ate porridge and had a jacket potato every day then I would be like them. As if I'd just spent 32 years eating McDonald's and not understanding why I was fat.
The fact is that I'm fat because of a mixture of genes, wanting to eat, being a fantastic cook, enjoying good food and being time poor. The only way I have lost weight is to stop enjoying food. I look at food as fuel and I don't enjoy eating anymore. I remember that scene from modern family when Gloria and Jay go to a cafe and he is shocked that she doesn't look at the menu and just orders the soup with no bread. That was a revelation to me. But that's how I have to live now. I plan what I'm going to have in my head and try to see food as just calories. It's not about reading and dreaming about different flavour combination, it's purely what I can eat which will fill me up for the fewest amount of calories. I am no longer a foodie.
I can completely understand why people don't want to make this choice and just think 'sod it.'

I have Hashinoto's too, I've had auto immune thyroid issues since my late twenties. I find if I don't exercise I have less energy and my fatigue is worse. The way for me to feel normal is to exercise regularly. Doing weights builds your muscle too, so you have more lean tissue and don't have to restrict your calories so much to lose weight. If I put my mind to it, exercise regularly, eat healthy foods, I can still lose weight despite having Hashimotos. My sister is the same, with the same issues. It takes a bit more effort but the payoff in energy levels when you exercise and eat well is definitely worth it.

For someone who is able to be relatively active (I appreciate not everyone can be before those who have medical reasons tell me) AND doesn’t have underlying hormone/metabolism/thyroid issues (which the majority of people don’t in spite of what you read on here) then it is entirely possible to eat a reasonable amount of food, including some treats and slowly and steadily work your my towards a heathy weight. At that healthy weight you can then carry on eating foods you like in moderation.

Too many people are trapped in a “quick fix” mentality and doing diets that are unsustainable for them in the long run. The result is yoyoing and binge eating. I did that myself for many years and the only way I managed to lose weight and keep it off was to eat (over a period of years not weeks) to a modest calorie deficit and up the exercise. I’ve been a healthy weight for about 15 years now and my only regret is that I didn’t change my way of doing things sooner.

I can’t share that experience without being shot down by people who are in the same position I was in fifteen years ago.

Also people need to bear in mind that exercising needn't mean running or the gym. Being active in your daily life (e.g. walking instead of driving) is absolutely fine.

Omg, @SeeooelllaaaCola, I never watched Modern Family but it's so me with the food approach! Usually soup and no bread (or take it to feed ducks). Unless it's a special occasion, I would normally order soup or a light starter and a fancy tea and I am done.

Very rarely drink alcohol, occasionally red or g&t.

the only way I managed to lose weight and keep it off was to eat (over a period of years not weeks) to a modest calorie deficit and up the exercise. I’ve been a healthy weight for about 15 years now and my only regret is that I didn’t change my way of doing things sooner.

That is definitely the right way to do it, but knowing that isn't enough for most people, or we wouldn't have an obesity crisis.

The only way I have lost weight is to stop enjoying food. I look at food as fuel and I don't enjoy eating anymore.

Afraid to say that's what's done it for me too as meds mean zero appetite until about 6pm. But I know I have to eat. So at lunch I might have green salad, a piece of fruit and some nuts. I am totally ambivalent, it's just something i know I have to do, like going to the loo. Once they wear off I get my appetite and enthusiasm back, but not to the extent I was before. I don't take them at weekends now so that I can enjoy food, but my impulse control is still so much better. We had a delicious dessert of warm cookie and ice cream last night. I ate half of it and was full so stopped and left the rest. Never would have happened before- even if I was full, I'd have eaten every last scrap.

I wanted to lose weight anyway but COVID has prompted me to do it. I had a BMI of 30-age 45. Last year's lockdown and permanently working from home caused me to get to this point. I have been following weight watchers for just over 3 weeks and have lost 9lbs so far. 23lbs to go.

@Pootle40

I wanted to lose weight anyway but COVID has prompted me to do it. I had a BMI of 30-age 45. Last year's lockdown and permanently working from home caused me to get to this point. I have been following weight watchers for just over 3 weeks and have lost 9lbs so far. 23lbs to go.

Well done!!

I think there must be more to it. I see my colleague five days a week and know pretty much every meal she eats. She is a size 10-12 and eats 1,400 a day. I know this as she is on WW. She is losing about 2 lbs a week.
Prior to this new way of eating I was also sticking to 1,400 and tracking everything on MFP. I lost nothing. I didn't lie when I was tracking as what's the point.
I think in time we'll discover that there is a link between certain body types and how difficult we find it to lose weight. I think it's a mixture of mindset, how much we enjoy food and metabolism.
Also people eat for different reasons. There cannot be a one size fits all approach to help people lose weight as all people eat for different reasons. Those who binge eat twelve twixs are nothing like those who enjoy chile con carne with sour cream and rice sat round a table with the family. I get no pleasure from eating alone and I don't eat when I'm stressed or sad. However all my happy memories are usually linked to food and drink in someway, so maybe that has something to do with my problems with weight.
Also work in the NHS with so many who know about the health risks associated with obesity and yet find it hard to lose weight. This 'stupid fatties who don't know anything about biology' rhetoric is so tiring!

@ChimaeraEgg interesting! Are you trying to stay in shape or is this just who you are. Have you taught yourself to think about food this way?

interesting! Are you trying to stay in shape or is this just who you are. Have you taught yourself to think about food this way?

Sorry, I explained up thread but this was ages ago!! I'm on ADHD meds and one of the side effects is they suppress your appetite. But then one of the ADHD traits is shockingly poor impulse control so they will help that too.

@ChimaeraEgg that's interesting. Can I ask if when you enjoyed food whether it was the sensory aspects you enjoyed or the taste? I think there is a link between the sensory aspects of eating and some neurodiverse conditions.