How much does weight factor in?

[Martinus]

I just keep hoping that at 32 or 33 he'll balloon and we'll get to dig this thread up.

Metabolism does change, that's true but I don't get why people in their 30s or 40s expect that they can continue eating like they were in their 20s (and blame metabolism when they get fat) whereas it's pretty clear that as you get older you need to adjust your habits on pretty much everything (e.g. if you kept partying for two days straight, with no sleep, and showed up to work wasted on the next morning, you wouldn't blame your metabolism for not letting you do something you could do when you were 21).

[11B4V]

Why do people get fat, anyway?

You do realize that metabolism is a factor, right? For some of us, we're fighting more than just calorie intake and exercise. I started walking between 5-9 miles every day at 3mph and limiting my calorie intake to 1200/day two months ago. I haven't lost a single pound.

Part of that is because I've given birth to five babies, and each pregnancy drops a woman's metabolism. Another part is because I'm firmly ensconced in menopause, which also drops a woman's metabolism. It's evolutionary: lower metabolism means less requirement for food, which means easier to keep even when we get old. The same happens for men as they get older, but it takes longer to happen.

For me to lose the extra 30-40 pounds that I carry, I'd have to drop my calorie intake to around 800-900 calories/day while maintaining my walking schedule, or up my exercise to adding another hour or more to my cardio. I already walk 1.5 - 2 hours every day. The reason I stick to walking is because I have joint issues and exercise-induced asthma. Once the pools open, I'll start swimming a couple of times a week, too.

It's not so much a choice, Ide, as life and body circumstances.

Sent you a PM

[merithyn]

While metabolism/genetics does play a role, I think there is this tendency recently to blame it every time someone is fat, whereas I'd say that in 19 cases out of 20, fat people are fat because they are slobs or have mental issues, like depression. Sure, it's more of a struggle for some people than others, and in some areas/social strata it is difficult to find something that is not full of saturated fats or fructose corn syrup, but 19 people out of 20 who are fat could actually not be fat if they exercised and ate right.

See, that's where I have the issue. You can't know that. It works for you, but it may not for everyone. Hell, people process food so differently that there's just no way to know what the situation is. When I see a really big person (as in 100+ pounds overweight), then, sure, I'm willing to go with diet and lack of exercise is an issue. However, when I see someone who's a few pounds overweight, I don't make that assumption. Stress, metabolism, hormones, etc., all factor into those extra pounds.

And I consider the size 16 as someone who could lose a few pounds but who isn't a really big person.

[merithyn]

Sent you a PM

Thanks!

No link, though.

[Iormlund]

See, that's where I have the issue. You can't know that. It works for you, but it may not for everyone.

No, but it's the norm. There's a reason why people in America are bigger than in Europe, and it's not genetics.

In your case, the issue might be that you aren't able to exercise much. My experience fasting says that when I only reduce food intake my body will try to adjust by eating muscle rather than just fat. It's pretty much impossible to lose my belly even if I stop eating altogether for a couple weeks. Yet my muscles will be fucked by then.

[Barrister]

Well, there are definitely chubby-chasers out there (a friend of a friend is 120 kilos and in his 40s, and there are young twinks apparently lining up to be fucked by him) and bears have their own thing but neither Sheilbh nor myself are into that - I don't know about you heteros but among gays, this is more like a fetish - like being into peed on or fisted or something - there are many people who like it but if you are not into it, you are not into it.

Did you just equate being attracted to heavier people to being into watersports?

[Martinus]

Well, there are definitely chubby-chasers out there (a friend of a friend is 120 kilos and in his 40s, and there are young twinks apparently lining up to be fucked by him) and bears have their own thing but neither Sheilbh nor myself are into that - I don't know about you heteros but among gays, this is more like a fetish - like being into peed on or fisted or something - there are many people who like it but if you are not into it, you are not into it.

Did you just equate being attracted to heavier people to being into watersports?

Yes. I'm not into either (well, maybe watersports a bit) but I don't judge people who are into it if it's their thing.

Your reactions in this thread - for someone so normally judgmental and square - are amusing, btw.

[Warspite]

I'm one of those always-stick-thin kids. I watch my food intake to keep the belly away. Excercise (biking, tennis, random acts of racially motivated violence) keeps it down.

Weight for me is an integral part of attractiveness. I'm not averse to a slightly weightier woman as long as it works with her frame. I'm not into really skinny women.

[Barrister]

Part of that is because I've given birth to five babies,

Christ, lady.

It's not so much a choice, Ide, as life and body circumstances.

Ide's one of those ultra-skinny kids that could eat anything, and still be rail thin.  We all knew one kid like that.

While metabolism/genetics does play a role, I think there is this tendency recently to blame it every time someone is fat, whereas I'd say that in 19 cases out of 20, fat people are fat because they are slobs or have mental issues, like depression. Sure, it's more of a struggle for some people than others, and in some areas/social strata it is difficult to find something that is not full of saturated fats or fructose corn syrup, but 19 people out of 20 who are fat could actually not be fat if they exercised and ate right.

*sigh*

[Martinus]

It works for you, but it may not for everyone.

Actually it's a struggle for me - that's what I mean. I don't have the best metabolism, so I have to watch what I eat a lot and when I let myself go for a week or so, I immediately gain 5-10 pounds. So I refuse to agree that everyone who is fat is struggling as hard (or harder) as I do but their genetics somehow keeps them away from getting slimmer.

Besides as Iormlund points out it can't be that Europeans are so genetically superior to Americans when it comes to keeping from becoming obese.

[merithyn]

Besides as Iormlund points out it can't be that Europeans are so genetically superior to Americans when it comes to keeping from becoming obese.

Not all of Europe is so superiorly svelte: http://cooltickling.com/2011/top-10-worlds-fattest-countries/

And I don't disagree that it's an effort that many don't or can't put forward. What I was saying is that it's not as easy as Ide tried to make it sound for the majority of people. Doing a few sit-ups and push-ups at home, and then eating a bag of candy bars doesn't usually cut it for the average anyone, no matter what country they're from.

[Jaron]

Americans have traditionally enjoyed a culture of bounty and we celebrate just about every possible occasion by gorging ourselves to sleep -

We have birthday dinners, Easter dinners, Memorial day potlucks, Fourth of July bbqs, Thanksgiving feasts, Christmas is not truly a holiday - it is a month of snacking and gorging on chocolates wrapped in green, red and blue foil and we top it all off with New Years Eve - a night of heavy drinking, heavy eating, and if we're lucky some light fornication.

And yet, one might very well argue that there is great sense in packing as much life as possible into the 75 years we've been promised by science. Afterall, there is no purpose in leaving the glass half empty.

[viper37]

No wood with big girls.

Define "big", please. Carrying a little extra, carrying another person extra, carrying several extra people, etc.

EDIT: As an example, I offer these two women sizes. I will point out that women sizes can go as big as 32+, so the big girl in this pic is half the size of the largest women out there.

Size 4 is too skinny, she looks like a 12 year old girl.  Size 16 is a little too big for my tastes.

[Ideologue]

Besides as Iormlund points out it can't be that Europeans are so genetically superior to Americans when it comes to keeping from becoming obese.

Not all of Europe is so superiorly svelte: http://cooltickling.com/2011/top-10-worlds-fattest-countries/

And I don't disagree that it's an effort that many don't or can't put forward. What I was saying is that it's not as easy as Ide tried to make it sound for the majority of people. Doing a few sit-ups and push-ups at home, and then eating a bag of candy bars doesn't usually cut it for the average anyone, no matter what country they're from.

Well, have you tried it?

In seriousness, I didn't say losing a significant amount of weight wasn't hard--I expect it is.  What I didn't understand was how people fail to maintain their weight, i.e., "How did they get to be 100 pounds overweight in the first place?"

I also, I might add, specifically named pregnancy as a excuse.

[merithyn]

Well, have you tried it?

"How did they get to be 100 pounds overweight in the first place?"

They tried your diet plan.

I also, I might add, specifically named pregnancy as a excuse.

Not sure that counts anymore since my youngest is 13, but thanks for the pass, anyway.

No, I'm overweight because I didn't pay attention when I should have, and now it's a lot harder to lose than it would have been when it started. I limit my calories and exercise quite a bit, but apparently not enough since the weight is still very much on me.

I've forever said that I'm a hobbit. Maybe what I should be saying is that I'm a weeble-wobble instead.