LOL Helen, that's too funny!
I don't know...I've always been happy to listen to anyone that needed to talk about how they were feeling physically. One of the worst feelings in the world is feeling like there is no one to listen.
Olly--it's not always safe to assume being overweight is self-inflicted. There are several medical conditions that tend to aid in causing obesity.
One of the leading causes of obesity in the US, though, if you ask me, is poverty. It's much, much less expensive to eat 'fattening' foods than it is to eat 'healthy' foods. Top Ramen Noodles are 400+ calories--but 6 bags are a dollar. So, for two people, that's 3 meals.
There's very often more than simple sitting and eating non-stop that causes people to eat too much
Depression is another huge reason many people are overweight.
This coming from someone that fought to keep weight off their entire life--and am just now, finally, not considered obese anymore. I can assure you---I've never been a huge eater. But, I've been a 'cheap' eater.
Sorry--that just hit a nerve. If I'd still weighed 200 pounds, I probably wouldn't have commented at all
My daughter lives with me. We eat essentially the same foods...have for years, because I've done the cooking. She doesn't gain an ounce no matter what she eats--I gain just looking at food. Metabolism, general health, absorption--lots of things play into weight. If I eat over 800 calories a day, I gain weight. If my daughter at that few calories, she'd be skin and bones. I eat 600-800 calories a day, and have for the last 4-5 months to lose 50 pounds. But, if I ate a normal diet of 1200 calories a day, I'd put every bit back on within a year.
I went to Spark People (a weight loss site) and spent the first few weeks trying their 1200 calories a day minimum--and lost nothing. Went down to the 800 I'd done years ago to lose weight, and it finally worked. I'm wearing a size 10 now, from a size 20 6 months ago.
Ok, off my soapbox!
