Walking-off the calories

Overall I get fed up with the constant bullying and shaming and that is what it is. I doubt very much that this is helping those with mental issues, low self esteem and a low budget for food. How easy it is to judge others without knowing their stories. One day the medical profession will fully understand why everyone's weight issues are different at the moment they do not so it is much easier for blame and guilt to be directed at those often not able to deal with it.

I don't think there are enough hours in the day for me to walk off this fat. Oh pass me the M&Ms!

These fatty conversations bring out some seriously smug people don't they?

Parklife1 Exactly! You don't have to do extra exercise if you work out your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure - plenty of calculators for this online) and keep your daily calories within that limit. Treats counted within that limit are fine. I'm not saying exercise isn't important but the TDEE calculators take your current weight and activity level into account. Many people use TDEE as a basis for the 5:2 fasting way of life and it is a huge help.

It’s not just a question of looking at the calories on a packet though and working out what exercise you need to take to work it off. You have to take into account the calories that you use during a normal day anyway. Otherwise, if we didn’t burn calories going about our daily routine, we’d just get fatter.

That sounds quite annoying

I think I'd need to walk before I had the treat. Once eaten I'd probably just put off the exercise till later (never).

Well I'd love to be able to walk but I can't, I can stand and take couple of steps while in agony. I break out into a sweat standing up or even sitting down but have manage to keep my weight within reasonable limits. It ain't rocket science you just eat less than you use up. I eat very little that comes in a packet and that already has the calories listed. They can only tell you how long it would take a person of average weight with average metabolism to walk off whatever is in the packet. Not everyone has an average metabolism or is of average weight and those that do need the least help.

What nonsense . At almost 80 its up to me whether I read this nanny state stuff. Will the police come if I don't follow the directives. I eat well walk my 2 dogs 3 times daily and I've lived this long without needing to be told how much I should walk to keep my weight down.

I can see both sides of the argument here but the levels of obesity in this country is shocking and I don’t know what the answer is.

Every town centre seems to have a fast food outlet in every other shop and they are all full of people stuffing their faces.

I honestly think people are in denial about their size because everywhere they look there are others the same size or larger.

Obesity costs the NHS billions a year to treat associated diseases which is shameful when you consider it is entirely self inflicted.

Will this labelling work where other attempts to address the problem have failed?

I doubt it.

You might find this website interesting. Www.smartbmicalculator.com. More realistic than other forms of calculating.

I would love to see calorie burn off times on packaging

‘nannied’? Really? No one is forcing you to follow advice that’s out there. It’s up to you.

Am I the only person who's absolutely sick and tired of being "nannied" in this way? It seems there's a whole industry out there determined to ensure we all feel guilty about enjoying anything at all.

Yes, I know a Mars Bar will be needless calories; that another roast potato will go straight to my hips but - guess what? I know when my input has been greater than my output because my clothes get tight and so I make the effort to do a little more and eat a little less until normality is restored. Why on earth are people getting paid to come up with recommendations like this? There must be something more useful they could do.

(Sorry. Woke up in grumpy-old-woman mode today. Rant over)

Won't help me as I can't walk more than 4 or 5 paces while hanging on to something, other times it is wheelchair/buggy

Wouldn't it only work on packaged food? How are they going to stamp it on a spud or an apple?

Any moderate exercise is good is it not. The problem about weight isn't not enoch exercise, it's its too much food no matter what kind. Thermal dynamics, if you put too much fuel in, you need to do more to burn it off. If children weren't fed so much fuel there wouldn't be the child obesity problem we have today. Getting them to exercise will not solve the problem, it's the food they eat and the volume. Same goes for adults of course.

That would be a really good idea as I suspect that most people wildly underestimate how much exercise it takes to burn off even a packet of crisps. Anything that supports us to make healthier choices get my support.

Surely we all know by now what we should eat and what we shouldn't?

I agree with PamelaJ1 ... I think that the majority of people who eat chocolate bars (myself included!) don't bother to read what's written on the wrapper. They already tell us how many calories and carbs/sugars, etc., they contain, so we know it's not good for us, but it doesn't stop us from eating them! So, I can't imagine that a notice telling us that we need to exercise for however long in order to burn off the calories will make the slightest jot of difference.

It would certainly be an eye opener. Since my hip has made walking painful I have put on half a stone since last January. This has just tipped me into the overweight category (BMI 25.5)

Hopefully it will drop off when I can move again.

Surely, how long it takes to 'walk off' a given number of calories depends on the very variable factors such as the weight and fitness of the person, doesn't it?

I've pretty well always been an " on the go " person so have never worried about keeping fat on for very long. Have always eaten anything and everything, except junk. My preferences being home-cooked nourishing meals which I've always made sure of one cooked dinner daily of either meat or fish. A pretty varied menu of meals really with a piece of fruit in between.

After 6 weeks here in Spain I’d better start walking from Land’s End to John o’ Groats ....
?

No harm in doing it but I’m not sure what good it will do.
There is so much information out there already that overweight* people choose to ignore why would they bother to read it.
* Those with low metabolism, medical or genetic or any of the other myriad reasons for being overweight please don’t get cross, of course I don’t mean you!