its all in the jeans

Great post!
I wish it was all in my jeans, but sadly there is quite a lot which bulges over my waistband in true muffin top fashion ??

Interesting, looking at old photos I seem to have a similar shape to my gran and great grandmother. I do think that there's something in this. If only my grans had been tall and slim!

My father was able to eat like a horse and his weight never fluctuated, he kept his wedding suit and it still fitted him when he was 70. Why did my sisters and I inherit all the fat genes from mother ?

Yes Telly. I look just like my Granny, in every way. I try to "eat less and move more", but fail on a regular basis.
My Granny, (wise woman), said that when a woman reaches a certain age, she needs a bit of weight about her.
I am determined not to get any heavier though, no size 16 for me!

It is all in our genes. You can fight it but it's very hard - made more so by those who look on us as though we just dont care or try

Yes, it isn't fair at all. I've definitely got the "fat gene" . My skinny friend looks with me in amazement when I decline to eat a lot of anything - despite knowing me for decades, she still assumes that I'm a secret overeater . I've explained that "it's all in the genes" but she insists that she is thin because of her good eating habits, and that I'm far because of something I'm doing wrong . It's infuriating !

Pre menopause I thought I had the skinny gene as I could eat anything and struggled to keep my weight up much over 7 stone. Things changed completely with age and the weight goes steadily up despite trying to eat sensibly.

The menopause did it for me too. I was always very slim until my 50s. I'm nearly 70 now, not very overweight, maybe half a stone but it's a bit of a battle. DH has been skinny all his life despite eating whatever he wants. Just lately he has gained a few pounds but not much.

My DH can eat what he likes and has gained about half a stone since we married. I am like my mother, we were born ready for famine!

Some people are not overweight, just undertall.

Maw - brilliant! I have exactly the same jeans!

There's no wrinkles on balloons ?

There's 'life' too. I was always chubby and fighting the flab. A serious of family crises did something to my metabolism and now I'm in the 'keep packing it in or get too thin' group. So I know for sure there's more to it than calories in/energy out. (sort of - I just run 'hotter' now). Happy Easter to all.

I've been on a Facebook group for years with all of us fighting the flab. In my very unscientific way I have observed that while we share a love of food, we also have love lives no one seems to be unloved. So what is a myth is that peopke are fat and lonely.
I'm sure the genes are the main reason for our shapes.

I blame our DS2, third child, later in life!
Bless him, we wouldn’t be without him, but until then my weight hardly fluctuated, but afterwards, oh my gosh.

I look like an m&m

Round with skinny arms and legs.

At least I now know it's not my fault

Have managed to lose 25lbs since last Sept (put on loads after being ill for a long time) but have stalled a bit since builders started here as it's hard to get into the routine again. It used to come off so easily years ago but soul destroying now as it's so hard to shift even a pound

I read the article as meaning that the lucky 6% don't have the urge to overeat.
I was not to bad until the menopause and then I got the urge to overindulge. Used to be able to rein it in, but not so effective now.

If weight gain is due to our genes, which we inherit, how come our ancestors were not obese? I don’t think we can blame all our weight issues on genetics, I think it is mainly down to our modern diet of fast food and lack of exercise. Previous generations cooked fresh food from scratch and walked more.

Childbearing got me. Before, I could and did eat like a horse and my weight stayed at 8st 10lbs. Now I eat like a bird and struggle to stay at 10st.
There is a school of thought that puts the obesity epidemic down to a viral epidemic ...

It's a lifelong battle, isn't it? Unfairly, it seems that as we age it gets more difficult.

Telly. You've reminded me of a page in my Genetics text book for my degree, it had all these photos of members of families at different ages showing the similarity in build.

Yes we certainly inherit a lot of it but as MawBroonsBack - welcome back Maw!- said, we're still responsible for some of it because we put the food in our mouths!

Now I eat like a bird and struggle to stay at 10st
There is a school of thought that puts the obesity epidemic down to a viral epidemic
Oh if only we could blame it on a virus!
Sadly I eat like a bird too
A gannet !

There were no fat people in Auschwitz were there?

Yes, I agree that some people seem to have a very different metabolism. My cousin eats far more than me, has someone else do her housework and thinks a gently stroll is a good walk!

Whatever the reason we are heavier than we want to be it is our responsibility to deal with it if it bothers us. I think it is like a car, if it is an economical car which does 50 miles to the gallon and you put as much petrol in as you would for a gas-guzzler the tank will overflow. My body is the economical car!

Weight gain for me since the menopause. Well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!