Why Women Lose Weight—or Don’t

I try to pay attention to my caloric intake/output as scrupulously as I do my bank account. By paying attention to every thing I eat, and looking up the nutritional info on the internet, didn't take long for me to recognize my patterns of eating, and was thus able to easily adjust. And being active on a daily basis was difficult to implement, but has proven to be easy to maintain, and I actually enjoy it by doing things that are interesting, like martial arts and swimming. Turn off your TV and get outside, and start eating to nurture your body rather than feed your emotional needs (that's what counsellors are for). It's that simple. And I'm sorry, but just because every one else is fat does not make it OK. That is the weakest excuse! It's the exact same logic as saying you should be skinny because every one on TV is. Obese is not attractive.

It's amazing that this discussion amongst supposed adults has descended into a hurling petty insults and whining about hurt feelings. Isn't this supposed to be a forum for intelligent interaction?

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The other thing is, with today's society the pressures to be thin can alot of times be more harmful then good. I am scared for the generation behind me (13-20 year olds) my sister is 14 and very healthy. She is a size 4 at Hollister (which runs smaller anyways) and already she is complaining her hips are too big and eating off of the weight watchers menu at Applebees. She's still growing! Her body is still maturing. She doesn't need all that pressure

I agree that the BMI is nto an good "one size fits all" type of measurement. According the BMI I am extremley obese. I am of swedish decent and my WHOLE family has a larger than normal fame even the women. My Mother passed away after a 5 year battel with cancer and her DEATH weight was 162. She hadn't eaten in almost 3 months and her body has been eaten away by the cancer. According to the BMI index (to be in the normal range for my height) I need to weigh about about 175 pounds, that give me around 15 pounds for muscles, ligimants, fat, ect that I also need> How can this be right. I watch what I eat, I work out 4-5 times a week doing cardio and streght training, and I am a size 18. I have room for improvment and I am working on it. But I am never eer going to be in the "normal" range on any scale.

To the one who I saw the response on how not all men like stick thin women. She's right, there are more than a few guys that I have talked to that DON'T like stick thin women. My husband is one of them. When we met I was 5'6 and 135 lbs. He thought I was too skinny. I've since gotten pregnant and put on some weight but he thinks I'm even more beautiful now then I was then.

One major thing I have found disturbing in all of these arguments related to obesity: we have somewhat of a standard definition of what it means to be obese, a less standard definition of what it means to be overweight, and no definition of what it means to be skinny. So what exactly is it that we're striving for? A "healthy" weight, or to be "skinny", because skinny does not necessarily = healthy. I bring this up because if the goal that we're striving for is too look like models or women in Hollywood, that is unrealistic, if it???s to be a "healthy " then that realistic image needs to become socially acceptable. I have been studying diet advertisements for some time now, and it???s usually with before and after pictures, long story short, the media categorizes people in a " this or that" type of way, your either really, really fat, or supermodel skinny/fit, there needs to be a middle ground. Secondly, I would like to point out something that has to do with money, obesity, dieting, and women, that I took from my paper: ???In his writing Bishop describes advertisements projected in women???s magazines form an ambivalent relationship with food, because they feature recipes for hearty, high calorie meals for the family to enjoy, while at the same time promoting a woman???s urgent need to diet.??? Thus, women are caught in a classic Marxist double bind: for every dollar spent on the treatment of obesity, food manufacturers spend $100 to convince them to buy their products (Bishop 224).??? Also, it is important to realize that perhaps our way of lifestyle and culture in the United States does not support a healthy lifestyle,( a social anomie) and it???s not entirely up to individuals to try and make all the changes. If 2/3 of people are overweight/obese then it is NOT every individual???s fault, it is a social problem that includes other factors other than an individual???s bad choices. In other words, we as a society and culture need to create the necessary means not only to lose the weight but to adopt a general lifestyle that ensures that it will be maintained for generations, not just a lifetime.

I am a soon to be 40 yo this month and since last year i have made it a point to make small changes in my life. I weigh 195, and I am 5'3. I have went from waring a size 22 to 16 Yeah!!! The words that I do not like to use to describe slightly heavy words like OBESE!!!! or fat ,and lazy. Everyone has to do what is right for them,and not listen to others. I wiil be fab and 40, because I want to not because society says i shouid, but because i want to. Losing weight has got to be a concious decision that you make, and say to yourself that yeah you can cheat sometimes, but eat healthy regularly. Remember to move; IE: walking jogging etc no diet is any good without excersise.

Reading over some of these comments makes me laugh. Using all capital letters doesn't make you seem intimidating, it makes you look like an idiot. Losing weight is about your mentality and sticking to your goals. I have seen many overweight people at my school (The Citadel, a military college) lose most of their fat in as little as 4 months simply by being motivated to do the right thing. You lower your quality of life and your life expectancy by refusing to better yourself physically. It's a shame what this country has become, you shouldn't have to create excuses for your weight. Fix it. Get mad and "comment angrily" at what I say, but I don't think I'm wrong. I have seen many people who went from physical failures to maxing many tests of physical stamina (Army PFT's, etc.). Get over yourselves, I think that if you accept being overweight than you have never truly taken responsibility for yourself.

i just wanna say something to the skinny peole here (i am one of you guys by the way) i think it is appauling some of the things you are saying, and i agree, ifyour so discusted by "fat people" i.e peole who dont look like you... DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT other then *** at them! go for a walk with them, if they want chocolate, give them chocolate soy milk (trust me its delicious!) dont complain about something you can help with. its not easy for smeone with say, diabeties or someone on special medication that makes them gain weight to loose weight,. dont critisize them for trying.

iam short for my age and i have a few extar pounds does that make me fat? i can take off a couple of pounds and it would look like i lost 10 pounds stop judging women on thier looks

"Compared to women of a generation ago, we're 24 pounds heavier on average, and there's been an especially alarming increase in those at the upper end of the scale." 24 pounds heavier?! And we're supposed to believe that this increase is "normal" and acceptable?! "That may not be quite as bad as it sounds, if it makes women feel better about their bodies." Please. I hate to break it to y'all, but whether or not you "feel" better about your body does not prevent heart attacks, heart disease, diabetes, and every other helth-related problem that comes with being overweight. I agree wholeheartedly with the LastTrueAmerican's point that you don't become fat the same way you might catch the flu.

Every person's view on their body is different. I look at myself in the mirror and worry. I once weighed 362 pounds. I began to walk, living in Europe at the time, that was easy to do. I lost down to 193 pounds, even during pregnancy (I could not stop loosing weight at the time). Now, my weight has begun to creep up on me. The only thing I have changed over the years is the amount of time I spend walking. I seldom eat breakfast, it usually makes me feel sick. I eat reasonable portions for lunch and dinner. Rarely do I have any snacks, but I drink coffee all day with sugar and creamer, and the rare soda. My only vice is the lack of movement. My job requires me to sit for a majority of the day, and I cannot motivate myself to walk during lunch (getting sweaty) and then sit back down to work. It is dark when I leave the house and dark when I return. I just cannot find a way to motivate myself to move. Diet is not the issue, I do not overeat. My issue is excercise. Diet pills just make me jumpy and feel as if I am going to take off, and then if I take them I might not eat at all (I have no appetite). I wonder if I would be the monkey wrench in the system if I was part of the scientific studies? Any hope?

My mom has weighed in every monday for 30 years, she could easily be obese but she walks and watches what she eats, it's hard but she does it. Quit eating so much and excersize (walk) and quit whinning. It is your own fault! Metabolisms change, people have to cut back. Hormones, thyroids, cut back! Your body cannot create fat without food, so stop eating so damned much!

This article is classic......it seems there are more studies supporting failure with weight lose than ever before.
Maybe so many fail at weight lose because that is the norm....it's ok to fail because everyone else does.
It's the everyone else is jumping off the bridge thought process. The only thing I agree with is the fact heavy people choose misery for company. Overweight people love other people with the same problem. The fact is denial doesn't make the problem go away. Just because everyone else has their head in the sand when it come to their health doesn't mean you should too.