Small Talk: About Big People

[LocalGovt]

There's no way Whitney is eating only 2000 calories a day.  At least 5,000, if not 6,000.  She is almost 3 times her normal weight. I'm not quite sure what she  weighs, but I'd venture a guess it's over 400.  I wonder if she would be offended if the network asked her to go to Dr. Now?  Yeah, I know she's not at 600 lbs., but the surgery would still be applicable to her. 

Her parents, especially her father, treat her like a child.  It's like she doesn't want to grow up.  On the other hand, they may be a wealth of pain hiding behind the, "I like being fat!" comment. 

I don't know why, but I will watch again tonight.

[RCharter]

3 hours ago, LocalGovt said:

There's no way Whitney is eating only 2000 calories a day.  At least 5,000, if not 6,000.  She is almost 3 times her normal weight. I'm not quite sure what she  weighs, but I'd venture a guess it's over 400.  I wonder if she would be offended if the network asked her to go to Dr. Now?  Yeah, I know she's not at 600 lbs., but the surgery would still be applicable to her. 

Her parents, especially her father, treat her like a child.  It's like she doesn't want to grow up.  On the other hand, they may be a wealth of pain hiding behind the, "I like being fat!" comment. 

I don't know why, but I will watch again tonight.

She and Dr. Now would be an epic battle. 

Although -- TLC has no reason to make Whitney skinny....they have their trainwreck and they are milking it all the way to the station.

[Stripper Glitter]

So, I was just reading the most recent comments. I'm a big girl too. I have been on diet after diet after diet since my teen years. Lose gain lose gain. On 5/16/16 I was at my peak of 353; I'm 5'10. That same day I also embarked on a ketogenic way of eating. As of this morning I'm 339.4 and I fully intend to keep that downward trend going :-) My calorie goal each day is 1857. I aim for 35g of carbs (from veggies mostly), 130g of protein, and 133g of fat. Most days I come in under calories. My knees stopped aching the first week. My acid reflux, which I've had for 20 years, is essentially non-existent. All that to say I think Whit could do great eating this way. But I doubt she would :-/ She's going down a road to more aches and pains and who knows what else. She's youngish now so maybe it won't be that bad for awhile but eventually it will. I'm pushing 47 and this is the first time in awhile that my knees haven't hurt from the moment I get out of bed. I don't like being fat. It's easier to be lazy for sure, but I bet it will be more rewarding to be skinnier :-)

[RCharter]

^^congratulations!  thats awesome, especially that you've been able to reduce your pain and increase your quality of life.  I think its more rewarding to just feel good about yourself and how you look and how you feel.

[yogi2014L]

13 hours ago, Stripper Glitter said:

So, I was just reading the most recent comments. I'm a big girl too. I have been on diet after diet after diet since my teen years. Lose gain lose gain. On 5/16/16 I was at my peak of 353; I'm 5'10. That same day I also embarked on a ketogenic way of eating. As of this morning I'm 339.4 and I fully intend to keep that downward trend going :-) My calorie goal each day is 1857. I aim for 35g of carbs (from veggies mostly), 130g of protein, and 133g of fat. Most days I come in under calories. My knees stopped aching the first week. My acid reflux, which I've had for 20 years, is essentially non-existent. All that to say I think Whit could do great eating this way. But I doubt she would :-/ She's going down a road to more aches and pains and who knows what else. She's youngish now so maybe it won't be that bad for awhile but eventually it will. I'm pushing 47 and this is the first time in awhile that my knees haven't hurt from the moment I get out of bed. I don't like being fat. It's easier to be lazy for sure, but I bet it will be more rewarding to be skinnier :-)

great job!!!
 

Also, I would totally watch a my 600 lb life/ Big fat fabulous life crossover

[LocalGovt]

14 hours ago, Stripper Glitter said:

So, I was just reading the most recent comments. I'm a big girl too. I have been on diet after diet after diet since my teen years. Lose gain lose gain. On 5/16/16 I was at my peak of 353; I'm 5'10. That same day I also embarked on a ketogenic way of eating. As of this morning I'm 339.4 and I fully intend to keep that downward trend going :-) My calorie goal each day is 1857. I aim for 35g of carbs (from veggies mostly), 130g of protein, and 133g of fat. Most days I come in under calories. My knees stopped aching the first week. My acid reflux, which I've had for 20 years, is essentially non-existent. All that to say I think Whit could do great eating this way. But I doubt she would :-/ She's going down a road to more aches and pains and who knows what else. She's youngish now so maybe it won't be that bad for awhile but eventually it will. I'm pushing 47 and this is the first time in awhile that my knees haven't hurt from the moment I get out of bed. I don't like being fat. It's easier to be lazy for sure, but I bet it will be more rewarding to be skinnier :-)

It's funny that  you bring this up....just today, I signed up on the Adapt website.  But they don't answer a lot of questions there (on the site).  Did your doctor recommend this?  My brain hears what they're saying, about sugar and carbs being bad for you...I can even understand it.  But I think I've had the "fat is bad for you" mantra drummed into me so long, I worry about all that fat.   Even. Though.I.Know.Carbs.Are.Not.My.Friend. Ugh!

Ooopps! And I meant to add, good for  you! Good luck!!!

Edited June 16, 2016 by LocalGovt
forgot to add good wishes!

[ClareWalks]

I am not on anything quite as scientific as all that, but I have found that what works for me is recording what I eat in an app. I agree that more fat is definitely better for feeling full. There are people who say "oh, eat more protein or fiber and you'll feel full!" Not me. Fat. The key is to keep saturated fat under 20g a day, but total fat should be up higher. I generally get about 80g total fat. My calories breakdown ends up being about 50% carb, 30% fat, 20% protein, but I do a lot of cardio so I heart carbs :) 

True health really comes from mastering one's own body, because as you guys all know everyone is different. I've heard of some wild things that really worked for folks. In my 20s I ate probably 70% carbs and was skinny as hell. Very unusual! I like hearing about all the different plans, though, because it really just shows how important it is to listen to your own body.

[Lightning]

The 5:2 eating plan has worked for me -- it's very slow weight loss, but it's steady and quite easy.   Eat normally (not wildly) for 5 days out of the week, and for two non-consecutive days, limit yourself to 500 calories.  I've lost 35 lbs in 9 months.   I know this is very slow, but as I said, it's steady and easy to follow.   I'm on  track to lose 50 lbs in a year which isn't bad.  

[ClareWalks]

Is anyone watching Fat Chance? It is kind of depressing. None of the crushes ever pan out.

[Barb23]

I would love to see Whitney & friends & parents on Dr. Phil.  I wonder how she would answer his line about acknowledging your problem so he can help fix it.  I know she would say there is no problem.  He could invite her to that Institute place where they check out both physical & mental issues.  He would scold her parents & friends as being her enablers. Oh, the possibilities......

[Tosia]

Dr. Shil would love Whitney-- they are both fame whores--made for each other.  

He doesn't help people, imho. He uses them to line his pockets.

  Whit needs real help from several experts--not on tv.

[Brooklynista]

8 hours ago, Barb23 said:

I would love to see Whitney & friends & parents on Dr. Phil.  I wonder how she would answer his line about acknowledging your problem so he can help fix it.  I know she would say there is no problem.  He could invite her to that Institute place where they check out both physical & mental issues.  He would scold her parents & friends as being her enablers. Oh, the possibilities......

Maybe he'd be willing to lose weight with her since he thinks we can't see his ever expanding suit size.

[ClareWalks]

He would just hand her the "20/20 Diet" book and hook her up with Doctor on Demand ;)

[jacksgirl]

Clarewalks,  I watched once, would love a three month followup. Was reading a real interesting article somewhere about contestants from The Biggest Loser. While we all know that kind of drastic weight loss messes up metabolism, researchers have found that metabolism change may be permanent. For example, take two women who weigh 150 pounds.  One had lost 140 pounds in a short time period by prolonged diet and exercise. The woman who had not lost weight needs 1800 calories to maintain her weight.  The one who lost weight only needs 1300 to maintain, so if she eats 1800 she'll gain weight. Really interesting that the metabolism does not "self correct ". More proof starvation diets don't work. They had followed multiple winners of the show.  I assumed the metabolism would right itself after time, but it may not.

Edited June 19, 2016 by jacksgirl

[ClareWalks]

5 minutes ago, jacksgirl said:

Clarewalks,  I watched once, would love a three month followup. Was reading a real interesting article somewhere about contestants from The Biggest Loser. While we all know that kind of drastic weight loss messes up metabolism, researchers have found that metabolism change may be permanent. For example, take two women who weigh 150 pounds.  One had lost 140 pounds in a short time period by prolonged diet and exercise. The woman who had not lost weight needs 1800 calories to maintain her weight.  The one who lost weight only needs 1300 to maintain, so if she eats 1800 she'll gain weight. Really interesting that the metabolism does not "self correct ". More proof starvation diets don't work. They had followed multiple winners of the show.  I assumed the metabolism would right itself after time, but it may not.

Yeah, Fat Chance takes crash diet/exercise to another level. It seems ridiculous to be in that much of a hurry to lose weight. I always tell my clients, "it took years to put on, it ain't gonna take WEEKS to take off."

[SongbirdHollow]

Very interesting episode of This American Life (podcast) this week. Go to  http://www.thisamericanlife.org to listen.

It's called "Tell Me I'm Fat" and is about obesity, fat acceptance, and weight loss. Act 2 in particular was very moving - about a woman who lost weight (using amphetamines) because she wanted a career and a man, but now that she's thin and has that, she doesn't feel like her true self and that makes her unhappy. Very interesting from a psychological standpoint. She's STILL taking the drugs though.

[yogi2014L]

On 6/19/2016 at 6:49 PM, jacksgirl said:

Clarewalks,  I watched once, would love a three month followup. Was reading a real interesting article somewhere about contestants from The Biggest Loser. While we all know that kind of drastic weight loss messes up metabolism, researchers have found that metabolism change may be permanent. For example, take two women who weigh 150 pounds.  One had lost 140 pounds in a short time period by prolonged diet and exercise. The woman who had not lost weight needs 1800 calories to maintain her weight.  The one who lost weight only needs 1300 to maintain, so if she eats 1800 she'll gain weight. Really interesting that the metabolism does not "self correct ". More proof starvation diets don't work. They had followed multiple winners of the show.  I assumed the metabolism would right itself after time, but it may not.

I read that article and it makes a lot of sense why people who are morbidly obese/heavily overweight who lose weight gain it all back. Its like the body is trying to get you back to your previous weight even if it was seriously unhealthy (biologically speaking, this makes sense. You lose weight, the body thinks oh shit im starving and starts functioning on less calories to hold on to weight)

So really the crucial thing that could be learned here is that its REALLY important never to get to that very heavy overweight/obese/morbidly obese weight because you will be forever at a disadvantage. 

Whit has really done her self in by not trying to lose weight when she was 'smaller'. I truly think despite her best efforts, there may not be any going back even if she had a different attitude/ had actual motivation/wasn't in serious denial. 

[Snarklepuss]

On 6/19/2016 at 7:49 PM, jacksgirl said:

Clarewalks,  I watched once, would love a three month followup. Was reading a real interesting article somewhere about contestants from The Biggest Loser. While we all know that kind of drastic weight loss messes up metabolism, researchers have found that metabolism change may be permanent. For example, take two women who weigh 150 pounds.  One had lost 140 pounds in a short time period by prolonged diet and exercise. The woman who had not lost weight needs 1800 calories to maintain her weight.  The one who lost weight only needs 1300 to maintain, so if she eats 1800 she'll gain weight. Really interesting that the metabolism does not "self correct ". More proof starvation diets don't work. They had followed multiple winners of the show.  I assumed the metabolism would right itself after time, but it may not.

I really believe this is exactly what happened to me.  I have never been morbidly obese and was always normal weight, but starting in my 40s I saw my weight creeping up so I went on diets like Weight Watchers, etc.  They had me on a 1200 calorie a day diet, which I followed faithfully and lost the 40 or so pounds I had put on.  I noticed if I went off the diet just a little bit I gained weight so I stayed on the diet for YEARS.  I never ate bacon, chocolate, cake, pie, anything "bad for you" for over a decade.  My willpower is amazing.  I was able to maintain my weight by eating that little plus exercise for a long time until menopause when I started putting weight on again while keeping to my diet.  I have written about this before.  Now I am convinced nothing but starvation would work.  I have gained 65 lbs. and find myself borderline diabetic.  And this is despite cutting out all added sugar 2 years ago and limiting carbs.  I am at the end of my rope.  None of the doctors or nutritionists seem to understand that I'm doing the best I can.  Everyone wants to continue telling me I can make a difference and not give me medication or whatever I might need.  I am considering going on a medically supervised diet with a nutritionist sponsored by my local hospital, but I am despairing that I will get anywhere with that.  

My mother, grandmother and great grandmother all suffered similar post-menopausal weight gain/obesity and associated sugar/cholesterol issues.  My mother was a brilliant woman who always told me the body fights anything you do and that you're basically screwed. She fought the same diet/exercise battle as I have and lost.  So deep down I always believed she might be right because my mother was way ahead of her time, very capable, strong willed and never wrong about ANYTHING.   She died 15 years ago from a blood clot to the brain.  She was borderline diabetic for several years and had a lot of other medical issues.  I fear I will suffer a similar or even worse fate.  If so, I only have 19 years or less to live.  I wish medical science would recognize this as an issue and come up with a real solution instead of blaming the victims.  We know there are gluttons out there, but there is mounting evidence that my family's issues are far from unique.  I feel like the more I try to do the right thing, the more I damage my body and become fatter.  But if I didn't do those things, I'd surely become morbidly obese and die early anyway.  It's a no-win situation.

Edited June 22, 2016 by Snarklepuss

[LocalGovt]

On 6/19/2016 at 6:35 PM, Tosia said:

Dr. Shil would love Whitney-- they are both fame whores--made for each other.  

He doesn't help people, imho. He uses them to line his pockets.

  Whit needs real help from several experts--not on tv.

I'm not a fan of Dr. Phil, either. But I thought his book, Life Code, was an excellent resource.  Quite possibly because it gave me a lot of validation. :)

[lallalla]

Unsure if this thread is the best place for this article, but here goes. It says so much, so very well. It's the echoes of all the awesome voices on this forum. (*Note- the article was written earlier in the series run)

**linked article removed because of highly offensive overall blog content, which was not my intent to promote, I should have checked that source more thoroughly (I think it will still link it in quoted responses below, my intent was to share content that echoed what others here have noted about Whitney, it was not to bring a fat shaming blog to these wonderful forums or promote hate and ridicule for anyone, let alone an entire subset of people struggling with a difficult issue).

Edited June 26, 2016 by lallalla
removed link

[RealityCowgirl]

Thanks for sharing that. As I noted in the episode thread, I watched this for the first time last week. I left wondering what the heck was so "fabulous" about her life, outside of making the TLC freakshow roster. 

Edited June 25, 2016 by RealityCowgirl

[Jeeves]

3 hours ago, RealityCowgirl said:

Thanks for sharing that. As I noted in the episode thread, I watched this for the first time last week. I left wondering what the heck was so "fabulous" about her life, outside of making the TLC freakshow roster. 

Me too! I watched for the first time week before last. And felt the same way. 

I've decided she's narcissistic and a total user. And some kind of addict in denial. If she's so fecking fabulous, why does she sneak food by eating in the car? Why doesn't she just SHOW us that she smokes? I mean, she's living a fabulous life and smoking is part of it, so smoking must be just fabulous too. Oh, wait a minute. Even the Twit may have a clue that's not true. Even the Twit may get that gaining a hundred pounds when you're already very obese, isn't fabulous. She's not fabulous. She's f*cked up.

All of this gets me back to: TLC freakshow roster. Which is sad and squicky, really.

Hat tip to @RealityCowgirl for the great phrase.

[Madding crowd]

19 hours ago, lallalla said:

Unsure if this thread is the best place for this article, but here goes. It says so much, so very well. It's the echoes of all the awesome voices on this forum. (*Note- the article was written earlier in the series run)

http://notyourgoodfatty.com/my-big-fat-fabulous-life-is-everything-thats-wrong-with-fatacceptance/

This linked website is an entire website created to hate fat people! How mature and useful. So she posts the obit of every fat person who died. News flash! People die every day, even thin people.

[ClareWalks]

1 hour ago, Madding crowd said:

This linked website is an entire website created to hate fat people! How mature and useful. So she posts the obit of every fat person who died. News flash! People die every day, even thin people.

I was also rather turned off by the site's proclamations about not running marathons fast enough. Like anyone who runs slower than a 10-minute mile (or god forbid WALKS) is a fat and/or lazy piece of shit. I am pretty damn lean and I walk. I busted my ass this morning and walked a 3:11 half marathon in horrific heat and humidity. Now I have ordered a pizza, LOL.

[lallalla]

4 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

This linked website is an entire website created to hate fat people! How mature and useful. So she posts the obit of every fat person who died. News flash! People die every day, even thin people.

I actually didn't realize that and I'm happy to remove that link.

I do not believe in shaming or hating people who are overweight, I didn't explore the blog, I only read that one article which hits on many of the same points others here have stated. There was no intent to bring hate into the forums, I will remove the link because I do not wish at all to hurt someone's feelings or to even give the appearance of bullying.

2 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

I was also rather turned off by the site's proclamations about not running marathons fast enough. Like anyone who runs slower than a 10-minute mile (or god forbid WALKS) is a fat and/or lazy piece of shit. I am pretty damn lean and I walk. I busted my ass this morning and walked a 3:11 half marathon in horrific heat and humidity. Now I have ordered a pizza, LOL.

I am so embarrassed that I linked such content. I read it on mobile, posted the link from mobile, and admittedly didn't spend any time vetting the author or the blog's contents.  I in no way champion shaming people (not even criminals) or promoting hate.  It was not my intent to link something so clearly awful. :/

[ClareWalks]

4 minutes ago, lallalla said:

I actually didn't realize that and I'm happy to remove that link.

I do not believe in shaming or hating people who are overweight, I didn't explore the blog, I only read that one article which hits on many of the same points others here have stated. There was no intent to bring hate into the forums, I will remove the link because I do not wish at all to hurt someone's feelings or to even give the appearance of bullying.

I am so embarrassed that I linked such content. I read it on mobile, posted the link from mobile, and admittedly didn't spend any time vetting the author or the blog's contents.  I in no way champion shaming people (not even criminals) or promoting hate.  It was not my intent to link something so clearly awful. :/

Oh, I didn't mean to make you feel bad for posting the link! I actually liked the article you posted a lot and agree with their points there. I thought "let's see what else is on this blog" and found a few sketchy things, go figure, it's the internet ;)

[lallalla]

4 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

Oh, I didn't mean to make you feel bad for posting the link! I actually liked the article you posted a lot and agree with their points there. I thought "let's see what else is on this blog" and found a few sketchy things, go figure, it's the internet ;)

I'm glad it wasn't taken as me trying to be mean, spiteful, or spark any kind of ill-will, this community is one of my favorites on the web, I would not want to hurt someone, either intentionally or not. :)

[Madding crowd]

Not your fault lallalla! The article itself was ok, but the overall purpose of the blog is hating  fat people so I was just commenting on that. Posting obits of fat people who died in order to entertain readers is downright disgusting.

[RCharter]

52 minutes ago, Madding crowd said:

Not your fault lallalla! The article itself was ok, but the overall purpose of the blog is hating  fat people so I was just commenting on that. Posting obits of fat people who died in order to entertain readers is downright disgusting.

I suspect whoever runs that site is either fat, or was fat and thinks that hating on fat people now will either keep her from gaining weight, or its her right to go overboard since she has "been there"

[M.F. Luder]

I think it's just another aspect of a huge online movement that is anti-SJW (social justice warrior). It's a really big thing at the moment and a lot of people on youtube and other social media platforms have gained a big following (and made a lot of money) going against the grain of all left-leaning social movements. The main thing is being anti-feminism, and along with that, anti-fat acceptance which they see as a branch of feminism that illustrates how delusional and self-serving SJWs are.

I'm not making any value judgements about it on either side, but it's just a big trend I see online for the last few years.

[Tosia]

I started getting of topic in the other thread, but the conclusion of my research into dieting is that I needed to learn to put together and cook  healthy foods.  So I collected recipes of foods that I liked. And I paid more for some foods cuz I was worth it and I would really eat it,  they not wasting it.  I also needed to invest time onto preparing foods (tupperware is your friend...no kickbacks...any container will do.) That I cd go to when I was craving fast foods.  I want to be healthy for a longer life, and losing weight is part of that goal.  

BTW, I think Whit Is lazy, hence the fast food dirty wrappers in her car and dishes in her bedroom.  Ewww.  What does she do between  her once a week dance class?  

[Madding crowd]

2 hours ago, M.F. Luder said:

I think it's just another aspect of a huge online movement that is anti-SJW (social justice warrior). It's a really big thing at the moment and a lot of people on youtube and other social media platforms have gained a big following (and made a lot of money) going against the grain of all left-leaning social movements. The main thing is being anti-feminism, and along with that, anti-fat acceptance which they see as a branch of feminism that illustrates how delusional and self-serving SJWs are.

I'm not making any value judgements about it on either side, but it's just a big trend I see online for the last few years.

I believe it is people using the anonymity of the internet to spew hatred without doing it face to face. There is no real reason for posting hatred of a group of people you don't know. It may be delusional to some people that a person can be fat and still try to live a happy life, but I don't think we are in a position to demand anyone has to be miserable, just because we want it to be so. The real fat acceptance movement is not about trying to be unhealthy or trying to be fat. It's about not allowing people to be hated and shamed over the way they look. To me blogs like this are written by insecure, trollish people who are probably unhappy with their own life.  

[Tosia]

BTW, one of the referralls on the back of her Whit's book (i saw online--never wd buy it-- )was from a young woman who wrote a book called BIg Girl...Kelsey Miller...I think.  

I read the book which was kinda depressing ..lots of family issues. .so she ate from early age.  She used intuitive eating too help her get control,  which as I said earlier in another thread,  iis not supported by research to lose weight, but it does help to figure out your fullness and eat more mindfully. Author is still kinda overwught,  but not much.  

But at 378 lbs. , anything Whit does might help. 

[RCharter]

There is an old Asian saying that you should eat until you're "80% full," and I thought it was really interesting, since I've only known 100% full....or hungry before I eat.  When I was doing that, it just sort of changed my perspective on eating.  I didn't need to eat enough to get full, but enough to get 80% full.  Of course, thats not as funny as eating as much pizza as you can, so I dropped it pretty quick...but still.

[Scarlett45]

31 minutes ago, RCharter said:

There is an old Asian saying that you should eat until you're "80% full," and I thought it was really interesting, since I've only known 100% full....or hungry before I eat.  When I was doing that, it just sort of changed my perspective on eating.  I didn't need to eat enough to get full, but enough to get 80% full.  Of course, thats not as funny as eating as much pizza as you can, so I dropped it pretty quick...but still.

That makes sense, as it takes the brain a while to realize you're no longer hungry. 

[Snarklepuss]

I've read that one should eat until "just satisfied", or "just not hungry" not full.  I'd find it harder to figure out when I was 80% full than whether or not I was satisfied.  Plus in my case I am sure that eating until feeling 80% full would make me gain weight.  I am sure I am not like most normal people, though.

[SongbirdHollow]

I love the 80% full trick as well. For me, the trick of adding to rather than subtracting from the diet worked because I really did get full from the extra, healthy stuff. I remember being annoyed with how much I had to eat! I also realized just how many calories I was wasting on junk. If you really can't stop even if you are full, it will not work for you. Everyone has their own issues, right? One of mine is growing up with 2 brothers, often if I didn't eat NOW the good stuff was gone. So now my husband knows to ask before eating the last of anything. Or I divide stuff up and put my name on it! Less "defensive" eating. Lol.

[RCharter]

3 hours ago, SongbirdHollow said:

I love the 80% full trick as well. For me, the trick of adding to rather than subtracting from the diet worked because I really did get full from the extra, healthy stuff. I remember being annoyed with how much I had to eat! I also realized just how many calories I was wasting on junk. If you really can't stop even if you are full, it will not work for you. Everyone has their own issues, right? One of mine is growing up with 2 brothers, often if I didn't eat NOW the good stuff was gone. So now my husband knows to ask before eating the last of anything. Or I divide stuff up and put my name on it! Less "defensive" eating. Lol.

ha ha -- when I was younger I was constantly chided to "eat faster," which I think has grown into an issue I had with food.  It sounds similar to yours.  I also came from a family that did not believe in food waste.

And to this day, I hate food waste, but I will throw something away before I force myself to try to eat it or use it if it won't be good for me.  Which sucks because some things really only come in larger quantities so there will be some waste.  When I was first consciously losing weight (in my 20s it only required running), if I felt like getting some oreos, I would get the smallest package I could find but I would have to throw a lot of them away.  I hated it, but I knew that if left to my own devices I would eat them all.....and sooner rather than later.  And thats how Oreos (and so many other processed foods) are designed, so that you want to eat the entire box, the entire sleeve, the whole thing.  Its all a game stacked against people.

I'm going to try the extra healthy stuff trick....its great because since its summer there is so much wonderful fruit out there.

As for the 80% full thing....I only liked it because it forced me to think.  So much of my eating can be impulsive....and tinged with the need to finish everything on my plate.  But by the time I sit around, thinking it through, generally I'm like...."I don't know how full I am...maybe its 80% so I'm just gonna stop."  That to me, is the magic of 80%.  You know when you're 100% full, you know when you're 0% full (or hungry), you know when you're 140% full or overstuffed.  But thinking about being 80% full really requires some thought, and you'll probably never know if you're 80% full, but just stopping to think about it makes you more likely to just stop eating.  IMO.  But of course -- I love food, and so I slowly let that go :)

[Alapaki]

Someone upthread mentioned a follow-up on Biggest Loser contestants.  There was recently a study that followed the contestants from an early season.  I'd be mis-stating the specifics if I tried to.  But the main take-away was that they really couldn't keep the weight off and that many had returned to their original sizes.  Apparently what most surprised the investigators was that many of these contestants regained weight despite maintaining healthy eating habits and exercise routines.  

This seems to be all in line with Paul Campos' Obesity Myth book, which pointed out the lack of data to back up both the connection between weight and health, and to substantiate the net health benefits of weight loss.  

Most of the data that says weight does not equate with health makes exceptions, however, for very high levels of obesity at which there probably are negative health effects of the weight.

I think that at the beginning of this series, Whitney was probably close to that dividing line, weight-wise.  At least I think she was close enough that she could've been an effective advocate for living a fulfilling life "even if you're fat" (so to speak).  Her dancing videos that went viral and which were the genesis of the TLC show suggested as much.  

I recall people at the time accusing Whitney of having heavily edited the videos to make it look like she had much more endurance, etc. than she really did (i.e. editing out many frequent breaks where she was almost collapsed with exhaustion, etc.)  In retrospect, I'm starting to believe those accusations.  Because it certainly seems like Whitney has been on a downward trajectory for the entire course of this series.  Until, at this point, she really can't credibly advocate for anything weight-related.

[Tosia]

There is a new show starting this fall called,  "This Is Us", wherein one story of three story lines is about a big, beautiful woman who is dating,  and decide to lose weight...in the brief commercial I saw. Not reality tv. The actress was really striking looking awesome,  so I hope the show is good too. 

We need positive role models and smart info abt losing weight.  There is a cool new videofor JCPenney abt bigger women also which is amazing.  Whit is being left behind as her true lifestyle and jerky personality is being revealed.  

[RCharter]

1 hour ago, Tosia said:

There is a new show starting this fall called,  "This Is Us", wherein one story of three story lines is about a big, beautiful woman who is dating,  and decide to lose weight...in the brief commercial I saw. Not reality tv. The actress was really striking looking awesome,  so I hope the show is good too. 

We need positive role models and smart info abt losing weight.  There is a cool new videofor JCPenney abt bigger women also which is amazing.  Whit is being left behind as her true lifestyle and jerky personality is being revealed.  

GabiFresh is in the commercial!

[yogi2014L]

On 7/5/2016 at 2:47 PM, Alapaki said:

Someone upthread mentioned a follow-up on Biggest Loser contestants.  There was recently a study that followed the contestants from an early season.  I'd be mis-stating the specifics if I tried to.  But the main take-away was that they really couldn't keep the weight off and that many had returned to their original sizes.  Apparently what most surprised the investigators was that many of these contestants regained weight despite maintaining healthy eating habits and exercise routines.  

This seems to be all in line with Paul Campos' Obesity Myth book, which pointed out the lack of data to back up both the connection between weight and health, and to substantiate the net health benefits of weight loss.  

Most of the data that says weight does not equate with health makes exceptions, however, for very high levels of obesity at which there probably are negative health effects of the weight.

I think that at the beginning of this series, Whitney was probably close to that dividing line, weight-wise.  At least I think she was close enough that she could've been an effective advocate for living a fulfilling life "even if you're fat" (so to speak).  Her dancing videos that went viral and which were the genesis of the TLC show suggested as much.  

I recall people at the time accusing Whitney of having heavily edited the videos to make it look like she had much more endurance, etc. than she really did (i.e. editing out many frequent breaks where she was almost collapsed with exhaustion, etc.)  In retrospect, I'm starting to believe those accusations.  Because it certainly seems like Whitney has been on a downward trajectory for the entire course of this series.  Until, at this point, she really can't credibly advocate for anything weight-related.

If she could get her shit together she really could lose 100-150 lbs, regain some of her mobility and still be a role model to fat fit and fabulous. Whitney will never be a normal weight at this point,but I think a victory for her would be to just be regular overweight and mobile. 

The biggest loser study was fascinating to me because it really shows the detriment to gaining massive amounts of weight. Your body will fight you to keep it off, its very difficult to maintain weight loss once you have lost significant weight and I can totally see how some people just say eff it . Drives home the notion that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 

[Alapaki]

Quote

The biggest loser study was fascinating to me because it really shows the detriment to gaining massive amounts of weight. Your body will fight you to keep it off, its very difficult to maintain weight loss once you have lost significant weight and I can totally see how some people just say eff it . Drives home the notion that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 

Agreed.  And also to shift the emphasis from exercising-to-lose-weight to exercising-to-improve-health.

[lovetheduns]

14 hours ago, yogi2014L said:

If she could get her shit together she really could lose 100-150 lbs, regain some of her mobility and still be a role model to fat fit and fabulous. Whitney will never be a normal weight at this point,but I think a victory for her would be to just be regular overweight and mobile. 

The biggest loser study was fascinating to me because it really shows the detriment to gaining massive amounts of weight. Your body will fight you to keep it off, its very difficult to maintain weight loss once you have lost significant weight and I can totally see how some people just say eff it . Drives home the notion that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 

 

Well, I took the study with a grain of salt. How many of us are losing weight like the Biggest Loser, where many of those contestants supposedly were encourage to reduce to even less than 1200 calories a day and workout hours and hours during the day? Not to mention that these individuals could not maintain that level of athleticism/working out alone nor could many of them REALLY continue to eat as they had. What concerns me is that people will think "oh well it is impossible to lose weight and keep it off so why bother." Similar to how people think if you don't eat all throughout the day you are going to go into "starvation mode." If human beings were that frail to go into starvation mode, then it is pretty amazing we have made it to the year 2016 as a species since how would a human being be able to access stored fat and energy in order to seek more food in times of famine or need to hunt for more food?

So I took the study to mean that if you do some significant starvation, fad diet, with crazy levels of burning the few calories you get you can TRULY damage the body. 

Something else, although people say they "eat" healthy there is a difference between "eating healthy" and eating at a calorie deficit. These people were not continuously monitored in a metabolic lab with their diets as carefully tracked so similar to how Whitney swears she doesn't eat all the time, I don't think we can confidently say how many calories they were truly maintaining a day post their appearance on the tv show.

I don't know if I have metabolic damage but I did have my BMR tested within a lab setting and although the anticipated results based on the various calculators out there had me having a suggested BMR anywhere from 1600-1900 calories a day, my real measured BMR was 1409. If I solely relied on the online calculators I would be potentially be eating at a higher amount daily (combined with my workouts) that I would not be getting a true caloric deficit to lose weight.

One thing that has helped me is the combined research that Dr. Jason Fung has been analyzing and reporting. Basically, I follow an intermittent fasting plan and portion control. I only eat during the hours of 1pm - 8pm - there is at least one day a week where I fast from one dinner to the next (aka almost 24 hours). A "snack" may be an apple but in general I do not snack. I measure portions and I do at least a 45 min workout 5-6 days a week. Basically the idea with intermittent fasting is to open the body stores of fat to be used as energy which keeps the metabolism from not being damaged. Here is a really good article where he addresses the Biggest Loser study.  https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/fix-broken-metabolism/ I did find during my BMR test that I am fat burning during fasting so it seems to be working for me. I have also found it has helped to break a lot of my previous food binging issues. My stomach literally can't hold the volume it used to when I would eat almost all day. I don't feel "hungry" because I have two larger meals versus trying to eat smaller bites throughout the day. Once I got used to it, I have a tremendous amount of energy (I actually workout while fasting) and my body is so much better now telling me "hey I am hungry" or "I am really thirsty." 

[SongbirdHollow]

10 hours ago, lovetheduns said:

 

Well, I took the study with a grain of salt. How many of us are losing weight like the Biggest Loser, where many of those contestants supposedly were encourage to reduce to even less than 1200 calories a day and workout hours and hours during the day? Not to mention that these individuals could not maintain that level of athleticism/working out alone nor could many of them REALLY continue to eat as they had. What concerns me is that people will think "oh well it is impossible to lose weight and keep it off so why bother." Similar to how people think if you don't eat all throughout the day you are going to go into "starvation mode." If human beings were that frail to go into starvation mode, then it is pretty amazing we have made it to the year 2016 as a species since how would a human being be able to access stored fat and energy in order to seek more food in times of famine or need to hunt for more food?

So I took the study to mean that if you do some significant starvation, fad diet, with crazy levels of burning the few calories you get you can TRULY damage the body. 

Something else, although people say they "eat" healthy there is a difference between "eating healthy" and eating at a calorie deficit. These people were not continuously monitored in a metabolic lab with their diets as carefully tracked so similar to how Whitney swears she doesn't eat all the time, I don't think we can confidently say how many calories they were truly maintaining a day post their appearance on the tv show.

I don't know if I have metabolic damage but I did have my BMR tested within a lab setting and although the anticipated results based on the various calculators out there had me having a suggested BMR anywhere from 1600-1900 calories a day, my real measured BMR was 1409. If I solely relied on the online calculators I would be potentially be eating at a higher amount daily (combined with my workouts) that I would not be getting a true caloric deficit to lose weight.

One thing that has helped me is the combined research that Dr. Jason Fung has been analyzing and reporting. Basically, I follow an intermittent fasting plan and portion control. I only eat during the hours of 1pm - 8pm - there is at least one day a week where I fast from one dinner to the next (aka almost 24 hours). A "snack" may be an apple but in general I do not snack. I measure portions and I do at least a 45 min workout 5-6 days a week. Basically the idea with intermittent fasting is to open the body stores of fat to be used as energy which keeps the metabolism from not being damaged. Here is a really good article where he addresses the Biggest Loser study.  https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/fix-broken-metabolism/ I did find during my BMR test that I am fat burning during fasting so it seems to be working for me. I have also found it has helped to break a lot of my previous food binging issues. My stomach literally can't hold the volume it used to when I would eat almost all day. I don't feel "hungry" because I have two larger meals versus trying to eat smaller bites throughout the day. Once I got used to it, I have a tremendous amount of energy (I actually workout while fasting) and my body is so much better now telling me "hey I am hungry" or "I am really thirsty." 

That sounds fascinating and also very difficult! Keep up the good work, I don't think I could do it!

[RCharter]

I think the reason people regain whatever weight they lose is because they look at whatever eating plan they're on as a temporary thing (until I lose the weight), and then once they do, they promptly go back to the way they used to eat, which is what made them overweight in the first place.  The trick is to find a way of eating that  you're prepared to follow for the rest of your life.  Not "a diet", but "your diet" (as in, what you typically eat).

I think thats a great point.  Jillian Michaels made it her lifestyle, and in the thread that I posted people who lost that weight seemed to have to commit to a lifestyle.   And even now, I have 20 lbs to lose, I was down 15 and gained almost another 3 just for eating thai food on july 4th, missing a few step classes, and going pretty crazy on some hummus and chocolate.

I think the idea of sustained change to lifestyle is super key....and....an attitude that is borderline vigilant.

[ClareWalks]

Indeed yes to the sustained lifestyle! I have been yo-yoing a lot in recent years, dealing with infertility, then being pregnant. When my baby was 8 months old I started logging everything I eat and walking a lot again. Now it's 7 months later and I'm down 43 lb, and I know I will have to continue to log everything I eat indefinitely, and I'm okay with that. Fortunately there are all kinds of apps out there (I use Lose It) that tell you how many calories you need to lose X amount of pounds a week. It's not a perfect science, obviously, but it's helpful. If a person got into the habit of logging it would be much easier to lose, and to maintain a loss.

[RCharter]

1 hour ago, ClareWalks said:

Indeed yes to the sustained lifestyle! I have been yo-yoing a lot in recent years, dealing with infertility, then being pregnant. When my baby was 8 months old I started logging everything I eat and walking a lot again. Now it's 7 months later and I'm down 43 lb, and I know I will have to continue to log everything I eat indefinitely, and I'm okay with that. Fortunately there are all kinds of apps out there (I use Lose It) that tell you how many calories you need to lose X amount of pounds a week. It's not a perfect science, obviously, but it's helpful. If a person got into the habit of logging it would be much easier to lose, and to maintain a loss.

so true about the food diary.  When I logged my food religiously, I was able to lose weight regularly.  Its easier to NOT keep one, but I know I have to get better at the habit.

Congrats on your weight loss!

Edited July 9, 2016 by RCharter

[ClareWalks]

8 minutes ago, RCharter said:

so true about the food diary.  When I logged my food religiously, I was able to lose weight regularly.  Its easier to NOT keep one, but I know I have to get better at the habit.

Congrats on your weight loss!

Thanks! So true that it is much easier to not bother with it...I always find that when I stop keeping track, I stop making good choices. I'd rather stay thinner than have to "get thinner" again ;)

[RCharter]

7 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

Thanks! So true that it is much easier to not bother with it...I always find that when I stop keeping track, I stop making good choices. I'd rather stay thinner than have to "get thinner" again ;)

precisely.  it does something to see the calories all written down....it really does.