Is anyone resigned?

[staci]

Wow, I went out to get groceries and came back to all these interesting posts!

40 something, I think you completely missed my point--what I was trying to say is that sometimes dieting in itself is much unhealthier than being overweight.

I also don't agree with you that being overweight is almost always a result of poor eating habits and lack of adequate exercise. Nor do I agree with your statement you can change if you want to. It's not simple will power that makes a person lose weight or lack thereof that makes a person gain weight.

Being overweight is about so much more than just eating and exercise. Overweight is a symptom of something else. What that something is depends on the individual--sometimes it's a lack of self esteem, sometimes it's eating to avoid feeling difficult emotions...and so many more reasons. I could go on, but if you or anyone else really wants to know more, there is a ton of information out there so you don't need me to preach. A good place to start would be reading the book, You Count, Calories don't.

I'm just advocating another view here, and while I realize you perhaps didn't mean to scold me, you do seem a bit judgemental. I'm not making excuses for anything, and I'm pretty comfortable with what I'm telling myself.

Staci

 

[40something]

hmmmm...I see I am apparently stepping on toes so I will gracefully bow out of this conversation. Peace to you both.

 

[clareMc]

Danna:

"Not giving up on the trying, just the negative opinions and ridiculous standards of performance. "

I salute you and support you wholeheartedly. You go girl!

Clare

 

[Carol_is_fit]

I agree with you A-Jock!! It was liberating the day I stopped stepping on the scale to "check and make sure" I hadn't gained back any of the weight I lost. All I really have to do is be honest about what I put in my mouth, and how much effort and time I put into my workouts, and the jeans fit the same now as they did in October! It's so uncomplicated it's almost sinful.

I'm an RN so I can understand what 40something is saying about studies and heart disease and diabetes being linked to obesity, but I agree a person's scale weight does not tell the entire picture. The weight charts were readjusted quite a few years ago, because the old ones were based on the insurance industry's actuary tables, and were not considered "accurate". The new ones aren't much better, IMHO. As you said, they don't tell the whole story. When I made my WW goal in October, I still weighed what would be considered the top end of my so-called "healthy" weight according to the charts, and yet I'm in a comfortable size 6, and I bet I can lift more weight than some very thin person with no muscle mass who weighs in at the low end of my "healthy" weight range! LOL!! Guess which one I'd rather be? }( Oh, and my lab values are great too, which means my cardiovascular system is reaping the benefits of all those Cathe workouts!! That doesn't always tell the whole story either, because genetics play a big part there ... but that's the subject of another thread ... LOL!

You are always the voice of reason and logic on here, and I'm so happy when I read your posts!!

Carol

 

[Carol_is_fit]

I think I understand what you're saying Staci. You're talking about yo-yo dieting I believe? And yes, it's VERY unhealthy in the long run. There are plenty of medical studies to prove that.

I also agree people who chronically over eat are sometimes doing so for unconscious reasons. We keep up bad habits to fill a need. Food is a big comfort for most people. We grew up with mothers and grandmothers - God bless them - who honestly believed that food would "cure" things. We grew up in households where the family still sat down to dinner in the evenings. At most social occasions, food is still the main event. It's all around us, and it's difficult to avoid. So are the fast food restaurants, and the pre-packaged foods, and the convenience foods, and the vending machines full of processed foods and chocolate. We're all so busy these days that yes ... it's much "easier" to grab a Big Mac and fries than to spend time making a healthy meal. Losing weight takes time, it takes commitment, and it takes endurance. Finding out WHY you overate and gained so much weight in the first place takes a lot more than that. It takes honesty - with yourself first - and it takes a great deal of introspection and insight.

Carol

 

[Aquajock]

Hi, Carol! Thanks again for your kind words.

Your comments about the whole scale-weight issue make me think of my rant from last Friday "Physician Heal Thyself", about the lack of training in exercise physiology in most, if not all, medical schools. I think the old school height-weight charts, and their newfangled country cousin the "Body Mass Index" (which to me is the same old baloney with a different skin on it) simply presume that a person doesn't have much muscle. And far too many decisions (including insurance rates) are based on a person's scale weight.

I'm acquainted with an attorney who wants to get in the FBI. She's slaughtered all of the other requirements and kicks butt at the gym - very, very strong and fit - but she couldn't "make weight" and was told to come back when she was under X poundage.

My vitals are through the roof: 118/67 blood pressure, 45-bpm resting heart rate, muscles all over the place, great blood work and oxygen uptake, yadda yadda yadda. Given all of that, and given the fact that I've probably slapped on a good 5 lbs of muscle over the past year and still slide very easily into a size 0 skirt/jeans, you think I give a (*&^ what the scale says?

A-Jock

 

[nancy324]

You make a lot of sense to me, Lynda! I think you're on the right track!