Why Women Lose Weight—or Don’t

I've worked in stores and seen the shopping carts of all sizes. Usually the "large" folks ride on a cart (they are made for up to 230-250lbs...that's why the batteries die when the really big ones get on...) provided for those that can't walk so much. The carts always seem to end up in the pop and chips aisles...diet pop makes you crave carbs and is very unhealthy, so it doesn't matter if the "large" person is buying several Cases of reg. or diet...lots of chips, pop and junk. I rarely see the carts in the fresh produce area...
We eat healthy, we're active and in pretty good shape! My Grandson traded his halloween candy for my fruit bowl, so He's learning, too!

When I weighed what the BMI said I should weigh, I was sick all the time. I'm 20 pounds over now and never get sick. My overall health is good, I work out 4 times a week and eat healthy. I don't have heart disease or high cholesteral or high blood pressure. I am also on medication for bi-polar disorder and the meds make me gain weight.. If I work hard I can maintain but never lose. I could go off my meds and lose weight but I'd
be hospitalized . Hmmm what would you do? I think I like myself this way better.

Parents - teach your children good dietary and exercise habits as well as healthy food related behaviors EARLY - I disagree with those who believe that overweight and obesity are completely the fault of the "fat" person. We tend to behave in the way we have learned. It is much harder to change a bad habit as an adult than to learn a good one as a child.

Parents - teach your children good dietary and exercise habits as well as food related behaviors EARLY - I disagree with those who say it is all the "fat" person's fault. We all tend to behave as we have learned. It is much harder to change a bad habit as an adult than to learn a good one as a child.

I too was overweight for a long time. I decided to make a change - and it wasn't easy. I started exercising 6 days a week, and kept my calories in control by adding more fruits and vegetables and lean protein. I'm now at a normal weight, and so much happier. I have more energy and more confidence. There for sure are some medical reasons for being overweight, but for the vast majority of Americans it is just a pure formula of more calories in that calories out. You can do it, it will not be easy, but it is very much worth it to make some positive changes in your life and health.

weighing 300 lbs as a man is NOT the problem,,many of us worked long and hard on the weights to get there,,,being narrow minded is a serious problem in life also!

get off the Narcistic obsessive complusive attitude and be a real person,,and appreciate people for Whom they are!...Obsessive compulsive and Narcisitic are serious problems also,,!!!!

Having weighed 300 lbs at one time, I understand obesity. Let's drop the drama, the excuses, etc. and tell the truth. I have a thyroid condition also, yet my weight has held steady at 190 lbs for over twenty years. Kiss your doctor goodbye and find a good herbalist or naturopathic physician, unless, of course, you prefer to keep using the excuses.

continued: At 10 years old, my heart broke into a million pieces and my whole world crumbled before me. I never felt so alone, so scared, so anxious, so so many other things that I could never put into words. You call it an excuse, you call it loss of control, you call it weakness, what ever the hell pleases you, but back then I was put back into school the day after the funeral where I saw my mother run up in the front of the church, climb on the casket and pound and beg for God to let her in and go with my dad---and then my brothers pull her off and try to calm her down. The attitude in the mid-seventies was get the back in school, get them in their normal routine and they can forget about this. Do you in your all-knowing, all "controlling" mind, think for one minute you forget? I discovered food! At 10 food became my best friend---it quelched the pain for a little bit at least. I couldn't get to alcohol or gambling at 10 and no one talked to me---that was taboo. So I, in all my 10 year old 'WEAKNESS" found food. I am adult now and I have been through so much counseling, have lost a baby, and harmed my body in the name of being thin and being "Good enought". I WON'T do it anymore. I take care of myself, I love myself---and the was a hell of a long road----and I am a sexy, vibrant, kind, giving, intellectual, humorous, happy woman at 46 years old. I have a husband who stayed with me through heaven and hell---married 29 and a half years and 5 beautiful children. I AM NOT weak, I am woman and I am strong. I am a nurse and a writer and do I still long to be thin, sometimes, but for my health----not for my self-esteem and self-worth. I no longer think of myself as a weak, fat, ugly person that doesn't deserve to be in public----I know my value and my worth and you people that are so in 'CONTROL' are never ever going to have the power over me to make me fell bad and worthless because of your close-minded thoughts! You have a great "in control" day, honey.

Ugh, I agree with GustoMaybe. I've had thyroid problems for years, and after being put on antidepressant medication in 2001 have gained tons of weight despite eating better and working out more often than before I was diagnosed with depression. It's not about being lazy or not wanting to lose weight -- of course there are some who are like that, but you also have to remember there are a lot of overweight people who find it almost impossible to lose weight due to legitimate medical conditions. Sure, I could stop taking my meds and probably lose weight a lot more easily, but then I'd be even more unhealthy than I am now. It's a no-win situation. I play tennis, soccer, and volleyball regularly, I don't own a car so I walk or bike almost everywhere. Every time I've had blood tests done, aside from my thyroid issues I'm healthy as can be. Being overweight and stationary is the problem, not simply being overweight.

I cannot believe how insensitive some people can be. There are other reasons for being overweight besides "stuffing your face with crap". Genes play a role, as well as some medications. It has been proven that some people of a larger weight will stay that way even with diet and exercise...and they are perfectly healthy. Negativity never helped anyone. Try to think before you post.

Ok here goes my Rant! I am over weight and have been all of my life, but that does not mean i am unhealthy or have a disease associated with my weight! I am heathyier that most disqustingly skinny people. Maybe people should look past what hollywood and the designers think should be the normal and look to what a person is really about before you judge a person for being overweight get to know them. find out what in there life they have seen or been through try to make friends, but dont ever blame your insurance premiums on an overweight person because thats not true, take it from someone who is in the medical field and has worked in the collection field as well if people paid their bills there would be lower insurance premiums!

I think I entered too many characters, so my comment will be entered in 2 boxes. Sorry for this, but it is long I guess!
This is in response to "InControl". Man, you might be "in control" of your body and your weight, but you are definitely not in control of a great deal of other things especially on the fact that ALL PEOPLE are human beings with a heart beating inside of them---a heart that can be emotionally, physically and mentally hurt and broken! You stated. and I quote, " You see a fat person and you know they're weak individuals, they don't have a good self esteem, they're not in control of themselves, and maybe they even have an addiction problem, which is again just a weekness. You see a thin, fit man or woman you know they're strong willed, have self control, and a self esteem. They don't make excuses. " Well aren't you all smart and all knowing! It must be so great to KNOW everything including how people feel and think based on their size! I am going to be kind here and that is a virtue I value in myself, although there is a part or me, if honest with MYSELF, wants to let you really have it. I could point out greatly what I think of your 'CONTROL" but that would make me like youl
First, let me inform you that I am overweight. I am a fat person. I am not going to sit here and tell you that that makes me happy on a daily basis and that I haven't had my issues. I have been anorexic, bulemic, and a compulsive overeater---all of which are ILLNESSES EXACTLY like any other illness. ALCOHOLISM is an ILLNESS. God bless you for never knowing what an addiction illness is because of you control. These illnesses are about control themselves. I am going to briefly tell you want happened to me. I was a thin, beautiful, young girl of 5 when I first learned that people loved thin people and it was instilled in me that "thin is good, fat is bad" so I wanted to be thin my whole life---5 YEARS OLD---how awful is that? Then, jump ahead 5 years later exactly. I am woken up at my best friends house at 7 am by her mom telling me that my 20 year old brother is downstairs because "your mom needs you at home now!" Never happened before, scared me. My brother and another brother in the car who was 24, married and on his own---put me in the MIDDLE of them in the front seat of the car, instead of the back, which was normal. They drove, not home, but to a country road and parked about a mile out. My 20 year old brother the entire time had one arm around my back and one arm across my waist so I could barely move---but it felt safe for some reason. The younger brother upon the older stopping the car, turned to me looked into my face with tears in his eyes and said, "Daddy died last night." That simple---that complex.

I'm not an obese person but yet I just found out 2 months ago that I have type 2 diabetes......and why do I have it.....maybe because it runs on both sides of my family. Not one person in my family is or weight. I pay for my medical insurance just like everyone else.....so why is it that other Countries have free health care and their people are living longer? Not because they get less diseases...its because of the medical staff that is there looking to help not just looking to empty your pockets. I'm 5'11" and if I weighed what THe BMI said I should, I would have any thing on my bones.....not to mention by boyfriend doesn't mind the REAL boobs and Butt that I have! ;o)

okay here it comes i recently went through gastric bypass in may 2007 i lost 84 pounds and go to the gym. yes i everybody is different . lets face it when you get a certain age fat is no longer your friend . hell even if your not a certain age. i will never be a size 6 but i feel great and i can tie my shoes at 50 ys old when diabetes come into your ;ife it's time for a change, face lets keep this real no one want to be fat. come out of your shell i would llike to comment on one of your commentors. called (geightors) and she said she s a latin and african american mixed. i am african american and no its not in our heritage to stay fat. yes some of us carry weght well but. its killing our community we are too damn fat. I said it!!. lets get with the program people its hard work but what else you got to do with your life. you only get one.

peace, mecca