Why Women Lose Weight—or Don’t

I wish someone would examine the correlation between the increase in overweight Americans over the past 25 years and the number of Americans who smoke steadily decreasing. I absolutely believe that many people have simply traded one bad habit for another. It also raises another important question, which is healthier: being an overweight non-smoker or a smoker with a healthy BMI?

I don't belive in excuses as to why woman are overweight...but I wil say one thing. Why is it that it is crammed down womans thoats from a very young age that we need to be (and that men should desire) 6 feet tall with size A or B boobs a tiny waist and legs that are a mile long and thin, not to mention smart talented and great under pressure and also able to single handedly handle every and any problem thrown at us, meanwhile men get the message that it's ok for them to go watch sports drink beer chow down on hot dogs, steak and any other junk food they want, they can be fat, and bald and stupid and totally irrisponsible and immature but don't worry....cuz your wife will take care of everything. I mean look around. Just watch any TV show or Sit-com the wife almost always is a knock out that runs the house and handles every single problem that is thrown her way.and the husband is a middle-aged dumpy know nothing fat body.

Why don't we start sending out the message that this really isn't what we as woman want and that if they expect us to look perfect then we expect them to man-up and grow-up!!! Why should we try to always look our best when society tells woman that what we have to choose from and the image of a man (in their eyes) is the fat, stupid, lazy, cowerdly, balding know nothing twits we see every day on every channel on every sit-com!

To reply to the topic, I think that women need to get ahold of themselves and stop giving in to what the public/ media wants. If you are healthy and happy, dont worry about those extra 5 lbs that keep you in the "over-weight" category. However, if you have a problem with eating too much or too little, then you are compromising your health.. I mean more than 5-30 lbs over or under weight too, not just 5...
To reply to lcash, not to sound condescending or rude, but usually over eating is the cause of obesity. Most Americans over-eat, I do. Technically your meats should be no larger than the palm of your hand, most of us eat double that!! Also, think of it like this, did you see extremely overweight people over 50 years ago? Not that commonly, and why? Because food was harder to get and people cooked at home more. Obesity itself is actually not really all that hereditary. Actually, having an over-active thyroid is dominant over under-active. It isn???t until you start talking about diseases like diabetes and thyroid diseases that you can say that obesity is hereditary. Unlike what most people think, obesity can be fought, it just takes a lot of hard work. I used to weigh 200 lbs and now I am down to 160. I am still considered to be overweight, but I have never felt better about how I look. But, it took cutting my meals in half, working out 30 mins a day 5 days a week and drinking only water!

I don't belive in excuses as to why woman are overweight...but I wil say one thing. Why is it that it is crammed down womans thoats from a very young age that we need to be (and that men should desire) 6 feet tall with size A or B boobs a tiny waist and legs that are a mile long and thin, not to mention smart talented and great under pressure and also able to single handedly handle every and any problem thrown at us, meanwhile men get the message that it's ok for them to go watch sports drink beer chow down on hot dogs, steak and any other junk food they want, they can be fat, and bald and stupid and totally irrisponsible and immature but don't worry....cuz your wife will take care of everything. I mean look around. Just watch any TV show or Sit-com the wife almost always is a knock out that runs the house and handles every single problem that is thrown her way.and the husband is a middle-aged dumpy know nothing fat body.

Why don't we start sending out the message that this really isn't what we as woman want and that if they expect us to look perfect then we expect them to man-up and grow-up!!! Why should we try to always look our best when society tells woman that what we have to choose from and the image of a man (in their eyes) is the fat, stupid, lazy, cowerdly, balding know nothing twits we see every day on every channel on every sit-com!

In my experience (having lost and regained weight on an almost yearly basis) what works best for me has been OA (yes, overeaters anonymous) My "weight loss plan" now consists of attending three OA meetings a week incorporating the "tools"----- meetings, the phone, literature, journaling, sponsorship and service. I set realistic shor term goals and don't rely on "numbers". While my BMI indicates I am obese at 5"3" and 206 lbs. at my "best" weight I was 160 and solid muscle and a size ten!. In OA, as in AA ,I have learned that to the best of my ability I can exercise and eat right ONE DAY AT A TIME. If I do this the weight WILL come off and it has. I''ve lost 20 lbs in two months and hope to lose 20 more by spring so I can return to the running and rock climbing I loved before this last 40 lb wieght gain. When I set realistic and acheivable goals I know i can reach without failure I am further motivated and actually feel enough pride to continue the "plan" . The friendships I've developed in OA as well as AA validate me as who I am.. a 52 y/o single mother with an eating disorder which HAS A SOLUTION IF I AM WILLING TO TAKE CERTAIN STEPS>>FORWARD NEVER BACK. The past is past and i can't do anything about it but I can look and move forward one day at time towards the best life I can imagine. Oh, and a huge "SHOUTDOWN "to all you arrogant self rightous and rude ass people who think they are so superior than us with no will power-----next time you feel so perfect, try walking on water and comment on your success at that!!!

I am a man, so perhaps my posting won???t be welcome but I see the BMI as an unrealistic metric. I am 6??? 215lbs and my waist is 36???. I am moderately active, and in decent shape. My BMI is 29.2, that is over weight and borderline obese. My target weight is 167 to achieve a BMI of 22.5. I would look like a broom handle at 167. If women???s weight loss standards are also that out of touch with reality then I can understand their frustration. I suggest you throw away your scale, take off your clothes, and look in the mirror, if you are happy with what you see then press on. If you are not happy make some changes, eat less or more, eat the right things, and exercise.

I know guys who like their women thin, real thin, as in: skeletons with hair. I wonder if they are impacted by the fashion culture as much as women are.

As a man, I like a few pounds on my women esp. those who are active in some way. It shows vitality. However, when the fat is counterproductive e.g. sex becomes a chore, knees ache or climbing stairs requires a jet pack, there's a signal to do something about it.

Ultimately, I think weight loss comes down to appreciating the improved quality of life that being at a healthy weight brings. When I was 210 (at 6'2"") I felt great. Then I shot up to as high as 239. Realizing 210 is a pipe dream, I said "screw it" and have been in the gym for a year building my legs so that I can carry extra weight. Now I'm about 230, but with a 10% increase in cardio; I also feel great, my knees don't ache and I can move on my feet like a ballerina.

So if you like your weight but it's on the heavier side, get your bee-hind in the gym and do squats and lunges for a year so you can carry that load with greater impunity.

I myself know why I have become obese over the years. Most people, and women for that matter, I would imagine have similar reasons for becoming heavy as I have. My reasons stemmed from sexual abuse and sexual attention I got when I was younger...it was a mechanism I developed subconciously as a punishment, and a way to supposedly keep men at bay. It didn't work. I guess I have a sexual "presence about myself that no matter my weight, I will attract men? Who knew? I laugh now because I can see clearly WHY I did become this way. I can easily speculate that other people, and women especially, become obese for reasons other than "genetics". I was trying to hide my pain and save myself from any further pain. But not dealing with the pain and trauma has caused a spiraling effect that has made depression and alcohol abuse part of my spiraling as well. It's all stemmed from pain that has not been properly delt with. I see fat women and I imagine that many are like me and have pain or traumatic reasons for their lack of caring for their image and health. I am still combating this dis-ease...which in my case at least, IS a state of mind. Help ease the pain and I imagine the weight will come off as I won't feel the need to medicate with food. I hope all women can harness some inner strength and force themselves to deal with whatever causes them to not care about getting healthy and losing fat...because I know it's possible to do if we set our minds to it. I mean, I set my mind to get fat, and boy oh boy did I ever acheive that!

I am not a "FAT" person or overweight by any means. In fact, I am underweight in fact and always have been. That still does not grant me, nor you PlainOTXen the right to talk smack. Most of my family is overweight due to a illness they have! Luckily it skipped me! My sister had to have surgery to reduce her weight. She was very very ill! I think you are a low piece of scum for saying such awful things! Until you have been there, SHUT UP! You have no idea what it is like to be "FAT" or human. If you were any kind of human, what you wrote would not have been posted. I mean choose to feel however, but say something to make another innocent person feel bad or depressed???? What the hell?

I am the youngest of 5 daughters, and the smallest because I take after my father, we're runners. At 5'8 I weigh in at 110 lbs (must of that is in my legs), and I'm a size 0. You may think it's humiliating to be fat, but try having your RA call your parents to tell them that they are about to have you put in a hospital for observation because they think that you're an anorexic. I'm not, never have, and at that moment and every time I go shopping I wish I were a large girl. The media has become so focused on making larger women feel good about their bodies that it has become the norm to bash the smaller girls, at thats just as wrong as bashing a fat girl. All of my sisters are well over what is considered a healthy weight, anywhere from 180- 250 lbs, but I have always thought that they were beautiful women because irregaurdless of what the world thinks about them, they have always loved and accepted themselves the way they are.

It is all about being in the right state of mind. In my late teens early 20's I was about 190 pounds and I am only 5'2", why? because I was unhappy and I ate everything in sight! It was not anybody's fault but my own. I allowed myself to get that way and all along I was blaming my parents, my abusive boyfriend, my life!!!! One day, seemed by a miracle but it wasn't, I realized I was disgusted at myself and knew that I needed to change. I didn't go through a crazy diet, or starve myself to death. It did it the old fashioned way, lots of exercise and moderation. I didn't have money to go to the gym... so everyday I would attempt to walk, not run or jog, just walk around the soccer field near my house and everyday I would come home tired and exhausted and hungry and sweaty and tired and I had not even done 30 minutes... but the more I did it the easier it became until I could do a full hour of power walking and after one year I lost 50 pounds. What about the food, I would have breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and no dinner and for me this was the most important part, I would eat a fruit salad if I was really hungry, but the next day I would feel proud that I didn't give in to the full plate of pasta with meatballs and bread. I never stopped eating my mom's regular food, instead of a full bowl I would have half, plus lots of water, fruits, etc. It was soooo hard and sooo worth it, my metabolism changed on its own and now after 10 years I still manage to keep the weight down even after two children. It takes commitment to make the right choices and eat that apple instead of the chocolate bar, although we know which one might taste better. For me, it was not nice to be fat, not because of what people thought of me, but because of what I thought of myself. Life is too short to be unhappy and a lot of people think that if they don't have the right membership to the gym, the organic food, etc, they won't be able to do it. It takes work, effort, commitment, but it is definetely worth the try.

Why is it that weight is always associated with overeating? I am indeed overweight but not because of the way I eat or my lack of exercise or because I am lazy. I have a legitimate medical condition called Hypothyroidism which effects many areas of my body including the way my metabolism works. I take medication for it, work out daily, and eat healthy foods. Yet just because I am over weight you assume i am

I live in LA, where the celebrity culture generates most of these attitudes. I think it's interesting that a size-6 used to be the standard for "thinness", but now everyone says they're a size-2, no matter how their bodies really are. I used to deal w/eating disorders in my 20s, and my weight fluctuated a lot, but since I've become happier w/my body in my 30s and stopped dieting, my weight has lowered and stayed the same - isn't it funny how that happens! Anyway, I'm 5'8", 138 lbs, size-6. My neighbor is probably 5'5" and a size-2 herself after a further (unnecessary) 10-lb weight loss last year. I'm envious of her figure sometimes, but I think she's almost too skinny now. W/my frame and build, I'll never be a size-2 - and never want to be. 2 is just a random number, like 6 or 8, for women's sizing, not based on actual measurements, and it doesn't look good on everyone.