If alcoholism is a disease and sexual attraction to the same sex is not a choice, then obesity has to be a disease right?

Well based on your previous posts, you made it seem like someone who was busy with life didn't have the time commitment to put towards working out.

My mistake.
Carry on then.

I'm a big believer in not going cold turkey. Just start with small steps and in all honestly, you don't have to just quit the booze right away.

Start replacing the high from alcohol with exercise (endorphin high) and positive reinforcement from your physical changes. Reward yourself with alcohol/food from time to time. Shit, even I do that every weekend!

Any questions, please ask.

Lately, I haven't had time. But I'm far, far, far from obese.

I was just making fun of the Omaha/GoChiefs narrative.

That's the one! I had no clue they would be in town. I definitely want that if we can get it. Happy to pay for the tickets. I couldn't ask for a better game! Holy shit! I wouldn't mind going to a couple of games in that series as I'm going to come for the weekend. I'll put in for the time off tomorrow. Book it!

Thanks brother. I promise I will. I remember the high I got from exercising. I'm going to try and chase that one in the morning before work. I may be sore, but I know mentally I'll feel great! I appreciate you, man. I may lean on you as you'll allow me too as I move forward. Talk to Silock, I was all over him the last time I did this and I probably wore him out. I don't want to put him through it again. :fire:

It's all good, bro. You can if you want. Didn't put me out at all.

Well, I appreciate it. You were a huge help to me back then, and I hate that it all went to shit after all the information you gave me, and advice, and whatnot. Thank you though. I'll be in touch I'm sure.

I work on office job, have a one year old and a six year old, a wife, and all that shit. You can always find an excuse to not work out, eat right, etc. You can also always find time to work out. Sprint 8 takes twenty minutes three times a week. Putting down the fork takes no time at all.

You are bliss.

How about those 800 pound bastards that they used to have on talk shows and shit? I remember this guy never left his bed, thats a ****ing disgrace. They needed a fork lift to get him out.

Nay...I am but a man.

Seriously, though, I said the same shit for years and watched my weight creep up on me. I was never "fat"...but I was fat. I stepped on a scale one day and went "holy shit...I'm 25 pounds heavier than I was when I graduated college a decade ago." A little over a year later, I'm almost 25 pounds lighter and have good muscle tone.

I was out boating and drinking with friends this weekend. The guys were all in our trunks, and it was weird. I was surrounded by fat guys who didn't realize how fat they were. I know this because I was one of them just a year ago. When you look in the mirror the right way, you can convince yourself that you still look okay...but you don't. When all of your friends have beer guts, you can convince yourself that it's just an inevitable part of life...but it's not.

Ten years from now, there's a strong possibility that I will be 25 pounds heavier again. At the very least, hopefully I've set the clock back a decade. I'd like to think that I won't gain it all back. If I do, though, I'm not going to blame genetics or metabolism or the fact that I'm a busy man with a family and a job and no time to stay fit. If I gain it all back, it's because I chose to eat too much and work out too little.

I could sit on my ass watching sports, drinking beer, and eating deep-fried gravy all day every day and love every minute of it. Because I don't want to be fat and unattractive, I stop eating when I'm full instead of when my plate is empty. I run when I'd rather be watching television. I do pushups even though I ****ing HATE doing pushups.

Vanity is what keeps me from letting myself go. It's really no more complicated than that. When my laziness exceeds my vanity, I'll find excuses to eat when I should be working out...and when I weigh 200 pounds instead of 161 pounds, I'll either be disgusted enough to swing the balance back in favor of vanity, or I won't.

It's all a lot more simple than we make it out to be. (Actually, those who are in shape make it simple...those who aren't try to pretend its complicated). Calories in have to be less than calories out. Work out...or don't. Four beers and a skinless chicken breast while watching the game at the bar or ten beers and a mountain of wings. I still choose the latter over the former way too often, but just being disciplined six times out of ten instead of one time or even zero times out of ten makes a tremendous difference.

When you're out of shape, it actually can be complicated, and the older you get, the more complicated it becomes. Because, let's face it, change ain't easy, and it doesn't get any easier as time passes. You can throw out all the platitudes you want about calories in versus calories out and exercising versus being sedentary, but if it was easy, man, everybody would be thin. What's easy is getting fat, staying fat, and getting fatter.

I wish I'd never gotten out of shape in my 20s. I wish I'd never gotten even worse in my 30s. Life would be so much easier for me now. But I did. And now I get to pay the price for it. It's slow, it's hard, and I **** up all the time. Hell, it's like an annual thing where I get just in spitting distance of 200 and then blow back up to 220. Eventually I'll figure it out. I hope.

Although knowing me, I'll just find something else to bitch about if I'm ever in the 190s. It just ain't in me to be happy with myself.

No one said it was easy.

That doesn't make it a disease, though (not that you're saying it is).

My comment was more in reference to "(Actually, those who are in shape make it simple...those who aren't try to pretend its complicated)."

Perhaps I should have said it isn't simple.

I think it's fair to say that it's less of a struggle for people who are in shape and have never been out of shape. That's not to say it's easy for them, either, but I do think it's a bit easier to maintain a lifestyle that you're already accustomed to than it is to completely change what you're used to (note that this comment cuts both ways...). And it's doubly hard to change an old lifestyle and then maintain the new one. People seem to have a tendency to slip up.

Well, the actual process may not be easy, but the concept of "eat less than you burn" is quite simple.

It's just hard to do, even for those of us that are in shape.

I work out six hours a week, tops, and half that is biking.

My personal philosophy has always been you probably waste several hours a week doing something stupid/destructive, like watching TV...so why not work out?

Eat less, move more.

It is difficult to break old habits, but that is just an excuse. So is justifying the cost of real food vs processed food.

I am 36, a father, work more than 40 a week mostly behind a computer. I realized how heavy I had gotten. Did research and then did something about it. Did I do it right? No, I am sure that I could have done it more efficiently. But I did it. It all starts with committing to it, then eating less and moving more.

Family commitments is an issue. I have to get up at 4 am to get my workout in so that I have time for the family. I eat less cals on the days that I have birthday parties/family functions. It is all about taking personal responsibility for yourself and your choices.

Obesity is not a disease. A disease is a simple way of labeling it to take personal responsibility out of the equation and justify poor choices.

There's also the fact that fewer and fewer jobs every year require any physical labor. A days work use to mean a days work for most people. Now we have tons of desk jobs and computers and machines do do the actual work for us...

It's all just a matter of priorities. Some people actually have MORE motivation to stay in shape after having kids. It makes it easier to keep up with them as they get older.

I think we're missing the whole point: who WANTS to be fat? Seriously. Just look in the mirror (preferably a full length one) naked sometime and ask: "Am I happy with the way I look?" Nobody can lie to themselves in that situation. If you are happy being a fatty then that's your choice. If not, then change.


It seems that many just don't really care. Or kinda care, but not enough to actually do anything. Just like many want to eliminate credit card debt but just don't do it.


Anyone who hates having people stare at you and laugh or who hates having trouble sitting on an airplane or gets out of breath walking up a set of stairs, change! Why does society need to implement rules to fix a problem YOU should want to fix?

Whoa. Don't lump me in there. I just found this thread.

I am 100% with Lewdog on this topic. I've never said a negative thing about anyone on here struggling with weight & I've given several people advice on weight loss/fitness based on my own experiences.

I was going to state something about the amount of time I work out, but a lot of things that I do for fun could be considered working out. I don't really consider biking a workout, although it is. It's just something I do for fun. The same goes for racquetball, football, running, volleyball, and many other things I do.

I spend a lot of time being active, but I think it's pretty silly when I hear people say they can't find an hour each day to work out.

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You don't need to workout an hour a day to be in shape. An hour of activity will suffice most days with 30 minutes to an hour of something more intense (actual workout, running, etc) a few days a week mixed in.

I absolutely agree. I was just dealing with a round #. An hour should give you time to shower and get back to work if needed.

I think for a lot of people poor sleep habits and dehydration lead to poor eating habits. They're tired and dehydrated and they perceive their body's reaction as hunger. The problem is that it leads to spur of the moment snacking, which is often junk food. Chips, cookies, drive thru, etc. Convenience food.

I don't know that anyone really laughs at fat people in public.

That said, as we become older, fatter, etc., we simply become invisible. A 42 year old guy who is 5'10, 215 pounds doesn't stand out enough to be ridiculed. He doesn't get noticed at all most of the time. He simply disappears.

It's the same with women. I always argue with my friends when they are "rating" women based on their appearances. What most men call a "5" is probably more attractive than 80% of the women out there. An actual 5 doesn't even get rated. She doesn't even get noticed.

I'm not making value judgments. Different people obtain happiness in different ways. If you get more happiness from eating and lounging than you do from liking the way you look getting out of the shower, you're probably going to be overweight...and most Americans are.

The average adult male in the US is 5'9.5 and weighs 191 pounds. In 1960, it was 5'8, 166.

For women, it's 5'4 , 164...up from 5'3 140 in 1960.

There are medical conditions that can lead to obesity, but they don't have to. Those conditions actually do require medical treatment. However, I seriously doubt this is the case for 1/3 of Americans. It's actually probably a very, very small percentage.

I do think that the signs stand a chance of getting more people to consult with their doctors in order to get some help. It's a step, anyway. And, if they're going to see their doctors, then they can also be checked out for the many conditions that can be caused by obesity.

For those people who look for something else to blame for their laziness/inability to eat properly, then, yes, they will view this as an excuse. However, they will look to anything as an excuse. Those people probably would not seek help anyway. Hopefully, these billboards can reach those people who will eventually seek help.

While the basic concept of weight loss is simple (I know there are many ways to make it a little more complicated), there are probably people who just feel that it is out of their control for whatever reason. Maybe a doctor can put them on a wellness program, suggest a nutritionist, or send them to a personal trainer.

My only concern with this is whether this type of campaign will affect insurance rates. Will these types of things start being covered? In any case, the increased number of doctor visits surely would affect them.

Don't see a doctor. They will just tell you have some kind of condition and put you on meds. They will also give poor nutritional advice. What people need to realize is that it is a long process, shows like the Biggest Loser gives unrealistic expectations. Our society has done a very poor job educating people on how to eat and take care of themselves. The snake-oil salesmen make it worse with their crash diets.

Losing weight is simple. All you need is the willpower, dedication, and patience to make it happen.

Do you really think this is true?

1. Whose job is it to teach people that Calories in < Calories out = weight loss?

2. Are there people walking around who don't know the lesson in #1?

Everyone knows that fast food, Twinkies, and inactivity make people fat. Everyone knows that being fat leads to loads of health issues. Nobody is forced to opt for fast food, Twinkies, and inactivity.

"Our society" (whatever that means) has not done a poor job of educating people on what makes us fat. It just makes it too easy for people to come up with excuses for why we aren't in shape.

Excuses are always easier to find than solutions...

To a degree, yes. Think of the food pyramid crap that the gov pushes.

I agree that in the end it can be chalked up to an excuse. But people being confused about what they are supposed to eat and then giving up because they can't lose weight is a problem. How many times did you ever hear cals in/cals out before you got in to fitness? I never did.

How many people do you talk to that spout out nonsense that they have been educated about in regards to dieting. I hear it damn near every conversation with people.

We all need personal responsibility and to take charge of our lives, but the nonsense that is pushed out for how we should eat doesn't do anyone any favors. And as I said in my first post, obesity isn't a disease, it is lazy people that don't want to take the effort to get fit. That is what our society is mostly made up of now...so yes, if educating them on proper nutrition will help them, then we should do it.

I agree with this. I'm not young anymore, and I don't have kids, but I think people are doing what they can with the children's Play 60 and such. And it's not rocket science to know that cals in < cals out is the basic solution to weight loss.

You've got fast food places promoting "healthy" options. It's a gimmick. They make people think that they are doing a good thing by eating out. Sure the healthier options are better, but better than what? Better does not mean good. Until you take the time to learn about food and prepare meals for yourself, you will never really know what all you are putting in your body. I'm not blaming fast food places. I'm blaming people (myself included) for being too lazy to learn, cook, or not fall for the convenience fast food offers.

If someone can't grasp the fundamentals of what's good or bad for them then I don't know what hope there is for them anyway.

High fructose corn syrup. That is all. :thumb:

The problem is that people are bombarded with mixed messages. Every popular weight loss book seems to have the message of "eat all you want as long as you don't eat carbs, fat, etc". I see "calories don't matter" all the time on the internet.

I think most people realize that that stuff leads to obesity. Part of the problem, though, is that people think just eating Snackwell cookies will help them lose weight because they have no fat or eat bacon and hamburger because it has no carbs.

The calorie message can get drowned out in the sales pitch. I've seen boxes of Red Vines with big "0 FAT" stickers, as if that makes them healthier. Pork rind bags have "O CARBS" stickers on them.

None of this stuff should fool the health conscious but it does seem to fool the masses.

Actually, I can remember discussing that in 2nd or 3rd grade when we learned about food groups. I wrestled in junior high & high school, so managing weight was always a topic of discussion.

Most of the "nonsense" that I hear is in the form of excuses. "Fatness runs in my family" "I don't have time to exercise" "Healthy food is too expensive" "I'm big boned"

Did Omaha see a fat chick and burst into tears again? Quick, somebody send him some celery and a box of tissues!

I blame foodstamps.

That reminds me of one of the dumbest gimmicks I've seen in years: Fat Free Bread!!!!!

I have been overweight MORE of my life than I have been fit and proportional. I have been reading a book that got me back on track and if you want to read something that will having you cursing the writer because you KNOW he is right... the book is "Die Fat or Get Tough". The writer basically was a fatty that has been up and down most of his life and decided to do something about it and then wrote a book. It goes into how us fatties think and how fit people think and shows you the comparison as to why diets fail for fatties... not because they don't work... it's because fatties don't want to work to better eating habbits and daily exercise. I have lost 80 lbs and I am now at 300. I work out very vigorously 4-5 days a week and I have learned to eat only healthy foods 100% of the time. If you were to rate your health and fitness ethic from a 1-7 scale and 1 being "doing absolutely nothing" and 7 being "Whatever it takes".......where would you rate yourself???

As long as you've found a bogeyman to blame, being fat isn't your fault.

People who are in shape live on a planet where HFCS doesn't exist...otherwise we'd be fat, too.

Count your calories and minimize sugar.

Cut Soda to 1 can a day or get rid of it all together.


When I lost weight I kept a journal of exactly what I ate with the Calories, Carbs, Protein, Fiber and Fat listed.

You learn a lot in one week of keeping a journal.

This. You tend to hold yourself more accountable when keeping a food journal.

I've gotten back into the routine of using myfitnesspal on my iPad. It has helped the past few weeks. And that damn bar code scanner is pretty legit.

These extreme attitudes are just ridiculous. You do not need to eat healthy 100% of the time and you definitely don't need to always be at a 7 on your scale.

They make an App that reads barcodes?


Damn, that would have saved me a TON of time. Of course, the time I spent looking at labels really educated me.

I used to cringe every time I wrote down the string cheese fat content, and don't get me started on a cup of trail mix!

Having lunch at Schlotzky's..."small" original (slice of ham, salami, and some other meat...cheese, mustard, and onions) and a 1.5 oz bag of chips. I don't eat breakfast, so this is a perfectly reasonable lunch for me.

Anyway...there's a Cinnabon display case next to the register. It's full of MASSIVE rolls covered in frosting. One in particular has pecans on it. I looked it up, and it's 1,100 calories.

You can literally eat an 1,100 calorie dessert with your lunch while drinking 250 calories of soda (x2 because, hey, free refills) and get an entire day's worth of calories WITHOUT EVEN COUNTING YOUR MEAL.

It's crazy. 1,600 extra calories tacked onto a single lunch.

I have an iPad. Rather than searching for the food you Just consumed on myfitnesspal you can just scan the barcodes then alter the servings you consumed.

It's pretty nifty.

It's so weird - around the globe there are billions of people who are rail thin, who have no clue what "obesity" even is. I mean, it's just some minor miracle that the obesity rates have suddenly shot up in wealthy nations. We must have completely different DNA! (And different DNA from our parents and grandparents, none of whom faced the crisis. DNA mutated rapidly I guess)

/thread

Or maybe it's because wealthier nations have almost unlimited access to cheap food, have 200+ channels leisure time and have more white collar jobs where we sit on our ass all day because technology takes care of the blue collar jobs.

Or it could be DNA, I guess. :)

Sure people complain about the obesity epidemic, but on the bright side that means more quality blowjobs.

I always thought it was a sliding scale.


The heaviest 10% will always be the most desperate whether they are 250 or 150.

America has a desease of unaccountability

Alsa we kant spel two gud anihow

My conspiracy theory is that all the shit preservatives in food drastically reduces your sex drive, which means you don't care about attracting the opposite sex.

When I first started my diet, and stopped eating shit, I got a tingle in my dick that still hasn't gone away. I want to eat healthy because I want to procreate.

My guess is that your bloodflow has improved as you've gotten in better shape. Whatever the reason, I can't think of a better way to burn calories.

My conspiracy theory is that modern technology has made food both cheaper and more palatable, making it much, much tougher to resist.

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.co...-epidemic.html

Note that this isn't an excuse, nor does it make it a disease. Food reward is simply a factor in why some people overeat. Knowing about it can help to develop strategies to avoid it, making it easier to eat less.

:thumb:This is a true statement. Skinny women just don't have the enthusiasm.

Myfitnesspal.com rocks.

Great phone app too.

I use myfitnesspal on my iPhone, too. I've found that, whenever I don't keep track and decide to cheat, that's when my diet turns to shit. I'm thinking about starting a blog. I'm a woman, so getting my thoughts out is a must.

And we all appreciate it when women do. ;)

You wouldn't believe how fast calories add up until you start to write them down.

It's not a decision to over eat? :facepalm:

Also, you wouldn't believe the portion sizes of some things until you measure them out. For example 1 tablespoon of salad dressing isn't much at all, and neither is 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Restaurant portions are insane.

Look at a serving size of cereal sometime. It's usually in the 1/2 cup range, which is next to nothing. It's definitely not the giant bowlful I used to eat (with the milk and sugar mix at the bottom of the bowl after cereal is all gone).

That's gonorrhea man. Go to the doc.

For people that are fat and think they can take off here and there and eat what they want is recipe for failure. There are a handful of people that can eat what they want and exercise minimally and stay fit. Then there is EVERYONE else.

Once a person takes the time and EFFORT to get to their goal they can then take time off to eat a meal once in a while that is off daily healthy menu. But to do that all the time or after a week or two of dieting is a slippery slope that most don't recover from.

Main stream media keeps telling people that diets don't work.... eat what you want because it won't matter... that is a LIE and it is brought to you by every fastfood chain in the world as well as grocery stores that make more money on junk and crap food than they do on healthy food. Fad diets are nothing more than a money maker for the person that thought it up.

Watching what you eat and daily exercise are the only way for most people to lose and keep off weight. There is no substitute. Anyone that thinks differently are one of the handful that can eat anything and not gain a pound. :)

That's all back to accountability. Some times when you use myfitnesspal and see how much calories / sugars you've consuemd it's a pretty good reminder that you shouldn't be eating what you did.

It's a guilt thing, and at least with me it has helped me almost diminish foods I shouldn't be eating. It's a long, winding road for those of us who are in poor shape - but it's great motivation too.

I've been eating smarter and being more active, including swimming and being outside a lot lately. I feel better then I have lately.

You're right, and you're wrong. At 6' 350, a 40 year old male can lose weight eating 2,800 calories a day with essentially no exercise.

There is really no reason that a person can't get by on 2,800 calories a day if he isn't exercising. Unless you're Michael Phelps during the Olympics, that's more than enough food.

Short answer: don't eat or drink any sugar.

Long answer: you won't need a long answer if you do the short answer.

Welp I'm headed out to the gas station to get a Big Gulp of Coke Zero and a little tube of lemon cookies.

:thumb:

LMAO

No worries, it's not your fault brotha :grouphug:

nah, im quite aware of what i eat and i know i can afford this

The reason Jenny Craig and Nutri-Systems works if you stick to it is not because of the "well balanced" nutritional plans.

It's portion control.

Back in the day when I was in grade school, we had an old coke maching that dispensed real bottles of coke. Most young people today on this board wouldn't have ever seen these unless you have been inside an old farm town gas station - or car repair shop. But when you put in .35 (i can still remember the cost), you just pulled it out and the iron clasps went "SHING". Anyway these were 8 oz bottles. Maybe 10 but I'm pretty sure 8 oz. And it seemed like a ton to drink, for a grade school kid esp.


When I see these fat lardos drinking 64 oz big gulps at grade school, just shake my head. No wonder they're fat.

Big gulps huh?

Welp, see ya later.

We got Mexican Coca-Cola here in Houston.

Made with pure sugar cane will bounce you off the wall.

And I remember those bottles.

They had a greenish tint and you had to return them for cash.

Delaware Punch....

Deadlifts, pullups, incline bench, and military press at the gym this morning.

Total caloric intake for the day? Zero so far. Will eat one meal (african peanut stew) for supper to break my fast.

Disease that.