The Diet Fad

[Gilbey]

With every new year, comes a resolution. And one of the most popular one is to lose weight (which is also mine, BTW). But if we really try to analyze this "trend", what is it that really drives us to do so?

Is it to look good? For who? Are we trying to be sexy for someone else to be attracted to us? Fine if you're single, but if you are married why bother? You've already found the spouse of your dream for a life long commitment: for better or for worse. So why the struggle to look slim if you already got her/him? Are we insecure of ourselves in our relationship? Why can't we just be normal and eat (but not gorge) our heart out? Must society and hollywood dictate the trend for one's lifestyle? There was a time when being plump was acceptable and in fact admirable.

Or is it for health reasons so as to watch your cholesterol level, hypertension, diabetes, etc?

I think the latter would be the more appropriate reason for it. Thoughts?

 

[scotrace]

Twofold: It's better for one's health to not be overweight, and the options for the clothing we collect are better at thinner sizes. Also, in my own case, I was rail thin for ages, so when I see myself getting a little heavy, it doesn't look like "me," which is disconcerting.

 

[LizzieMaine]

For better or worse, the reducing trend has been around a very long time -- there were all sorts of poisonous diet pills on the market as far back as the twenties, along with all sorts of faddish gimmicks: steam cabinets, reducing belts, those motorized thingies that proposed to vibrate your midriff untill all the flab was gone. The only real difference between then and now is the abrasive self-righteousness of the marketing used to sell the latest schemes -- the notion that you should hang your head in shame if you've got a belly. Nertz to that.

As for me, well, I'm trying to lose weight because my doctor made dire threats against me if I didn't. Personally, I'm rather indifferent about it -- when you get past 40 in my family, you gain weight, and that's just a fact of life. But, alas, with that comes HBP, heart disease, and all the rest -- so I guess the doc has reason to threaten me into compliance.

(I've lost ten pounds over the past six months without formally dieting -- but those popcorn suppers I eat at work make a real difference.)

 

[Feraud]

Fine if you're single, but if you are married why bother?

I take it you are not married? lol
Being in a relationship is no reason to not consider your mate's attraction to you. That is not to say your sole consideration in a relationship should be physical but these things do come into play.

those motorized thingies that proposed to vibrate your midriff untill all the flab was gone.

My comment is off topic but... I just saw two of these machines for sale in a thrift shop last weekend! lol

 

[Gilbey]

I take it you are not married? lol
Being in a relationship is no reason to not consider your mate's attraction to you. That is not to say your sole consideration in a relationship should be physical but these things do come into play.

Oh yeah, I'm happily married for 20 yrs. Dec. 19th was our 20th anniversary. I guess my point is that being married brings "familiarity" along with the physical aspect. When you become so familiar with one another, you tend to take each other for granted that you let things go. Sooner or later, familiarity rules out the physical aspect and what really binds the relationship is the legacy and love that you both have built through the years. I may be in a car wreck and get burned beyond recognition, yet my wife will love me just the same. So flab or bones, love will stay.

But I know what you mean.

 

[LaMedicine]

As for me, well, I'm trying to lose weight because my doctor made dire threats against me if I didn't. Personally, I'm rather indifferent about it -- when you get past 40 in my family, you gain weight, and that's just a fact of life. But, alas, with that comes HBP, heart disease, and all the rest -- so I guess the doc has reason to threaten me into compliance.

Which is what I do for a living.lol
Seriously. I work as a general internist, but my speciality is diabetes. So I daily assess people's lifestyle and data, and give out advice (including scripts etc) in accordance.

Healthwise, the thing is, yesteryear's plump and and modern plump aren't necessarily the same. Due to the change in availability of the types of food and overall life style, while yesteryear's plump was mainly muscular plump, modern plump is fatty plump. Which makes a big difference in health issues. Fatty plump is more prone to health issues such as heart, blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, gout, arthritis etc etc. And its easier to gain more weight with fatty plump.

On the other end of the scale, when dieting is taken to the extreme, it ends in anorexia/bullimia. A psychiatrist friend of mine once declared that "all these rail thin girls on TV are sure to have eating disorders. There is no way they can survive that kind of competition without becoming so. There's too much pressure and stress." She also said that anorexia/bullimia can be extremely difficult to treat, because for many of them, rail thin is beautiful, and regular is, well, ugly. It isn't easy to change a person's standard for beauty (or for a lot of things for the matter) so, even when their lives are at stake because of their condition, she said that they resist treatment.

As for why bother if you're married, well, wouldn't you want to keep being attractive to your spouse for your spouse's sake, if not for your own? Wouldn't you want your spouse to be proud of you? If you let go of yourself and thought that now that you've got him/her, you don't need to take care of yourself, isn't that somewhat insulting to your partner? A kind of statement that your partner isn't worth the effort on your part. Caring about how you are weight-wise isn't necessarily vanity, it can become about health, and so it can become about whether you will be around healthy and active for a long time for your family. (Incidentally, I've been happily married for 32 years now. )

And I'm thinking that my kind of comment can be a thread killer. lol lol

 

[AmateisGal]

For me, I had to lose weight for health reasons. I stayed a slender 110 pounds all through high school and college. Then I got married and had a baby. With botched birth control, I gained 50 pounds in a year. Talk about shock. I used to be able to eat anything I wanted, whenever I wanted.

Weight gain runs in my mom's side of the family as you get older. But on my dad's side - all of them are skinny - they have diabetes. So as you can see, I've got a battle on my hands! I was diagnosed with diabetes two years ago. Since then, I lost 36 pounds - and then regained 10 of those back this summer when I had to deal with my husband's hospitalization and unemployment (he had a very nasty staph infection).

For me, it's been a dual purpose - I want to be healthy (and losing the weight brought all my numbers into the "normal" range), and I also want to look good. But looking good doesn't translate, for me, anyway, into rail thin or sickly model look. I like my curves, but I don't like it when my curves are TOO curvy, like they are now.

I lost my weight the old fashioned way - eating right and exercising.

 

[Gilbey]

As for why bother if you're married, well, wouldn't you want to keep being attractive to your spouse for your spouse's sake, if not for your own? Wouldn't you want your spouse to be proud of you? If you let go of yourself and thought that now that you've got him/her, you don't need to take care of yourself, isn't that somewhat insulting to your partner? A kind of statement that your partner isn't worth the effort on your part. Caring about how you are weight-wise isn't necessarily vanity, it can become about health, and so it can become about whether you will be around healthy and active for a long time for your family. (Incidentally, I've been happily married for 32 years now. )

Wise counsel, LaMedicine :cheers1:

 

[Miss Neecerie]

I shall only speak for myself.

But regaining 15 pounds, has reminded me of how much pain I was actually in at this weight before.

Knees hurt, ankles hurt, going down stairs is painfully painy.

Thankfully other health issues were checked and not really at issue for me, but man...I could do without hurting so damn much.

so back off it comes.....even if I never lose anymore then that 15....

 

[RetroBabydoll]

It's amazing how much people eat. I grew up thinking eating a ton was how everybody was supposed to eat. After high school I realized that I wasn't supposed to be eating so much so I talked with a nutritionist about what were the correct portions for people to eat. My father is struggling with the issue of eating correct amount of food which is putting his life in jeopardy. I don't want that for my future. I didn't make my new year's resolution to lose weight because I know that it is a lifestyle. If I go to the extreme to lose the extra pounds then I find it difficult to keep on a diet. During the holidays I don't over indulge in the food so I really don't have a need to lose much.

I hope to stay fit so my future husband is proud that I'm his. Yes he'll love me even if I weighed 100 lbs. more, but he wouldn't have the same attraction towards me. Attraction not just mentally, but physically helps a marriage.....I would like to think.

 

[dhermann1]

I just read a comment on another news website from an MD who said that he may get a lot of flack for it, but many studies show that there is not a difference in overall mortality for people who are moderately overweight.
Yes, the blood pressure and diabetes risks are there, but a few pounds may not make as much difference as claimed. Now, my New Year's resolution is to lose 10 pounds, but I still think this issue needs more study. What I really want is to get more exercise. I live a very sedentary lifestyle, and more "vitamin X" would do me the world of good. With that exercise the weight would certainly come off.
And, I might add, I have to confess that I think women look better about 15 pounds heavier than they think their ideal weight should be, just as a rule of thumb.

 

[LaMedicine]

I just read a comment on another news website from an MD who said that he may get a lot of flack for it, but many studies show that there is not a difference in overall mortality for people who are moderately overweight.
Yes, the blood pressure and diabetes risks are there, but a few pounds may not make as much difference as claimed.

Yes, that's true, and also a rather well known fact within the medical community. It's also known that those who are overweight but exercise well are healthier than those whose weight is lower, but are inactive. So, within a certain range, health issues are related to how active you are, not just your weight.
However, if you do have health issues, then a 10-15 lb loss can make a difference. If you don't have to take any medication with that difference, what would you do? Also, blood pressure, diabetes and other health issues carry the risk of further serious and disabling illnesses such as heart attacks and brain stroke, and that's the reason why drs suggest to their patients that they could benefit from losing some weight. Even if you don't have immediate issues, the risk of having an incident in the future can go up 2, 3 fold above a certain weight range, and if you have 2, 3 risk factors, then the probability multiplies, not add.

Ethnicity also has to be taken into consideration. African/Latino/Pacific Islanders/Asians are at higher risks than European/European ancestry at a lower overweight/obese range. So, even if you are only moderately overweight, if your ancestry is any of the first group, then you may be at a higher risk of developing health issues if you are overweight.

Anyhoo, if your dr says you need to lose weight, he/she probably has a good, if not a few, good reasons to say so to you.

 

[The Shirt]

I have way too much family history of dying young from cancer to think that I shouldn't take my weight seriously. It is one of the few factors I can control and so I aim to keep it under control as best I can. I will never be rail thin, and I in fact think that too many of the young celebrities we are told to emulate actually look a little sickly. I feel a bit sorry for them truth be told. I prefer to shoot for "fit" rather than "thin".

As for attraction between couples, for me and my beau, part of the attraction lays in the time and activities we do together. I know that when I carry extra weight, its tough to go on long hikes or bike for hours. We enjoy those things so much that I don't want to feel overwhelmed or out of shape while doing them. If he lost a limb, gained 100 lbs, or shaved his head, my feelings wouldn't change. As long as he was happy, I'm happy.

 

[Paisley]

I gained weight over the last year because of an accident and illness. Some other factors prevented me from exercising after that. I now have clothes that don't fit--and I'm losing weight to get back into them. I don't get curvy when I put on weight--just my face and belly get fatter.

I've been back on Body For Life for a week, and I already notice a difference in how my clothes fit.

I've never been married, and I agree with "for better or for worse," but I think the worse part should be for those unavoidable mishaps (like being deformed in an accident), and not be abused by just letting yourself go. Some appreciation of beauty is cultural, but I think we're also hard wired to be attracted to healthy-looking people.

 

[deadpandiva]

I want to loose weight because I have a mirror. I want to like the way I look.

 

[scotrace]

I want to loose weight because I have a mirror. I want to like the way I look.

Well, you have plenty of friends here who like the way you look very much!

 

[LaMedicine]

Not being able to fit into favorite clothes is a direct hit to the wallet, anyway

 

[Gilbey]

I got this book on "The Negative Calorie Effect" wherein you could actually eat your way into losing weight in unlimited portions as long as you stick to these 20 foods in any combination...

Corn, Rice, Potatoes, Lettuce, Brocolli, Carrots, Black Beans, Kidney Beans, Spinach, Lentils, Celery, Peas, Cauliflower, Pineapple, Cabbage, Oranges, Apples, Grapefruit, Bananas, and Oatmeal.

The thing with the negative calorie effect is that it would take a certain amount of energy from your body to process all of the nutrients and vitamins from these foods that after consuming them, your body is left with a net calorie result which is a negative calorie deduction.

I think it all boils down to one point ... Be A Vegetarian

 

[deadpandiva]

Well, you have plenty of friends here who like the way you look very much!

Thanks. I think it boils down to liking your self the way you are. I think everyone can always find flaws with themselves. Maybe my New Year's resolution will be to like my self the way I am.

 

[deadpandiva]

It's amazing how much people eat. I grew up thinking eating a ton was how everybody was supposed to eat. After high school I realized that I wasn't supposed to be eating so much so I talked with a nutritionist about what were the correct portions for people to eat. My father is struggling with the issue of eating correct amount of food which is putting his life in jeopardy. I don't want that for my future. I didn't make my new year's resolution to lose weight because I know that it is a lifestyle. If I go to the extreme to lose the extra pounds then I find it difficult to keep on a diet. During the holidays I don't over indulge in the food so I really don't have a need to lose much.

I hope to stay fit so my future husband is proud that I'm his. Yes he'll love me even if I weighed 100 lbs. more, but he wouldn't have the same attraction towards me. Attraction not just mentally, but physically helps a marriage.....I would like to think.

That's a very healthy attitude. More people should just try and eat healthy as opposed to trying fad diets.

I think We have a very unhelthy attitude in America towards weight. So many people are too thin or two heavy and one seems to be a backlash towards the other.