When you've lived your whole life overweight

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, it’s not your fault.

A post-viral health condition led to me gaining 30 pounds in a year. My entire day was driven by my relentless appetite. I wasn’t eating “unhealthy” foods, either. What I did do was consume 1500+ calories at lunch of quinoa, roasted veg, and chicken and then felt famished 90 minutes later. I tried eating a high protein diet, a gluten-free diet, a gluten and dairy-free diet, and a low histamine diet, sticking to each religiously for six weeks or more. Of course, I cut out alcohol throughout. No matter what I tried, I kept steadily gaining weight. Oddly, it was while taking prednisone, a medication that usually causes people to gain weight, that my inflammation came down enough to facilitate weight loss. From all the ups and downs of the past five years, the only thing I’ve learned is that there is so much we don’t yet understand about gaining and losing weight. Certainly psychological and genetic factors play a role, but docs don’t seem to know fully how to address those issues. As well, there is biochemistry that changes for all of us due to medication, health conditions, and phases of life.

I have an obese friend who recently started taking Ozempic. I also have an obese family member in a clinical trial for an oral semaglutide. I’ve seen both of these folks try very, very hard to lose weight. They’ve been through normal and extreme weight loss methods—Weight Watchers, addiction programs, all-liquid diets, two-hour daily workouts, fen/phen. They’ve been deeply committed to losing the weight and consistent in their behaviors for years, but as soon as they lift the intervention, the weight comes back. They are not morally bad people and they are the opposite of lazy. All of that said, the drugs have made a difference in a way that nothing else has. Their hunger, ability to stop eating, and feelings about food have all changed so quickly. This again reinforces to me that there are not-fully-understood biological reasons for weight gain.

It is not OPs fault; agree.

It is the fault of the oppressors in society, who still engage in sizeism, ableism, and fat-phobia.

These are forms of oppression. No one should be made to feel shame, embarrassment, not any of the things oppressors do to victimize others in the US, based on size.

OK, agreed. But we also shouldn’t shame people who are tired of being overweight and want to use the new meds out there to fix it. I’ve been overweight and I’ve been average-weight and I can tell you, it’s better in every way to be average-weight. I feel better, I have an easier time finding clothes, I enjoy regular activities (sex, exercise, etc.) much more.
Of course no one should make people feel bad about their bodies. But also, it’s really OK to want to be healthier and to acknowledge that carrying a lot of extra weight is usually unhealthy.

And FWIW, I’ve tried semaglutide. But it really seems to be changing lives, and I’m all for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, it’s not your fault.

A post-viral health condition led to me gaining 30 pounds in a year. My entire day was driven by my relentless appetite. I wasn’t eating “unhealthy” foods, either. What I did do was consume 1500+ calories at lunch of quinoa, roasted veg, and chicken and then felt famished 90 minutes later. I tried eating a high protein diet, a gluten-free diet, a gluten and dairy-free diet, and a low histamine diet, sticking to each religiously for six weeks or more. Of course, I cut out alcohol throughout. No matter what I tried, I kept steadily gaining weight. Oddly, it was while taking prednisone, a medication that usually causes people to gain weight, that my inflammation came down enough to facilitate weight loss. From all the ups and downs of the past five years, the only thing I’ve learned is that there is so much we don’t yet understand about gaining and losing weight. Certainly psychological and genetic factors play a role, but docs don’t seem to know fully how to address those issues. As well, there is biochemistry that changes for all of us due to medication, health conditions, and phases of life.

I have an obese friend who recently started taking Ozempic. I also have an obese family member in a clinical trial for an oral semaglutide. I’ve seen both of these folks try very, very hard to lose weight. They’ve been through normal and extreme weight loss methods—Weight Watchers, addiction programs, all-liquid diets, two-hour daily workouts, fen/phen. They’ve been deeply committed to losing the weight and consistent in their behaviors for years, but as soon as they lift the intervention, the weight comes back. They are not morally bad people and they are the opposite of lazy. All of that said, the drugs have made a difference in a way that nothing else has. Their hunger, ability to stop eating, and feelings about food have all changed so quickly. This again reinforces to me that there are not-fully-understood biological reasons for weight gain.

It is not OPs fault; agree.

It is the fault of the oppressors in society, who still engage in sizeism, ableism, and fat-phobia.

These are forms of oppression. No one should be made to feel shame, embarrassment, not any of the things oppressors do to victimize others in the US, based on size.

OK, agreed. But we also shouldn’t shame people who are tired of being overweight and want to use the new meds out there to fix it. I’ve been overweight and I’ve been average-weight and I can tell you, it’s better in every way to be average-weight. I feel better, I have an easier time finding clothes, I enjoy regular activities (sex, exercise, etc.) much more.
Of course no one should make people feel bad about their bodies. But also, it’s really OK to want to be healthier and to acknowledge that carrying a lot of extra weight is usually unhealthy.

And FWIW, I’ve tried semaglutide. But it really seems to be changing lives, and I’m all for it.

Sorry, should be “I’ve NEVER tried semaglutide.”

[Anonymous]

And we shouldn't feel as though healthy fat people who don’t want to take semaglutide for no reason other than weight loss are making a bad choice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And we shouldn't feel as though healthy fat people who don’t want to take semaglutide for no reason other than weight loss are making a bad choice

Healthy fat person?

[Anonymous]

I understand exactly how you feel but it’s taken me a ling time, until my late 40s, to really feel it’s just genetics. I’ve been very overweight my entire life and had a skinny mother and two skinny siblings. I was active and played sports but constantly thought about food and still do. It doesn’t seem to matter if I eat healthy and not a lot, I’m still overweight. I’m obese at the moment. There was one point about twenty years ago where I had a medical condition and medication that killed my appetite. It was eye opening to see how people could live without constantly thinking of food and I was thin for two years.

I have two children. One is stuck skinny and the other is overweight. Both have the same parents, us, and the same access to food. Both are involved in sports. It’s just genetics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love when I'm sick and easily go 48 hours eating one snack pack of applesauce and an ice pop. I always vow to stick to eating just enough to quell hunger pangs, but never do. I have a voracious appetite and notice my inner monologue is always worried about my portions not being enough and my being hungry. Combine that with a sweet tooth, and I'm huge.

Yes, it sounds very weird to actually say this, but I love when I am sick & have zero appetite.
I love how quickly the numbers on the scale drop but of course once I am better my weight also goes right back up!

I remember having pneumonia about 25 years ago for about three weeks.
I lost so much weight then but eventually gained most of it back! 😬

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love when I'm sick and easily go 48 hours eating one snack pack of applesauce and an ice pop. I always vow to stick to eating just enough to quell hunger pangs, but never do. I have a voracious appetite and notice my inner monologue is always worried about my portions not being enough and my being hungry. Combine that with a sweet tooth, and I'm huge.

Yes, it sounds very weird to actually say this, but I love when I am sick & have zero appetite. I love how quickly the numbers on the scale drop but of course once I am better my weight also goes right back up! I remember having pneumonia about 25 years ago for about three weeks I lost so much weight then but eventually gained most of it back! 😬

Yeah, not only is it non-sustainable but it's also unhealthy. I am 230lbs at 5'4". I would be open to trying one of the newer weight loss drugs, except my concern is what happens when I go off it. Will I gain my appetite right back and thus gain all the weight back? Or does it rewire the brain (or whatever controls appetite) permanently?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:


Yes, it sounds very weird to actually say this, but I love when I am sick & have zero appetite. I love how quickly the numbers on the scale drop but of course once I am better my weight also goes right back up! I remember having pneumonia about 25 years ago for about three weeks I lost so much weight then but eventually gained most of it back! 😬


Yeah, not only is it non-sustainable but it's also unhealthy. I am 230lbs at 5'4". I would be open to trying one of the newer weight loss drugs, except my concern is what happens when I go off it. Will I gain my appetite right back and thus gain all the weight back? Or does it rewire the brain (or whatever controls appetite) permanently?

While the appetite suppression will lessen there is a lot of evidence that being overweight is a vicious cycle and changing body weight and food choices significantly while in the drug can require hormones etc.

[Anonymous]

My Mom was effortlessly under 100 lbs most of her life. I ate the same food as her and was always 30 pounds fatter. I even had an eating disorder and was still 30 pounds fatter. Only after a crisis did a doctor find a genetic cause that doctors had dismissed for years. I don't have a normal metabolism. Never have and never will. I've yet to learn what this means for the rest of my life. But, basically, I can't be a normal weight without medication.

[Anonymous]

Well you can’t just eat and eat and eat and not exercise!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well you can’t just eat and eat and eat and not exercise!!!

I'm the person who weighs 230. I go for two or three walks a day, each an hour long. Three times a week I work out with weights. If I were skinny you'd be alarmed that I'm spending too much time exercising. It's only because I'm fat that you think I'm not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well you can’t just eat and eat and eat and not exercise!!!

I was a division I athlete, worked out hours every day and at times starved myself and, yes, still never my Mother's weight. Ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, it’s not your fault.

A post-viral health condition led to me gaining 30 pounds in a year. My entire day was driven by my relentless appetite. I wasn’t eating “unhealthy” foods, either. What I did do was consume 1500+ calories at lunch of quinoa, roasted veg, and chicken and then felt famished 90 minutes later. I tried eating a high protein diet, a gluten-free diet, a gluten and dairy-free diet, and a low histamine diet, sticking to each religiously for six weeks or more. Of course, I cut out alcohol throughout. No matter what I tried, I kept steadily gaining weight. Oddly, it was while taking prednisone, a medication that usually causes people to gain weight, that my inflammation came down enough to facilitate weight loss. From all the ups and downs of the past five years, the only thing I’ve learned is that there is so much we don’t yet understand about gaining and losing weight. Certainly psychological and genetic factors play a role, but docs don’t seem to know fully how to address those issues. As well, there is biochemistry that changes for all of us due to medication, health conditions, and phases of life.

I have an obese friend who recently started taking Ozempic. I also have an obese family member in a clinical trial for an oral semaglutide. I’ve seen both of these folks try very, very hard to lose weight. They’ve been through normal and extreme weight loss methods—Weight Watchers, addiction programs, all-liquid diets, two-hour daily workouts, fen/phen. They’ve been deeply committed to losing the weight and consistent in their behaviors for years, but as soon as they lift the intervention, the weight comes back. They are not morally bad people and they are the opposite of lazy. All of that said, the drugs have made a difference in a way that nothing else has. Their hunger, ability to stop eating, and feelings about food have all changed so quickly. This again reinforces to me that there are not-fully-understood biological reasons for weight gain.

It is not OPs fault; agree.

It is the fault of the oppressors in society, who still engage in sizeism, ableism, and fat-phobia.

These are forms of oppression. No one should be made to feel shame, embarrassment, not any of the things oppressors do to victimize others in the US, based on size.

OK, agreed. But we also shouldn’t shame people who are tired of being overweight and want to use the new meds out there to fix it. I’ve been overweight and I’ve been average-weight and I can tell you, it’s better in every way to be average-weight. I feel better, I have an easier time finding clothes, I enjoy regular activities (sex, exercise, etc.) much more.
Of course no one should make people feel bad about their bodies. But also, it’s really OK to want to be healthier and to acknowledge that carrying a lot of extra weight is usually unhealthy.

And FWIW, I’ve tried semaglutide. But it really seems to be changing lives, and I’m all for it.

No of course not. We should fully support people without regard to their body type.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love when I'm sick and easily go 48 hours eating one snack pack of applesauce and an ice pop. I always vow to stick to eating just enough to quell hunger pangs, but never do. I have a voracious appetite and notice my inner monologue is always worried about my portions not being enough and my being hungry. Combine that with a sweet tooth, and I'm huge.

Yes, it sounds very weird to actually say this, but I love when I am sick & have zero appetite. I love how quickly the numbers on the scale drop but of course once I am better my weight also goes right back up! I remember having pneumonia about 25 years ago for about three weeks I lost so much weight then but eventually gained most of it back! 😬

Yeah, not only is it non-sustainable but it's also unhealthy. I am 230lbs at 5'4". I would be open to trying one of the newer weight loss drugs, except my concern is what happens when I go off it. Will I gain my appetite right back and thus gain all the weight back? Or does it rewire the brain (or whatever controls appetite) permanently?

Why can’t you just love yourself as you are?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love when I'm sick and easily go 48 hours eating one snack pack of applesauce and an ice pop. I always vow to stick to eating just enough to quell hunger pangs, but never do. I have a voracious appetite and notice my inner monologue is always worried about my portions not being enough and my being hungry. Combine that with a sweet tooth, and I'm huge.

Yes, it sounds very weird to actually say this, but I love when I am sick & have zero appetite. I love how quickly the numbers on the scale drop but of course once I am better my weight also goes right back up! I remember having pneumonia about 25 years ago for about three weeks I lost so much weight then but eventually gained most of it back! 😬

Yeah, not only is it non-sustainable but it's also unhealthy. I am 230lbs at 5'4". I would be open to trying one of the newer weight loss drugs, except my concern is what happens when I go off it. Will I gain my appetite right back and thus gain all the weight back? Or does it rewire the brain (or whatever controls appetite) permanently?

Why can’t you just love yourself as you are?

Because being morbidly obese has health risks and is typically life shortening? Because that much weight on a small frame causes joint pain? Because she wants to be able to sit on the floor and play with children or grandchildren?