Fat (topic du jour)

I met my ex husband when I was very slim. When I met him again a couple of years later I’d put on a lot of weight having had a rather traumatic relationship breakdown. He was horrified that I was so tubby and, even though we were then in a relationship he chose to tell everyone we were just friends. I went from overweight to 7 stone in a matter of weeks by going on a high protein diet and I don’t think my metabolism has ever recovered. I was lucky that I didn’t damage my kidneys or my fertility. It actually reminds me of the storyline in Normal People.I was never thin enough for him.

Does anyone else remember Energen Rolls? They were meant to be used as a substitute for bread and resembled nothing more than polystyrene, not that I've ever tried that. My mum bought them for herself and me as we were both inclined to carry excess weight. They were pointless because I loaded them up with butter and marmalade, or jam, or cheese, depending on the time of day.

Callistemon21 that’s dreadful.

As an 18/19 Yr old I hovered between 6st 10 and 7st 5. I was 5ft 5. The tutors would tell me “lose some/gain some” and that for me was the beginning of the yo-yo phenomenon. I was always hungry and wonder how I had the strength to stand up. At nearly 20, they told me to go home and not come back until I’d gained some weight. When I returned 6 weeks later, I was nearly 8st. “You’ve let yourself go!” They said and withdrew me from casting.

I gave up, not long after. Always thought I’d go back but I couldn’t stand it any longer. I feel embarrassed now when anyone refers to me as an ex professional classical dancer. I know people must think “who’s she trying to kid?” I was, and it nearly killed me.

I lost 4 stones nine years ago and..... never put it back on again. Life changing. I didn't have any grandiose plans other than to eat less of everything and my target was 1lb a week loss. No stress, no difficulty, just perseverance. I think we try too hard and too fast which only leads to disappointment. No ego, no halo, just feel good. Did take me over a year but was well worth it. Also my weight loss was so gradual that nobody noticed and therefore never became the topic of conversation. I'm so grateful.

One reason some people can eat more than others and not gain weight is because they have more muscle. Muscle is metabolically active, even when not in use, and will eat up calories. It's one of the reasons weight training is good for you. Bone and flab are not metabolically active.

AuntieEleanorsCat

Callistemon21 that’s dreadful.

As an 18/19 Yr old I hovered between 6st 10 and 7st 5. I was 5ft 5. The tutors would tell me “lose some/gain some” and that for me was the beginning of the yo-yo phenomenon. I was always hungry and wonder how I had the strength to stand up. At nearly 20, they told me to go home and not come back until I’d gained some weight. When I returned 6 weeks later, I was nearly 8st. “You’ve let yourself go!” They said and withdrew me from casting.

I gave up, not long after. Always thought I’d go back but I couldn’t stand it any longer. I feel embarrassed now when anyone refers to me as an ex professional classical dancer. I know people must think “who’s she trying to kid?” I was, and it nearly killed me.

That's terrible, AuntieEleanorsCat

Your story reminds me of what has happened recently with young gymnasts being bullied about their weight by coaches.

I never put on weight, apart from pregnancy weight, until I was in my late 30s and became pregnant again.

We have been low-carbing for several years now and have not lapsed or put weight back on. DH had pre-diabetes when we started, but the levels have never gone up so no medication needed. We enjoy butter, cheese, cream, fresh fruit and lots of veg and avoid processed sugar in all forms. We eat small quantities of bread, potatoes and pasta, but not every day. We drink wine (a glass of cava brut has 2g of carbs).

I think the difference is between "diets" and "ways of eating". Diet in common usage sounds temporary in nature and not leading to long-term change.

Yours was exactly the right approach Kim19
Advice about the best way to loose weight varies over the years with some idiotic diets along the way but consistently the advice is to aim to loose about a pound a week. That way the body doesn’t go into the primitive ‘starvation mode’ whereby calories are stored as fat as the body anticipates a famine.

I boarded from 1973 to 1979. Then went to the upper school at 18. Then worked till I was 21. I gave up because I needed a break from it all. Planned to return but grew breasts and had periods and never went back. My body was permanently held in a prepubescent form until I gained weight. I look at myself then and wonder how my family didn’t step in and help. I wore clothing for 11 Yr olds and was basically starving in front of them. Ballet dancers now look very healthy, to me!

It was a brutal time for gymnasts/dancers and led nicely into the anorexic look for models.

Ooops, have wandered a bit there!

What I’m trying to express is that until a state of starvation/weight loss was set in motion, ie yo-yo dieting, the up and down weight doesn’t really happen. I think many people muck up their metabolism and their bodies lose the ability to eat well and sensibly.

The body is such a complex organism with millions of chemical reactions going on all the time that it's impossible to advocate a "one size fits all" approach.

There's a ton of fascinating research around at the moment not least regarding the interaction of the hunger and satiety hormones leptin and grehlin differing in every single one of us causing intense cravings in those whose individual body chemistry is wired that way, either through genetics or lifestyle or both, that overrides willpower every time.

The interplay of hormones is crucial - the old joke of "it's me glands" is really not funny and quite prescient because the effects of under or over functioning glands and organs and the substances they secrete can be devastating.

The tricky part is trying to discover how your individual body actually works and it's a hugely frustrating thing of trial and error.

The future IMO lies with use of tech to show what exactly is going on inside - for a start the NHS could do worse than issue continuous glucose monitors to all struggling with fat issues where it shows without doubt what foods trigger insulin responses not just of deadly sugar but of all foods that may have a deleterious effect on your particular biology...in some people the innocuous chickpea can cause a massive spike in glucose, who knew?

It would enormously help on a low carb eating plan and the cost would more than be recouped by a vast drop in the need for medication like metformin et al.

Of course, such an approach, in general, might not be appreciated by the companies making huge amounts of profit but that's possibly a topic for another thread.

sazz1

Totally disagree with this as very heavy weight leads to diabetes, heart problems, joint problems, and premature death.
There are very few obese people who live into their 90s. OH is obese and borderline diabetic with knee and hip arthritis.

This is just a plea to everyone to remind them that all people with diabetes did not develope this because of being fat , had bad food or were inactive. Some of us just got the wrong gene that caused it . I put on a stone when I started on medication for diabetes 22 years ago and am now on insulin and lucky that that did not cause more weight gain . Sugar is not the only enemy carbs are lethal they really spike your blood sugar.