Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Processed food is LITERALLY made to be addictive. The simple carbs of breads and cookies stoke cravings in some people that are an actual physical addiction. Read the threads about people giving up sugar and going through withdrawal.

I remember watching a news show like 60 minutes and they were in a big food corporation. They had vials and vials of flavors and smells that they were showing off, all with the end game of producing snack food that was delicious but somehow left people craving more. This was actually stated by the food scientists.

Sorry for the slight threadjack, but it makes me crazy when people start talking about willpower and moral failings and don't address the widespread and insidious manipulation of the American food supply.

I can't believe folks have glossed over this comment. It is so true for so many of us. Thank you for posting.

This is totally true but its not really what I grapple with. 95% of the "junk" I eat is stuff I make myself. I love to bake and host often, so am constantly baking bread and making baked goods. Other than ice cream, I cant remember the last time I had a store-bought cookie, chips, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really, if PPs haven't already read the NY Times link posted several time previously in this thread, they should. Once you're fat, your body fights and fights to keep you fatter. Counting calories is a surprisingly small part of the whole picture. Some people live their whole lives on the lucky end of the spectrum: not very insulin resistant. (Side effect of this is thinking you have somehow discovered the simple truth of weight loss and staying in shape, along with the unsuppressable urge to share this truth with the weak and pathetic fatties.) For those who are already overweight, it's going to be a struggle with an answer much more complex than "You have to want to be thin." Yes, it's still within your control, but let's not oversimplify it.

+ a million

Anonymous wrote:Really, if PPs haven't already read the NY Times link posted several time previously in this thread, they should. Once you're fat, your body fights and fights to keep you fatter. Counting calories is a surprisingly small part of the whole picture. Some people live their whole lives on the lucky end of the spectrum: not very insulin resistant. (Side effect of this is thinking you have somehow discovered the simple truth of weight loss and staying in shape, along with the unsuppressable urge to share this truth with the weak and pathetic fatties.) For those who are already overweight, it's going to be a struggle with an answer much more complex than "You have to want to be thin." Yes, it's still within your control, but let's not oversimplify it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Processed food is LITERALLY made to be addictive. The simple carbs of breads and cookies stoke cravings in some people that are an actual physical addiction. Read the threads about people giving up sugar and going through withdrawal.

I remember watching a news show like 60 minutes and they were in a big food corporation. They had vials and vials of flavors and smells that they were showing off, all with the end game of producing snack food that was delicious but somehow left people craving more. This was actually stated by the food scientists.

Sorry for the slight threadjack, but it makes me crazy when people start talking about willpower and moral failings and don't address the widespread and insidious manipulation of the American food supply.

I can't believe folks have glossed over this comment. It is so true for so many of us. Thank you for posting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Processed food is LITERALLY made to be addictive. The simple carbs of breads and cookies stoke cravings in some people that are an actual physical addiction. Read the threads about people giving up sugar and going through withdrawal.

I remember watching a news show like 60 minutes and they were in a big food corporation. They had vials and vials of flavors and smells that they were showing off, all with the end game of producing snack food that was delicious but somehow left people craving more. This was actually stated by the food scientists.

Sorry for the slight threadjack, but it makes me crazy when people start talking about willpower and moral failings and don't address the widespread and insidious manipulation of the American food supply.

I can't believe folks have glossed over this comment. It is so true for so many of us. Thank you for posting.

Anonymous wrote:Processed food is LITERALLY made to be addictive. The simple carbs of breads and cookies stoke cravings in some people that are an actual physical addiction. Read the threads about people giving up sugar and going through withdrawal.

I remember watching a news show like 60 minutes and they were in a big food corporation. They had vials and vials of flavors and smells that they were showing off, all with the end game of producing snack food that was delicious but somehow left people craving more. This was actually stated by the food scientists.

Sorry for the slight threadjack, but it makes me crazy when people start talking about willpower and moral failings and don't address the widespread and insidious manipulation of the American food supply.

Anonymous wrote:So, OP -- what's for breakfast?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like you know what to do, you just need motivation.

What are the reasons you want to lose weight?

Look better
Fit into my clothes
Feel sexier
Be a good example to my kids

I am pretty healthy, so I dont feel like health is a real motivator and my DH seems very happy with my body as is, so I dont feel compulsion from him. I just hate the way I look in pictures.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I eat too many treats and I dont exercise enough.

Yes, I had 4 kids.
Yes, I am getting older.
Yes, I work full time.

But these are all excuses and I really need to stop making them. I want to cut down my sugar and carb intake but dont even know where to start. I have done WW and MFP in the past but I "cheat" and then dont lose and I give up. I wish I could eat whatever I want and not be fat but its not working. I have read all the books and understand the science, I just lack simple will power. I have been struggling with my weight since I was 13 and it never gets any easier. I am just so tired of trying and failing. I have approx 30 lbs to lose and it just seems insurmountable.

Also overweight, and irrationally annoyed at you for this post. It just reinforces the stereotypes people have about all of us just lacking "simple willpower," and that is so much bullshit.

Not the OP but for some of us it IS about willpower. There are a myriad reasons for why people are overweight. For me it's about willpower and laziness. I'm 5'4 and last year I weighed 215. I started working out and counting calories (focusing on eating healthier). I lost 35 pounds and a lot on inches!! Then the weather got cold and I stopped running. I hate the treadmill so I went back to being lazy and then fell back into my old eating habits. I gained back 25 lbs. I know how to change it. There's no mystery to why I'm fat. I am lacking the motivation to do anything about it. I'm the fat girl who makes fat jokes about herself as a defense mechanism. I empathize with everyone who struggles with weight issues.