overweight people who complain they can't lose weight

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Why don't they get informed on how to properly lose weight? It seems most overweight people are unknowing of the various ways, and a lot of them look only for the "Quick and easy way" usually, via infomercial... But these are not the way to go.

I also have a problem with people who claim they lift weights, but choose to do so improperly. Improper form gets you nowhere and can get you hurt, and a diet that is lacking in nutrients is not going to do anything even if you lift right.

Why do people not get informed about the proper ways of going by these things? It's so bewildering to hear people complain about their weight, or not gaining muscle... When they've got the internet which is full of great resources. It's basically all you need. You don't even need a personal trainer, all you need to do is read read read, practice practice practice, and stay committed. Inform yourself so you can be healthier. The joys of being fit and healthy are like none other.

This is mostly a rant, but it's just so disturbing seeing fat/skinny people doing stupid things to lose weight or gain weight.

failure to accomplish something because of being unable to gives justification to not try further. having something to complain about gives a person something to talk about. whether or not the person tries properly is a minor detail.

I am 5'6 I think I was just thinking today when I was 34 or 36kg. I just felt sick. I am 55kg now which is a much healthier weight.

True. I figured most people would exclude the first one. I did, but I did not mention that. It just seemed obvious to me. I see how you could mean, as a conversation topic, but then if you were to change you'd probably have more to talk about, and more people willing to listen.

We also have to force ourselves to face our fears. One of them being watched like freaks, called ugly by random strangers, and at the same time cope with deep feelings of hopelessness that people with their different little lives can't seem to understand. It's not that easy for some of us.

Last edited by LiendaBalla on 01 Feb 2009, 12:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

A common thing that people completly miss when they think it's easy to gain or lose weight:

Person 1: keeps a good routine, good diet, enough excercise, good sleep and so on.
Person 2: exactly identical routines as person 1.

Will person 1 now weigh just as much as person 2? Nope, even with the same routine it varies, and it varies ALOT.

Whatever weight you are currently at, you can easily try what it's like to attempt to effectively lose or gain some. Try eating half as much as usual for a few days, then twice as much as usual for a few days. If you don't get headaches or feel sick, then you are lucky.

Not saying that differences in routine don't matter, they matter a whole lot as well.

My mother said she once tried that when she was much younger, and that it took her a week for her to feel normal again after she got off the diet. Starving and being hungry too soon, with too much less just isn't bright, imo.

I found that the best two things I did to lose weight (50lbs+ in 3 months), besides the obvious exercise, were to stop drinking soda and only eat until I'm no longer hungry, rather than eating until I'm full.

So what does a vegetarian, who eats very little fat and drinks no sweet drinks, who exercises daily, do to lose weight?

There are plenty of people out there who have easy-to-alter habits (like drinking soda) who can lose weight rapidly by altering those habits, but there are also a lot of people who have good habits but still weigh more than the aesthetic weight for their height.

I, for example, have never been thin - even when I was rowing on an NCAA varsity crew team, exercising aerobically 1-3 hours a day, 6 days a week. I felt fabulous, but I was not thin.

The idea that thin people are simply naturally 'better' or have more will power is, to say the least, arrogant and presumptious. I suggest the OP do a little research on human nutrition and weight loss from legitimate peer-reviewed sources. For example, wrt the post above: there has been research showing that overweight people, on average, do not feel full or even 'not hungry' or satiated until up to half an hour *after* the meal is over, wheras thinner people feel full when they have consumed their maintenance level of calories.

You're making assumptions, rather putting words in my mouth. A vegetarian shouldn't be eating very little fat, nobody should, ever! Fat is used as energy and can actually fuel your workouts and help you lose weight.

I'm not speaking for the people who're genetically engineered to be large. Although, it is an excuse used too often. It is the same for someone skinny trying to gain weight. I can't tell you how many times I've heard "Oh I've always been a big guy, I just don't get small". When most of them could... but they lacked the proper information to go anywhere.

I also never stated we're better. I said you would feel better if you were at a healthy weight and exercising. That is a fact. I also have lost around 50 lbs off my obese frame in 4-5 months from a little thing called cutting. The first month I could have done better, but I didn't have enough information, or discipline to get serious. That changed. I do know what I am talking about... and I am currently clean bulking to put on some lean mass, I am sick of my skinny self so I am putting a change to that. I've gained good weight so far in the two months. I'm informed.

I consume proper nutrients required for an ectomorph body type and what I'm doing, and workout religiously, therefor I am... informed. Naturally thin people are usually ectomorphic, meaning they have to eat more and more due to their high metabolism. As you eat more your body begins to get used to it, so you can eat more. I experienced this firsthand, I have to consume about 3000 calories each day in healthy food and drink. I went to 1500 cal to 2500 in a day, then 3000 a week later. Also, why wouldn't we feel full when we've hit our maintenance calories? That is afterall what you should be eating if you don't plan on gaining weight.

I find you are angry and I do not know why.. I am not intending to insult or offend. I don't think my post was very insulting, either. I'm just tired of excuses.

That is true, but same for walking in public. Sooner or later if health matters to you enough you're going to have to get out of your hole and say f**k the world. Most people at a gym will not gock at you, anyone who is worth your thought will not do anything of the sort. As long as you are doing excercises correctly and staying committed there would be no reason to disrespect you in any way, and most people do not... Because they're focusing intensely on their own workouts and many of them were in the same exact position as you are in... To actually get out of your shell and not care about the others around you working out is something to respect. When they see a positive change they may even compliment you on your well done work. I had gym anxiety too, being 5'2-3" going into a gym full of people who tower over me in not only height but weight was intimidating, but the gym is full of good vibrations and good people. If they see you put in good work they will respect you. That is all I'm saying. They really don't care that much.

Sometimes it does feel impossible to be honest. I am met personally with so much resistance, even though all I want to do is lose a couple of inches of my thighs to fit in with my mates and wear a skirt with confidence. That’s all I want to do, but I can't seem to accomplish it. I have no willpower and so would love a quick and easy method that actually works. *sigh*
That being said, I'm only a little bit overweight (..I think) I think I have body fat percentage of 27? or its 37... I can never remember, which makes it all the worse. I hate the though of a third of me being fat though... eeeeewwwww
I most probably sound vain, but it is a factor in my life, of course it is. Pictures of the perfect body surround us and so I must be imperfect. It’s horrible. I wish the media would shut up and stop this unhealthy fixation on slim people. Show some ‘overweight’ models!

I found your post offensive - obesity genetically runs in my mother's family.

When you ask the question "Why can't someone just do something correctly?" you are assuming that there is a narrow path to correctness and that people can change their behavior at will or if they became more informed or tried harder. It's the same as asking the equally offensive question, "Why can't someone with Asperger's just act like normal people?"

Z

i have to say i have somewhat similar sentiments as the OP. The thing is, anyone can be thin. i don't care what problem or genetic difference you have that makes it more difficult to lose weight, if you try hard enough you can be thin. if you take an obese person with whatever disorder or disease or genetic difference and don't feed them anything, they'll eventually lose weight.

that being said, it's not always healthy to do so (as in the case above, it's usually not a good idea to starve). I do accept the validity of scientific claims that some people have a genetic disorder that makes it extremely difficult to lose weight but those excuses are vastly overused and most overweight people just have to change their habits to lose weight. the best advice for most overweight people boils down to this: don't eat so much and get off your butt and do some exercise every once in a while. if you've done some research, changed your diet, and started exercising regularly and still aren't losing weight then go to a doctor to try to figure out what's going on. a thyroid problem is a pretty common condition that can cause people to be over or underweight.

there is a lot of variability in people's metabolism and their bodies' ability to gain and lose weight but most people who are overweight and complaining about difficulty losing weight (in my experience anyways) just aren't taking the right steps to losing weight and blame it on metabolism or say they're genetically prone to it. people will diet for a short period of time and then fall right into old habits but complain that it's really hard because they don't want to admit that they gave up.

the only time i'm thin is during the summer when i'm rowing over 3hrs a day. as soon as i stop that my weight goes right back up. i'm not built to be a lightweight, and if i were tall enough i'd become a heavyweight in a second (although it's REALLY fun to row through a heavyweight men's 4 in your lightweight double), so it takes me a lot of work to get there. i understand the problems people complain about but it's usually a case of laziness or lack of commitment that's causing their size, not their genetic makeup.

If you don't know a person's family background, you have no right to assume that it is not the case (ie, assume that the person is just using it as an "excuse.").



It does not have to be verbally stated to be quite clear in the subtext.



good for you. That's a little bit faster than doctors generally say is healthy, though. In addition, if you're talking about extreme calorie cutting, it often has some pretty extreme negative long-term affects:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight_cutting



This is exactly what I mean by doing a little research. 'Fullness' is a mental experience. It is caused by a hormone released by the stomach after a certain amount of food and calories have been consumed and sent downstream to the small intestine. In general, obese people's stomachs produce this hormone later than thin people's stomachs, meaning that the brain does not get the message until more food has been consumed. Hunger, thirst, satiation, etc. are all caused by hormones and controlled by physiological feedback loops.
google ghrelin, leptin, insulin, glycogen, thyroid hormone, glucagon, or half a dozen other hormones known to affect appetite and weight gain or loss. There are a hell of a lot of ways for things to be out of balance.
here's a start:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghrelin



*snort*
You state that you can't tell why I'm annoyed, and in the next breath offer another insult. Given that this is an aspie board, I will spell it out for you:

calling an explanation an "excuse" is effectively the same as saying that the person doing the explaining is being a hypocrite and/or a whiner. Saying that fat people are perfectly able to lose weight and are just offering "excuses" for their failure to eat less and/or exercise more is tantamount to saying that fat people are lazy, whining gluttons who have never bothered to try to lose weight effectively, and ignores the genuine efforts and suffering that many obese people go through to lose weight.

For goodness' sake, do you honestly think that people would be voluntarily having large chunks of their internal organs cut out and stapled, at farily high risk of post-op infections and fatal (not to mention excruciatingly painful) pancreatitis (not to mention the social aspects of never being able to sit down and share a full meal with anyone again, ever, including holidays), if they hadn't tried more routine options beforehand? Do you think that the weight loss industry would be making billions of dollars a year if people weren't desperate to try anything?