Why Are People So Fat?

My friend is a form running coach and runs 5+ miles 5-7 days a week (depending on if she has a race on the weekend). She regularly runs half marathons. She's what most people would consider fat. I am what most people would consider thin and athletic. I went for a run with her one day and she was running circles around me. I almost wish we could have filmed it and posted it so it could go viral because it totally blows everything people think about body shape and athletics out of the water. I'm fit and in shape and so is she. It doesn't matter what shape our bodies are, some of us are just bigger than others.

 

Some people have naturally high metabolisms, and some people have naturally low metabolisms. It's mostly genetic.

The more muscle you carry, the higher your metabolism will be.

 

^
Which on itself on occasion doesn't matter a lot for a healthy person. It becomes more of a problem when the majority of someone's meals consists of 2000+ calories, well unless (s)he's burning it off on a regular basis (it of course also matters what kind of fats and carbs).
But in general I agree, most people are not aware how much of what they ingest exactly. This on itself also doesn't have to be a guarantee of becoming unhealthy or fat. But it is a risk for a certain group of people.

 

Thank you very much for posting this. I have a huge issue with people who make blanket statements about fat people like that. I know there are many overweight people who are very healthy, myself being one of them.

On a BMI scale I count as obese, and a lot of people would look at me and think I'm probably not very active. I don't have a giant stomach, I just happen to be bigger than most women and carry a thicker lay of fat. My doctor tells me she is not concerned by my weight, based on my diet and lifestyle, and because i dont carry weight across the stoma has much. I regularly hula hoop, paddleboard, kayak, cross country ski, and I rarely eat prepackaged foods, preferring to cook myself balanced meals when I can. Yes I indulge in unhealthy cakes and cookies, just like the rest of the world when I want something sweet, but I get far more dirty looks than a skinny girl would for doing the same thing. Perhaps I could be counting my calories the same way Pessed Rat does, and working out accordingly, BUT I DON'T WANT TO. (I don't mean that in a bad way PR) I am a healthy person regardless, I enjoy my life and screw anyone who looks at my giant thighs and thinks otherwise.

So say you have a problem with overeating and inactivity. That is FINE, but don't go on about how you don't like seeing fat people, or how their big stomachs and legs disgust you, because you have no fucking clue what their situation is. That 'lardass' at Macdonalds may not have eaten fast food in a year and decided to treat herself to just one piece of junk food, filled with shame, knowing every skinny person there is judging her for indescretions they all make regularly.

PS, this is coming from someone who is not technically that big, and I still get all these eactions from people smaller than me. I normally don't care, because I am weirdly self confident, but can you imagine how most other people feel who are anything close to my size, or (gasp!) Even bigger? They must get told they are disgusting quite regularly.

 

I am definitely not asking anyone to do what I do. I think people should do whatever the fuck they want, and that includes eat whatever they want to eat. If I didn't have physique and strength goals, then I wouldn't be nearly as focused on what and how much I eat. For most people, If you can eat what you like, when you like, and maintain a weight within a healthy range while being in good health overall, then I say more power to you. You don't have to be super lean to be healthy. In fact being super lean is often more unhealthy (at least for prolonged periods) than being a few pounds overweight. I am not normal, and the things I seek are probably not all that normal either, so what applies to me probably doesn't (and shouldn't) apply to most people. But I think most everyone could gain a lot from eating a diet that is 80-90% real food, while at the same time not having to worry too much about what they eat the other 10-20% of the time.

But it's good to eat the foods you like without being too anal about dieting. I am finding more and more that flexible (as opposed to restrictive) dieting is the way to go for into anyone with long-term fitness goals.

 

I understand completely PR. It's like a hobby for you of sorts and you enjoy it, which I actually really admire. I used you as an example because people have asked me before why I don't count my calories or why I don't go to the gym every day if the exercise I get isn't good enough. It's the people who look at size alone and say they hate fat that do this, because they assume just because I haven't reached a super skinny size with my methods, that they aren't working.

 

Is this always true? My brother is the polar opposite of me. He is 6'2" but only weighs about 120lbs. He has always been almost dangerously skinny, and incapable of putting on weight no matter what he eats. People used to ask me if my brother was anorexic when we were in grade school, for perspective. He sadly also lacks muscle definition and at 23 still kind of has the body he did as a little boy. This is despite some weight lifting and bulking up he has tried to do. Basically, he has no muscle and a crazy metabolism. I on the other hand am quite muscular for a girl, but that's only once you get under my lovely fat layer. I don't think I'm naturally super muscular, it's just from the various activities I have done, but still. Are we just the freaky exception to the rule?

 

it's really that easy?

*looks at mattekat's thighs and hopes for the best*

 

Empiricism= My grandma was born in 1884. Her family and those around then, grew their own food. All of it. Rode horses or walked. Had no scientific distractions as are now the mainstay of life to most people. Just getting by was not easy. It took constant work to insure that food would be available. She raised me and cooked on a wood stove until 1949. Found, chopped and stored wood every year. Canned and put by--healthy veggies, berries and other fruit enabling year around consumption. Made their own butter and drank milk from their own heifers. Raised and butchered their own meat and used eggs from their own fowl.
The folks that lived then did NOT get all this done with a few hours put in a day. It was constant physical exertion and the combination of un-sprayed foods and staying busy to
get things done in a healthy way.There are people that still live like this, I suppose, but in the main---the majority of us can't and don't even try to feed ourselves. It's ALL taken care of for us and exacerbated by that new-fangled device--the TV with the endless commercials about how wonderful it is to eat shit. And isn't that what life is ALL about now? Please don't actually take care of you and your family--we got it. Watch more TV and of course------------------------BUY MORE. BUY MORE NOW. Excellent plan.

I know genetics plays a part, but this modern life we've gotten ourselves into is--bottom line--not that good for us. Pogo was right, you know.

 

everyone wants to blame or excuse. no one wants to objectively analyze what they are seeing. could this have anything to do with even considering the possibility that reality just might occasionally contradict what they've made up their minds to pre-conceive?

 

Exactly all of this.

I've lost about 6kg over the last few months, it's not heaps but I'm just eating healthier overall whilst still enjoying the odd treat. I'm moving a bit more too and joining a gym. Feeling better physically is contributing to a better mental attitude as well.

 

Ironically, this almost exactly describes my great-grandmother's life and she was actually quite obese.

 

You are right but there are some people who take too many calories and don't do cardio or anything but they are skinny. They can't gain any weight. I wish I was one of them. Their metabolisms work so very fast. They burn great calories without doing anything. They say They wanna gain weight but even if they eat too much, they can't gain. They are so damn lucky. I wish my metabolism was not working that slow. People like me have to be careful about how much calories they take, unlike some people. We are not equal unfortunately. Some people are lucky. I have to be careful not to gain weight while some people can eat too much without gaining weight. They have a wonderful metabolism that works so fast.

 

I was referring to people who have a lower metabolism but want to raise it. Many people who are naturally thin already have high metabolisms, and people with naturally high metabolisms tend to be very thin and need more calories than most not only to gain fat mass but lean mass also.

 

Yeah, I know this.

 

That's very true. Ever since I bought my Fitbit and began to log calories and my food intake, it's amazing that meals I thought were relatively good can be actually quite atrocious.

Take McDonalds for example. I always over calculate btw, but for me a small quarter pounder meal and my nuggets + sauce is approx 1200 calories, yet on the weekend I made beautiful rissole salad rolls and two of them exceeded 1400 calories. Somehow.

Then stuff like pork and ribs. I have two medium sized ribs, some sweet potato mash and veges and again it's over McDonald's meal in calories.

Rum and Cola, holy fuck! 250 calories a can, I drink 3 of them a day I may as well not even eat. it's fucked!

So, taking all that into account, if I don't get out and walk my dog which burns approx 5-600 calories over 8k steps, I really can't afford to eat much at all during the day, especially if having some drinks.

If you're at a desk job and you have no motivation to exercise then I worry for you, because even on weekends or days where I don't walk my dog but I'm still active, you just can't eat what you think you can.

I also think weekends hurt people because you see them eating small portioned meals during the week at work. Who really brings a 5 star course meal to the lunch room? I know it's done but that's just appalling, but on weekends everyone tends to be like "let's go out for a nice lunch or do a BBQ or something" and in turn you just over eat what you don't need to be.

 

Having worked in restaurants for many years, it's astonishing how many calories they can cram into even small portions. Complicating things, portions are not usually small. A few places I've worked add butter, cream, and salt like there ain't no tomorrow. Sticks and sticks of butter. Mashed potatoes that are 1/3 butter, 1/3 cream, and 1/3 potato. Even salads are not a safe haven, with many eateries dumping oil on a few sad sprigs of lettuce and painting it as a healthy option. It's mind boggling and tough to navigate, unless you know a lot about nutrition, which many don't.

 

I know. One of the eye openers for me is salad dressing. A relatively nice looking salad can become as bad if now worse that a couple of Big Macs with ranch dressing and Caesar sauce. =\

Sorry, I posted my earlier reply without even finishing it. It's updated now hehe.

 

Yes, salad dressing is my weakness as well. Cesar or Blue Cheese dressing especially. I just can't pull myself to eat a bland leafy salad without any dressing. I suppose going with vinegar and olive oil would be a better alternative.

 

I've been on a ranch craving lately lol. I tend to keep away from American brandings because I know they're terrible, but I know they taste the best too.