Would you consider your spouse getting fat a good reason for divorce?

[garbon]

[DGuller]

Not only is his ex getting fatter, but apparently she's going through a growth spurt as well.  She managed to go from 5'2" to 5'5" in a day.     How old is she?

[Martinus]

Not eating after work-out is a mistake and will lead to malnutrition.

I like to work out on an empty stomach and eat afterward.

Ideally, you should have a light protein meal before and a carb meal afterwards.

But if you have enough energy during the work out without eating before hand it works too I guess. I just can't bench press as much if I have empty stomach.

[derspiess]

And was your 5'5", 185-pound ex "experiencing obesity-related health issues"? Or are you just throwing around terms to make it seem more okay to dump her because she gained a few pounds more than you thought she should?

That was a very significant weight gain, particularly for a gal just 5'2" (not 5'5").  For a young, unmarried guy without kids he deserves a medal for sticking it out as long as he did.

[Martinus]

Not eating after work-out is a mistake and will lead to malnutrition.

True.  But all I said was I eat less...as in I do not over-eat.  Starvation has never been a serious concern of mine 

Ok fair enough.

[derspiess]

Or she would go for a walk- then reward herself with a high calorie/sugar McDonalds iced coffee afterwards, completely negating the value of the walk.

I like when people do the opposite-- eat a 900 calorie dessert and then "walk it off" by walking a whole mile

[crazy canuck]

185lb, even at 5'2", is so definitely not "borderline morbid obesity".

Your right.  That is really really fat.

[Eddie Teach]

Or she would go for a walk- then reward herself with a high calorie/sugar McDonalds iced coffee afterwards, completely negating the value of the walk.

I like when people do the opposite-- eat a 900 calorie dessert and then "walk it off" by walking a whole mile

Better than eating it and not walking.

[stjaba]

And by the way, "morbidly obese" is 100 pounds or more overweight, not 35 BMI or higher. (Not aimed at you, Marti; I just don't remember who made the comment.) Given that the BMI doesn't measure muscle mass in any way, no doctor worth his or her salt would diagnose someone as "morbidly obese" based on the BMI, unless it was well over 40.

Neither of us are experts. Wikipedia claims:

A BMI of ≥ 35 and experiencing obesity-related health conditions or ≥40–44.9 is morbid obesity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity#cite_note-morbid2007-15

So, a BMI of 35 can include morbid obesity.

Second off, I have seen plenty of medical records now at my job. It's not uncommon to see morbid obesity listed when the patient was less than a 100 pounds overweight.

And was your 5'5", 185-pound ex "experiencing obesity-related health issues"? Or are you just throwing around terms to make it seem more okay to dump her because she gained a few pounds more than you thought she should?

First off, she was 5'2", not 5'5."

Second, she was experiencing the following obesity related symptoms, which I pulled off of Wikipedia:

Stretch marks
depression
social stigmatization
poor mobility
low back pain
obstructive sleep apnea.

There are possibly more, but she didn't see a general physician too often.

[crazy canuck]

Or she would go for a walk- then reward herself with a high calorie/sugar McDonalds iced coffee afterwards, completely negating the value of the walk.

I like when people do the opposite-- eat a 900 calorie dessert and then "walk it off" by walking a whole mile

Better than eating it and not walking.

But not by much

[DGuller]

One other thing to keep in mind is that BMI for short people is understated compared to average people.  A BMI of 35 for a 5'2" person is worse than a BMI of 35 for a 6'2" person.  If you don't find a 5'2" person severely overweight at 185 pounds, then you're probably in denial for one reason or another.

[Malthus]

Incidentally, I gotta say that based on anecdotal evidence, a lot of situations where people can't lose weight despite "trying" does not come from genetics, or even laziness, but actual ignorance of what is and is not healthy.

Unfortunately, as I said before, losing weight and overally improving one's health requires a considerable shift in life style and (unless you are willing to hire a personal chef) a considerable amount of work - something a lot of people are unable or unwilling to do. So they think that if they buy a "healthy" salad at McDonald's or a ready made "health-option" meal at Tesco (or starve themselves with low nutrition food) they are actually trying to lose weight - and then act all surprised, give up and/or blame genetics when this does jack shit.

And let's not forget that in many places healthy food options come with a price tag - or are even unavailable (e.g. a small town with a couple of Tescos/Walmarts, and no farmer's market).

I dunno, my diet is pretty easy to maintain with stuff bought at the corner store (which admittedly stocks vegitables). I'm a terrible cook and hate cooking, so everything has to be easy.

Breakfast:

- 1 apple
- 1 bowl of fat-free yogurt
- 2 melba toasts

Lunch:

- 1 large mixed salad (tomatoes, sliced peppers, sliced spring onions and radishes - no lettice as I don't like it)
- 1 portion of skinless chicken breast, or tuna, or low-fat lunchen meat
- 2 melba toasts

Dinner:

- 1 large serving of steamed green beans, broccoli, and/or cauliflower
- 1 piece of cooked salmon or boneless chicken breast

After dinner snack:

- 1 bowl of chopped strawberries in fat-free yogurt

I vary this by adding more carbs and protien on days I know I will be working out.

Notice that this diet has two each of fruit, vegitables, meat and bread substitute per day (if you are more creative, you can of course replace any of these things with alternatives). Eat this diet, keeping tabs on portions, working out so as not to get too flabby, and anyone will lose weight pretty well guaranteed (or at least so I've found), as it is low in calories and carbs. Then, when desired weight is achieved, start adding stuff to it - cereal at breakfast, for example - until you are neither gaining nor losing.

The big problem is social events. People like to eat out to celebrate stuff or just to have fun; also, to drink booze. These can't easily be avoided without becomming a hermit so they must be dealt with.

I allow myself to eat out at restaurants and the like with friends and family once per week, even when dieting strictly. When simply maintaining, I eat out more often, but balance this with more stringent food control on other days of the week. I did this for five or six years, then got lazy and stopped doing it and started with the recreational type eating - predictably, my weight increased; I'm dieting  now to go back to the regime I had before.

This is why I don't agree dieting "doesn't work". It's a tool, and it works if you work it. At least it does for me, and I've never read a plausible mechanism by which it "can't work" for others (physically that is - natirally there are all sorts of psychological reasons it can't work).

[crazy canuck]

One other thing to keep in mind is that BMI for short people is understated compared to average people.  A BMI of 35 for a 5'2" person is worse than a BMI of 35 for a 6'2" person.  If you don't find a 5'2" person severely overweight at 185 pounds, then you're probably in denial for one reason or another.

Yeah, BMI is pretty much worthless at the tall end too.

[merithyn]

One other thing to keep in mind is that BMI for short people is understated compared to average people.  A BMI of 35 for a 5'2" person is worse than a BMI of 35 for a 6'2" person.  If you don't find a 5'2" person severely overweight at 185 pounds, then you're probably in denial for one reason or another.

[merithyn]

This is why I don't agree dieting "doesn't work". It's a tool, and it works if you work it. At least it does for me, and I've never read a plausible mechanism by which it "can't work" for others (physically that is - natirally there are all sorts of psychological reasons it can't work).

Yeah, like your meal plan is boring as hell. I'd give it up after about a week, IF I lasted that long. Rule #1 of any diet plan: It has to be something you can and will stick with.

Amazingly, I've managed to lose 25 pounds by eating whatever I want... in smaller quantities. Once I started keeping track of every bite I put in my mouth, I started eating less. Throw in some walking, and I lost weight. It took a while for me to actually start losing weight, but once I did, it shed relatively easily, though not quickly. I'm not much on quick fixes. I want to be able to enjoy my life while I'm also getting healthier. That includes eating food that I enjoy.