Losing weight why is it so hard for so many people?

[jixmixfix]

I believe people make losing weight harder than it actually is, I've been able to lose a lot of weight by eating right and doing a doing cardio routine maybe 2-3 times a week? It doesn't take a rocket science book to figure this out. Chances are if it tastes nasty and green and makes you fart, it's probably pretty damn good for you, gobble that shit up.

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

If you didn't experience a struggle eating right and sticking to an exercise routine, that's great and I'm glad for you. But that's not going to be everyone's experience. Some people can quit smoking cold turkey on their first try, too. But that doesn't mean everyone who can't just isn't trying.

 

[Randomnity]

hmm I wonder if it's because different people have really different body physiology and metabolism and appetites.

Nahhh that's crazy talk, fat people must just be unaware of the benefits of dieting and exercise!

 

[jixmixfix]

hmm I wonder if it's because different people have really different body physiology and metabolism and appetites.

Nahhh that's crazy talk, fat people must just be unaware of the benefits of dieting and exercise!

The food out there is just bad and metabolism can also be trained but if you look at other parts of the world people aren't as fat as in western culture that says something about our environment.

 

[Rasofy]

hmm I wonder if it's because different people have really different body physiology and metabolism and appetites.

lol, wtf did you smoke?

Nahhh that's crazy talk, fat people must just be unaware of the benefits of dieting and exercise!

 

[Ginkgo]

I believe people make losing weight harder than it actually is, I've been able to lose a lot of weight by eating right and doing a doing cardio routine maybe 2-3 times a week? It doesn't take a rocket science book to figure this out. Chances are if it tastes nasty and green and makes you fart, it's probably pretty damn good for you, gobble that shit up.

I think it's largely because their priority is to make excuses instead of losing weight.

 

[FDG]

You're talking like that either because your starting weigth was not that large, or because you didn't lose that much weight (probably still hovering >12% body fat).

 

[Aquarelle]

It's a willpower thing for me. Now, I don't really NEED to lose weight, but like a lot of people I'd like to lose just a few pounds. I have really good streaks where I exercise nearly every day and stick to a pretty good diet... but after awhile one of two things happen: 1) Life gets in the way (holidays, travel, issues at home, etc) and I lose my momentum, or 2) I don't see any results, get discouraged, and lose motivation to keep it up.

 

[Chaotic Harmony]

Golly gee, perhaps its other issues that hinder a person's weight loss. A friend of mine eats healthier than just about anyone I know, and she still struggles. She has a pituitary tumor and has to seriously watch what she eats because of it. Even eating a lot of salads, completely gluten free, and a vegan lifestyle, she still struggles to lose weight. Oh and she does about 30-45 minutes of cardio/aerobics a day. It's not just that easy for some people.

 

[Orangey]

Yeah, I don't know. It's not too hard to do...I've witnessed immediate family members lose significant amounts of weight (40+ lbs) and keep it off for years without much effort. Mostly they just had calorie restrictions (not too crazy, but they did restrict), did light cardio daily, and kept track with a HRM and food log. Of course, none of them had medical issues to interfere, so it goes without saying that this doesn't apply to people with such exceptions.

That said, I've seen a few folks who tried to go from sedentary/obese to super athlete in too short a time, and yeah, they appeared to be working hard, but they weren't seeing a lot of results. Mostly because of increased appetite from over-exercising for their fitness level and weight, and early burnout from the unnecessary intensity and time commitment required of that kind of regimen. There's no reason to do, say, the P90X when you're an obese man unless you've got a lot of willpower...and even then, at that point it would be more about testing your stubbornness than effectively losing weight, which can be done with much less effort.

 

[KDude]

There's a lot to "relearn" when it comes to dieting. It's too bad that it mostly falls on the person eating to prepare their own meals. If they could just not think about all of that shit, and just eat, then they'd lose weight in no time (I mean, if they had a nutritious cook at home, or if the supply side of the food industry was safer, as a rule).

The other part of the equation is getting some exercise. That's a no brainer. If you're not doing it, it's your fault. I say this when it comes to myself too btw. I enjoy being lazy. But we all need at least walk more. It doesn't take much.

 

[miss fortune]

of course there's always the option that their taste buds are programmed to hate healthy food as well... convincing the man that fresh, as opposed to canned, vegetables were a good thing was like pulling hen's teeth at first (I didn't grow up with money, but I DID grow up with 3 acres of garden, which is kind of a blessing as far as tastes in food go!)

He has lost around 30 lbs over the past month or so thanks to the fact that he's really been watching what he eats and is using me to keep him accountable as well, but this isn't his first time of trying by any means... the whole thing about changing so many aspects of one's life is difficult for a lot of people... they get in their ruts and change seems like too much of an effort

so, to reiterate what others have said, that's nice for you, but you aren't everybody

 

[The Ü™]

It's not that healthy foods taste bad, it's that they have no flavor until you dip them in ranch dressing or put them on a cheeseburger. Who the hell wants to eat food with no flavor?

That coupled with the fact that exercise is downright painful the first few weeks you start and remains uncomfortable after that discourages many people from following through on it.

 

[miss fortune]

of course on another note, quite a bit of it comes down to build as well... my sis can't put on weight even if she eats pounds and pounds of bacon on a daily basis, I can put on some weight, but primarily tend to build muscles every time I look at work instead (which can really skew a person's BMI scores try being 5'3", 155 lbs and wearing size 6 jeans!)... I lose weight easily, but that goes with the build...

boyfriend and several family members and friends can put on weight by driving past McDonalds without even stopping and have to work quite a bit harder to lose the weight, though he puts on muscles better than my sis

so yeah, it's easier for some people, but not for everyone!

 

[/DG/]

First, I want to say that yes, a big issue is that we now lead more sedentary lifestyles and there is an overabundance of unhealthy foods in society. HOWEVER, I'd like to point out something that many people do not know. I even made some pretty MS Paint pictures to illustrate my point.

Here you are, you're a normal weight. This is a sample of your fat cells. They're just being cool and chillaxing.

Oops! You got fat. Maybe you're getting a bit older and your metabolism has slowed down. Perhaps you just tend to overdo it on the desserts while you just have a desk job where you sit on your butt for hours. You aren't a teenager anymore, so you aren't outside playing football or running on the track team anymore. Look what happened. Your fat cells increased in size. However, they can only increase in size so much until new cells must be created.

You decide that you really need to get in shape, so you do the right thing. With proper diet and exercise, you did it! You're back to your original weight. However, something is different. If you compare this image to the first, you'll notice that your fat cells are taking up the same amount of area (or volume IRL) as in the first picture. However, you still have the same number of fat cells as when you were overweight! In order for you to be the same weight you were originally, your fat cells are now a bit more "deflated" that what you started with. Also, from what I understand (this might be incorrect), this little bastards don't like their small size. They can very easily balloon back up again.

No matter how much exercise you do, your body will not rid itself of these extra fat cells. The number of fat cells you have can only increase (I'm not counting liposuction or if you get a limb hacked off).

So you see...if you were never fat to begin with, you are at an advantage. However, it is much harder to remain at a normal weight if you were once fat. This is especially true if the weight is lost quickly, as on the show Biggest Loser. If you notice, many of the people on that show end up gaining the weight back. I don't claim to be an expert on the subject, but for some reason it's easier to keep off weight if you lose it slowly over time.



It's a shame more people don't know this.



*edit* I just did some research (translation: Googling) and found that this is apparently that some studies have found that this is not the case in some lucky individuals. In some people, the number of fat cells does not increase, so they have an easier time losing weight and keeping it off than those who unfortunately have an increase in fat cell number. Also, I've found other things that say whether or not you will have an increase in the number of fat cells is actually dependent on different locations of your body.

 

[Aquarelle]

First, I want to say that yes, a big issue is that we now lead more sedentary lifestyles and there is an overabundance of unhealthy foods in society. HOWEVER, I'd like to point out something that many people do not know. I even made some pretty MS Paint pictures to illustrate my point.

Here you are, you're a normal weight. This is a sample of your fat cells. They're just being cool and chillaxing.

Oops! You got fat. Maybe you're getting a bit older and your metabolism has slowed down. Perhaps you just tend to overdo it on the desserts while you just have a desk job where you sit on your butt for hours. You aren't a teenager anymore, so you aren't outside playing football or running on the track team anymore. Look what happened. Your fat cells increased in size. However, they can only increase in size so much until new cells must be created.

You decide that you really need to get in shape, so you do the right thing. With proper diet and exercise, you did it! You're back to your original weight. However, something is different. If you compare this image to the first, you'll notice that your fat cells are taking up the same amount of area (or volume IRL) as in the first picture. However, you still have the same number of fat cells as when you were overweight! In order for you to be the same weight you were originally, your fat cells are now a bit more "deflated" that what you started with. Also, from what I understand (this might be incorrect), this little bastards don't like their small size. They can very easily balloon back up again.

No matter how much exercise you do, your body will not rid itself of these extra fat cells. The number of fat cells you have can only increase (I'm not counting liposuction or if you get a limb hacked off).

So you see...if you were never fat to begin with, you are at an advantage. However, it is much harder to remain at a normal weight if you were once fat. This is especially true if the weight is lost quickly, as on the show Biggest Loser. If you notice, many of the people on that show end up gaining the weight back. I don't claim to be an expert on the subject, but for some reason it's easier to keep off weight if you lose it slowly over time.



It's a shame more people don't know this.

This is really fascinating and explains a lot. And I did not know it, and hit is a shame that more people don't. Thanks for enlightening me!

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

DisneyGeek, your example is frightening. Whenever I see this explained though, it makes me wonder why liposuction is not more often recommended in conjunction with or instead of the lap band or other surgical weight loss methods. By reducing the number of fat cells, liposuction would seem to offer a better long term chance for success than the other surgical methods. Given an equal amount of post-surgical effort it would logically offer the best results.

I'm not an expert, but liposuction strikes me as a more complicated surgery. Still, that can't really explain the disparity.

 

[/DG/]

This is really fascinating and explains a lot. And I did not know it, and hit is a shame that more people don't. Thanks for enlightening me!

It's strange in that I've taken several biology and anatomy/physiology classes, yet I did not learn this in any of them. Oddly enough, I learned it in a psychology class (which is also where I first learned in bit more in depth about neurons!). This might give some people the excuse to call what I've written a load of bunk, but the evidence is still out there! Perhaps it is not widely known because it is a subject that needs more research.

Here is an article that Wikipedia cites for the above.

 

[/DG/]

DisneyGeek, your example is frightening. Whenever I see this explained though, it makes me wonder why liposuction is not more often recommended in conjunction with or instead of the lap band or other surgical weight loss methods. By reducing the number of fat cells, liposuction would seem to offer a better long term chance for success than the other surgical methods. Given an equal amount of post-surgical effort it would logically offer the best results.

I'm not an expert, but liposuction strikes me as a more complicated surgery. Still, that can't really explain the disparity.

Again, I'm no scientist, but here are my guesses:

1. While you might look better after receiving liposuction, it would appear that liposuction is only the removal of bits of your subcutaneous fat layer (fat layer just beneath your skin). From what I can tell, this type of fat isn't really harmful to you, just unsightly.
2. The fat that endangers you is your abdominal fat (fat inside your abdomen surrounding your organs) and and especially fat inside of your blood vessels (think high LDL cholesterol, plaques). I see no way to easily remove these that wouldn't be somewhat dangerous.

Liposuction doesn't make your healthier. It only appears so.

 

[Thalassa]

Because they aren't active enough and eat too much high fructose corn syrup and other simple sugars.

Rats given HFCS water gained 4 times as much weight as rats given sugar water in one Princeton experiment. It's bad for you, it's bad for your metabolism.

You also can't balance out CONSTANT sitting with one 30 minute leisurely walk per day.

Television: it lowers your metabolism to a level that you actually burn LESS calories than you would reading a book or staring at a wall.

People who have more muscle burn more calories, people who are more active burn more calories, and HFCS will make you fat.