Weight-Loss Drugs?

[thebeave]

When covered by insurance. Other than that, it's a thousand dollars a month which has the added side effect of really cutting into the grocery budget.

I don't understand the "shaming" aspect of it. Why does anyone need to know you're taking Wegovy in the first place? Secondly, if a friendship is defined mainly by a feeling of superiority over a fat friend, is that not a friendship better lost? This all seems pretty obvious to me.

That struck me as well. I guess I could see some catty school girls acting that way. But grown-ass adults?

You’re not wrong but I’ve read about people reacting negatively towards those taking weight loss drugs for ‘taking the easy way out.’

There is a perception that overweight people are lazy and/or self indulgent and lack willpower. If they just tried harder, they’d lose the extra weight—easy. Or maybe not easy but not that hard.

If only that were true!

A certain percentage of overweight people are lazy and/or self indulgent and lack willpower... at least with regard to losing weight. Like me.... I'm not obese, but have gained an excess 20-30 lbs in the last few years that I would really like to lose, but I have been rather "lazy" lately about working out and eating a better diet. Largely because I have been working a lot of hours lately during the week and on weekends. But I got no one to blame but myself. It is certainly true that for many overweight people their genetics seriously undermine their ability to lose weight and keep it off, but that fact is, its not always the case, which you seem to be saying.

 

[Toni]

When covered by insurance. Other than that, it's a thousand dollars a month which has the added side effect of really cutting into the grocery budget.

I don't understand the "shaming" aspect of it. Why does anyone need to know you're taking Wegovy in the first place? Secondly, if a friendship is defined mainly by a feeling of superiority over a fat friend, is that not a friendship better lost? This all seems pretty obvious to me.

That struck me as well. I guess I could see some catty school girls acting that way. But grown-ass adults?

You’re not wrong but I’ve read about people reacting negatively towards those taking weight loss drugs for ‘taking the easy way out.’

There is a perception that overweight people are lazy and/or self indulgent and lack willpower. If they just tried harder, they’d lose the extra weight—easy. Or maybe not easy but not that hard.

If only that were true!

A certain percentage of overweight people are lazy and/or self indulgent and lack willpower... at least with regard to losing weight. Like me.... I'm not obese, but have gained an excess 20-30 lbs in the last few years that I would really like to lose, but I have been rather "lazy" lately about working out and eating a better diet. Largely because I have been working a lot of hours lately during the week and on weekends. But I got no one to blame but myself. It is certainly true that for many overweight people their genetics seriously undermine their ability to lose weight and keep it off, but that fact is, its not always the case, which you seem to be saying.

Sure. Almost every single adult in the US and much of the developed world eats too much/wrong stuff and doesn't get enough exercise. That's me, as well. However, my body DID make an enormous change in my early 30's from being a bit underweight to....definitely overweight. This has not budged regardless of diet, exercise, etc. Yes, some of my family has always had weight problems. It was and to an extent is still a shocker that I went from being really slender to....definitely not, with no change in habits, diet, etc. And frustrating as well. Ah, Metabolism of My Youth: Thou Art An Unfaithful Bitch to Abandon Me So!

 

[lpetrich]

I didn't realize that some of the weight loss drugs could be used to treat stomach ulcers etc.

If I implied that, then I didn't write what I wrote carefully enough. I didn't mean that there is any overlap in drugs for those conditions -- I haven't found any that's good for both. Only that this was a comparable sort of breakthrough.

 

[southernhybrid]

I didn't realize that some of the weight loss drugs could be used to treat stomach ulcers etc.

If I implied that, then I didn't write what I wrote carefully enough. I didn't mean that there is any overlap in drugs for those conditions -- I haven't found any that's good for both. Only that this was a comparable sort of breakthrough.

Thanks. It's not you. It's me. I've been very ditzy since having anesthesia for surgery and, I need cataract surgery as soon as I get my post op knee in better shape.

 

[southernhybrid]

When covered by insurance. Other than that, it's a thousand dollars a month which has the added side effect of really cutting into the grocery budget.

I don't understand the "shaming" aspect of it. Why does anyone need to know you're taking Wegovy in the first place? Secondly, if a friendship is defined mainly by a feeling of superiority over a fat friend, is that not a friendship better lost? This all seems pretty obvious to me.

That struck me as well. I guess I could see some catty school girls acting that way. But grown-ass adults?

You’re not wrong but I’ve read about people reacting negatively towards those taking weight loss drugs for ‘taking the easy way out.’

There is a perception that overweight people are lazy and/or self indulgent and lack willpower. If they just tried harder, they’d lose the extra weight—easy. Or maybe not easy but not that hard.

If only that were true!

A certain percentage of overweight people are lazy and/or self indulgent and lack willpower... at least with regard to losing weight. Like me.... I'm not obese, but have gained an excess 20-30 lbs in the last few years that I would really like to lose, but I have been rather "lazy" lately about working out and eating a better diet. Largely because I have been working a lot of hours lately during the week and on weekends. But I got no one to blame but myself. It is certainly true that for many overweight people their genetics seriously undermine their ability to lose weight and keep it off, but that fact is, its not always the case, which you seem to be saying.

I was the same way in my late 30s and 40s. I was working full-time, sometimes dealing with a very stressful work atmosphere, so we ate out for lunch and almost every night for dinner when we both worked full time. My husband and I both gained weight and were both about 30 or so lbs overweight. He weighed about 135 when we met and 220 at his highest. He's over 6 ft. so he was extremely thin when we met. I was actually only 10 lbs. overweight but I have a very small frame so I felt I needed to lose a bit more. Exercise did it for me. We both changed our habits after being frightened that we would end up very obese.

I started taking Lean Cuisines and fresh vegetables to work, and began a regular exercise program. We only ate out about twice a week. Mr. Sohy didn't lose his weight until after he retired. He walks several miles a day and lately we've been eating a huge salad full of all kinds of healthy fruits, nuts and veggies for dinner most nights and a fairly big lunch. I still have a few small sweet snacks. I'm addicted.

One of the weird things about my sister who is dying is that she was so thin as a child that her doctor told my mom to give her some special supplement to gain weight. After she reached about 20, she started gaining weight and never stopped. Part of it may be genetic, but to be brutally honest, she ate an enormous amount of food whenever we went out to dinner with her and most of the foods she cooked were high in calories. That might be related to some of the things I read about eating overly processed foods. I was so happy for her when she lost over 100 lbs on Weight Watchers. She followed the plan perfectly and walked every evening. Then she was diagnosed with cancer.

I may have overeaten a bit, but never to the extent that my two sisters did. Plus, being 20 or 30 lbs. overweight isn't going to have a negative impact on one's health. Being 100 or more lbs. overweight puts you at high risk for health problems. I don't think you should be worried about being a little bit overweight. Just try and get it under control. If you don't have time right now to exercise, at least evaluate what you eat and try to cut down on empty calories, and decrease your portion sizes. You can always start walking in the evening or early morning once you aren't working so many hours. But, I get it. It's easy to gain weight these days for most people and difficult to lose weight for most people. Maybe those of us in the Western World simply have way too much food available and since early humans had to work to get enough food, now it's difficult to resist overeating for a lot of people since there is such an abundance of food. Well at least for now.

 

[steve_bank]

There s no more personal responsibility. Everything is a disease or a disorder beyond your control.

If you think about it that would be what drug companies want.

The I-eat-too-much-food- syndrome,disease,or disorder.

News interviews show people are taking it because it is convenient.

From my own experience and of others I have known it is not hard to lose weight and maintain it if you really want to.


The hard part is overcomming the saturation with marketing propagnda telling you to consume to excess.

 

[Toni]

Yeah, hubby and I are lapsed vegetarians. We were very poor when we married and I was determined to get every single bit of nutrition out of every penny we spent. Virtually never ate out. Almost everything we ate was prepared from scratch at home We gradually increased adding meat and fish but we still only eat our rarely and cook from scratch almost everything. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. I do have a sweet tooth but I try hard to keep it under control.

Last fall I injured my knee and did not move around very much. Then I had a tiny blood vessel that leaked in my eyes, necessitating me basically being a couch potato for some time. I did pick up some weight but have lost what I picked up. The problem is that my set weight is much higher than I would like or is really healthy. I’m doing what I can to be more active but have to face that I cannot do what I could a decade ago. I’d like to reverse that—and change my mindset too: it’s just going to hurt more now than it did ten years ago. I haven’t had to deal much with pain and my go to strategy was testing injured part as it healed. That strategy isn’t helpful with the chronic aches and pains that come with age. So habits need to change.

 

[Toni]

There s no more personal responsibility. Everything is a disease or a disorder beyond your control.

If you think about it that would be what drug companies want.

The I-eat-too-much-food- syndrome,disease,or disorder.

News interviews show people are taking it because it is convenient.

From my own experience and of others I have known it is not hard to lose weight and maintain it if you really want to.


The hard part is overcomming the saturation with marketing propagnda telling you to consume to excess.

Here exactly is the negative attitude I mentioned earlier.

 

[rousseau]

When covered by insurance. Other than that, it's a thousand dollars a month which has the added side effect of really cutting into the grocery budget.

I don't understand the "shaming" aspect of it. Why does anyone need to know you're taking Wegovy in the first place? Secondly, if a friendship is defined mainly by a feeling of superiority over a fat friend, is that not a friendship better lost? This all seems pretty obvious to me.

That struck me as well. I guess I could see some catty school girls acting that way. But grown-ass adults?

You’re not wrong but I’ve read about people reacting negatively towards those taking weight loss drugs for ‘taking the easy way out.’

There is a perception that overweight people are lazy and/or self indulgent and lack willpower. If they just tried harder, they’d lose the extra weight—easy. Or maybe not easy but not that hard.

If only that were true!

A certain percentage of overweight people are lazy and/or self indulgent and lack willpower... at least with regard to losing weight. Like me.... I'm not obese, but have gained an excess 20-30 lbs in the last few years that I would really like to lose, but I have been rather "lazy" lately about working out and eating a better diet. Largely because I have been working a lot of hours lately during the week and on weekends. But I got no one to blame but myself. It is certainly true that for many overweight people their genetics seriously undermine their ability to lose weight and keep it off, but that fact is, its not always the case, which you seem to be saying.

A lot of people are genuinely confused about how to lose weight, too. I'd say about 90%+ think you need more exercise, when exercise has almost nothing to do with it. And most dieting fads are unworkable gimmicks. There's also been a demonization of fat, and misrepresentation of refined sugar.

When you couple all that with a world where energy dense foods are available everywhere, and we have a lot of time to eat, you get overweight people.

 

[TV and credit cards]

When covered by insurance. Other than that, it's a thousand dollars a month which has the added side effect of really cutting into the grocery budget.

I don't understand the "shaming" aspect of it. Why does anyone need to know you're taking Wegovy in the first place? Secondly, if a friendship is defined mainly by a feeling of superiority over a fat friend, is that not a friendship better lost? This all seems pretty obvious to me.

That struck me as well. I guess I could see some catty school girls acting that way. But grown-ass adults?

You’re not wrong but I’ve read about people reacting negatively towards those taking weight loss drugs for ‘taking the easy way out.’

There is a perception that overweight people are lazy and/or self indulgent and lack willpower. If they just tried harder, they’d lose the extra weight—easy. Or maybe not easy but not that hard.

If only that were true!

A certain percentage of overweight people are lazy and/or self indulgent and lack willpower... at least with regard to losing weight. Like me.... I'm not obese, but have gained an excess 20-30 lbs in the last few years that I would really like to lose, but I have been rather "lazy" lately about working out and eating a better diet. Largely because I have been working a lot of hours lately during the week and on weekends. But I got no one to blame but myself. It is certainly true that for many overweight people their genetics seriously undermine their ability to lose weight and keep it off, but that fact is, its not always the case, which you seem to be saying.

Hopefully some day soon we will do away with this word, "willpower". I wonder how children perceive willpower? I think "self-discipline" would serve better from a psychological standpoint for children. Its empowering.

 

[rousseau]

When covered by insurance. Other than that, it's a thousand dollars a month which has the added side effect of really cutting into the grocery budget.

I don't understand the "shaming" aspect of it. Why does anyone need to know you're taking Wegovy in the first place? Secondly, if a friendship is defined mainly by a feeling of superiority over a fat friend, is that not a friendship better lost? This all seems pretty obvious to me.

That struck me as well. I guess I could see some catty school girls acting that way. But grown-ass adults?

You’re not wrong but I’ve read about people reacting negatively towards those taking weight loss drugs for ‘taking the easy way out.’

There is a perception that overweight people are lazy and/or self indulgent and lack willpower. If they just tried harder, they’d lose the extra weight—easy. Or maybe not easy but not that hard.

If only that were true!

A certain percentage of overweight people are lazy and/or self indulgent and lack willpower... at least with regard to losing weight. Like me.... I'm not obese, but have gained an excess 20-30 lbs in the last few years that I would really like to lose, but I have been rather "lazy" lately about working out and eating a better diet. Largely because I have been working a lot of hours lately during the week and on weekends. But I got no one to blame but myself. It is certainly true that for many overweight people their genetics seriously undermine their ability to lose weight and keep it off, but that fact is, its not always the case, which you seem to be saying.

Hopefully some day soon we will do away with this word, "willpower". I wonder how children perceive willpower? I think "self-discipline" would serve better from a psychological standpoint for children. Its empowering.

Or you could at least connect it to how cravings and addiction actually work. Most people think of willpower as 'I have to resist fast food for the rest of my life', when it's actually 'I have to resist fast food for a week until my body adjusts'. But somehow this isn't common knowledge.

 

[bilby]

I would caution against taking any new medication unless you have a very urgent need, and no options exist which have a long history of successful effect (or you have exhausted all the 'tried and tested' options without finding any that work for you).

Sibutramine was developed as an appetite suppressant but was withdrawn from most markets in 2010 when it was discovered that the product increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.

https://www.tga.gov.au/products/medicines/weight-loss-products

Obesity alone probably doesn't qualify as "urgent need"; Wait a few years, and see if the early adopters start dropping like flies before taking the plunge, is my advice.

As the software industry adage goes "Never buy version 1 of anything".

 

[southernhybrid]

When covered by insurance. Other than that, it's a thousand dollars a month which has the added side effect of really cutting into the grocery budget.

I don't understand the "shaming" aspect of it. Why does anyone need to know you're taking Wegovy in the first place? Secondly, if a friendship is defined mainly by a feeling of superiority over a fat friend, is that not a friendship better lost? This all seems pretty obvious to me.

That struck me as well. I guess I could see some catty school girls acting that way. But grown-ass adults?

You’re not wrong but I’ve read about people reacting negatively towards those taking weight loss drugs for ‘taking the easy way out.’

There is a perception that overweight people are lazy and/or self indulgent and lack willpower. If they just tried harder, they’d lose the extra weight—easy. Or maybe not easy but not that hard.

If only that were true!

A certain percentage of overweight people are lazy and/or self indulgent and lack willpower... at least with regard to losing weight. Like me.... I'm not obese, but have gained an excess 20-30 lbs in the last few years that I would really like to lose, but I have been rather "lazy" lately about working out and eating a better diet. Largely because I have been working a lot of hours lately during the week and on weekends. But I got no one to blame but myself. It is certainly true that for many overweight people their genetics seriously undermine their ability to lose weight and keep it off, but that fact is, its not always the case, which you seem to be saying.

A lot of people are genuinely confused about how to lose weight, too. I'd say about 90%+ think you need more exercise, when exercise has almost nothing to do with it. And most dieting fads are unworkable gimmicks. There's also been a demonization of fat, and misrepresentation of refined sugar.

When you couple all that with a world where energy dense foods are available everywhere, and we have a lot of time to eat, you get overweight people.

For me, exercise had almost everything to do with it. I think it increased my metabolism to the point where I now have problems with losing weight. That started about 3 years ago when I increased my exercise to 6 or 7 days a week. I'm talking about 30 to 45 minutes of very fast aerobics. My husband also lost weight when he started walking several fast miles every morning with the dogs. Maybe exercise doesn't increase everyone's metabolism but it sure seemed to have done that for me. I lost another 10 lbs about 3 years ago and I wondered if I had cancer. I'm not currently exercising due to having had the recent surgery, but perhaps due to the pain and/or the PT exercises I'm still having to eat about 2500 calories per day or I lose weight. Perhaps my metabolism is permanently increased. But, of course, someone can't eat 12,000 calories a day and expect to lose weight by doing aerobics or walking a few miles a day.

I'm not sharing this to be mean, but when I was at the place where I had PT, I overheard two workers say that someone weighed over 700 lbs and it took six people to get her up. Obesity is a disease, perhaps an addiction to processed foods. I once had a home health patient who was a short woman who weighed 500 lbs. She was very sweet and my heart went out to her. I have no idea how or when she started gaining so much weight, but I think it's ignorant to judge people who have any kind of addiction, including food addictions. A lot more research needs to be done to understand all of the underlying causes and improve treatments. Some people can stick to something like Weight Watchers, while others, like my sister how had the surgery for her weight, can't. Their are many reasons why people over eat, some are related to anxiety, depression or some other disorder. It's cruel to judge them, even if it's hard to understand their behavior when it comes to eating.

I also recently read that some obese people eat very little, but it didn't say why. I've said this before but my guess is that when you gain and lose a lot of weight repeatedly, it probably impacts your metabolism in a negative way. At least that's one possibility.

 

[rousseau]

When covered by insurance. Other than that, it's a thousand dollars a month which has the added side effect of really cutting into the grocery budget.

I don't understand the "shaming" aspect of it. Why does anyone need to know you're taking Wegovy in the first place? Secondly, if a friendship is defined mainly by a feeling of superiority over a fat friend, is that not a friendship better lost? This all seems pretty obvious to me.

That struck me as well. I guess I could see some catty school girls acting that way. But grown-ass adults?

You’re not wrong but I’ve read about people reacting negatively towards those taking weight loss drugs for ‘taking the easy way out.’

There is a perception that overweight people are lazy and/or self indulgent and lack willpower. If they just tried harder, they’d lose the extra weight—easy. Or maybe not easy but not that hard.

If only that were true!

A certain percentage of overweight people are lazy and/or self indulgent and lack willpower... at least with regard to losing weight. Like me.... I'm not obese, but have gained an excess 20-30 lbs in the last few years that I would really like to lose, but I have been rather "lazy" lately about working out and eating a better diet. Largely because I have been working a lot of hours lately during the week and on weekends. But I got no one to blame but myself. It is certainly true that for many overweight people their genetics seriously undermine their ability to lose weight and keep it off, but that fact is, its not always the case, which you seem to be saying.

A lot of people are genuinely confused about how to lose weight, too. I'd say about 90%+ think you need more exercise, when exercise has almost nothing to do with it. And most dieting fads are unworkable gimmicks. There's also been a demonization of fat, and misrepresentation of refined sugar.

When you couple all that with a world where energy dense foods are available everywhere, and we have a lot of time to eat, you get overweight people.

For me, exercise had almost everything to do with it. I think it increased my metabolism to the point where I now have problems with losing weight. That started about 3 years ago when I increased my exercise to 6 or 7 days a week. I'm talking about 30 to 45 minutes of very fast aerobics. My husband also lost weight when he started walking several fast miles every morning with the dogs. Maybe exercise doesn't increase everyone's metabolism but it sure seemed to have done that for me. I lost another 10 lbs about 3 years ago and I wondered if I had cancer. I'm not currently exercising due to having had the recent surgery, but perhaps due to the pain and/or the PT exercises I'm still having to eat about 2500 calories per day or I lose weight. Perhaps my metabolism is permanently increased. But, of course, someone can't eat 12,000 calories a day and expect to lose weight by doing aerobics or walking a few miles a day.

I'm not sharing this to be mean, but when I was at the place where I had PT, I overheard two workers say that someone weighed over 700 lbs and it took six people to get her up. Obesity is a disease, perhaps an addiction to processed foods. I once had a home health patient who was a short woman who weighed 500 lbs. She was very sweet and my heart went out to her. I have no idea how or when she started gaining so much weight, but I think it's ignorant to judge people who have any kind of addiction, including food addictions. A lot more research needs to be done to understand all of the underlying causes and improve treatments. Some people can stick to something like Weight Watchers, while others, like my sister how had the surgery for her weight, can't. Their are many reasons why people over eat, some are related to anxiety, depression or some other disorder. It's cruel to judge them, even if it's hard to understand their behavior when it comes to eating.

I also recently read that some obese people eat very little, but it didn't say why. I've said this before but my guess is that when you gain and lose a lot of weight repeatedly, it probably impacts your metabolism in a negative way. At least that's one possibility.

You can lose weight with exercise, but it needs to be coupled with a good diet. The reverse isn't true though, you can absolutely lose weight with the right diet and minimal exercise.

I think what most people don't realize is that they exercise, burn calories, then get hungry and eat them back right away. Where if you did something as simple as not eat a bowl of ice cream that'd be the calorie equivalent of quite a bit of exercise.

In my mind about 90% of it is just limiting refined sugar. But people still think drinking carbonated sugar water is a totally normal thing to do.

 

[Toni]

Not that long ago, we went away for a weekend with friends, and she remarked at how little I ate. I didn’t eat differently with them than I usually do, aside from it being a big city and we ordered some really good Chinese ( not available in my town).

I don’t really eat that much. I eat almost zero processed foods. I do need to increase my activity but ffs, people can gain a lot of weight without being addicted to food!

When I first started gaining weight, I scheduled a doctor’s appointment and kept a very careful food diary for a couple of weeks, calculating calories consumed: about 1200/day. At the time, I had 4 young kids and barely sat down except at dinner and if I drove somewhere. The doctor looked at me and says I should be losing weight, not gaining. No shit. Why else was I there??? But my thyroid levels were fine, which I guessed because I had zero symptoms other than weight gain.

People are extremely judge-y about other people’s weight.

It doesn’t help.

 

[southernhybrid]

Exercise is a very important component of weight loss, and I think. it's a myth that exercise makes one hungry. Exercise has actually decreased my appetite and while perhaps some people get hungry if they exercise excessively, I've yet to have a friend who has felt that exercise made them hungry.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/basics/diet-and-exercise/hlv-20049483

The key to successful weight loss is developing healthy diet and exercise habits. You may not like those words — diet and exercise. But don't get hung up on them. Diet just means eating healthy, lower calorie meals. Exercise means being more physically active.

Although people appropriately focus on diet when they're trying to lose weight, being active also is an essential component of a weight-loss program. When you're active, your body uses energy (calories) to move, helping to burn the calories you take in with food you eat.

It's very simple. Exercise increases your metabolism and if you keep your eating under control, the combination helps most people lose weight. I'll say it again. We are all different so not everyone will have the same results, but there has been lots of research that suggests that dieting alone isn't a good way to lose weight.

Even my sister who I mentioned before, lost 100 lbs. on Weight Watchers, combined that with a daily walk of a mile or two. I started walking and then doing aerobics when I wanted to lose or maintain a healthy weight. So, let's not play down the importance of exercise when it comes to weight loss or maintenance. Humans used to be far more active than most currently are these days. I think that's pretty obvious to any of us who have been around for a long time.

I confess that I drink carbonated beverages, but I usually limit it to one can of ginger ale a day, unlike some of the women I used to work with who were sadly so addicted to soft drinks that a few confessed to me that they drank as much as two liters or more a day. Sugar can be very addictive for some people. I understand that.

 

[southernhybrid]

Not that long ago, we went away for a weekend with friends, and she remarked at how little I ate. I didn’t eat differently with them than I usually do, aside from it being a big city and we ordered some really good Chinese ( not available in my town).

I don’t really eat that much. I eat almost zero processed foods. I do need to increase my activity but ffs, people can gain a lot of weight without being addicted to food!

When I first started gaining weight, I scheduled a doctor’s appointment and kept a very careful food diary for a couple of weeks, calculating calories consumed: about 1200/day. At the time, I had 4 young kids and barely sat down except at dinner and if I drove somewhere. The doctor looked at me and says I should be losing weight, not gaining. No shit. Why else was I there??? But my thyroid levels were fine, which I guessed because I had zero symptoms other than weight gain.

People are extremely judge-y about other people’s weight.

It doesn’t help.

I'm sorry you have that problem. I've known a few people who could eat very little and still gain weight. I've mentioned that in earlier posts. Where I live, I rarely hear anyone being judgmental about others being overweight because it's been so normalized here. Believe it or not, I was "skinny shamed" once by some of my obese coworkers. They might have been joking, but they told me I wasn't a big beautiful woman like they were. If it was serious, I really didn't care because insults don't bother me. I just laughed and rolled my eyes. I'm serious when I say that being overweight is considered normal here, although when obese people get diagnosed with heart disease or diabetes, that sometimes wakes them up and motivates them to exercise and try to eat a healthier diet. Sadly, that's not always the case.

 

[rousseau]

Exercise is a very important component of weight loss, and I think. it's a myth that exercise makes one hungry. Exercise has actually decreased my appetite and while perhaps some people get hungry if they exercise excessively, I've yet to have a friend who has felt that exercise made them hungry.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/basics/diet-and-exercise/hlv-20049483

The key to successful weight loss is developing healthy diet and exercise habits. You may not like those words — diet and exercise. But don't get hung up on them. Diet just means eating healthy, lower calorie meals. Exercise means being more physically active.

Although people appropriately focus on diet when they're trying to lose weight, being active also is an essential component of a weight-loss program. When you're active, your body uses energy (calories) to move, helping to burn the calories you take in with food you eat.

It's very simple. Exercise increases your metabolism and if you keep your eating under control, the combination helps most people lose weight. I'll say it again. We are all different so not everyone will have the same results, but there has been lots of research that suggests that dieting alone isn't a good way to lose weight.

Even my sister who I mentioned before, lost 100 lbs. on Weight Watchers, combined that with a daily walk of a mile or two. I started walking and then doing aerobics when I wanted to lose or maintain a healthy weight. So, let's not play down the importance of exercise when it comes to weight loss or maintenance. Humans used to be far more active than most currently are these days. I think that's pretty obvious to any of us who have been around for a long time.

I confess that I drink carbonated beverages, but I usually limit it to one can of ginger ale a day, unlike some of the women I used to work with who were sadly so addicted to soft drinks that a few confessed to me that they drank as much as two liters or more a day. Sugar can be very addictive for some people. I understand that.

You could very well be right that exercise shifts our metabolism, honestly I don't know. But as for making us hungry I was referring to the immediate loss of calories after we exercise. If you jog for 45 minutes then eat fast food immediately after, the jogging is pretty much moot. This is what most people do.

I'm not going to say that exercise isn't important. Exercising regularly is something everyone should be doing in a normal, routine life (not for weight loss). But if you actually want to lose weight and put most of your focus on exercise, but don't change your eating habits, you'll have a hard time. In the case of your sister, walking a mile or two a day is a pretty normal amount of exercise to get, whether or not you're trying to lose weight. I would hazard a guess that the actual weight loss came from the dieting program, in combination with not being completely sedentary (which isn't normal).

I'm not sure if this is getting across, exercising quite a bit daily is the bare minimum that everyone should be doing just to maintain their weight. Movement, and lots of it, is normal, you don't get a gold star for taking a walk.

Your case is different because it sounds like your exercise habits were pretty extreme. Most people aren't exercising to that extent. But if you're a marathon runner, for example, you're going to have a slender body.

You can start seeing that this is a little more complicated than most people realize. We mostly think of exercise as a pill we're supposed to take, not a part of a normal life.

 

[rousseau]

Not that long ago, we went away for a weekend with friends, and she remarked at how little I ate. I didn’t eat differently with them than I usually do, aside from it being a big city and we ordered some really good Chinese ( not available in my town).

I don’t really eat that much. I eat almost zero processed foods. I do need to increase my activity but ffs, people can gain a lot of weight without being addicted to food!

When I first started gaining weight, I scheduled a doctor’s appointment and kept a very careful food diary for a couple of weeks, calculating calories consumed: about 1200/day. At the time, I had 4 young kids and barely sat down except at dinner and if I drove somewhere. The doctor looked at me and says I should be losing weight, not gaining. No shit. Why else was I there??? But my thyroid levels were fine, which I guessed because I had zero symptoms other than weight gain.

People are extremely judge-y about other people’s weight.

It doesn’t help.

I'm not sure if this'll come across as mansplainy, but have you ever tried intermittent fasting? A couple years ago I was about 30 lbs overweight and lost pretty much all of it this way. I just stopped eating in the morning until about 10:30 - 11.

I get that genetics are a thing, but maybe that could work for you?

 

[steve_bank]

When I was bedridden in hospital I was told I needed 1700 calories per day to mantain body weight.

When you sharply cut calories you can lose weight initially, but at some point your body goes into an energy conservation mode. The so called plateau in weight loss. You can also start burning muscle mass. Protein and strength exercises are important when losing weight.

Nothing new here that is not in general medical reporting, it makes sense from my experience.

It sounds counter intuitive when losing weight and increasing activity you may have to increase calories to keep losing weight.

For me averaging a pound a week was sustainable. Some weeks more.

You have to find that sweet spot where you are loosing weight without extreme calorie cuts.

Not all calories are the same, counting calories did not work for me. The same calorie rating in different foods does not equate to the same amount of glucose in the blood.

Mostly by trial and erro I got diet adjusted to maintain body weight.

The NIH has a weight loos calculator. Given age, current weight, target weight, and time it estimates your calories per day. You may be surprised.

Body Weight Planner - NIDDK

The Body Weight Planner allows users to make personalized calorie and physical activity plans to reach a goal weight within a specific time period and to maintain it afterwards.

www.niddk.nih.gov

If you are not losing weight and think you should be, then see a specialist not a general practitioner. It could be a number of things. Heart failure and water retention is a big one.