Could there be a cause for this? (body holding on to fat despite somewhat decent diet)

[Anonymous]

A lot of "healthy food" has a lot of calories. So while you may think he is eating healthy, he is still eating too many calories. Has he ever tracked his calories, even for one day? I would start there and I think you'll both be surprised how many calories he is consuming.

[Anonymous]

Baked potatoes chips have barely any less calories than fried. Something like 120 calories compared to 160. He would have to bike over 15 minutes to burn that.

[Anonymous]

If he used a calorie counter app - accurately and consistently - he could figure this out.

[Anonymous]

You don’t get to be 267 lbs at a 7th grader without grossly over eating. It isn’t even about what his parents gave him- he was over eating by a to become over 100 lbs overweight. It sounds like he may have some binge eating tendencies and over eats in general on a regular basis

[Anonymous]

Yes. His body’s “normal” is obese. His body may push him — to maintain that norm in the same way that a person of average or lower weight would struggle on a restricted diet aimed at losing weight. This might be even more of an issue if he’s ever lost significant weight in the past — which may have changed the way his body processes food extremely efficiently.

Becoming obese does not necessarily mean that someone is binge eating. It might, instead, mean eating small amounts more than their body needs — consistently, over a period of time. 100 lbs is gaining half a pound a week over 2 years, or 4oz a week over 4 years. It’s also really not as simple as “calories in, calories out” especially for people who have previously lost significant amounts of weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. His body’s “normal” is obese. His body may push him — to maintain that norm in the same way that a person of average or lower weight would struggle on a restricted diet aimed at losing weight. This might be even more of an issue if he’s ever lost significant weight in the past — which may have changed the way his body processes food extremely efficiently.

Becoming obese does not necessarily mean that someone is binge eating. It might, instead, mean eating small amounts more than their body needs — consistently, over a period of time. 100 lbs is gaining half a pound a week over 2 years, or 4oz a week over 4 years. It’s also really not as simple as “calories in, calories out” especially for people who have previously lost significant amounts of weight.

Maybe not, but calories in calories out would be a good start. He’s a big guy, and has been his entire life. It sounds like he’s maintaining his weight, so he’s eating as much as he’s using. Doesn’t matter if it’s baked lays or a cheeseburger, he’s not eating to lose weight. And yeah, if he does lose weight, because he’s been obese his whole life, it will always take effort to keep the weight off, more so then people who were never obese, or briefly obese. That’s the unfortunate truth.

Tracking food would help, to get a sense of just how much he eats daily, but as the spouse, OP, there’s not really much you can do if he doesn’t want to lose weight. Him talking to the doctor about it is a good first step.

[Anonymous]

It's the calories, combined with exercise level. His childhood history makes it all harder.

Try 1 habit at a time. Like doing 30+ minutes of cardio at the gym. Its a lot different than walking or playing with kids. Maybe he won't be as hungry in the evening. Next, try to cut out snacking after dinner. The snacks are sneaky how the calories add up. A better snack also would be nuts or cottage cheese, like more protein. And then there is the sneaking, the candy bars at 7-11, sneaking fast food, I don't know if he does that, but my DH used to sneak it for years and not tell me.

[Anonymous]

Track it all in MyFitnessPal and see as is. That will be enlightening. Don’t try to make a change before getting a baseline - that usually takes a week. You find the average food intake by totaling caloric intake for 7 days and then divide by 7.

Also he could ask to be tested for thyroid issues. Hypothyroidism is notorious for easy weight gain.

[Anonymous]

OP I have struggled mightily with this same problem. Although I despise food journaling, it is what will work for your husband. He’s eating mindlessly and needs to be mindful. That means recording the amount and calorie content of everything that goes into the mouth. I use the free version of the My Fitness Pal app. It works! Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Gastric banding. I can give you the name of a fantastic doctor. Your husband needs to want to work on getting healthy. It’s not a quick fix.

[Anonymous]

Your DH probably has some other health issues that slow his metabolism...but he's also eating too much. What does his doctor say?

Either way, I think anyone trying to intervene will ask him to start by keeping a food diary. I know MyFitnessPal is more popular, but I like Loseit (since I don't use any of the other health tracking features). LoseIt has an easier to use interface, so it's really easy to keep a food diary.

Given where your DH is in terms of eating, I would focus less on macros right now (and even not so much on total calories) and more on just being mindful of what he's putting in his mouth. Some of the things you are describing as a light snack (english muffin with PB&J, assuming it's both halves) would be an entire meal to other people.

[Anonymous]

Fatty Liver disease? (non-alcoholic)
Also foods that are low in minerals don't make one feel full.

[Anonymous]

8 would argue that his metabolism is shot after years of crappy eating. His body doesn't know right from wrong, up from down, fat from thin.
In order to really lose, he'd have to work hard at it, track all his food, and it would still be a long, slow process.

[Anonymous]

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/14/magazine/calories-weight-age.html?searchResultPosition=1

[Anonymous]

Your idea of a healthy diet is weird.