What are the people like where y'all live? Scary prediction

[MissJacksonCA]

I was reading online a while ago that some man (possibly scientist) theorized that with the United States growing obesity epidemic that he believes that the entire country will be overweight by 2040 and not long after that the entire country will inevitably end up obese. Of course this doesn't work in celebrity land where to get in you have to weigh nothing and naturally of course high schools are homes to eating disorders so perhaps not there either. But where I live right now its like everyones either overweight or getting there. So i'm just wondering do you think his predictions are correct? And what's it like where you live?

I think it could be a possibility that like 80% of the U.S. will be obese simply from the way I see a lot of people living. With both parents working to provide for the household there's a lot less time for family physical activity and of course less time to prepare homemade healthy cuisine and more temptation to just buy something pre-made. And also i'm quite shocked at the serving suggestions I've been reading recently that state that the amount of meat in a serving is 3 ounces. Thats like a very small hambuger. I dont eat meat that often but wow. And then like the amount of cereal you should have is to be a half cup. Kinda weird to me. I have no idea what the current food pyramid looks like but all I know is everytime I sign on i'm reading what to eat what not to eat how much to have and how much is too much. Its all sooo speculative. What do you think?

I'm especially interested in what you Brits think ...

[MinionZombie]

It's all about moderation, too much of anything is a bad thing and EVERYTHING is bad for you one week or the next, it's pointless, just ignore it and don't over indulge. If humanity has made it this far without keeling over, I don't think we need to pay much attention to twittering researchers coming up with any old bullsh*t to get a grant.

I've levelled my diet out pretty much at the moment, not putting weight on, but likewise not losing any ... not ideal, but not the worst position to be in. I really indulged at uni and didn't pay any attention to calories or whatever, you don't get taught that sort of stuff at school, but it's also just indulging...what I mean is, you don't get taught which foods do what you your body, you don't really know, so you don't really think too much about buying a load of cakes and bread and fizzy drinks and all sorts and just indulge...these days though I've cut a lot of that out now, in fact the majority of it, so I'm kinda in a limbo state...hopefully I'll start to go back to a more ideal weight as work hopefully picks up and I spend less time watching Home Improvement repeats on ABC1. :lol:

[acealive1]

I was reading online a while ago that some man (possibly scientist) theorized that with the United States growing obesity epidemic that he believes that the entire country will be overweight by 2040 and not long after that the entire country will inevitably end up obese. Of course this doesn't work in celebrity land where to get in you have to weigh nothing and naturally of course high schools are homes to eating disorders so perhaps not there either. But where I live right now its like everyones either overweight or getting there. So i'm just wondering do you think his predictions are correct? And what's it like where you live?

I think it could be a possibility that like 80% of the U.S. will be obese simply from the way I see a lot of people living. With both parents working to provide for the household there's a lot less time for family physical activity and of course less time to prepare homemade healthy cuisine and more temptation to just buy something pre-made. And also i'm quite shocked at the serving suggestions I've been reading recently that state that the amount of meat in a serving is 3 ounces. Thats like a very small hambuger. I dont eat meat that often but wow. And then like the amount of cereal you should have is to be a half cup. Kinda weird to me. I have no idea what the current food pyramid looks like but all I know is everytime I sign on i'm reading what to eat what not to eat how much to have and how much is too much. Its all sooo speculative. What do you think?

I'm especially interested in what you Brits think ...

if we went by the UK's measurement system on clothes,we wouldnt be over weight.

[Terran]

Yeah I think we can get up to 80% obesity easy....but not "all" will be obese....theres plenty of people determined to eat healthy... and willing to pay more to do so....

Its very possible to be a new litmus test for the classes....the people that are poor wont be able to afford to eat healthy...so theyll be obese and have other health probelms...while the people with enough money to eat healthy will have the capacity to be slim....


It is funny to look at serving sizes for stuff....because almost everyone eats three or four times more than the recommended serving.....buy a "regular sized gatorade bottle....thats not one serving your drinking its 2.5 servings.... One little can of spagettiOs is 2.5 servings.....


Buy a small mcdonalds meal like a double cheeseburger(dollar menu) small frys(dollar menu) and a small drink.....You have had about 1/2 of your recommended calories for the day all of the sodium your supposed to have in a day and all of the saturated fat your supposed to have in a day......and thats from one meal....and its only about "snack sized" so it doesnt last very long....


Theres a lot of strategies for controlling your serving sizes and being full throughout the day....but most people dont want to change their eating habits or are incapable of doing so.... *shrugs*



About where I live....I live near the city....about 50% are "thin" 50% overweight......but If I go about 60 miles south an average sized people where I live would be considered now "very thin" and the majority are "obese".....

[EvilNed]

In good ol' Socialist Land people are fairly trim. The overweight people are not unheard off, but they're very, very far from being a minority. Take the university class I'm in right now... We're around thirty folks and there's only one person who would be labelled overweight. In my former class we were 32 and there were two people who would be labelled overweight. Before that, only one. And I'm talking overweight, not obese.

The goverment kills anyone who goes obese over here.

Nah but seriously, that's our ratio pretty much. I don't know why it's like that because we have McDonalds and Burger Kings and stuff like that. Granted, in the US you can't drive ten minutes without bumping into a McDonalds so perhaps that has something to do with it. But I have to say I don't find the people in the US to have a striking overweight/slim ratio. Most of the time I'm there I always see it as: Either you're slim or you're fatter than John Goodman.

[Cody]

I can see it...but I guarantee you I wont be in that statistic.

[MissJacksonCA]

Ever see War of the Roses? Where Kathleen Turner was like you give them sweets now so they basically wont over indulge as young adults? And then you see their kids snarfing down cookies and they're as fat as the chick who turns into a blueberry in Willy Wonka? Yeah...

My dad is a health nazi and was psycho about everything we did as kids. I mean we weren't allwed in our house until 5pm after school and on weekends we had to spend like 6 hours out of the house on weekends. And we weren't allowed more than one diet soda a day and had to drink milk at dinner. He almost always made chicken for dinner and breakfast was usually a protein shake. We jogged 5ks as a family and I bet the neighbors prolly thought we were like the craziest people on the block.

My mom was the total opposite. She would cook us a steak that had to be like 14 ounces, plop on a baked potato and maybe a vegetable. And her freezer was full of ice cream and vodka. The woman didn't care what she ate, how much of it she consumed, and I've never seen her exercise. While she used to be less than a size zero she's now a size 16 and its like a illustration of what not to do.

I always thought i'd be a professional athelete (I know how stupid of me) so I always watch what I take in because it made a difference in how I played but also I just found junk food grody.

I dont know how men can stand to eat with women. There's like two types of females... they're either saying how gross something you're about to eat is or how many carbs/calories/fat is in it. But that doesn't even matter with food because its all so subjective. Avocados have lots of fat but its good fat. There's complex carbs in some veggies and not others. Etc. And then there's how your body metabolizes food... are you ectomorph? Endomorph? Enzomorph? They dont teach enough of that in school.

They also dont force children to exercise. In junior high in Mission Viejo we had to run downhill...around a bunch of stores and professional offices... and then up around the hill back to school... and gym class didn't end there. That was at least a good mile and you had to do it with crutches or without. I'm all for it. But when we moved to Ohio gym class turned into playing dodgeball which rocked or we'd play some kickball baseball thing that sucked. It was basically sporadic sprinting at best. And somehow in high school gym became an elective and you got to pick the level of physical education you'd receive. Its generally a bad idea to let children pick their health requirements. I took self defense and it was great but more learning about true life bad things and how to prevent them and less hitting your classmates. Then I moved again and took volleyball and tennis which was okay but not enough action. They shoulda offered jogging as a PE class at least I'd get something from it.

I think in general people dont know enough about how to exercise, and how to eat right portions of healthy food. I think parents play a big part. And todays parents are school teachers because most parents seem to spend less and less time with their kids. But in both cases most parents and teachers seem reluctant to help future generations ensure health and wellness. I dont get it but if I ever adopt I may be forced to home-school.

I agree with Terran though... the cheapest food at the store is often the worst for you. I mean Ramen is like 22 cents for a cup. I think Kraft is prolly right there too. Frozen food and pizzas are cheap. And most canned goods are the same except for canned asparagus which is like the price of gold. Its literally difficult for people to afford to live healthy. Its cheaper to just eat whatever. It would even be cheaper if I ate fast food everynight. But hey... I dont like McD's... I hate Wendys...i'm scared of going to Taco Hell and the food court in the mall is my worst nightmare. I look around and its overweight and obese people all over. It is the south and here they deep fry anything but still... I dont know if its because they dont care or because they dont know any better. And for some weird reason produce and milk here are obscenely expensive. Its like 4 dollars for a big jug of milk how crazy is that? And its like 80 cents for a cucumber. And thats at Wal Mart! Eh... maybe people here are just trying to save money I dont know

[Danny]

Ever see War of the Roses? Where Kathleen Turner was like you give them sweets now so they basically wont over indulge as young adults? And then you see their kids snarfing down cookies and they're as fat as the chick who turns into a blueberry in Willy Wonka? Yeah...

My dad is a health nazi and was psycho about everything we did as kids. I mean we weren't allwed in our house until 5pm after school and on weekends we had to spend like 6 hours out of the house on weekends. And we weren't allowed more than one diet soda a day and had to drink milk at dinner. He almost always made chicken for dinner and breakfast was usually a protein shake. We jogged 5ks as a family and I bet the neighbors prolly thought we were like the craziest people on the block.

My mom was the total opposite. She would cook us a steak that had to be like 14 ounces, plop on a baked potato and maybe a vegetable. And her freezer was full of ice cream and vodka. The woman didn't care what she ate, how much of it she consumed, and I've never seen her exercise. While she used to be less than a size zero she's now a size 16 and its like a illustration of what not to do.

I always thought i'd be a professional athelete (I know how stupid of me) so I always watch what I take in because it made a difference in how I played but also I just found junk food grody.

I dont know how men can stand to eat with women. There's like two types of females... they're either saying how gross something you're about to eat is or how many carbs/calories/fat is in it. But that doesn't even matter with food because its all so subjective. Avocados have lots of fat but its good fat. There's complex carbs in some veggies and not others. Etc. And then there's how your body metabolizes food... are you ectomorph? Endomorph? Enzomorph? They dont teach enough of that in school.

They also dont force children to exercise. In junior high in Mission Viejo we had to run downhill...around a bunch of stores and professional offices... and then up around the hill back to school... and gym class didn't end there. That was at least a good mile and you had to do it with crutches or without. I'm all for it. But when we moved to Ohio gym class turned into playing dodgeball which rocked or we'd play some kickball baseball thing that sucked. It was basically sporadic sprinting at best. And somehow in high school gym became an elective and you got to pick the level of physical education you'd receive. Its generally a bad idea to let children pick their health requirements. I took self defense and it was great but more learning about true life bad things and how to prevent them and less hitting your classmates. Then I moved again and took volleyball and tennis which was okay but not enough action. They shoulda offered jogging as a PE class at least I'd get something from it.

I think in general people dont know enough about how to exercise, and how to eat right portions of healthy food. I think parents play a big part. And todays parents are school teachers because most parents seem to spend less and less time with their kids. But in both cases most parents and teachers seem reluctant to help future generations ensure health and wellness. I dont get it but if I ever adopt I may be forced to home-school.

I agree with Terran though... the cheapest food at the store is often the worst for you. I mean Ramen is like 22 cents for a cup. I think Kraft is prolly right there too. Frozen food and pizzas are cheap. And most canned goods are the same except for canned asparagus which is like the price of gold. Its literally difficult for people to afford to live healthy. Its cheaper to just eat whatever. It would even be cheaper if I ate fast food everynight. But hey... I dont like McD's... I hate Wendys...i'm scared of going to Taco Hell and the food court in the mall is my worst nightmare. I look around and its overweight and obese people all over. It is the south and here they deep fry anything but still... I dont know if its because they dont care or because they dont know any better. And for some weird reason produce and milk here are obscenely expensive. Its like 4 dollars for a big jug of milk how crazy is that? And its like 80 cents for a cucumber. And thats at Wal Mart! Eh... maybe people here are just trying to save money I dont know

wait, so you guys dont have a mandatory gym class over there anymore, its still p.e 2 or 3 time s a week over here, and on the topic of places like macdonalds, the small over there is a medium going on large over here, and your large is like ver super size used to be, which i could only eat once, i almost puked and never did again.
about a 2 years back i wasnt in shape at all, i had no job or no college so barely had anything to do, now i have a part time job and college and i lost a couple of stone and though i aint skinny by no means im in much better shape for it, i still eat the big mac meals, and the kfc so whats different?, getting out the house and walking about more, in my average college day i probably walk about 3 miles around the town my college is in adn thats done me fine, ive got freinds in much better shape than me that when walking 8 miles off the ebaten path to film somethign a while back a few of the really skinny guys had to stop and rest.
point is you can eat what the hell you want, in moderation, just exercise, diets are bullcrap, just burn off more energy than what youve taken in thats how to lose weight and get into shape, i can believe the times ive heard some fat chick in my matsh class say somethign like "so i eat a cup of oatmeal and an apple once every two days to lose wieght" "and have you" "not yet...":rolleyes:

my advice get the really fat kids on treadmills, stick a rod opver there heads dangling a twinkie in front of them, if we all listened to peter griffin wed be much better off:lol:

[Tricky]

Im determined not to be fat,im not the healthiest of eaters,but im still muscly & toned because i balance it up with plenty of exercise!i do eat healthy stuff as well,but i still like my steak,fish n chips,pizza,chocolate etc :)
Theres way too many fat people who are just too bone idle to lose weight,they go on all these diets,but they come up with all sorts of excuses not to exercise!eating less will not make you lose weight,its all about the physical activity and plenty of it!

[MissJacksonCA]

At least when ii went to high school 7 years ago.... the problem with that is you get to pick your gym course by 10th grade and that could be anything from frisbee to tennis to swimming to self defense and aerobics. But the good classes are hard to get into and a lot of them have so little physical activity for each person that its basically standing studyhall.

[Terran]

eating less will not make you lose weight,its all about the physical activity and plenty of it!

Well its about both really if you want to lose weight....if you want to stay where you are you can just exercise....


The body has the tendancy to want to keep whatever body fat percentage it has currently...In another distant time this was a type of evolutionary "nutriational insurance" policy....

So if a person is overweight and they begin to exercise regularly they will have a tendancy to eat more calories because their body will crave more food to keep the same body fat percentage....

This is one of the many probelms people have when trying to lose weight...because they start exercising regularly then they lose their motivation because they dont lose any weight(because they actually are craving more calories and eating them) so they stop exercising but they briefly keep eating what they were eating when they were exercising because it takes a while before the body realizes that they are no longer exercising....so after that whole attempt a person might end up gaining some weight and have more weight to lose when they finally get motivated again.....


My sister is a great example she runs 1.7 miles every day and has been doing this for about 2-3 years but hasnt lost a bit of weight (and has been slowly gaining weight)....she complains that its her genetics and her body type because she eats "healthy"...and that to lose any weight she would probally have to run three times as much...
I told her to count how many calories she consumes during the day and compare that to how many calories she burns running + just regular daily activity....If they are about equal then she wont lose any weight....If she is burning more than consuming shell lose weight and if she is consuming more than she is burning shell gain weight.....I told her its really that simple if she wants to lose weight if shes a normal average human being...

She told me I was full of **** because she " 'knows' she eats waaay healthier than soooo many other people"...

I didnt want to argue because I "knew" she didnt know what she was talking about (It doesnt matter how "healthy" you eat if you eating too much of it).....So when I was down visiting her for a couple of days I counted up the calories in her "healthy" diet....


She has 2-3 Coke Colas a day at 140 calories a piece(people never think of their drinks when they count their calorie consumption)

She has these Salads 1-2 times a day as a side to her lunches and dinners.....but you should see these salads....lots of shredded cheese ...Croutons....Craisens(essentially putting candy on your salad)...and a lot of salad dressing...These salads are easily 400-500 calories a piece and they are just the side to the lunches/dinners.

Dinners are usually Chicken type meals, Pasta Type meals, or Beef type meals....averaging 400-500 calories per her sized servings...

Lunches are normally a Sandwhich or Pasta....prolly about 250-300 calories....

Breakfast is usually Cereal or Eggs or a Bagel.... ~300-350 calories Bagel 400 because of the added cream cheese...

And then at night...she drinks about a bottle of wine and has a bunch of cheese and crackers....easily 400 calories.....


I couldnt count the snacks....

So I told her "With your general calorie consumption and calorie burning if you were an 'average 27 year old Woman' you should be gaining about 2 pounds a month until you got big enough that you burned more calories at your resting rate till calories consumed/calories burned evens out".....

She just got pissed and didnt want to listen....


The point is that if you want to lose weight generally you have to change your diet and your activity levels....because if you just change your diet you tend to just be less active...and if you just change your activity levels you tend to eat more calories....so either way you dont change your weight....

[Khardis]

A lot of it also has to do with lifestyle. Americans on average work more hours than any other developed nation on earth, get the least time off and take the shortest vacations. It doesn't leave a lot of time for a home cooked meal thats well balanced, especially since our women have left the homestead to compete in the job market.

Nothing wrong with any of that, but one of the side effects, is a poor diet. If you are too mentally drained to come home from working 8 or 10 hours then that McDonald's seems pretty inviting. People just gotta keep that stuff in perspective. I try to keep everything in check by cooking a TON of good storageable food on the weekends that can be frozen in separate containers and cooked again throughout the week. This way I tend to eat waaaaay more vegetables, leaner better meats, and fewer calories.

[MinionZombie]

P.E. would have been great if I'd have gotten to do what I wanted, not just the stock options of rounders and football...although if memory serves, Year 11 (as opposed to Year 10) was pretty decent as I managed to get to do badminton quite a lot, which I was actually not bad at...like back at primary school, apparently I was not bad at Hockey, but of course at our high school it was "just for girls"...

I remember playing a stonking match of cricket once, I surprised everyone cos I was absolutely on fire that one day, haha, knocking for six constantly, I was taken aback by myself, hehe.

I remember being put into, basically what I called, "the retard group" for P.E. one year when they split us up into three groups according to ability (I was just lazy, why bother when the sport on offer is sh*t you hate?)...big fish, small pond and all that. :D

But yeah, that year of badminton was good, I actually enjoyed playing badminton. A big turn off with P.E. was the other students, well, the morons and thugs and the cocky-twat sporty types, I hated those people, so why would I wanna be near them?

I remember in year 10 I had so many notes from my Mum that I was ill or had sprained something, I seriously must have had the most sprained ankles in the history of the world during that year, haha! I was limping around everywhere, because sometimes it was genuine! :lol:

Ahhh P.E. at school ... what a load of old sh*t. :lol:

[MissJacksonCA]

If your sister is running and gaining weight it could be muscle which weighs more than fat. But when you exercise it helps supress your appetite. I'm not saying 50 push ups will cause you to forget about lunch but it tends to make a person consume less. A lot of people I think mistake their bodys desire for water for hunger. They dont know what its like to actually be hungry. Or she could just be hitting her plateau. Your body gets used to whatever physical activity and food consumption it gets. When you alter that and begin to diet and exercise (or just change one) you'll get results but you have to continually step it up in order to continue to lose weight if thats your goal. Optimally speaking you want to hit a goal BMI and maintain it.

Of course judging by what your sister wolfs down she's prolly gaining weight because she thinks she's on a diet. And you're right it depends a lot on portions. You should buy her one of those cafeteria plates that has the sections and tell her that she should have a salad with every meal but it should take up part of her dinner plate and not have its own. Big mistake most people make. She's eating the caloric equivalent of a mans diet.

People seem to be under the misguided belief that a diet is only necessary to lose weight but its an essential key to maintaining your weight too. You can't just diet every time you need to squeeze into some Hollister jeans its bad for your body and the older you get the harder it is for you to lose weight. The tendency especially for men is to gain weight once they hit 30 but I can't say that's because their body changed I figure its their lifestsyle changed.

Khardis you make an excellent point that Americans work way more than most people and they vacation a lot less than most people. It really takes away from the time they get to exercise and prepare and eat healthy food. I know some companies like Verizon Wireless tries to combat that. They actually have their own gym here at the call center in Charleston and they encourage their employees to use it. Frankly its in the best interest of the U.S. for more companies to do something similar. The healthier their staff is the less likely they are to get sick and more likely to fight off diseases. Plus people who take care of themselves are obviously health conscious and thus are less likely to bleed a company dry using their health benefits.

Its weird because everyone here seems conscious of diet and exercise and its like nooooooobody I know does. My boyfriend goes out to dinner and orders us three appetizers and well since I dont dig sushi I really didnt eat any but good lord! And then he ate dinner and had like 3 beers. I couldn't believe it. I thought maybe it was because I was paying and it was an obscenely expensive restaurant but then noticed everytime we went out he ordered a lot of food. Eventually I figured that's why he's gained like 30 pounds in the past two years and now fortunatly he's starting to lose it but yeah he's just one of many people I know who seem to consume whatever whenever and usually doesn't exercise. Maybe its because I grew up how I did but gol dang... its just weird that so many people dont care

Cricket rocks Minion i'm jealous other kids got to play it in school! We only played it in junior high when we had a foreign exchange teacher from Australia... her beau was a cricket man and we played it like mad it was floggin awesome!

[Khardis]

If your sister is running and gaining weight it could be muscle which weighs more than fat. But when you exercise it helps supress your appetite. I'm not saying 50 push ups will cause you to forget about lunch but it tends to make a person consume less. A lot of people I think mistake their bodys desire for water for hunger. They dont know what its like to actually be hungry. Or she could just be hitting her plateau. Your body gets used to whatever physical activity and food consumption it gets. When you alter that and begin to diet and exercise (or just change one) you'll get results but you have to continually step it up in order to continue to lose weight if thats your goal. Optimally speaking you want to hit a goal BMI and maintain it.

Not always true. Running doesn't build muscles it eats them away. Its why body builders dont run much cardio. Ever see a ripped Marathon runner? And Appetite supression like pain is unique to all people. I played Football (not soccer) since I was 11 until I was 20 in college. After a hard workout, hitting the weights, doing lots of sprinting and all that stuff I worked up a monster appetite. It MAY be though because we were trained to put on weight (muscle) not to lose it. And the only way to gain muscle is to drown your system with excess calories and to work the muscles you have already. You are dead on though about the H2O, most of your meal can be replaced with a tall tall glass of clean water. You still need to eat, but thirst is half the battle, putting down a good 8-16 ounces of water with your meal will make you eat a bit less.


People seem to be under the misguided belief that a diet is only necessary to lose weight but its an essential key to maintaining your weight too. You can't just diet every time you need to squeeze into some Hollister jeans its bad for your body and the older you get the harder it is for you to lose weight. The tendency especially for men is to gain weight once they hit 30 but I can't say that's because their body changed I figure its their lifestsyle changed. Its both. When men start to age thier metabolic rates slow down. I will gain weight easier (now 26) by eating the same stuff I used to when I was 19 or 20. Even though back then it would burn off instantly. I have to work out harder and longer and watch what I eat more today than I used to.


Khardis you make an excellent point that Americans work way more than most people and they vacation a lot less than most people. It really takes away from the time they get to exercise and prepare and eat healthy food. I know some companies like Verizon Wireless tries to combat that. They actually have their own gym here at the call center in Charleston and they encourage their employees to use it. Frankly its in the best interest of the U.S. for more companies to do something similar. The healthier their staff is the less likely they are to get sick and more likely to fight off diseases. Plus people who take care of themselves are obviously health conscious and thus are less likely to bleed a company dry using their health benefits.

Absolutely, I am all for companies doing this voluntarily I do not think they should be required to give it though. At some point Personal responsibility has to step in and take over. Companies that do this though deserve the respect and accolades for being good employers.


Its weird because everyone here seems conscious of diet and exercise and its like nooooooobody I know does. My boyfriend goes out to dinner and orders us three appetizers and well since I dont dig sushi I really didnt eat any but good lord! And then he ate dinner and had like 3 beers. I couldn't believe it. I thought maybe it was because I was paying and it was an obscenely expensive restaurant but then noticed everytime we went out he ordered a lot of food. Eventually I figured that's why he's gained like 30 pounds in the past two years and now fortunatly he's starting to lose it but yeah he's just one of many people I know who seem to consume whatever whenever and usually doesn't exercise. Maybe its because I grew up how I did but gol dang... its just weird that so many people dont care

Ya know, its probably the way he jut got used to eating when he was younger. When I was 16-25 I ate TOOOONS of food, but never gained any weight. Now I drink a milkshake and my ass jiggles for a week. He just has to adjust to his aging body (hes not old, but his body *IS* starting to slow a tiny bit).


Well its about both really if you want to lose weight....if you want to stay where you are you can just exercise....


The body has the tendancy to want to keep whatever body fat percentage it has currently...In another distant time this was a type of evolutionary "nutriational insurance" policy....

So if a person is overweight and they begin to exercise regularly they will have a tendancy to eat more calories because their body will crave more food to keep the same body fat percentage....

This is one of the many probelms people have when trying to lose weight...because they start exercising regularly then they lose their motivation because they dont lose any weight(because they actually are craving more calories and eating them) so they stop exercising but they briefly keep eating what they were eating when they were exercising because it takes a while before the body realizes that they are no longer exercising....so after that whole attempt a person might end up gaining some weight and have more weight to lose when they finally get motivated again.....


My sister is a great example she runs 1.7 miles every day and has been doing this for about 2-3 years but hasnt lost a bit of weight (and has been slowly gaining weight)....she complains that its her genetics and her body type because she eats "healthy"...and that to lose any weight she would probally have to run three times as much...
I told her to count how many calories she consumes during the day and compare that to how many calories she burns running + just regular daily activity....If they are about equal then she wont lose any weight....If she is burning more than consuming shell lose weight and if she is consuming more than she is burning shell gain weight.....I told her its really that simple if she wants to lose weight if shes a normal average human being...

She told me I was full of **** because she " 'knows' she eats waaay healthier than soooo many other people"...

I didnt want to argue because I "knew" she didnt know what she was talking about (It doesnt matter how "healthy" you eat if you eating too much of it).....So when I was down visiting her for a couple of days I counted up the calories in her "healthy" diet....


She has 2-3 Coke Colas a day at 140 calories a piece(people never think of their drinks when they count their calorie consumption)

She has these Salads 1-2 times a day as a side to her lunches and dinners.....but you should see these salads....lots of shredded cheese ...Croutons....Craisens(essentially putting candy on your salad)...and a lot of salad dressing...These salads are easily 400-500 calories a piece and they are just the side to the lunches/dinners.

Dinners are usually Chicken type meals, Pasta Type meals, or Beef type meals....averaging 400-500 calories per her sized servings...

Lunches are normally a Sandwhich or Pasta....prolly about 250-300 calories....

Breakfast is usually Cereal or Eggs or a Bagel.... ~300-350 calories Bagel 400 because of the added cream cheese...

And then at night...she drinks about a bottle of wine and has a bunch of cheese and crackers....easily 400 calories.....


I couldnt count the snacks....

So I told her "With your general calorie consumption and calorie burning if you were an 'average 27 year old Woman' you should be gaining about 2 pounds a month until you got big enough that you burned more calories at your resting rate till calories consumed/calories burned evens out".....

She just got pissed and didnt want to listen....


The point is that if you want to lose weight generally you have to change your diet and your activity levels....because if you just change your diet you tend to just be less active...and if you just change your activity levels you tend to eat more calories....so either way you dont change your weight....
Oh yeah there is NO way she will lose weight running that much but not fixing her eating habits.

What she is essentially doing is burning off her muscle mass by running so much, then replacing it with fat that she gets from eating such a high sugar high starch diet. This is exactly the way they train the offensive front line on football teams. They eat TONS and TONS and Run a lot too. Essentially it makes them incredibly fat and heavy, but very long winded when it comes to endurance. Running doesn't lose fat, it burns calories, MANY of those calories are from your muscle fibers that are being broken down and consumed the protein needed to keep a person moving along. But because she is also eating such an unbalanced diet and taking in so much sugar shes not burning any fat.

My suggestion would be for her to immediately fix her diet, cut out almost all sugars, lay off too much pasta and to break up her running routine. Instead o running 1.7 miles or whatever at 1 time, why not walk 3 laps in the morning and then run the last mile at night before going to bed? That will increase her metabolic rate and she will start dropping fat like crazy. I would also suggest some light resistance working out, curls, weighted crunches, squats, etc. It will rip her muscles and force more of the calories she consumes to be used to repair that, rather than be stored.

[MissJacksonCA]

Haven't laughed that hard for a while OMG...

I never thought of it like that though. Your comparing runners to football players. And you're entirely right. I'm a runner and play sports that dont really require a lot of weight gain like football. And I always wondered why football players were so meaty. My boy plays football so that could explain him as well.

You just challenged my whole way of thinking... very cool... what do you do Khardis?

[Terran]

... what do you do Khardis?

I heard that sometimes he kicks ass....and occasionally takes names.....

:D

[MissJacksonCA]

ehhhh

[Khardis]

Haven't laughed that hard for a while OMG...

I never thought of it like that though. Your comparing runners to football players. And you're entirely right. I'm a runner and play sports that dont really require a lot of weight gain like football. And I always wondered why football players were so meaty. My boy plays football so that could explain him as well.

You just challenged my whole way of thinking... very cool... what do you do Khardis?

Haha, I just know a little about my own self, and what I always knew was that running eats away muscle and working with resistance usually increases appetite because it forces your body to be hungry for the calories to rebuild what it feels it has lost.

I dont do anything of much importance :P I quit my office job last December and have since been running a business with my brother he started. We are getting good too :D

I only know this physical training stuff etc because I have been involved in athletics (Baseball, Football, Boxing) since I was 5, and have also been into bod building since I was 13.