Why Am I Doing This To Myself?

[Pale Rider]

Why Am I Doing This To Myself?

Only you know precisely why you decided to lose weight, but let's tick off some of the likely reasons.

Live longer
Fat men are more likely to die suddenly than the slender.
--Hippocrates, Aphorisms, c. 400 B.C.

Every day you see plenty of fat people and lots of old people, but have you noticed how few old, fat people you see? All those geezers who make it into their eighties and nineties and call it the ``prime of life'' seem to be the lean, wiry type, don't they? This isn't because people suddenly feel compelled to lose weight sometime in their fifth or sixth decades. As the original hipster pointed out 2400 years ago, it's because the fat ones are dying off early.

This is the most fundamental reason to lose weight: to live longer. Whatever you value in life, you can't enjoy it if you're dead! What's the trade-off between a few bad days in the course of a diet, or even low-level irritation for several months, against living for five or ten more years? Of seeing your grandchildren grow up? Of seeing your life's work serve as the foundation for the next generation? Of finally getting the money out of your IRA? Of a happy retirement on the Moon? Whatever...death disqualifies you from every activity.

Dieting is unpleasant and bad days are wretched, but dropping dead is worse. Tomorrow will be better.

Better health
Feed by measure and defy the physician.
--John Heywood, Proverbs, 1546

Even if excess weight doesn't shorten your life, you're far more likely to suffer a variety of medical problems that will make the years you live less enjoyable. These range from really big annoyances like heart attacks to lesser maladies such as habitual shortness of breath and muscle aches and pains. A few years ago I went through a couple of weeks where I'd haul a 75 pound computer printer home, use it for a day or so, have it break, haul it to the shop, pick it up, and so on. As I recall, I ended up hauling the sucker back and forth about six times before I finally junked it. Every time I wrestled that beast into the car and out again, I woke up the next day with my muscles screaming for mercy. And yet for years, I walked around with the equivalent of that printer strapped around my middle, day in and day out. No wonder I felt awful! You can get accustomed to almost anything. If you've been overweight for a long time, it's hard to know what it's costing you not just in terms of potential health problems down the road, but in how you feel every day. The only way to find out how great you'll feel without the excess ballast is to see the diet through and experience its happy conclusion for yourself.

If a bad day comes a month or two into the diet, think back to the beginning. Think beyond the hunger to how you feel physically and what you've accomplished so far. And remember that your present situation pales before how much you'll enjoy finally achieving the goal.

Accomplish more
Great eaters and great sleepers are incapable of anything else that is great.
--Henry IV of France (1553-1610)

There's a not-so-subtle discrimination against overweight people in most organisations, and it's based on the flip side of the argument that finally convinced me to lose weight. It's easy to imagine the following thoughts passing through the mind of a person considering promoting an overweight employee to a position of greater responsibility. ``Andy's bright, trustworthy, loyal, and one of the hardest-working people I've ever met--in short in matters intellectual, social, and professional he is the very model of a modern middle manager. But I have to consider the whole picture. This is a management job, not a technical position. I'm betting a large budget, an important project, and more than a little of my own reputation on whoever I pick. Do I really want to bet all that on somebody who can't even manage his weight...?'' The prejudice is normally far more subtle than this line of reasoning, but don't doubt for a minute it's there. Another barrier blocking the advancement of overweight people is the perception they aren't ``dynamic'' and don't have the energy and stamina to see through difficult tasks.

In my experience this discrimination against the overweight is totally unjustified, but that doesn't keep it from happening every day. As we've seen, most overweight people don't suffer from flaws in character or weakness of will; they just have a broken feedback system. But if others assume there's something wrong with them, the consequences will be no less severe for being unjustified and unfair.

http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/www/subsubsection1_3_3_0_5_1.html

[avatar4321]

I ask myself this all the time.

[KitchenKitten99]

ya know, losing weight isn't all that hard. I lost 60lbs (started at 200 and I am now down to 140, goal is 130) of pregnancy (and some pre-pregnancy weight) eating whatever I wanted (for the most part) without diet pills, nasty meal replacement shakes or bars through Weight Watchers. It was just a matter of mind over food and the actual effort to do it. I learned to know when i am satisfied, and really didn't need to eat the rest of the food. I love going to buffets because I can take what portions I know are good enough for me, thus nothing gets wasted.

Honestly, other than actual work ethic, when it comes to personal responsibility and eating properly, many Americans are getting lazy about it. I still eat out 1-2 times per week, much of it fast food. But I also don't over-eat. I always get the smallest possible options, figuring if I am still not satisfied, then I can always go get more. I almost never do. I actually feel sick if I eat more than I am satisfied with. I don't keep chips and cookies in the house, because they're just temptation. Diet sodas are all that is allowed anymore. Also because diabetes runs in Tim's family, as his dad just was diagnosed as type 1, after having type 2 for 3 years. He still doesn't watch his intake as well as he should, and it is having an obvious effect.

[Pale Rider]

ya know, losing weight isn't all that hard. I lost 60lbs (started at 200 and I am now down to 140, goal is 130) of pregnancy (and some pre-pregnancy weight) eating whatever I wanted (for the most part) without diet pills, nasty meal replacement shakes or bars through Weight Watchers. It was just a matter of mind over food and the actual effort to do it. I learned to know when i am satisfied, and really didn't need to eat the rest of the food. I love going to buffets because I can take what portions I know are good enough for me, thus nothing gets wasted.

Honestly, other than actual work ethic, when it comes to personal responsibility and eating properly, many Americans are getting lazy about it. I still eat out 1-2 times per week, much of it fast food. But I also don't over-eat. I always get the smallest possible options, figuring if I am still not satisfied, then I can always go get more. I almost never do. I actually feel sick if I eat more than I am satisfied with. I don't keep chips and cookies in the house, because they're just temptation. Diet sodas are all that is allowed anymore. Also because diabetes runs in Tim's family, as his dad just was diagnosed as type 1, after having type 2 for 3 years. He still doesn't watch his intake as well as he should, and it is having an obvious effect.

Yes indeed. Over eating is the only way to get fat. And if you want to lose it, you have to STOP eating, and excersize. I'm 51, close to 52 years old. This last winter we were really slow at work and I put on a couple pounds more than usual. I got up around 200 myself. So I simply STOPPED EATING. And something else that was hard for me to do, I cut out pop, and I love nothing more than a tall glass of iced down Pepsi. I can drink four or five in one sitting if I'm eating popcorn. But, I lost ten pounds rather quickly, and I have another ten to go. 180 is my perfect, and normal weight.

I don't want to be fat and die early, and I won't. America is the most obese nation on earth, and the "experts" blame it mostly on fast food, and an ever increasing sedentary life style. People aren't active enough.

[avatar4321]

eating is easier without easting disorders:-/

[KitchenKitten99]

Yes indeed. Over eating is the only way to get fat. And if you want to lose it, you have to STOP eating, and excersize. I'm 51, close to 52 years old. This last winter we were really slow at work and I put on a couple pounds more than usual. I got up around 200 myself. So I simply STOPPED EATING. And something else that was hard for me to do, I cut out pop, and I love nothing more than a tall glass of iced down Pepsi. I can drink four or five in one sitting if I'm eating popcorn. But, I lost ten pounds rather quickly, and I have another ten to go. 180 is my perfect, and normal weight.

I don't want to be fat and die early, and I won't. America is the most obese nation on earth, and the "experts" blame it mostly on fast food, and an ever increasing sedentary life style. People aren't active enough.

A great way to help feel satisfied or full, is eat 6-10 of the baby cut peeled carrots before each meal, even breakfast, if possible. They're full of fiber and water, so they take up room, then eat whatever you want, and you'll still lose weight because you won't eat more than you should, and often eat less.

Diet sodas can be your friend. My husband was really against diet sodas, because he doesn't like the taste. But there are so many new flavors out there, that he found he really likes diet cherry pepsi and diet mountain dew. I like the new diet pepsi caramel cream and diet vanilla pepsi. Diet Dr. Pepper has some great fountain flavors like berries & cream and cherry vanilla.

Village Hearth makes a great light Italian bread that doesn't taste like 'light'. Use full-fruit preserves such as Polaner.

If you have to use oil for cooking, use Enova. Less is stored as fat and it is not olean or olestra. A great low-fat option for popcorn is to use an air popper, then spray it lightly with crisco butter flavor spray, and then use sea salt and Kernel Poppins butter flavor topping (3 calories per teaspoon) and it tastes way better than microwave.

If you don't have an air-popper (they're about $15 at Kohls or Sears), then use 1/4 cup Enova in a saucepan and enough popcorn seeds to cover 3/4 of the bottom of the pan, heat till all are popped and then sprinkle the popcorn seasoning and sea salt on it. It is still better for you than the stuff they use in microwave popcorn.

Get creative with vegetables. Try to fill 1/2 your plate with them. Try all-vegetable stir-frys or a mix with chicken breast or sirloin beef tips. Potatoes ARE good for you. Just go lightly on the butter and other toppings.

Lastly, allow yourself to indulge on a favorite meal or treat 1 or 2 times per week. I like to have an ice cream sundae (light ice cream) with all the toppings on Saturdays, and wednesdays, I love to indulge in Green Mill deep dish pizza.

[Nienna]

ya know, losing weight isn't all that hard. I lost 60lbs (started at 200 and I am now down to 140, goal is 130) of pregnancy (and some pre-pregnancy weight) eating whatever I wanted (for the most part) without diet pills, nasty meal replacement shakes or bars through Weight Watchers. It was just a matter of mind over food and the actual effort to do it. I learned to know when i am satisfied, and really didn't need to eat the rest of the food. I love going to buffets because I can take what portions I know are good enough for me, thus nothing gets wasted.

Honestly, other than actual work ethic, when it comes to personal responsibility and eating properly, many Americans are getting lazy about it. I still eat out 1-2 times per week, much of it fast food. But I also don't over-eat. I always get the smallest possible options, figuring if I am still not satisfied, then I can always go get more. I almost never do. I actually feel sick if I eat more than I am satisfied with. I don't keep chips and cookies in the house, because they're just temptation. Diet sodas are all that is allowed anymore. Also because diabetes runs in Tim's family, as his dad just was diagnosed as type 1, after having type 2 for 3 years. He still doesn't watch his intake as well as he should, and it is having an obvious effect.

Tried to rep you, but had to spread it around. I think you hit it on the nose.

[shattered]

Ack. Most of that sounds like a carb crash to me.. there are some people that can't eat like that.. Carbs..sugar.. baaaaaaad. More protein. More veggies.

You also tend to burn fat a lot faster than carbs/sugar. Your body can only process protein, or carbs at one time - not both together.. Protein/fat burns a lot faster than starch/sugars...

[Pale Rider]

A great way to help feel satisfied or full, is eat 6-10 of the baby cut peeled carrots before each meal, even breakfast, if possible. They're full of fiber and water, so they take up room, then eat whatever you want, and you'll still lose weight because you won't eat more than you should, and often eat less.

Diet sodas can be your friend. My husband was really against diet sodas, because he doesn't like the taste. But there are so many new flavors out there, that he found he really likes diet cherry pepsi and diet mountain dew. I like the new diet pepsi caramel cream and diet vanilla pepsi. Diet Dr. Pepper has some great fountain flavors like berries & cream and cherry vanilla.

Village Hearth makes a great light Italian bread that doesn't taste like 'light'. Use full-fruit preserves such as Polaner.

If you have to use oil for cooking, use Enova. Less is stored as fat and it is not olean or olestra. A great low-fat option for popcorn is to use an air popper, then spray it lightly with crisco butter flavor spray, and then use sea salt and Kernel Poppins butter flavor topping (3 calories per teaspoon) and it tastes way better than microwave.

If you don't have an air-popper (they're about $15 at Kohls or Sears), then use 1/4 cup Enova in a saucepan and enough popcorn seeds to cover 3/4 of the bottom of the pan, heat till all are popped and then sprinkle the popcorn seasoning and sea salt on it. It is still better for you than the stuff they use in microwave popcorn.

Get creative with vegetables. Try to fill 1/2 your plate with them. Try all-vegetable stir-frys or a mix with chicken breast or sirloin beef tips. Potatoes ARE good for you. Just go lightly on the butter and other toppings.

Lastly, allow yourself to indulge on a favorite meal or treat 1 or 2 times per week. I like to have an ice cream sundae (light ice cream) with all the toppings on Saturdays, and wednesdays, I love to indulge in Green Mill deep dish pizza.

Great stuff. Thing about me though is, I don't want dieting to turn into some full time job. It's far more easy for me to just not eat at all. I know I'm hungry. I feel hungry. But I just don't eat. When I do though I make sure it's healthy. I love vegies. All of them. I have a steamer that I use regular. I also cut way down on red meats and eat more pork, chicken and fish. I also go over the gym. Working out gives me a high like I was on drugs. I feel SOOO good after a work out. Nothing like it, not to mention all the calories it burns and the good heart pumping, sweat you build up. Diet and excersize, and anybody can lose weight. You just have to be dedicated.

[shattered]

Great stuff. Thing about me though is, I don't want dieting to turn into some full time job. It's far more easy for me to just not eat at all. I know I'm hungry. I feel hungry. But I just don't eat. When I do though I make sure it's healthy. I love vegies. All of them. I have a steamer that I use regular. I also cut way down on red meats and eat more pork, chicken and fish. I also go over the gym. Working out gives me a high like I was on drugs. I feel SOOO good after a work out. Nothing like it, not to mention all the calories it burns and the good heart pumping, sweat you build up. Diet and excersize, and anybody can lose weight. You just have to be dedicated.

Careful you don't just "not eat" for too long - eventually, you'll send your body into starvation mode, and it will store every single thing you put into it, because it doesn't know where it's next meal is coming from. Your metabolism kicks into gear when you feed it...

[Pale Rider]

Careful you don't just "not eat" for too long - eventually, you'll send your body into starvation mode, and it will store every single thing you put into it, because it doesn't know where it's next meal is coming from. Your metabolism kicks into gear when you feed it...

But it can only store it for so long, and then your body has to start burning those stores. That's why fasting is such a good way to diet. Your body burns the stored fat. I take vitamins and drink plenty of fluids, along with a reasonable amount of calorie intake. Works great for me.

[shattered]

But it can only store it for so long, and then your body has to start burning those stores. That's why fasting is such a good way to diet. Your body burns the stored fat. I take vitamins and drink plenty of fluids, along with a reasonable amount of calorie intake. Works great for me.

Psst.. Actually, it starts eating away at your muscles, before it eats away at the stored fat.. :)

[shattered]

BTW - Obviously, different things work for different people..thus my cringing when I see all the carbs people put into their bodies.. I'm just saying be careful.. I did a LOT of studying on this subject...

[Pale Rider]

Psst.. Actually, it starts eating away at your muscles, before it eats away at the stored fat.. :)

That's why I excersize. I keep my muscles growing.

[Said1]

BTW - Obviously, different things work for different people..thus my cringing when I see all the carbs people put into their bodies.. I'm just saying be careful.. I did a LOT of studying on this subject...

Carbs, we have a love hate relationship. But yes, cringe is accurate.

[Said1]

Psst.. Actually, it starts eating away at your muscles, before it eats away at the stored fat.. :)

Which won't return unless you re-build more. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that fat and muscle weigh the same, but I'm wondering if PR knows that fat takes up more room and is sooo much easier to restore than muscle.

Fasting is sooooo bad.

[Pale Rider]

I'm really hungry right now. I think I'll have a salad and a glass of wine.

[Pale Rider]

Which won't return unless you re-build more. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that fat and muscle weigh the same, but I'm wondering if PR knows that fat takes up more room and is sooo much easier to restore than muscle.

Fasting is sooooo bad.

I don't fast. But I don't eat as much either. And fat is not the same weight as muscle. Muscle far outweighs fat.

[Said1]

I don't fast. But I don't eat as much either. And fat is not the same weight as muscle. Muscle far outweighs fat.

Not much more - maybe half a pound. I guess it adds up in the end?

[shattered]

I don't fast. But I don't eat as much either. And fat is not the same weight as muscle. Muscle far outweighs fat.

She's right.. Muscle doesn't outweight fat *that* much.. BUT, in order to keep building it safely and properly, you have to consume enough protein for the workout you're putting yourself through. ...and you don't get protein by not eating, or eating mostly veggies. :D

[emmett]

I guess I feel really bad for you dieters cause I'm one of those folks who can eat anything and is never affected. I eat junk food, drink colas, a gallon of milk a day, etc,... I love big fat T-Bone steaks cook MR, I took a sip of a diet cola one time and almost puked.

I love extra butter (no subies), sour cream stuffed into my baked tater, I do eat lots of stir fried veggies. I weigh 182 pounds, winter I get up to 190 or so. Same weight today as 30 years ago.

Key: I stay active. I work my ass off.

We live in a world today where everything is easier. There are factors at work that we don't even see. Remote Controls, Automation, easy this easy that. We don't roll down our windows in the car anymore. We use spray guns instead of brushing, hell, we use electric toothbrushes. Everything in the damn world is geared to make us fatter. NO EXERCISE!

Children don't play army anymore, they play video games. Baseball fields have ivy growing on the backstop. You hardly ever see a kid running, hell, when I was a kid I ran everywhere. It got me there faster.

My point is that no one single above mentioned activity makes a big difference but humans are creatures of habit and these things combined over many years has made us a "fatter" society. Our kids are fat , dumb and lazy. Ask a kid to cut the grass nowadays. There are no paper routes for boys to run on their bikes. Go to a mall and look at the size of girls butts nowdays. They are huge! Huge!!!!! I remember when I was a kid there might have been one or two fat kids in the whole damn school. This child probably had a lwgitimate health problem which caused this. Today you "notice" the skinny kids.

Now I realise as we get older our metabolism changes and more effort to eat healthy and so forth is necessary but I also thik that our 20' and 30's fat folks are a direct result of our culture and technology. Robotics --fuey!!!

Imagine the millions of hours Americans sit in front of that damn computer your on right now. you could be dancing on the patio with your lover, mowing the grass, "throat clearing sound" ah......... having sex, cleaning, DO SOMETHING!!! If you are posting on this board 44 times a day and have a weight problem, well ah......................come on now!

This concludes this episode of "Thoughts from Emmett"

Bless Everybody!

[KitchenKitten99]

Ack. Most of that sounds like a carb crash to me.. there are some people that can't eat like that.. Carbs..sugar.. baaaaaaad. More protein. More veggies.

You also tend to burn fat a lot faster than carbs/sugar. Your body can only process protein, or carbs at one time - not both together.. Protein/fat burns a lot faster than starch/sugars...

I tell you one thing, when I first started weight watchers, the first week was hard because I did have to change my eating habits and learn to say no to certain things. Seriously though, after abou 7-8 days, it was much easier and now it is just habit. I didn't go through carb-crash because I do eat carbs. Bread, cereal (kix or special K vanilla almond), I love all dairy. Laughing Cow makes a light cheese that is like cream cheese but is only 35 calories per serving (it doesn't taste 'light'), great for bagels, which I eat 3-4 times a week for breakfast as well. .

I have been doing this for about 6 months now, and it is automatic for me. I do go off it every so often and eat like a bacon cheeseburger with a huge plate of waffle fries as I did last night. But then I know that today I need to eat lighter and make sure I get plenty of exercise to counteract my choice last night.

[Pale Rider]

She's right.. Muscle doesn't outweight fat *that* much.. BUT, in order to keep building it safely and properly, you have to consume enough protein for the workout you're putting yourself through. ...and you don't get protein by not eating, or eating mostly veggies. :D

I guess I may have given the wrong impression. I don't fast in the sense that I don't eat anything. I guess that's what fasting is and I shouldn't have said that. I do though cut back on how much I eat, and what I eat. No more pop, tatter chips and dip, ice cream, etc., or excess anything. Now I eat healthy and in smaller portions. And excersize.


If you work out, continued reliance on BMI may lead to demotivation, since the formula it employs will show an increase in your index number every time you gain a bit of muscle. Here's why: If you weigh equal volumes of fat and muscle, you'd discover that the muscle outweighs the fat by nearly double. So, an increase in muscle size from training would result in a BMI charting toward the unhealthy end of the margins.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1608/is_10_18/ai_91752407

[Nienna]

BTW - Obviously, different things work for different people..thus my cringing when I see all the carbs people put into their bodies.. I'm just saying be careful.. I did a LOT of studying on this subject...

I tried a low-carb diet for, I think, three days. I got incredibly sick. I'm like Emmett... I think people should eat what "sounds good" to them, when they are physically hungry, and STOP eating when they are satisfied, not stuffed. Also, get up & get moving. I read an article in Reader's Digest once about how many extra calories we could burn if we pretended we lived in 1950. Mix cakes by hand instead of with an electric mixer, hang clothes out to dry, WALK to the library instead of getting int he car, etc...

[Pale Rider]

I've lost seven pounds in the last two weeks. Feel great, and took up a notch on my belt. :dance:

[chum43]

first off this is one subject I don't claim to be an authority, but I too have done quite a bit of research on the subject and lost 120lbs in about 14 months time a few years ago so here is my take on some of these comments...

cutting out carbs is about the worst thing you can do for long term wait loss, the absence of carbs essentially dehydrates your body, carboHYDRATES are water carriers and without them you dehydrate your own cellular structure, thats where the initial weight comes off, and only maintaining a low carb lifestyle will keep that weight off, once you start eating carbs again you rehydrate your cells and there goes the weight, not to mention it's horribly unhealthy... the only reason it actually works for some people is because in our culture many of the unhealthiest and energy packed foods we guiltily consume are carb based, but cutting out carbs is an incredibly unsuccessful shortcut to simply not eating as many calories, the same and better effects would be had just eating less accross the board instead of in one area.

Everything doesn't work for everybody is a myth, it's a way to constantly sell diet plans and pills that don't work, there is in fact only one way to skin a cat when it comes to losing weight and being healthy. It's simply a combination of energy intake vs energy output and not poisoning yourself with processed foods and chemicals, but the two are seperate. You can lose weight without being healthy(unhealthy but more output than intake) and you can become more healthy while gaining weight(healthy but still more intake than output)... the problem with that is it takes work and discipline, and american people who end up fat, don't like that.

specific Diets and fads and pills and ridiculous exercise equipment and body part targeting exercese and all that not only doesn't work, they are specifically designed by companies in order to sell their product while maintaining a customer base for their next "innovation" when people lose faith or quit trying with the one they just sold you. It's a designed cycle, people buy a plan specifically designed to have the appearance of functionality and results only to backfire, mostly descized as the dieter failing themselves or simply the "well everything doesnt work for everybody" myth.

It's all very simple and easy if you just take the time to actually stick to it and get off your ass, the problem is we now live in a corporately designed dieting culture, we take pride in doing the next big thing in diets only to fail by design, it's how people like slimfast and atkins and nabisco always make money.

Don't get me started on advertising... Low sodium is about the only banner that really makes any sense, the rest of them you are better off with regular. It's nearly impossible nowadays to get anything that is sugar free that doesn't have fake sugar in it, which your body treats like sugar AND it's toxic. Fat free is only for people who eat way too much processed fatty fast food to begin with, the fat you would get from a normal reasonable diet is probably on the low side from what you should be getting, so if you actually benefit from anything that says low fat you have serious problems elsewhere to consider in the nutrition department. To be successful you really have to see the dieting culture for what it is, a big money making scam that is trying to keep you fat, and you have to learn to love foods in at least a semi-naturally occuring state and stop eating things that basically contain more ingredients that would resemble garbage if seperated from each other.

and fasting isn't such a bad idea in general, but not for losing weight, it's one of those great things you can do to flush out your body, but it's also weight neutral, unless you actually intend to starve, but that would only be for months and months of fasting and that is terrible for you..

there, my opinion on dieting and losing weight in a rather large nutshell.