Why Women Lose Weight—or Don’t

hey powerbarbi, maybe you should just give up the excuse about genetics and lift something other than a Big Gulp or a double quarter pounder.for once in your life. maybe instead of sitting at your computer and complaining that it's not you fault for being fat you should go walk around somewhere. that's your problem, not stupid genes and hormones

No, we are not in the realm of "fat, big and 'fat, or rolly polly, or none of the above. Fat people don't look good, there are not so desireable looking as those thinner, and they are killing themselves by carrying all that excess weight. Their Blood Pressure is going to be way high, and they are looking for an immature death.

So there!!

I have been on a diet most of my life. I have quit pretty much eating so much so I fast constantly so that I can loose the weight. Its hard not to listen or ignore how people perceive us. I dont remember the last time I was not dieting. I am like my mother we leave on vegetables and oatmeal. I have not had fast food for 3yrs, no pop, no desert. What I dont understand is how I do all of this and still I am size 16. My roomate is size 1, and that girls eats everything, spoons of sugar, extra everything. She hates excercise, she can barely make it to class, she is pretty lazy. I went to 5 doctors about this issue, they dont have an answer for me its been 8yrs since I have been struggling with obesity. If excercise and eating healthy can make anyone skinny I would be the first to be there. Dont say why I should care what poeple thinks of you? Its hard not to when people look at you who dont know you and judge you. Sometimes I wonder I know God creates, so why do people judge what they have no knowledge? I care not because of health wise but what others think of me. Because I know if I had control of how my body would look, trust me I would be the first to change.

Yes we all have our genetics and our individual lifestyles. But being a gymnast, aerialist and cirque performer myself...but also at the same time being a former manager of personal training and an exercise science certified personal traininer and certified swim instructor...I have seen MANY different people of all shapes, sizes, backrounds, lifestyles, habits, and beleifs and helped all that would let me. When it comes down to the real deal though...it's about the decisions you make. You can either live an unhealthy lifestyle and just not care or you can put an effort into understanding how the human body was not made to be sedentary, or neglected of dynamic movement. It's about making the right decisions and naturally feeling healthy and bautiful.

All my life I have been on a diet. Ever since I came to this country, I excercise, I dont even remember the last time I wasn't on a diet. My roomate wears extra small and my God she eats everything I mean extra cheese. Spoons upon spoons of sugar. The girl does not like cleaning her room let alone excercise. My mother and I have the same body type which means we both leave on vegetables and oatmeal. And we are still overweight. What is one to do, when they have tried everything and they can't seem to loose the weight. I even got to a point I would fast- meaning no food and even drinking for so long its not even funny. I dont mind being fat, but I have to say I hate how people look at me. I am size 16 and my God I feel sad that peoples eyes judge me. I dont say why do you care what people think of you? Because its hard to ignore when someone who doesn't know you judges you. Europe is even worse they think you are sick. With the media and people posting hatret towards fat people its hard to ignore them. I just want people to know that some of us take all the steps and still dont get the results we deserve. I have pretty much cut out fast food, pop, deserts and among many things for 3 yrs now and I am still size 16. So what is one to do?

Hey get real. There are many average to thin people who have NEVER watched what they ate, have NEVER exercised, have no reason to be thin except for their genes. These self righteous people are asking for kudos for doing nothing but being born with the right genes! The rest of us are working hard to stay healthy, you may look at someone overweight and quickly assume they are lazy and deserve to be that way. When will the world wake up!!! The world is not fair, but please get off the backs of us who work out and watch what we eat but will NEVER be thin. Your article describes a false idea that if heavy people just have a high weight loss gain, it will happen with the right lifestyle. WRONG, it's the genetic makeup of a person. It's almost enjoyable to watch a thin person grow old and suddenly gain weight at midlife. Welcome to the real world of the rest of us who struggle from childhood on!

Well i am 49 and i been trying for along time to loss weight but nothing really helps the docter gave me medicine for sezisures and it also suppose to help me loss weight well it does nothing for me it just makes me hungry. Yes i do wish i can be thinner and pretty like some women but i always say beauty is only skin deep and it not what is on the out of a person it what is inside of the person. But i would give anything for some help in lossing some weight i can not do it on my own i tryed hard and it just work.

Obesity is gross, unnattractive, unhealhy, expensive (in terms of health care costs, lost wages,etc), and in most cases, entirely avoidable.
I realize we're surrounded by cheap, easily consumable carbs and that for years authorities told us to avoid fat and protein and eat fat-free (ie, sugar-loaded) food - and it was wrong. Almost everyone knows this, except, I think, fat people.
You'd be surprised how much weight you can lose (at any age) in a few months by eating lean proteins (chicken, fish, lean meats) and green vegetables. Cut out starches, sugars, and most (if not all) cereals. Humans lived for hundreds of thousands of years without white flour and sugar - our bodies really aren't designed for it.
Females, in particular, seem to have a terribly tough time resisting sweets and starches.
And yet, it can be done. Work out three hours a week - that means missing 3 crummy tv shows - doing weight training and ten minutes of cardio. Stop eating sugary crap. Look out for sneaky sugars, like in "healthy" cereals (there really aren't any) and for dairy sugar - avoid skim milk (more sugar than beer) and avoid most yogurt, as it's really just candy.
And don't be such a wuss about a tiny amount of self sacrifice and discipline - I went from 240 pounds to 180 lbs, from a 40 inch waist to a 34in waist. It can be done!!
It does take discipline. And if it's what's inside that counts, how do you feel inside when strangers avert their eyes from you in horror? When your pudge spills over the armrest and onto the passenger next to you? When you can't walk up a flight of stairs without gasping for air? When you sweat, and start to stink?
More to the point, would you find a gasping, sweaty, smelly man attractive? No? But he's such a nice guy!! On the inside, he's terrific! Except that he tires easily, can't make as much money, smells bad, has less energy, is sick or injured a lot - but still, he's "nice.' O.K.
Low carbs. Lean proteins. Green veggies. Buy used free weights and sneakers, and move around for three out of the 140+ hours in a week.
And get your sweaty, smelly pudge off my armrest. Gross!!

I have had problems with weight all of my life. I try to eat healthy and I am active. I swim laps 3 to 5 days a week and try to get out an do things. I quit smoking because it was the healthy thing to do and then gained more weight. I have friends who continue to smoke because they dont want to chance the fat. I sill dont smoke and I am losing the weigh, slowly. 7 pounds a month so far. Thin people who can eat all they want like deep fat fried foods and stuff think that its easy. Well, try stepping into the shoes of people who have a hard time. We cant enjoy food like others, its just a simple fact. Bad food is not only bad for fat people. Cholesterol and other such things happen to skinny people, too. Maybe instead of skinny people acting they know how fat people feel, skinny people should not say aything at all and maybe fat people would lose weight because they have positive support- not people saying things like "you must be lazy and eat ice ceam buckets" This is why kids grow up and get fatter. They are told they are fat and lazy so that is what they become. They dont have a good self image because they also do not have a good inner self image. I dont think obesity is the worst thing in America. I think it is people being rude, disrespectful, and arrogant that is the worst thing. People who are fat need excersize. People who are rude need anger management classes.

I guess i can understand being a little overweight, but nobody can deny that all we're starting to see these days are a bunch of land manatees pulling around oxegen tanks at the age of 35. If you are overweight, then nobody can stop you from liking yourself, but don't think that other people want to see your sick muffin tops and innertubes hanging out. Normal curves are ok but if you have more roles than a thanksgiving dinner then you seriously need to just put that *** away.

You know, after reading the article I was going to say something that rationalized the state of affairs as I've read from countless other articles on personal health in America. But after reading some of the comments, I figure I'm not going to do that. To do so is placating and weak. It says to those fighting their own personal battles towards improvement that its okay to give in, to accept an off-season and rest on their laurels. It's okay to be fat if you're happy. That's not the case, especially if you CAN take steps to change. If you are diseased and by all rights can not lose weight, you can still try, right? A person is only guaranteed to lose on all the chances they never dare to take. If anything, a person MUST try, it is the strength of the action that makes you who you are, NOT ALWAYS the outcome alone. Second It is the strength of character, resolve and personal commitment that should dictate your value of self. If the sense that the hot stranger who gave you the once over and kept walking is of greater importance, then you you should refocus yourself and figure out what is most important to you on a day to day basis. For some people, appearance is one of the central tenets by what they live by. It guides their opinions of others and dictates their desire and what they find desirable in others. I am one of these people. I would sooner judge someone on first glances and keep it to myself while feigning a neighborly smile than have a meaningful conversation. BUT that DOES NOT mean those who I deem "heavier" than myself or what I'd consider a healthy weight are any less of a person. They are only less of a person in my own eyes if I KNEW because they told me themselves, they didn't try because they didn't care or felt helpless or were scared or lost with no idea where to start or fearful of ridicule and cruel reprisal if they took public steps to make a change. (Gym visits, cardio classes, jogging, etc...) Because I KNOW that if you take value in yourself none of that crap matters. So in closing I'm not going to ask anyone to think about anything. It's redundant, likely you already are thinking. If you haven't been thus far we probably wouldn't get along anyways. What I would write, specifically is KNOW WHO YOU ARE and REMEMBER, nothing is ever wasted in life except opportunities. Take them where you can and leave nothing to regret.

Heard that? Lose weight by doing simple physical activity for a few hours a week, and eat decently. That's it, so simple. If you don't like vegetable and rather have a french fries for dinner and 1,000 calorie ice cream for dessert than too bad for you. Americans are getting super fat and unhealthy, which is not the case elsewhere, and then we make excuses and rationalize being a lardass. Wanna look sexy, wanna feel good, wanna feel accepted? Cut the bs and start losing weight. Anything else is a plain disgrace.

CODEfool is just that a FOOL.... Get your stastics and spelling right.... GOOGLE them!!! Obesity and Sedentary lifestye and the increase in DM II and all its concomittent deleterious issues are going to devastate the US health care system in the next 30 years.. Non alcoholic fatty liver disease is going to require liver transplants in the obese patient population at the average age of failure, 38 years... And on....

May God Help Us...

Would anyone like the key to being healthy? I think I may have found it and it's more simple than all the articles make you think. I walk anywhere from 15 mins. to an hour a few days a week. I dance and chase around the house with my 2 year old daughter. I eat vegetables and fruits that I like and I don't drink pop. I also drink beer and wine, red meat, occasional deep fat fried food and dessert every day. I don't watch television. I don't own a scale, but I weighed at the doctor's office and my BMI is 24.

In short, go do things you enjoy. Get some kind of simple, fun exercise, eat good food and see what happens.

I think it's pretty obvious what normal is when you compare americans to the rest of the world. We are far larger than normal and we make ourselves this way. I don't think one can compare being fat with actual handycaps except for the very small percentage of people who actually have thyroid problems. Body's are designed to be lean and healthy. Everyone pays for unhealthy eating habbits and so it is the responsibility of all of us to encourage each other to be healthy.

you know? people today are cruel so what if someone is over weight or obese what does it matter as long as that indivisual is happy with themself thats all that counts and some people make that hard to do by comments and looks i said it once and ill say it agin WHAT DOES IT MATTER? why cant we be equal? whos to say whats normal is anyway? being big does mean your unhealthy anyway maybe your bodiews just like and if it is why punish them for somthing they have no control over thats like making fun af a blind person just because their blind you cant do that thats not right. theres so many thoughts about should fat be considered normal YOU ARE WHAT YOU ARE so people just deal with it!

dont listen to that dick martin. heavy woman have husbands, friends and great lives. should they be limited by their weight??? shut the *** up..
your probobly some fat ass teenager looking to piss someone of. pretty pathetic...