Why am I fat?

[Witch25]

Well the simply answer is that I need to eat less and move more. Right, easy as that. Yet if it's that simple then why is there a million pound industry around weight loss?

Most people who have a significant amount of weight to lose and who have no medical conditions that cause them to gain weight have probably tried endless "diets" in the past. Slimming World, Weight Watchers, Low Carb, 5:2, etc, chances are they have tried them all. And they have probably lost weight on them. And as stats show, a high percentage gain all the weight and more back again within a year.

I think overeating is a mindset. It is a condition that affects certain people and it is something that has never even had an affect on others who have never had weight issues. People who are overweight eat to excess of "bad" foods. It is an addiction like drink or drugs. Overindulging must cause people to feel good/get a high at the time or else they wouldn't do it. Overweight people eat because they are sad, happy, bored, lonely, having a good time out with friends, eating a meal with a partner etc.

Through following posts on MN I have seen how fat people are hated on here. Let's not dress it up, most posts end up being taken down because it turns nasty and abusive. The attitude is "don't come whinging to me fatty, just stop shoving cake in your pie-hole". Society as a whole dislike people who are overweight and studies have shown that they are passed over for promotions at work, ignored in a group etc. And yet even though there is a palpable dislike for people who are overweight, we see obesity levels increasing in the UK.

TL:DR
So I was wondering if we could have a discussion around the mindset that causes people to be overweight and what can society do about this? Should GPs be offering CBT rather than Slimming World vouchers?

I think looking at the macro reasons for obesity is a good point. Everywhere you look there are cheap, high fat, high sugar foods. Whereas eating healthily is more expensive. Compare the price of those bargain bags of chicken nuggets to a tiny punnet of fresh berries. If you are on a low income it is very hard to eat healthily. When you are in shops, train stations, departure lounges etc, you are bombarded with places selling low quality, "bad for you" food. Try getting some fresh fruit when you are out and about without going to a grocers or a supermarket etc. I bet it's a lot easier to get some crisps or chocolate. Is this something the government should be addressing or is it like the opposition to the sugar tax and another example of a nanny tax?

Following on from the idea of a nanny state, do we need to do more to educate our kids to stop them being obese? From an education in the 80s/90s, I personally have no idea about nutrition. We made a few recipes in food tech and studied a food pyramid which had carbs as the base. Now carbs are seen as bad. If you use the Internet to educate yourself you get a range of conflicting ideas - cut out carbs, cut out sugar, drink green tea, don't drink green tea because it makes you retain sugar. Should the government be doing more studies to find out how we should get our children to eat healthily rather than just saying, eat 5-7 fruit and veg a day etc. Should there be more emphasis on teaching children how to cook from scratch? Ensuring that they know how to create a balanced meal that does not rely on overprocessed food? Or is this the parents job? The same parents that have seen the UK average size rise to 16-18 in their lifetime?

Slightly off topic but I don't think I know any women who don't have a food/weight issue
Eg colleagues at work - overweightt women, dieting women, health food women, women with Fitbits who keep step counts off religiously to keep weight in check
So much talk about food, recipes, dinner plans, diets, vitamin supplements
A psychologist at work thinks my 2 sisters and I have borderline eating disorders
Haven't read 'fat is a feminist issue' myself but maybe I should

Whereas eating healthily is more expensive. Compare the price of those bargain bags of chicken nuggets to a tiny punnet of fresh berries. If you are on a low income it is very hard to eat healthily.

Sorry, but this is bollocks and it annoys me greatly when it gets trotted out. Eating healthily is not expensive.

You are not exactly comparing like for like either. Sure, if you insist on buying a small box of imported out of season berries or veg it is going to cost a lot more, a bag of basic apples or a bunch of bananas costs very little in comparison. Yesterday in Sainsbury’s I bought a ‘winter vegetable’ pack that had five carrots, a swede, an onion and something else I can’t remember for a quid, yes £1. I made a nice soup that will feed me and the wife dinner for two days. There are plenty of low cost healthy options out there if you look.

Agree that it's bollocks that eating healthily is necessarily more expensive. Obviously a tiny punnet of berries is going to be pricey but there are plenty of other options.

Veg soup with pulses is super healthy and costs practically nothing.

A single pack of mince can be combined with lots of veg/pulses/beans to make loads of different things - meatballs, bolognese, kofta, lasagne, chilli etc

Lentils/split peas/rice & veg & minimal spices can make soups, dhal, pilafs, curries

Bags of basic fruit cost very little.

abittoflight I agree, men are the same though (if they're not walking through their lives with their eyes closed). We HAVE to eat so it's a subject that we all should be interested in. It's part of living, I eat\and drink for my health and I know when I'm not! It's great to be able to control one's health!

Agree that health eating being expensive is nonsense. Iceland premium mince 2x500g is 5.25 I think - that's 2 meals for 4 as bolognese, cottage pie etc. Put in a can of borlotti beans or some lentils if need to bulk it up
Butternut squash curry - can buy them for £1 and with some frozen spinach it's a meal for 4 with rice
Had prasad's cauliflower and pea curry yesterday- £1 cauliflower and frozen peas 4 of us with rice

Yes and if you buy a bag of apples or carrots or whatever in a market sometimes it's not only cheaper it's fresher than the supermarkets.

Should GPs be offering CBT rather than Slimming World vouchers?

Yes. Most definitely.

I believe that very few people are overweight because they don’t know how to lose weight.

I went to Slimming World briefly about 6 years ago. The group talks drove me absolutely crazy. We discussed everything but the actual problem, the real question. Which is, why are we all choosing to stay fat?

Arealhuman Save the NHS money buy Paul Mackenna's book, he addresses the emotional and self esteem issues about weight loss, head on!

I agree with Op ... I’m a size 8 but have dealt with food addiction issues my whole life. Only counselling and therapy have helped

People who are overweight eat to excess of "bad" foods. It is an addiction like drink or drugs

I think you're absolutely spot on there. I'm a compulsive over eater; OK, it's a mild affliction in my case, in that I don't eat until I'm sick or uncomfortable but ....if left unchecked I do put weight on. A lot of weight

I'm currently a very fit, very slim size 8. But I am nevertheless a compulsive over eater. I don't think that I can cure it: merely manage it, which is what I'm doing very successfully at the minute

I see myself as being in a similar situation to being an alcoholic (for example). Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic but, assuming you're not drinking, you're considered to be 'recovering'. I'm a recovering compulsive over eater. And forever will be.

That's my take on my condition.

Yes stevie But overeating can be overeating of ANY food not just rubbish.. We do crave high sugar , high salt food but we can still eat too much of anything!

Yes stevie But overeating can be overeating of ANY food not just rubbish.. We do crave high sugar , high salt food but we can still eat too much of anything!

I never referred to 'rubbish', merely to overeating

I'm also interested in the psychological issues around it. I've been struggling with my weight over recent years - not quite overweight but was within one pound of it after Christmas - and I don't really know why. Is it because now I'm 40 it's just much harder to keep the weight off or is it something psychological? Do I see the extra weight as some kind of protection? My DM is now very large again so am I conscious of that and thinking it's kind of inevitable that I'll eventually follow in her footsteps?

I also notice that I lose weight when I'm around thin people and put it on when I'm around fat people, at work, for example.

I also wonder if it's something to do with being afraid of being slim again but the good things from being slim not being there, if you see what I mean, as if I know that I can't get my youth back?
Or a fear of finding a partner?

Very interesting subject.

I am overweight and have been on umpteen diet plans over the last 20 years. I'm 6st heavier than I was when I went on my first diet.

I was referred to an obesity service in April 2017 with a view to getting a referral for gastric surgery (5ft 4in. 17st 6.5lbs, dress size 20). After a long weight and initial assessment I had group sessions with a dietician every fortnight for 12 weeks (so 6 in total) with common sense advice (smaller portions etc) and re-education (food labels). However intuitive eating has not come easy to me but I did try and follow their advice.

I didn't lose the 5% weight needed to be referred for the gastric surgery but my weight did stay stable (I think I lost 6lbs) and I am eating to my appetite however the service have said because I didn't lose the target weight they won't refer me for surgery.

They did say I can go through the whole referral all over again (it's taken 10 months altogether).

I said to them that I know that an apple is a better calorie than a packet of crisps but I will choose the apple. I'm not overweight because I don't know how to read food packets etc... my problem is my relationship with food and eating.

They said I should go and fund CBT therapy myself or go see a hypnotherapist for a gastric band sessions. (I genuinely can't afford regular sessions and had hypnotherapy years ago which was unhelpful at the time so I am loathe to try again)

The NHS don't seem to accept that obesity in a lot of people isn't about being uneducated. Surely counselling / CBT would be a cheaper option than surgery before resorting to surgery?

Sorry if you read that - I think I am half asleep!

Should say "long wait" and I would choose the crisps over the apple.

I agree that a lot can be put down to childhood influences. I was born in the mid 50s, and had home cooked food every day, there just wasn’t processed food, didn’t exist then. We weren’t allowed to eat between meals, except for occasional treats. On the other hand, we were given sugar sandwiches, condensed milk sandwiches and sugary tea. I suppose because we walked everywhere we just burnt it all off. Obese children were rare, hate seeing so many fat children around these days.

I think it's that a) we, like other animals, are hard-wired to seek out highly calorific food to keep us alive, but that's a problem now because vast quantities of calorific food are available 24/7 b) sugar, which would once have been unavailable except in tiny quantities in things like berries, and carbs from roots, really push our reward buttons and we can't get enough of them c) modern life generally means less exercise and high stress d) processed foods are addictive but less nourishing and satisfying.

I'm not sure CBT can really do much about any of those things and I can't see what can be done really. Resisting requires permanent, constant willpower, and almost nobody has that. Yes, some people have better eating habits than others, but suggesting that all overweight people have a disorder just isn't true. Food is enjoyable and lots of people eat too much of it.

Scarlet Scarlet [waves hand in air] [helloooo] Try reading the Paul Mackenna (I can Make You Thin) there are DVD's etc. It's a stupid title, I lost 3 stone and I'm slim, NOT thin I didn't want to be thin!!! There are people who are much heavier than you that have dropped their weight.

It's an easy , cheap and natural way to lose weight and to maintain.!!

Eolian it's not necessarily willpower that it's needed, it's body led hunger. Really learning how to tune into your own proper hunger signals again. When they have studied the habits of slim people it appears that they eat differently to people with weight issues. They eat what they want when they are truly hungry and stop as soon as they have had enough. Food doesn't have the same meaning to them as it does to people with dieting mentality. Children who come from families where there is no food issues at home nor dieting Mothers tend to eat this way.

Scarlet I agree with pp. There are hypno gastric band cds out there. I did Paul McKennas and it worked in that I get a sensation in my upper tummy now when I have rated enough food.

DottyDotts - maybe for some people. I didn't come from a dieting household, I'm not what you'd call a compulsive eater. I'm just about a stone heavier than I ought to be. I can tell whether I'm hungry or not, but I eat too much sugar and will choose to have a snack even when I know I'm not hungry if it's something I fancy.

I still think 'learn to know when you're hungry' (I know when I'm hungry) basically means 'learn to have the willpower not to eat when you know you're not really hungry'!

PMK is tricky with sugary things but it still works (like Dotty says) when you restart it Eolian The results happen so quickly that it motivates me to carry on!

I have insomnia and when a bit stressed think if I eat I'll have more energy and perform better.Was diagnosed hypothyroid so really didn't have much energy. When I was far more stressed I didn't sleep or eat.

Went through a phase of taking sleeping pills. Bliss