Reply to Economist article: Death of the Calorie

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There needs to be more focus on not becoming overweight; on calorie counting when needed if you see weight creeping up and weighing yourself regularly as part of a healthy lifestyle. Once you are are 30+ lbs overweight it is too late, you are doomed to pretty much be overweight forever.

The average person is capable of small changes and small calorie deficits in order to shift weight 5-10 lbs if they notice gain.  The average person isn’t capable of having a large calorie deficit for a prolonged time in order to lose huge amounts of weight.

I have a hard time understanding how people let themselves get so far overweight in the first place.  [/quote]

I agree 100% with the first part of your statements. The focus should be on a healthy lifestyle and making adjustments as weight creeps up. Of course, for people to do that, they need time and space to make those adjustments. There are so many factors that influence lifestyle and habits, from job, financial, and family demands to sickness and injury, pregnancy and hormonal shifts, and on and on. Fatigue and sleep deprivation play a huge factor in weight gain, and that isn't recognized enough.

When I was 25, single without kids, and a gym rat, I lived a disciplined life, exercised constantly, and ate a highly restricted, low-calorie diet to maintain an ultraslim figure. As I got older, life simply got in the way of those habits, which, in truth, weren't all that healthy to begin with. My disciplined life wasn't focused on health at all; I was just afraid of being fat. The person I was at 25 would have said the same thing as you, wondering how someone could let themselves get to the point of obesity. The almost sixty-year-old me now understands that outside factors and physical issues that make life feel out of control can easily cause someone to get off-track with their eating and exercise, and once you slide into being overweight, it's an incredible struggle to take that weight off.[/quote]

I’m the PP and 40 and had three kids.  Between having three kids, I didn’t go to the gym or do formal workouts at home at all for 8 years.  I just couldn’t manage to with young kids.  But what I did do was weigh myself regular and watch the scale.  If I notice more than a couple pounds gain, I would cut back on portions and be a little more disciplined in food choices.  If you make adjustments when changes in body weight are small- it isn’t that hard.  But when you ignore and carry on with bad eating and lifestyle habits until a lot of weight has accumulated, then you have a big problem.  But it doesn’t have to be like that [/quote]

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