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Being fat is a trap

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Re: Being fat is a trap

#91

Post by dgfitz »

flkiwi wrote: post #43
atrus wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Put another way, there are plenty of situations where all the mental fortitude, discipline, self-honesty, commitment to change, and persistence won't be enough in the face of it simply being difficult to find time, space, or money to be healthy. If that was true, then literally everyone would be fat in your area. You can learn to cook, you have room for bodyweight exercises. You don't need equipment to feel really…

That's quite a leap. Some people enjoy gyms. Some people run at 3am. Some people have bigger houses. And yet, our area has much higher obesity rates than average. It also doesn't address the larger point that _it doesn't have to be this hard_.

Rome wasn’t built in a day and all that. Maybe set 1 goal a week, or a month even, and then add to them.

For example, only drink water. It’s all the body needs for hydration anyways. No soda, diet soda, alcohol, slurpees, etc. Black coffee if you enjoy a cuppa in the morning, no sugar. (Good black coffee is such a joy)

Then set a rule about only eating 3 meals a day, however you define meal. No snacks in between.

Losing weight, even accounting for hormones, really is a diet thing. Exercise daily burns like… 100-300 calories, which is a small fraction of basal metabolic rate for a grown human.

Re: Being fat is a trap

#92

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

SonOfLilit wrote: post #35

I have extremely lucky genes and have managed to stay just within the green BMI range despite eating all the carbs and fats you can imagine and at times consuming 200-300g of milk chocolate a day. Some of my friends are obese despite exercising heavily every day. Finding ways you enjoy to keep an active lifestyle is a great idea, probably the highest impact thing you can do for your long term well being (for people i…

The new drugs work; just not for everyone. Some folks won't react well to the drugs. For others, there's no reaction, but they don't affect their cravings.

I have several friends that have had miraculous weight loss, as a result of Ozempic.

Re: Being fat is a trap

#93

Post by gruez »

SonOfLilit wrote: post #35

I have extremely lucky genes and have managed to stay just within the green BMI range despite eating all the carbs and fats you can imagine and at times consuming 200-300g of milk chocolate a day. Some of my friends are obese despite exercising heavily every day. Finding ways you enjoy to keep an active lifestyle is a great idea, probably the highest impact thing you can do for your long term well being (for people i…

>I have extremely lucky genes and have managed to stay just within the green BMI range despite eating all the carbs and fats you can imagine and at times consuming 200-300g of milk chocolate a day.

>Some of my friends are obese despite exercising heavily every day.

An often overlooked factor is how much snacking is done. If you eat "all the carbs and fats", but they're contained to a single meal a few times a week, and the portions are reasonable (ie. you're not stuffing yourself every meal), that has far less caloric impact than someone eating "salad" everyday, but loaded with dressing and snacking voraciously on the side.

Re: Being fat is a trap

#94

Post by Telemakhos »

flkiwi wrote: post #18

Ok, but there's also an environmental (and one completely reasonable mental) factor: I live in a place where it is unpleasantly hot (upper 90s and humid) most of the year and there are few public outdoor spaces generally thanks to rampant overdevelopment, I hate gyms and toxic gym culture, I have a quaint bungalow that doesn't have space for equipment, I work an intense job that keeps me focused for hours at a time,…

> Put another way, there are plenty of situations where all the mental fortitude, discipline, self-honesty, commitment to change, and persistence won't be enough in the face of it simply being difficult to find time, space, or money to be healthy.

This isn't what you want to hear, but "mental fortitude, discipline, self-honesty, commitment to change, and persistence" are not things that are supposed to be defeated by "it simply being difficult." In fact, some of them (especially "fortitude" and "commitment") strongly imply that the circumstances in which they are applied should be difficult.

If you're somewhere hot and humid (I used to live in Florida, so I understand) or have a job that keeps you in a chair all day, go for long walks around four or five in the morning: you'll avoid the heat and feel ready for your morning work.

If you hate toxic gym culture, look into different gym cultures. The US gym chain "Planet Fitness" makes a big deal about explicitly rejecting gym-bro culture in order to foster a more inclusive environment.

Consider, however, that gym-bro culture might exist for a reason other than simple jackassery: people stick with something difficult when they undertake it with friends, and they have more fun doing boring things when they do them with friends. If you start going to a gym with a friend or group of friends, you might find that you enjoy it more and that the difficulties you describe become easier.

Re: Being fat is a trap

#95

Post by tejohnso »

flkiwi wrote: post #18

Ok, but there's also an environmental (and one completely reasonable mental) factor: I live in a place where it is unpleasantly hot (upper 90s and humid) most of the year and there are few public outdoor spaces generally thanks to rampant overdevelopment, I hate gyms and toxic gym culture, I have a quaint bungalow that doesn't have space for equipment, I work an intense job that keeps me focused for hours at a time,…

Yes, trying to live a healthy lifestyle is definitely an uphill battle in many (probably most) areas. I think the part the pisses me off the most is when I'm trying hard to get my kid to eat well, and he suddenly has to deal with a chocolate craving because of a commercial he saw on television. Or some parent yells out "Who wants ice cream!?" after soccer, at 8pm, when he's supposed to be sleeping an our later.

What is "toxic gym culture" though? I've been to gyms off and on for months at a time in different cities (and countries) and all I see are people trying to become stronger, or lose weight, usually with headphones on minding their own business.

Re: Being fat is a trap

#96

Post by knighthack »

timcobb wrote: post #44

> but you have the choice to step out of the fat trap. People should also talk about the volition trap. I'm 40 and it feels like I've had more than a life's worth of people talking about how "you can do it if you just try!" > ... advertising signs that con / you into thinking you can do what's never been done / meantime life goes on all around you The sheer scope of the obesity pandemic should make it clear that we a…

[flagged]

Re: Being fat is a trap

#97

Post by cubefox »

dkarl wrote: post #34

Some people are going to ding him for including exercise, and it's true that the physical calorie expenditure of exercise won't achieve much for weight loss unless you make cycling a major hobby. However, I think exercise goes a long way towards loosening the mental trap. It helps you build an identity as a healthy person, it relieves the guilt about not taking care of yourself, and it takes the edge off of emotions…

Exercise is also something you can "get into". For example, you force yourself to go to the gym a few times, or to go running a few times. And then you start beating your previous records, at which point you get more ambitious. You try to research the best supplements on the web, or the best pull-up bar for at home, and before you know it, you are transforming into a "gym bro" without previously intending to. It's remarkably easy to get into various obsessions, even if they are entirely healthy.

Re: Being fat is a trap

#98

Post by andrew_lettuce »

ericmay wrote: post #60
flkiwi wrote: post #18

Ok, but there's also an environmental (and one completely reasonable mental) factor: I live in a place where it is unpleasantly hot (upper 90s and humid) most of the year and there are few public outdoor spaces generally thanks to rampant overdevelopment, I hate gyms and toxic gym culture, I have a quaint bungalow that doesn't have space for equipment, I work an intense job that keeps me focused for hours at a time,…

> I live in a place where it is unpleasantly hot (upper 90s and humid) Work out in the early morning or late evening? > I hate gyms and toxic gym culture Stop hating gyms. Stop over-analyzing "toxic gym culture". Get off social media because that's the only place this exists. Nobody in the gym cares about you or what you're doing as long as you aren't harming someone else, breaking equipment, etc. > I have a quaint b…

You overly discount the intimidation of gyms, but I agree you can definitely find one that works for you. They range from young & beautiful to very specialized and accepting. I suggest you try a community run or neighborhood (doesn't have to be your neighborhood!) as these tend to be very low key, and probably significantly cheaper.

Motivation for gym work can be a huge problem; what suggestions do people have for that?

Re: Being fat is a trap

#99

Post by zekethefreak »

I've been overweight and obese for most of my life, and on several occasion i've managed to lose a bunch of weight through diet and excersice, but always ended up regaining it a year or two later. Finally at 40 i got a health scare, heart arrythmia, and i decided to try again. I found a pretty good nutritionist that emphasized 'relearning' to eat over just an efficient weight loss diet. That was the key, and that i managed to modify my environment by buying 95% unprocessed foods and never keeping more than a very small stock of cheat meals. Here in Argentina we still have a lot of options to buy meat and vegetables fairly cheap and accessible, outside of the supermarkets. That said, the first two years after i lost most of the weight were harsh, not so much because of keeping eating healthy, which happily took less and less effort each month, but because of 'not recognizing myself in the mirror' after 25kgs gone. I started questioning if i needed to keep changing things, like breaking up my marriage for example, or changing careers. And i still have a recurring nightmare where i wake up and i'm 115kgs again. So i can totally relate with the 'fat trap' concept, even though i haven't been 'fat' for close to 5 years now. Great article!

Re: Being fat is a trap

#100

Post by ShrugLife »

Something that's really helped me work with my body weight and my own self-image is intuitive eating, an "anti-diet" approach I was introduced to by my registered dietician. Essentially, it's about recognizing when my body is hungry and being more accepting of who I am. My weight hasn't changed much, but there has been a much more marked improvement in my mental state. It feels much better than when I was tracking calories using a food scale and app (basically going into starvation via calorie deficit).

https://www.intuitiveeating.org/about-us/10-principles-of-in... https://www.health.harvard.edu/nutrition/feeding-body-and-so... https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/quick-guide-intuitive-e...

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