Why Women Lose Weight—or Don’t

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  • Posted By: blondie24 @ 12/08/2007 10:27:59 AM

    Remember back in the day when all they talked about was anorexia? Then we were badgered into quiting smoking. I weighed 118lbs until I was 40. Then I quit smoking. Everything fell apart after that. I'm not advocating smoking, but you don't have to be a genius to figure this one out!

  • Posted By: blondasian @ 12/08/2007 10:27:53 AM

    comment: ...you have to remember im only 15

    Start exercising and taking care of your health now!! the longer you wait the harder it gets. Don't go in to your 20s overweight. Think of your health.. How do you look right now.. do you want to look like that at 20? 25? 30?? Look at your parents.. this is what your genes are.. What did they do to either be healthy or obese? And what do you want to look and feel like??

  • Posted By: gibson5309 @ 12/08/2007 10:25:41 AM

    If obesity were just a biology or genetic thing, Americans would not the be only country so fat. Also, it would have been a problem a hundred years ago. Put down the twinkie and go outside.

  • Posted By: gibson5309 @ 12/08/2007 10:24:14 AM

    This is all a lifestyle thing. If people got off their asses, turned off the tv and X-Box, and actually got out into the world once in a while to do something, Americans would not be so fat. If this were a biology or genetic thing, this would have been a problem a hundred years ago.

  • Posted By: cokeapelli @ 12/08/2007 10:22:32 AM

    I agree with this article to some degree. As a young woman I was always 'heavy'.' Looking back at all my photos I wasn't heavy at all. I was just right. But I did not resemble my stick thin mother, so my 4 brothers and father picked on me about my size. So in college at a healthy size 14 I worried about getting fat and swam and ran my way to reducing my weight to 119 pounds at 5'9" tall. I was always hungry and suffered from ulcers because I never ate enough. Every time I looked in the mirror I saw the woman I am now at 300 pounds. All the years of worrying about my weight just lead me to a bust. It was like I wanted to look like the woman I saw in the mirror. I did not worry about a single thing regarding my weight. Now after struggle to lo loose what I had gained I need to get all the stupid messages about food out of my head. Out of all of this I think I broke the cycle of body image hating. My beautiful 15 year old daughter has never observed me upset about my weight or complain about my body image. I have always told her she looks beautiful because she makes good choices about what she eats and excercises for her health. She is 5'11 and weighs an appropriate 135 pounds. What I am trying to say is if people would just get off the body image horse and focus on living the best life they can live then LET IT BE! I just want people who comment about heavy people and how they eat too much, to leave it alone. Eating for some of us is as emotional and tied up in family crap as people who drug and use alcohol.. So the last thing we need to for someone to belittle us and tell us we eat too much. YOU THINK WE DON'T KNOW THAT? Your written condescending remarks do NOTHING to encourage better behavior. In fact it is the shaming kind of stuff that got a lot of us there in the first place.

  • Posted By: Dixieland1014 @ 12/08/2007 9:45:06 AM

    This whole thing is disgusting! To all the thin people bashing the overweight.. do you smoke? Do you drink? Do you do other harmful things to your body if so your just as bad as overweight people. SOme over weight can help it some can't.. I personally have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or PCOS and it has made me over weight but I am not sweaty or stinky I can assure you.. I am the same person that I was before I got the disease. People on here need to grow up.. if they are tolerant over white, black, asian or any other ethnic group than they need to be just as tolerant of the overweight. Just because your skinny does NOT mke you a good person. Most of my friends that are skinny are just as miserable as some of my overweight friends. So no being thin DOES NOT make your life better..

    • Posted By: rich99 @ 12/08/2007 9:50:17 AM

      Dixie- don't change the subject- it de-values your comment.

      • Posted By: monkeyboy @ 12/08/2007 10:21:39 AM

        Rich, Rich, Rich, if you would have actually read Dixie's comment you would see that it DID NOT change the subject, although I did not that you did seem to contradict yourself by biring up PCOS in another comment you posted as a reason for gaining weight.

  • Posted By: ivorycoast @ 12/08/2007 4:12:58 AM

    NO. Fat people are useless bains on our society, they represent how soft and pathetic our country has become, the fact that the weak and floundering are able to some how fit in as normal as the rest of us is rediculous. They need to lose weight and get off their lazy dumb ass's, we do not need them unless they can exist without draining our society of its healthcare. So *** you if your fat. Get a *** life and do something, this article is retarded, we should throw all these fat bastards into ethiopia and let them get shot by rebels, eaten by lions, and starve, and if any survive they have the right to live.

    • Posted By: sakura @ 12/08/2007 10:20:25 AM

      Shame on you . I bet you also kill elephants for their ivory

    • Posted By: blahblahbla @ 12/08/2007 5:01:26 AM

      damn ivory ur f-ed up b*tch

      • Posted By: UnBreakable @ 12/08/2007 5:51:52 AM

        Ivorycoast..... you are a complete and total jackass! do understand and realize what you just said! There are plenty of hefty people in this world who do their jobs, and work just as hard as any "skinny" person! Even "skinny" people can drain our healthcare as you say, such as having to be put in the hospital for anorexia, thats peoples money too! havin to keep them in the hospital to get better! Even healthy people can get sick for no reason, you can't just say stuff like that about people you dont know! So I think that you need to shut the ***up and get a life! If all you can do is rag on people who weigh more than you....I hope you gain 100 xtra pounds so you can see how it feels to be made fun of and stared at! its hurtful and some people cant help that they weigh more you!!!!!! DEAL WITH IT IVORY, BECAUSE YOU"RE A DAMN FOOL!!

    • Posted By: V4Violeta @ 12/08/2007 4:57:15 AM

      And another thing
      When you say 'The rest of us' who are you talking about?
      And what to you is 'overweight'? To some its 100lbs, to others its 300
      What is it to you?
      (And please, I expect a half decent answer from you, nothing with curse words. You sound like you're 15. And maybe you are, I am 16 and by now I am very tired of hearing such vulgar accusations already at school. If you are in highschool, save the vulgarity for your friends and teachers. if you are not in highschool, then I have probably just insulted you very much and I apologize)
      -V

    • Posted By: V4Violeta @ 12/08/2007 4:45:20 AM

      Let me ask you something ivorycoast. What is normal? You obviously must know if you say FAT people are not normal. I've really wanted to know what it is. And oh joy! I have finaly found someone arrogant enough to explain it to me.
      Heres what I think it is. NORMAL is a small box that people like you and others who think like you try to shove everything into. Those who don't fit into your little 'box' are the FREAKS, the 'FAT people, the people who are ABNORMAL. I'm telling you, if you continue to live with that small box mentality, that CLOSE MINDED mentality, how will you get anywhere in this world? And when you point a finger at the FAT people for showing our country to be soft and floundering, you have four more fingers pointing back at you. So in case you might not have understood what I just said, let me explain in words YOU may understand...
      Stop being a ****ing a** hole, Its those a**es like you that make our country look ****ed up.
      Do you understand me now? I hope so.
      -V

    • Posted By: hamptonrose @ 12/08/2007 4:38:43 AM

      You obviously have much bigger problems than a weight issue.

  • Posted By: sunnyk @ 12/08/2007 10:16:43 AM

    i read a book about it...you have to remember im only 15 im kind of stupid.

  • Posted By: Moi1 @ 12/08/2007 10:16:16 AM

    Comment: people in europe get fat too. sorry to tell you

    like I said. if u eat in a normal size there ain't a way in hell you could get fat. if you have a normal metabolism that is

  • Posted By: sunnyk @ 12/08/2007 10:14:52 AM

    oh and by the way moi1 i do not eat everything in super sizes you are just a big steriotyper and i hate people like you who think you are better!

  • Posted By: blondie24 @ 12/08/2007 10:14:34 AM

    Remember back in the day when all we heard about was anorexia? That was when 8 out of 10 were smokers. Than we were all badgered into quitting smoking. Now they wonder why were all fat! Am I the only one who can see this? I was 118lbs until I was 40 yrs old. Then I quit smoking! Everything fell apart after that!

  • Posted By: mbsimoe @ 12/08/2007 10:13:51 AM

    Yes, "fat" is the new normal in the US. And so is a shorter life expectancy, living with insulin, heart problems, high rates of cancer, and the inability to truly enjoy the outdoors. These are just some of the reasons that keeps me motivated to be "abnormal."

  • Posted By: JoeBruin @ 12/08/2007 6:02:59 AM

    Fat chicks should be heard and not seen. I find them physically disgusting. And yes, it's their fault... their grandmas weren't that fat! So basically they eat crap, don't do any physical labor (hard work or exercise) and thus they do it to themselves. They are the reason they are fat, it's not genetics... again look at grandma! So they are basically lazy. I truly hate them. They should all be phone operators, so they are heard, and not seen.

    • Posted By: luvnmycurvz1986 @ 12/08/2007 6:25:13 AM

      joebruin I can't believe any woman fat or skinny would let you be around them. You ought to be thankful God didn't strike you down at birth you worthless, pathetic piece of garbage. Get off this comment page if you don't have anything worthy of our attention to say. you are not a solution to this problem only the cause of it.

      • Posted By: JoeBruin @ 12/08/2007 6:50:36 AM

        Ok fatty, whatever! Put down the carbs and work out still you sweat and reach a heart rate of at least 130 for at least 30 minutes, 4-5 times each week. Do that for 2 months fatty. Then go to your doctor. Get vitals and labs. Then let the doctor tell you how glad he is to see your vast improvement in all areas, esp lower baseline blood pressure, which we know reduces MI's, strokes, and increases longevity. There is vast clinical data to support this in real medical journals. Fatty, this is a benefit above and beyond the increased energy and vitality you'll feel. You'll live longer and feel better each of those days. This is not just me, it is FACT. Ask 100 physicians and you'll get 100 agreements on this. So just get off your fat ass and do as I say... the words may sound rough but the underlying message will save your life and quality of life! Stupid Fatty!!

        • Posted By: sakura @ 12/08/2007 10:13:29 AM

          I would like to meet you someday. You evidently don't like yourself very much. I have dealt with the weight factor my entire teen and adult life. I have taken many avenues to lose weight and unfortunately it returns. Uninvited I assure you. Whatever reasons it is here. I am highly educated , have a fantastic job, a great husband and son. Also a fantastic family.. I have learned to accept who I am and the case that I am in. There is a whole lot to me then just the size. I am a kind caring and ecxtrememly good listener. With the way you deal with people it would appear you need someone to listen. Take care and smile and try to remember how lucky you are to sit down at a computer and put others down that you don't even know. And most likely they wouldn't want to know you. byebye

    • Posted By: HeatherC46 @ 12/08/2007 7:41:18 AM

      Clearly, you only like skinny girls, which is no good for you, considering that every "skinny" girl will think that YOU are the disgusting one. As a 5'9", 125 lb woman with a Master's degree and a decent job, I for one, would never even be caught in the same room with a man like you. Shame on you for being so horrible and vindictive.

  • Posted By: Moi1 @ 12/08/2007 10:12:43 AM

    lol you made yourself fat. a fact

  • Posted By: sunnyk @ 12/08/2007 10:11:52 AM

    im 15, i weigh 210 already and im scared...i want to lose wieght so i start eating right, drink speacial tea, and excersize ive been doing all this for a year now and it hasnt worked...so all you skinny people who think your all that its not true because i bet i try harder than you to get the way you are than you work to stay the same size!

  • Posted By: franticweasel @ 12/08/2007 9:51:03 AM

    THE COMMENTS HERE ARE ALL SO FUNNY IN SUCH A SAD WAY. I WORK IN A JOB THAT DEMANDS PHYSICAL ENDURANCE, IM NOT FAT BUT THE BMI SAYS I AM.... I HAVE AN OUTGOING FRIEND THAT WAS HANDICAPPED IN AN ACCIDENT THAT HE WAS NOT AT FAULT IN HES PUTTING ON SOME WEIGHT OVER HIS IDEA BMI..... MY GIRLFRIEND IS AN ARMY SOLDIER AND CAN DO MORE SIT UP THAN MOST PEOPLE I KNOW SHE IS OVER HER BMI AND ACCORDINGLY THAT WOULD MAKE US ALL FAT. I FEEL HEALTHY DONT SMELL AND HAVE YET TO SEE JIGGLING BUT I WILL FEEL THEM ALL IN ON YOUR PERFECT PRETTY BOY/GIRL IDEALS THAT WE HAVE NO SELF CONTROL AND EAT FAR TO MUCH WITH THE REST OF THE "HIPPOS" AT THE DELI THANK YOU FOR ENLIGHTENING ME :)

    • Posted By: Onelife_Onebody @ 12/08/2007 10:11:18 AM

      Frantic, what these people don't understand is that BMI is just a tool. The only way to get and accurate fat percentage reading is a total body composition test. That looks at the weight of fat, bone, muscle and water. Your girlfriend likely has a high BMI because it looks solely at the height-weight ratio. Her muscle mass is likley significantly higher than a sedintary or moderately active woman of the same height and weight. Muscle is more dense than fat meaning it takes up more space equaling higher weight,

  • Posted By: lcbivens @ 12/05/2007 1:11:53 PM

    The main problem with weight in this country is that Americans are chronically overworked. I am not a proponent of Michael Moore, but his newest documentary "Sicko" talks about how overworked Americans are. Many of us have to work two jobs or longer hours at one job to afford things like healthcare or gas or mortgages or (for me) college loan repayments. With all of that work, who wants to work out. I jog occasionally and I've lost 25 pounds so far (it should be double that but it's cold outside). If I didn't work 2 jobs, I would love to run and lose more weight. More Americans would probably like to do the same. At the end of my day, however, I feel like crashing (especially since I still have to come home, cook, clean, and take care of my significant other). It's too much!!!!

    • Posted By: BigNBeautiful @ 12/08/2007 10:10:17 AM

      I agree with you there! i work at a gym (45+ hrs a week), and at the end of the day, I all want to do is leave!!!! I force myself to stay and workout however. But once I have gotten home all I want to do is crash. I'm hardly motiveated to do anything. After ihave cleaned up, made dinner, etc... i just lay around. If It wasn't for the fact the I work at a gym I probably wouldn't excercise at all!

  • Posted By: Sarai @ 12/08/2007 10:10:15 AM

    Being healthy is most importand being HAPPY with yourelf is next !!!! Like with anything in life you have to put in the work. There should be just the healthy ideal. And those who suffer from medical problems that HAVE made them overweight IS the exeption . Old people who are at least 25-pound overweight have show to recuperate faster when sick because they have some reserves.

  • Posted By: Moi1 @ 12/08/2007 10:09:38 AM

    ohh come onn. In europe people work just as much as you do. And we still have the time and the WILL to make a homecooked meal. You people eat EVERYTHING in supersizes. nothing is unhealthy if you eat like a NORMAL person is supposed to eat. and now you're going on and on wondering why more than half of the people in USA are fat. ( ???!!! ) YOU EAT TO MUCH. face it

  • Posted By: Moi1 @ 12/08/2007 10:01:31 AM

    oh come ooon.People in Europe come from work and still have the time and the WILL to make a healthy homecooked meal. You have EVERYTHING in supersizes. and then you guys wonder why more than half people in USA are fat. YOU EAT TO MUCH. face it

    • Posted By: blondasian @ 12/08/2007 10:09:03 AM

      Yeah.. I don't live in the US either. I did.. then I moved to a different country.. I think people here exercise more and cook verses hanging out at Mcdonalds.

    • Posted By: franticweasel @ 12/08/2007 10:07:44 AM

      people in europe get fat too. sorry to tell you

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