Calorie intake among low, normal and obese people pretty much the same

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Every person has a healthy weight that they should be consciously attempting to maintain. Athletes with a lot of muscle will be outside that healthy BMI range. But it's a real number. It's the bulls eye. And it's easy to know because those BMI charts are there for everyone.

Personally I think it's important to know that number and to try to hit that target. It's true that if you don't know what you're aiming at you're not likely to hit it.

There are certainly socioeconomic, physiological and psychological differences among us, so that what works for one person will not work for others. But the CI/CO formula will work for everyone. If you're overweight eat less, underweight eat more. And what a person eats matters as much as how much.

I find it much easier to maintain an optimal weight eating whole foods instead of refined, processed, chemical laden, feel-good wannabes, and feel better to boot. But to each his own in getting to that target number.

 

[Playball40]

That article simply reinforces the fact that no two people have the same metabolisms. Some of us can eat more than others, some way more, and still maintain a healthy BMI.

Yup. For some people, maintaining a healthy weight can be a struggle. But struggle they must if they want to be healthy.

If you actually READ with comprehension you will see that trying to "maintain" a weight that is NOT genetically correct for you is NOT HEALTHY either physically or mentally.

 

[Playball40]

And the point is that 'eating less' will not necessarily reduce ones weight anymore than 'eating more' will increase ones weight. The body will automatically ADJUST THE METABOLISM to what it determines is correct.

Every person has a healthy weight that they should be consciously attempting to maintain. Athletes with a lot of muscle will be outside that healthy BMI range. But it's a real number. It's the bulls eye. And it's easy to know because those BMI charts are there for everyone.

Personally I think it's important to know that number and to try to hit that target. It's true that if you don't know what you're aiming at you're not likely to hit it.

There are certainly socioeconomic, physiological and psychological differences among us, so that what works for one person will not work for others. But the CI/CO formula will work for everyone. If you're overweight eat less, underweight eat more. And what a person eats matters as much as how much. I find it much easier to maintain an optimal weight eating whole foods instead of refined, processed, chemical laden foods, and feel better to boot. But to each his own in getting to that target number.

- - - Updated - - -

Interesting article regarding metabolism and weight maintenance. Of course to some it will be ignored - it's just about willpower and CI/CO.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/08/health/08fat.html?_r=0

That article simply reinforces the fact that no two people have the same metabolisms. Some of us can eat more than others, some way more, and still maintain a healthy BMI. You seem to be maintaining the belief that we should all be able to eat identical diets and have the same BMIs. If I ate as much as I'd enjoy I'd be a fat, unhappy blob, and you seem to be implying that that should not be the case.

It says much more than that Joe.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

That article simply reinforces the fact that no two people have the same metabolisms. Some of us can eat more than others, some way more, and still maintain a healthy BMI.

Yup. For some people, maintaining a healthy weight can be a struggle. But struggle they must if they want to be healthy.

You nailed it.

And maybe it comes down to assuming a person has the knowledge and experience to comprehend the degree of effort that is required. I'm an old athlete so I know what it takes to get in shape and how to deal with pain and injury because I've been there. But I've met plenty of folks who think that getting out of breath is a disease or illness that should be avoided, or that the discomfort that comes with exertion is unnatural. They've never trained through these things or had injuries that they've had to recover from. So really they're operating in the dark.

 

[Frikki]

However, calorie intake from carbs have increased in the population proportionately to the rise in obesity rates. In other words, overweight people do not typically EAT more than the average weight person - can we shake this lazy and undisciplined stereotype?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21310830

The thing is most people get fat on a very low surplus of calories. 100 extra calories a day, one Egg, apple or Oreo cookie means about a pound of weight gain per month. That stacks on pretty slowly and people don´t notice. It´s not a question of people being pigs or lazy.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

My wife struggles to maintain an optimal weight. Today I treated her to one of my 100% whole wheat sourdough jelly rolls topped with a drizzle of maple syrup and toasted almond slivers, and she loved it. I didn't give her a choice this time but just made it for her and took it up to her desk. She eats well enough but fermented sourdough is much healthier than the typical processed pancake mix that's available out there. Good on her.

 

[TSwizzle]

And maybe it comes down to assuming a person has the knowledge and experience to comprehend the degree of effort that is required.

That's where groups like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Curves and professional nutritionist/dietitian are a huge help. I've seen it lots of times in the office. Women on diets for a special event, typically their own wedding or their kid's wedding. They get down in weight, go to the wedding, six weeks later, back to their old ways and back to their previous shape. Sometimes it takes surgery like a gastric band to get people back down.

I'm an old athlete so I know what it takes to get in shape and how to deal with pain and injury because I've been there. But I've met plenty of folks who think that getting out of breath is a disease or illness that should be avoided, or that the discomfort that comes with exertion is unnatural. They've never trained through these things or had injuries that they've had to recover from. So really they're operating in the dark.

Or worse, working from woo science and hokey diet pills off the TV. And your metabolism and fitness changes as you get older too, you need to adjust for that.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

And the point is that 'eating less' will not necessarily reduce ones weight anymore than 'eating more' will increase ones weight. The body will automatically ADJUST THE METABOLISM to what it determines is correct.

If losing pounds to achieve that optimal weight is what is needed then one has to eat even less. Believe me, you won't starve to death. That old yarn about being dead in two weeks if you stop eating is total hokum. If you're seriously overweight you can stop eating for months with no problem.

Like I said, some people simply lack the knowledge and experience to know and accept the degree of effort that is required.

 

[Playball40]

This is JUST NOT ACCURATE. If it were that easy, my daughter would be at a nice healthy weight today.

However, calorie intake from carbs have increased in the population proportionately to the rise in obesity rates. In other words, overweight people do not typically EAT more than the average weight person - can we shake this lazy and undisciplined stereotype?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21310830

The thing is most people get fat on a very low surplus of calories. 100 extra calories a day, one Egg, apple or Oreo cookie means about a pound of weight gain per month. That stacks on pretty slowly and people don´t notice. It´s not a question of people being pigs or lazy.

 

[Playball40]

WOW! Your ignorance is showing so badly in this post that I just have to bow out. You CLEARLY have not read any of the articles or study links. You also have NO IDEA what starvation does to the brain, the heart, and every other body system. NO PROBLEM? Wow. Just wow.

And the point is that 'eating less' will not necessarily reduce ones weight anymore than 'eating more' will increase ones weight. The body will automatically ADJUST THE METABOLISM to what it determines is correct.

If losing pounds to achieve that optimal weight is what is needed then one has to eat even less. Believe me, you won't starve to death. That old yarn about being dead in two weeks if you stop eating is total hokum. If you're seriously overweight you can stop eating for months with no problem.

Like I said, some people simply lack the knowledge and experience to know and accept the degree of effort that is required.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

This is JUST NOT ACCURATE. If it were that easy, my daughter would be at a nice healthy weight today.

The thing is most people get fat on a very low surplus of calories. 100 extra calories a day, one Egg, apple or Oreo cookie means about a pound of weight gain per month. That stacks on pretty slowly and people don´t notice. It´s not a question of people being pigs or lazy.

Now you're playing games. You've already told us your daughter has a BMI of 17 and eats thousands of calories more than the standard diet assumes. You must certainly know that post was not intended for your daughter's particular case. But it certainly applies to the typical overweight individual.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

WOW! Your ignorance is showing so badly in this post that I just have to bow out. You CLEARLY have not read any of the articles or study links. You also have NO IDEA what starvation does to the brain, the heart, and every other body system. NO PROBLEM? Wow. Just wow.

If losing pounds to achieve that optimal weight is what is needed then one has to eat even less. Believe me, you won't starve to death. That old yarn about being dead in two weeks if you stop eating is total hokum. If you're seriously overweight you can stop eating for months with no problem.

Like I said, some people simply lack the knowledge and experience to know and accept the degree of effort that is required.

Starvation? You're making me laugh. Perhaps it is time for you to take a time out.

 

[Frikki]

This is JUST NOT ACCURATE. If it were that easy, my daughter would be at a nice healthy weight today.

The thing is most people get fat on a very low surplus of calories. 100 extra calories a day, one Egg, apple or Oreo cookie means about a pound of weight gain per month. That stacks on pretty slowly and people don´t notice. It´s not a question of people being pigs or lazy.

Try weighing everything she eats and counting her calories. I bet you 100 dollars that she is running a small deficit. It is literally the only explanation.

 

[skepticalbip]

Yup. For some people, maintaining a healthy weight can be a struggle. But struggle they must if they want to be healthy.

You nailed it.

And maybe it comes down to assuming a person has the knowledge and experience to comprehend the degree of effort that is required. I'm an old athlete so I know what it takes to get in shape and how to deal with pain and injury because I've been there. But I've met plenty of folks who think that getting out of breath is a disease or illness that should be avoided, or that the discomfort that comes with exertion is unnatural. They've never trained through these things or had injuries that they've had to recover from. So really they're operating in the dark.

And this is what I see the problem is with most fat/diet studies. They only look at the results of calorie intake and ignore the other half - calorie out - which I personally think is much more important. But most overweight people who desire to lose weight don't want to deal with the effort involved in strenuous exercise. So they starve themselves to avoid the physical work which puts their metabolism in "starvation mode" decreasing the metabolic rate. The thing about exercise is it will change the metabolism so that, even when not exercising, the body will be burning more calories. Eating normal meals so the metabolism doesn't think it is starving but burning those calories in exercise works much better and much more permanently if they maintain some exercise regime.

 

[TSwizzle]

WHO calls for healthier diets to combat alarming surge in diabetes;

"If we are to make any headway in halting the rise in diabetes, we need to rethink our daily lives: to eat healthily, be physically active and avoid excessive weight gain,” said Dr Margaret Chan, WHO director general. “Even in the poorest settings, governments must ensure that people are able to make these healthy choices and that health systems are able to diagnose and treat people with diabetes. There is over-consumption of sugary drinks, there is over-consumption of fatty food and sugary food, and this is fuelling overweight and obesity in Latin America, in Asia, [and] in some African cities, which is something we didn’t see half a century ago.”

Guardian

 

[skepticalbip]

WHO calls for healthier diets to combat alarming surge in diabetes;

"If we are to make any headway in halting the rise in diabetes, we need to rethink our daily lives: to eat healthily, be physically active and avoid excessive weight gain,” said Dr Margaret Chan, WHO director general. “Even in the poorest settings, governments must ensure that people are able to make these healthy choices and that health systems are able to diagnose and treat people with diabetes. There is over-consumption of sugary drinks, there is over-consumption of fatty food and sugary food, and this is fuelling overweight and obesity in Latin America, in Asia, [and] in some African cities, which is something we didn’t see half a century ago.”

Guardian

And I can foresee that those in this thread who maintain that overweight people can't help being overweight will completely ignore the formula "eat healthily, be physically active", especially ignoring the "be physically active" part.

 

[ronburgundy]

WHO calls for healthier diets to combat alarming surge in diabetes;



Guardian

And I can foresee that those in this thread who maintain that overweight people can't help being overweight will completely ignore the formula "eat healthily, be physically active", especially ignoring the "be physically active" part.

And I can foresee that those using their faith and moral bias to dismiss the relevant science will completely ignore the fact that the the most practical leverage points for solving a problem are a completely separate issue from the question of causal contributors that give rise to the situation one is seeking to change.

Do genes causally contribute to cancer? Yes. Do many people who have cancer differ from many without it, due more to the genes than other factors? Yes. Is the best practical solution to a person who has cancer to change their genes to be like those without it? No.

 

[ronburgundy]

Yup. For some people, maintaining a healthy weight can be a struggle. But struggle they must if they want to be healthy.

You nailed it.

Yes. He nailed the solution which has no bearing on the OP or what the thread is about, which is the underlying cause of differences between people in being overweight.

See my reply above. Solutions to problems and causes of problems are separate issues. Very often changing something that is actually only a minor contributor can be the most practical solution because the other factors cannot be changed.

 

[Frikki]

WHO calls for healthier diets to combat alarming surge in diabetes;



Guardian

And I can foresee that those in this thread who maintain that overweight people can't help being overweight will completely ignore the formula "eat healthily, be physically active", especially ignoring the "be physically active" part.

It´s not impossible to lose weight, it just takes a concerted effort for many many months. It is very hard and it does not help when people say just eat less and move more. If that message worked we could say to alcoholics, just don´t drink, gambling addicts just
don´t gamble.

There are mental and physical hurdles to loosing weight and changing learned behaviour is no small thing.

 

[TSwizzle]

WHO calls for healthier diets to combat alarming surge in diabetes;



Guardian

And I can foresee that those in this thread who maintain that overweight people can't help being overweight will completely ignore the formula "eat healthily, be physically active", especially ignoring the "be physically active" part.

You called it !