Why are we fat????
A topic I was reading on the Lap band Grads board made me start thinking about obesity and how much of it is genes and how much is learned behavior.
I'm not saying that obesity isn't genetic. I was thinking that the combination of the "fat gene" and learned behavior is a double whammy that most of us were defenseless against. It's just like serial killers. They say serial killers are a perfect storm of abnormalities in the brain chemistry and childhood abuse and neglect. These two things can make a serial killer.
I think the predisposition to obesity and environment = equals fat adults.
*****I am by no means blaming parents. They are no more the blame than we are to our own kids. But I would have done thing differently with my kid I if I knew then what I know now.
Here's what I was thinking. If you're a fly on the wall of a family of slender people the first thing you will notice is in most cases they are active. They eat healthy and have healthy attitudes towards food. I'm not saying they don't eat bad foods...they don't over do it. Then think back to your family. I know my mom and dad were usually on the couch watching TV. They never did much if any physical activity. We ate lots of fast food...or my mom would make really fattening treats.
Fast forward 20 years and I'm doing the same thing. Watching TV and eating fast food. That can't be a coincidence. I am thinking that if you change your lifestyle and eat right and be active you have a chance of being a good influence on your kids (or future kids). If your kids have a predisposition to obesity then it's very important to show them good foods to eat and make them be active. I am wondering if my parents (who would still pass on the fat gene to me) adapted healthy life styles and ate healthy foods....you know they would be in the yard gardening instead of watching TV or biking to the park instead of taking a nap....or eating grilled chicken and salad instead of KFC. would I be having weight issues. My learned behavior would be different...my attitudes different....my memories connected to food would be different....my lifestyle different. Would I be trying to lose 200 lbs. Would I be fighting against obesity???
I am wondering how much of our problem is genetics and how much is environment.
Very thoughtful---appreciate your posts alot. I think this is a disease of "addiction" and when I work with it that way I stay focused on what I need to do. And addiction is proven to run in families both genetic and learned. My drug of choice has always been food---more socially acceptable for a woman.
Harmony
Harmony
I also think food is an addiction for some people. A really tough addiction, because of course you have to eat. My thinking is yes, you have to eat, but you don't have to eat high fat, high carb foods to survive. I lost the weight but cutting those foods out altogether. The only "cheating" I did was overdoing nuts and/or cheese on occassion.
That being said, I have struggled since going into maintaince phase. While loosing I told myself I would never eat certain foods (cake, pizza, fried foods et...) However that hasn't proven to be the case. I bounce back and forth between really good days and really bad days. I know I need to strike a better balance. I am doing great with excersise, working out with a trainer for weights and jogging on the treadmill.
I agree totally that obesity is a matter of genetics and environment. I think many things are a matter of being predisposed to it, and then environmental factors causing it to "kick in". Things like autism and lung cancer come to mind. Thanks for the thought provoking post. Best wishes!
That being said, I have struggled since going into maintaince phase. While loosing I told myself I would never eat certain foods (cake, pizza, fried foods et...) However that hasn't proven to be the case. I bounce back and forth between really good days and really bad days. I know I need to strike a better balance. I am doing great with excersise, working out with a trainer for weights and jogging on the treadmill.
I agree totally that obesity is a matter of genetics and environment. I think many things are a matter of being predisposed to it, and then environmental factors causing it to "kick in". Things like autism and lung cancer come to mind. Thanks for the thought provoking post. Best wishes!
I grew up in family of slender people. We never ate fast food (there really wasn't any when I was growing up) and my mother cooked an excellent meal every night. My parents never watched TV until 11:30 at night. I'm the only one with a weight problem. While I was not obese until college (thank you seasonal affective disorder), I always had to watch my weight.
They say that it only takes being 1% off in the realm of body chemistry and eating to eventually be 100 pounds overweight. And that we are faced with 200 eating choices each day.
I think that many of us don't have the same sense of fullness that a "normal" person does. When you get a lapband, the decision is made based on the size of your stomach, not the size of your body. Thus, a person who is 100 pounds overweight could end up with a large band and a person who is 200 pounds overweight could end up with a small band.
I pin the responsibility for my weight problems on several things, seasonal affective disorder with its accompanying craving for sweets and carbs (for four to five months every year, that's all I want to eat), an undiagnosed thyroid problem that in retropect went on for 6 to 8 years and numerous injuries and surgeries and have kept me from exercising periodically over the years.
From February or March through the end of October, I have no problems eating correctly. When you combine that with correct thyroid levels and the ability to exercise, I can lose weight. November to February is a real battle not to gain a chunk of change.
In my next life, I'm going to have no seasonal affective disorder, no thyroid problems and a perfect skeletal system.
They say that it only takes being 1% off in the realm of body chemistry and eating to eventually be 100 pounds overweight. And that we are faced with 200 eating choices each day.
I think that many of us don't have the same sense of fullness that a "normal" person does. When you get a lapband, the decision is made based on the size of your stomach, not the size of your body. Thus, a person who is 100 pounds overweight could end up with a large band and a person who is 200 pounds overweight could end up with a small band.
I pin the responsibility for my weight problems on several things, seasonal affective disorder with its accompanying craving for sweets and carbs (for four to five months every year, that's all I want to eat), an undiagnosed thyroid problem that in retropect went on for 6 to 8 years and numerous injuries and surgeries and have kept me from exercising periodically over the years.
From February or March through the end of October, I have no problems eating correctly. When you combine that with correct thyroid levels and the ability to exercise, I can lose weight. November to February is a real battle not to gain a chunk of change.
In my next life, I'm going to have no seasonal affective disorder, no thyroid problems and a perfect skeletal system.
I have three children. 2 are adults and 1 is still at home at 14 years old.
The two oldest were born when I was 21 and idealistic. We didnt own a car, we walked everyehere, even a few miles to catch a bus some where further ( live in a county that doesnt have mass transportation like a city would, in terms of how often or how many stops there are) When I say we walked every where, I mean it. Five miles one way to therapy or three miles one way to the market then home with what ever Ive purchased. Laundry at the laundrimat. etc.
I was what I call "a granola head". We only ate as unprocessed a food as possible. I was part of a health food co-op and my oldest never had candy/cane sugar/soda et****il he was four.A man tried to give him a hard candy and he was supicious of it and wouldnt eat it. I would take juice and add seltzer for soda, they ate unprocessed oats with applesauce etc.
My youngest was raised eating candy with her father at 7 pm every night in his easy chair. She has to be made to eat during depression and made to stop eating during happiness. She has often had long spans of serious underweight.
Shawn, 24 is getting fluffy as an adult and has always been square built...I dont mean over weight, I mean he was built like a brick, I dont know his BMI. He is laid back and very calm person.
Samantha, 22, is still a size 2-4 and eats what she wants, though basically healthy, and in normal portions. She has always been an elf of a person. BMI approx 21-22. She has an anxiety disorder and is an over acheiver.
Elizabeth, the youngest, is thin and in normal range also BMI of 19. She has always struggled with weight and was at one point having intervention for being underweight and not eating.She has Bipolar and Aspergers.
I personally feel its a large part genetics and body chemistry and a small part of behavioral teaching or environment.
I think the key is "why do I over eat" or "why does this food cause a reaction in me that may not happen in my sister".
The two oldest were born when I was 21 and idealistic. We didnt own a car, we walked everyehere, even a few miles to catch a bus some where further ( live in a county that doesnt have mass transportation like a city would, in terms of how often or how many stops there are) When I say we walked every where, I mean it. Five miles one way to therapy or three miles one way to the market then home with what ever Ive purchased. Laundry at the laundrimat. etc.
I was what I call "a granola head". We only ate as unprocessed a food as possible. I was part of a health food co-op and my oldest never had candy/cane sugar/soda et****il he was four.A man tried to give him a hard candy and he was supicious of it and wouldnt eat it. I would take juice and add seltzer for soda, they ate unprocessed oats with applesauce etc.
My youngest was raised eating candy with her father at 7 pm every night in his easy chair. She has to be made to eat during depression and made to stop eating during happiness. She has often had long spans of serious underweight.
Shawn, 24 is getting fluffy as an adult and has always been square built...I dont mean over weight, I mean he was built like a brick, I dont know his BMI. He is laid back and very calm person.
Samantha, 22, is still a size 2-4 and eats what she wants, though basically healthy, and in normal portions. She has always been an elf of a person. BMI approx 21-22. She has an anxiety disorder and is an over acheiver.
Elizabeth, the youngest, is thin and in normal range also BMI of 19. She has always struggled with weight and was at one point having intervention for being underweight and not eating.She has Bipolar and Aspergers.
I personally feel its a large part genetics and body chemistry and a small part of behavioral teaching or environment.
I think the key is "why do I over eat" or "why does this food cause a reaction in me that may not happen in my sister".
Thanks for asking Melly. I started having problems a little over a year out which resulted in a total unfill and the acquisition of soft food syndrome and some bad eating habits, along with the regaining of all my weight. Last summer after losing 20 pounds, I started a long series of problems -- overnight total loss of hearing in my left ear, 2 courses of prednisone, 4 injuries, 2 months of vertigo, and recently, 3 surgeries within 6 1/2 weeks. Along with this came a weight gain of 30 pounds.
The good news is that I returned to Curves today after almost a year's absence. Today was the first day I was permitted to do so by my doctor. I had a fill two weeks ago and am back on track with eating. So now the journey begins again. While I can never achieve the fill level that I once did, (a couple of years of tracking indicates that once I go above 5 cc's, problems start), I am now at a level that curbs my apetite.
So wish me luck, 'cause I'm four years older than when I first started and still several pounds heavier.
The good news is that I returned to Curves today after almost a year's absence. Today was the first day I was permitted to do so by my doctor. I had a fill two weeks ago and am back on track with eating. So now the journey begins again. While I can never achieve the fill level that I once did, (a couple of years of tracking indicates that once I go above 5 cc's, problems start), I am now at a level that curbs my apetite.
So wish me luck, 'cause I'm four years older than when I first started and still several pounds heavier.
(deactivated member)
on 5/31/11 1:05 am
on 5/31/11 1:05 am
Great topic! I have lots of opinions on the matter : ) Sorry, this is pretty long!
For me, I think it is more about activity -- or lack there of. It certainly isn't so much the food.
I grew up on a farm and we were all very active from morning till night and my body got used to that level of activity. I was never very much overweight as a child, maybe just a smidgen in looking at old pictures. I had a lot of muscle mass. By age 10 I could carry and stack a whole trailer of 45-60lb hay/straw bales and each summer I worked to load, unload, and stack about 100 cords of wood, more if we sold more to customers. Looking back, if I had to do all that today, it would be HARD work! But I remember liking it -- some of my fondest memories involve times when we worked hard together on projects.
There wasn't much opportunity for fast food or store bought treats like ice cream, chips and pop. To this day I still think of those things as rare treats and really enjoy them when I have some. (But I do have to be extra careful off bbq chips because even now, I will keep going back to the back 10 times to eat the whole thing and same thing with good quality ice cream) Growing up we ate calorie rich foods -- all the stuff that people cringe over today because it's been labeled as so bad for us. We made our own lard, kept a grease can on the stove and used liberal dabs of it to fry potatoes and eggs. We ate white potatoes twice a day, every day and white flour biscuits. My mom made an apple dessert that had so much sugar in it you could feel it grit between your teeth. Our portions were large too. A typically breakfast was 2 fried eggs, 2 biscuits with butter and jelly, fried potatoes and sausage/ham/bacon. I would eat a whole dinner sized plate full -- the men ate 2 or 3 times this much. And the real clincher is all my relatives (that ate like this for decades) lived to a ripe old age and did not have any weight problems, heart problems or diabetes. I eat nothing like this today and cringe to think of frying up a pan of potatoes in a 1/4 cup of bacon grease.
However..... I am now fat.
One sister that eats healthy and has a desk job is overweight like me. Another sister still eats like a horse but has a very physically demanding job for 45 hours a week is a perfect weight and very muscular. So, I'm guessing I need tons more activity. How to fit all that into one day when it's not my job?
When we moved away from the farm and my activity level dropped dramatically my calorie intake decreased a lot too, but apparently not enough because I started my weight gain journey and anytime I lost weight it was a real battle to try and keep it off. You would think the greatly reduced food intake would've offset the reduction in activity but oh no.... lol. The only time in my adult life I was able to lose down to about 20lb away from my ideal body weight I was very physically active for several hours a day. We are talking working at a physically demanding job several hours each day, roller blading and walking several miles each day. Then I got a desk job and the rest is history. I gained 5lbs on week one and kept right gaining and gaining.
Even now, with the band to help me stay satisfied on smaller portions, I am pretty active, exercise regularly and it is still a battle. My surgeon initially recommended me to get a surgery with a malabsorption component to help me get closer to my ideal body weight (which is a bmi of just inside the "normal" range) because he said that clearly my body's metabolism is "set" for very high levels of activity and it's unlikely I would see really good weight loss unless I took up marathon running or something like that.
It is kind of discouraging to see people that don't seem like they put any effort into healthy eating or portion size control and yet they don't have a weight problem. Sigh. Am I the only one of us here that thinks this seems like so much work compared to others that eat whatever they want and don't put on weight? I've been toying with the magical Onderland # for months now. I'm always waffling between 202 and 198 and can never officially break the 199 mark and continue downward. My surgeon and dietitian say I'm perfect at 1400 calories for my activity level, just up the protein or gasp! --- even the calories to see more lost. Doesn't seem to be working, but to be fair, I've not been able to consistently up the protein for several days in a row to test it out.
On the bright side, by going over my memories and writing this out I've figured out that most of my weight control from my younger days came from having a lot of muscle mass. This is something that is doable for me -- something I can work towards. I like weight lifting and do some of it now, but not in a serious, let's get muscles like Arnold way -- not sure I want muscles like that, but there is a lot more weight lifting I could do and will hopefully see the results in shrinking sizes.
For me, I think it is more about activity -- or lack there of. It certainly isn't so much the food.
I grew up on a farm and we were all very active from morning till night and my body got used to that level of activity. I was never very much overweight as a child, maybe just a smidgen in looking at old pictures. I had a lot of muscle mass. By age 10 I could carry and stack a whole trailer of 45-60lb hay/straw bales and each summer I worked to load, unload, and stack about 100 cords of wood, more if we sold more to customers. Looking back, if I had to do all that today, it would be HARD work! But I remember liking it -- some of my fondest memories involve times when we worked hard together on projects.
There wasn't much opportunity for fast food or store bought treats like ice cream, chips and pop. To this day I still think of those things as rare treats and really enjoy them when I have some. (But I do have to be extra careful off bbq chips because even now, I will keep going back to the back 10 times to eat the whole thing and same thing with good quality ice cream) Growing up we ate calorie rich foods -- all the stuff that people cringe over today because it's been labeled as so bad for us. We made our own lard, kept a grease can on the stove and used liberal dabs of it to fry potatoes and eggs. We ate white potatoes twice a day, every day and white flour biscuits. My mom made an apple dessert that had so much sugar in it you could feel it grit between your teeth. Our portions were large too. A typically breakfast was 2 fried eggs, 2 biscuits with butter and jelly, fried potatoes and sausage/ham/bacon. I would eat a whole dinner sized plate full -- the men ate 2 or 3 times this much. And the real clincher is all my relatives (that ate like this for decades) lived to a ripe old age and did not have any weight problems, heart problems or diabetes. I eat nothing like this today and cringe to think of frying up a pan of potatoes in a 1/4 cup of bacon grease.
However..... I am now fat.
One sister that eats healthy and has a desk job is overweight like me. Another sister still eats like a horse but has a very physically demanding job for 45 hours a week is a perfect weight and very muscular. So, I'm guessing I need tons more activity. How to fit all that into one day when it's not my job?
When we moved away from the farm and my activity level dropped dramatically my calorie intake decreased a lot too, but apparently not enough because I started my weight gain journey and anytime I lost weight it was a real battle to try and keep it off. You would think the greatly reduced food intake would've offset the reduction in activity but oh no.... lol. The only time in my adult life I was able to lose down to about 20lb away from my ideal body weight I was very physically active for several hours a day. We are talking working at a physically demanding job several hours each day, roller blading and walking several miles each day. Then I got a desk job and the rest is history. I gained 5lbs on week one and kept right gaining and gaining.
Even now, with the band to help me stay satisfied on smaller portions, I am pretty active, exercise regularly and it is still a battle. My surgeon initially recommended me to get a surgery with a malabsorption component to help me get closer to my ideal body weight (which is a bmi of just inside the "normal" range) because he said that clearly my body's metabolism is "set" for very high levels of activity and it's unlikely I would see really good weight loss unless I took up marathon running or something like that.
It is kind of discouraging to see people that don't seem like they put any effort into healthy eating or portion size control and yet they don't have a weight problem. Sigh. Am I the only one of us here that thinks this seems like so much work compared to others that eat whatever they want and don't put on weight? I've been toying with the magical Onderland # for months now. I'm always waffling between 202 and 198 and can never officially break the 199 mark and continue downward. My surgeon and dietitian say I'm perfect at 1400 calories for my activity level, just up the protein or gasp! --- even the calories to see more lost. Doesn't seem to be working, but to be fair, I've not been able to consistently up the protein for several days in a row to test it out.
On the bright side, by going over my memories and writing this out I've figured out that most of my weight control from my younger days came from having a lot of muscle mass. This is something that is doable for me -- something I can work towards. I like weight lifting and do some of it now, but not in a serious, let's get muscles like Arnold way -- not sure I want muscles like that, but there is a lot more weight lifting I could do and will hopefully see the results in shrinking sizes.
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