Obesity

Fitato

Well-known member
Mystic from Kansas
Posts: 443
"Hello"
This thread is for people who are currently or formerly obese, but of course anyone is welcomed to post here with their thoughts even if they haven't gone through it themselves!

I am 5'0" and currently weigh 258 pounds, but my highest weight recorded was 331 pounds. I've been obese for as long as I can remember. I don't think people realize how hard it is to do basic movements when you are extremely out of shape and extremely obese. My backpack at college weighs about 13 pounds, and I find it so much more difficult to climb stairs with it on. It slows me down when walking. Yet, without my backpack on, I'm still carrying an extra 100+ pounds around with me compared to most of my peers. Imagine you carrying 100+ pounds with you throughout the entire day, trying to walk as fast as other people, trying to go up several flights of stairs at once.

I'm so glad I'm more active now and have lost as much weight as I have. There was a point in time where it felt exhausting to shower, and even tying my shoes felt like a hassle. Spending 30 minutes shopping was dreadful due to how worn out it made me. Obesity paired with being out of shape brings so many consequences to day to day life that the average person never has to think twice about.

It can be especially hard for obese people to get help if they live with someone who encourages and feeds into their bad habits. Yesterday I watched My 600 Pound Life, and it devastated me seeing how this one man's mother looked at him all sadly but still kept bringing him pounds of food. It's like pitying a heroine addict right before giving them heroine. It's so dumb. I felt awful for this man because he seemed trapped in this never-ending cycle.

One problem with trying to get fit is how most exercises are impossible when you are so overweight and so out of shape. Things you wouldn't even expect to limit someone are off-limits. But if there happens to be anyone reading this who's in that situation, know that any form of physical activity will help. Do what you can. A short walk. Or standing up. Just walking around the house. Even cleaning as exercise.

Here is one of my favorite videos on an obese person losing weight. This man started his fitness by literally just "flopping around". Sitting down, raising his arms all over the air, doing a little seated dance. That's what he could do in that moment. That's how he started.

.

Have any of you been through obesity? What was your experience like?
 

SkorpionUK

Well-known member
Sorceress from Germany
Posts: 308
"Building good habits"
This thread is for people who are currently or formerly obese, but of course anyone is welcomed to post here with their thoughts even if they haven't gone through it themselves!
Thank you for writing this, @Fitato! I think your backpack analogy is good, and it's true that for obese people, any and all movement takes so much more energy. As a result, we have "secret" muscles that are invisible on the outside and others have to work for! I thought Strong Coffey made some really interesting points: "5 Things I Miss About Weighing More Than 300 Pounds".

You're right as well that some exercises are simply not possible, whether that's for reasons of fitness or size. I guess I can't really speak to the experience of being very unfit, only relatively so - although I've been "plus-size" (or fat, hat tip to Substantia Jones and Adipositivity Project) all my life, I've also been pretty active, from gymnastics as a child through to fencing at uni, plus lots of dancing and cycling and walking and yoga, so I've rarely hit problems with daily life. In addition, I'm flexible / hypermobile, so that certain movements have been possible for me all along, like tying shoes. Of course I've also had setbacks, like being confined to home during the pandemic restrictions, which I've noticed in a reduction of movement even now. For reference, I am roughly at your height/weight: 5'3" and somewhere around the 250-lbs range (I don't have a scale). That's been my situation, with some small fluctuations, but mostly weight stability in the face of all effort, all my life: I went from a slightly heavy-set child to a just-about-plus-size teen to where I am now. I cannot imagine what a small body would even feel like.

I've been watching "diet" industry language for decades... actually not even exaggerating, my first "diet" was Herbalife when I was around 16, so that's over 30 years ago. In particular, talk about "getting back into the jeans you wore as a teen/newly-married/whatever" seems pretty funny now: yes okay but that would still be obese according to the BMI? I'm not going to "drop those last 10 pounds" or "crash diet for the summer" and suddenly be a "normal" size, and that's never been true for me. There is no amount of short-term effort that would move me out of the "obese" BMI range, none. So that's an interesting aspect to live with while trying to find solid information on what to eat and how to move.

And I agree with what you say at the end - we can always choose something, some movement, some food that works well for us. It is hard to break through our habits - we didn't get fat overnight, there is a reason why we made the choices we did, and we aren't going to reverse those processes immediately - but it is possible to change. And change may be invisible to others for a long time and maybe always. And that's okay.
 

SkorpionUK

Well-known member
Sorceress from Germany
Posts: 308
"Building good habits"
I couldn't find anything recent on Arthur but read this . . .
Oh yeah, you don't get weight loss like that from a bit of yoga, or even daily yoga! That, as we know, is 80% food intake, although of course exercise helps, sometimes a lot.

The main thing I take away is the mental change - moving from "I am condemned to disability" to "I will try" to "actually, I _can_ run". And the resulting increase in self-confidence, self-reliance, independence, self-trust, and/or whatever else it took to go from "turn off that camera what are you doing" to "hey look at me".
 

Fitato

Well-known member
Mystic from Kansas
Posts: 443
"Hello"
@Fitato my wife is a 5 footer, her main activity is walking groups, with girlfriends or organized hiking groups. She'll hike 2+ hours a day as well as other fitness routines. Maybe there's a walking group in your area or start with shorter walks with friend(s).

2 hours a day how many times a week?
I like hiking, but I prefer doing it alone or maybe with 1 other overweight person who also wants to get into shape (because then they won't walk too fast for me lol). I've looked into walking groups near me, but I can't find any. Good suggestion though. I wish to hike at least twice a week, but I procrastinate sometimes!

:sweetcheeks:
 

lofivelcro

Well-known member
Hunter from the sticks
Posts: 593
"Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today"
I don't think you necessarily have to hike. Just walking long stretches seems to do wonders for obese people, especially in the beginning. Depending on where you live, there's probably a lot to explore and just being active and as much on your feet as possible already helps a big deal.
 

Fitato

Well-known member
Mystic from Kansas
Posts: 443
"Hello"
I don't think you necessarily have to hike. Just walking long stretches seems to do wonders for obese people, especially in the beginning. Depending on where you live, there's probably a lot to explore and just being active and as much on your feet as possible already helps a big deal.

I love hiking though, hiked about two miles yesterday in the snow. Just struggle with sometimes getting started, but even if I can't twice a week, I do still usually go at least once a week.

Everyday, if she doesn't go with her trail group(s) or friends, we go out together. Sometimes she does some bigger hikes of 5 hours and there's group weekends with overnight stay, one year did the 800km Camino de Santiago in 4 weeks, and the East Coast Trail. Walking slow is really good but increase distance over time, do you have walking poles ?

My wife will be 68 Feb 2023.
Nice! That's a lot.
I have one walking pole, just got it a few weeks ago!
 

lofivelcro

Well-known member
Hunter from the sticks
Posts: 593
"Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today"
@Fitato I meant my comment in the way that, while hiking is absolutely nice and beats walking around, just exploring your town/city/whatever can be fun, too, and already gives you plenty of movement. As in, if you can't go for a hike, go for a walk instead. Not that you shouldn't go for a hike, because you absolutely should if you love it.
 

justincurtis221

New member
Viking Posts: 1
I knew a lady who lost 60lbs in 6 weeks and did 3 poses every day 10 mins each, but showing a friend she couldn't do them without laughing. They are not easy poses, shoulder stand, plough and fish, although there are easy beginner variations. These 3 stimulate the thyroid.

Here's my fave video . . .

When I was a child, I faced this problem. My parents gave me as much food as I wanted. And they did not notice that over time my weight became critical. I even wrote about this in the college topic "childhood obesity", using https://edubirdie.com/examples/childhood-obesity/ for this. As a result, in my teens, I took on myself. The result began to appear after 20 days. I lost 27 kg in 2 months.

NEVER give up.
Decent result!
 
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Furrymama

Active member
from Ohio USA
Posts: 33
While I am not morbidly obese, according to the BMI charts (which I personally think are a bunch of BS, even if it's just supposed to be a general guide) I am obese. I really don't like to think of myself that way. It makes it sound like I do NOTHING to take care of myself. I do my best. My husband bought a treadmill recently and I have been walking on that many days of the week, every week, since early December 2022. Will I ever run a marathon? Nope. But I will get to the point where I can walk distances and not be winded or have my feet hurt. The food/beverage part of it is going to be more difficult because I enjoy my alcoholic beverages. But I will get to my goals and be self-appreciative of who I am as a person.
 

Fitato

Well-known member
Mystic from Kansas
Posts: 443
"Hello"
While I am not morbidly obese, according to the BMI charts (which I personally think are a bunch of BS, even if it's just supposed to be a general guide) I am obese. I really don't like to think of myself that way. It makes it sound like I do NOTHING to take care of myself. I do my best. My husband bought a treadmill recently and I have been walking on that many days of the week, every week, since early December 2022. Will I ever run a marathon? Nope. But I will get to the point where I can walk distances and not be winded or have my feet hurt. The food/beverage part of it is going to be more difficult because I enjoy my alcoholic beverages. But I will get to my goals and be self-appreciative of who I am as a person.

It's crazy how easily you can be "obese" according to the BMI chart. For my height (5'0"), I'd be classified as "obese" even at 155. But honestly, I'd be pretty happy to get down to 165, and I wouldn't think of myself as obese anymore even if I technically was.

Yeah, the word "obese" has some pretty negative associations with it for a lot of people, but there are definitely obese people who are competent, work hard, and do take care of themselves. At the end of the day, obesity doesn't really say anything about a person other than what weight category they're in. Generalizations aren't great to make because there's so much variance among members of a group.

Keep up the good work on the treadmill! That's also around the same time that I started walking more frequently. It sounds like you're on the right path :ss:
 

Runamok

Well-known member
Amazon from Miami, FL
Pronouns: She, her
Posts: 52
"Mantra: I am ready to make my dreams come true and create my happy place."
I’m 5’9” and 278 pounds, my highest weight recorded was 334. I’ve been overweight since middle school. It’s not easy being made fun of, ignored, or seeing that look of disgust on people’s faces. But you learn that bad behavior comes from their issues not you.

My weight loss journey started with trauma healing, I knew I wasn’t going to get anywhere without dealing with my past and the issues it had caused. Next was learning to be ok with going slow and taking small steps. It was very difficult for me, and still is but once I did I lost 60 pounds(recently regained 5).

It’s been a long difficult journey but I've learned to enjoy the process. I've got about 90 pounds to go and thanks to you guys I've picked up a few tips on my next small steps to add.
 

Fitato

Well-known member
Mystic from Kansas
Posts: 443
"Hello"
Incredible fasting documentary:


I could never do what he did, but his determination is so inspiring.
 

OJJJEM

Well-known member
Mother of Dragons Posts: 583
I remember when I first started out, watching documentaries about different people who took drastic measures to change their weight. I even tried just about everything short of surgical procedures to do it myself. A slow start changing my diet and becoming physically active was the solution that stuck the longest. However, even the best options didn't stick around forever. There are so many key factors to bringing our weight down once we've already brought it up. One factor that a lot of people don't realize is that fat is an organ. We are literally trying to break down an actual organ in our bodies... Is it any wonder that it's so hard to get rid of once we've built it up?

Since I'm a big eater with frequent unhealthy food cravings (especially right now), here are some healthy alternatives to today's food cravings that others like me might enjoy... At least one of us gets to enjoy it... BAHAHAHA! Being bed-ridden sucks.

FOOD CRAVING:
Fried mozzarella cheese sticks w/marinara dipping sauce
ALTERNATIVE:
Caprese salad - mozzarella bites, tomatoes (I like the little baby heirloom tomatoes), chiffonade cut basil, olive oil, salt, pepper

FOOD CRAVING:
Ice cream
ALTERNATIVE:
Greek yogurt cups - whole plain Greek yogurt with fruit, nuts, seeds, etc. added to them... Recipes I can share are "Choco-coco-loco", mint chocolate chip, blueberry lemon poppy, and cherry cordial (which comes out with a mousse-like texture)

FOOD CRAVING:
Perogies
ALTERNATIVE:
Baked/mashed potatoes w/a little olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese

I find that when I'm craving fried foods, if I add good fats and extra fiber to my healthy alternatives, it resolves the craving. It's why I use whole fat dairy and treat it as a fat rather than a protein. For the extra fiber, I sift flax powder in a fine mesh and sprinkle a little into my dishes when I'm finding myself struggling to control my appetite.
 

OJJJEM

Well-known member
Mother of Dragons Posts: 583
Today, on my battle against obesity, I faced the temptation of chicken quesadillas... Truthfully, I don't think quesadillas are that bad... it's the flour tortillas made with who-knows-what ingredients coupled with how much of what kind of dairy filling you toast it in. Tortillas only require flour, salt, baking powder, oil, and water to make. They're time-consuming, but worth it... I don't know what it is about store-bought flour tortillas, but they always make me sick. Anyway, since the ingredients weren't up to par with my healthy eating standard, I declined and had a bowl of chicken instead. However, my food cravings are OCD, and once a good food is waved in front of my face, I MUST eat it or suffer sleepless nights of regret! (Yes, my world revolves around good food). So, a couple of healthy solutions are to 1) make your own darn tortillas, limit your cheese, and fry that sucker in good fats, or 2) just make a quesadilla bowl... I mean, they have smoothie bowls, so why not quesadilla bowls, too? I get decent corn tortillas from the store. So, this is only for flour tortillas

HOMEMADE TORTILLAS (I tend to just throw crap together. So, this time, I went to an actual recipe because, frankly, I don't remember the portion ratios)...
3 cups flour (they say all-purpose, but I use sifted whole-grain flour with a little ground flax (also sifted))
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup oil (for this recipe, I'd use avocado oil, but some people say olive oil... if you're making elephant ears, go the coconut oil route)
1 cup warm water

Mix dry ingredients until well-combined (or sift it all together into the bowl, which is like the mixing step but removes larger bits of flax and wheat that'll upset my stomach.

Make a well in the powder, add wet ingredients, and stir it all together from the bottom up until a shaggy ball is formed.

Transfer dough onto a lightly floured surface and kneed for 2 minutes until it's all smooth.

Divide the dough ball into 16 baby balls, coat them with a little flour, mash 'em flat in your hand, cover with a clean towel, and let them babies nap for about 15 minutes...

After you've given the gluten a little rest, heat a large pan over medium heat, roll out each dough ball into a 6-7in flat floppy dough pancake (don't stack your tortillas directly on top of each other, or they'll stick together! USE PARCHMENT PAPER TO DIVIDE THEM!)

From there, you just simply cook the tortillas one at a time on the pan, 1 minute on one side, 20 seconds on the other... There should only be a couple of dark brown spots on them... If it's too dark, turn down the heat a bit.

Remove tortilla from the pan (with tongs unless you're a fearless old Latino boss woman... how do they do it?), and stack them in a sealed container for a moisture lock that keeps them soft. If you're storing them in the freezer, use parchment or wax paper to separate them. If you're about to serve them, they separate better heated up first.

QUESADILLA BOWLS AKA BURRITO BOWLS AKA SOUTHWEST SALADS (if you wanna get fancy, instead of serving this hot, serve it cold on a plate of greens)
Meat of choice: chicken, beef, pork, turkey, ideally in tiny cuts, never ground, often cooked in some sort of taco-ish seasoning
Grain of choice: some kind of rice or grilled corn, usually
Sauce of choice: queso, salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole (I, personally, prefer mixing pico de gallo and guacamole together)
Extra add-ons: avocado, diced tomatoes, extra cilantro, something with chili or jalapeno peppers, lime juice
BEANS: because rice and beans are a staple to anything, really...

Yes, I realize that I didn't give you an actual recipe for this one... That's because the sky's the limit, and it's purely based on your own cravings. When it comes to "southwest salads", as I call them because I tend to load my bowls over a plate of greens, I can avoid tortillas and cheese, because I'm already getting MORE than what I would be getting from those two ingredients through the whole grains, animal or plant-based proteins that I choose, and the oils I cook with, plus avocado fat. Also, these bowls can get MASSIVE... So, if you're a binge eater, like me, you'll be able to share with a friend and still eat your fill.

Healthy lifestyles don't appear overnight. I don't sweat the fact that I'm a binge eater as much as how much of what I'm eating because when I tried to "control" myself, I always felt starving and had frequent dizzy spells. So, what did I find was more readily in my control? Well, rather than portion controlling, I looked at what I was eating. When I feel a binge coming on, I tend to fill up on fluids and grab a romaine heart first. Then there was the junk food cravings when I went out... Since I know I will shop on impulse, and white-knuckle deprivation tactics have put me into such a mean, depressive spiral that I will never take that route again, I chose to share my junk food... Not too hard to do, I've got a HUGE family. Since I can more consciously control fast food stops than grabbing things off the shelves at grocery stores, I'd only do fast food with another person in the car. I'd let that person decide on what we eat, and we'd split it 50/50. I'd grab that box of cookies or candies, then make sure everyone had some before going all-out. Again, not perfect, but they became the first steps toward healthier eating habits.

Because I am currently immobile, all of my focus is on my diet and improving what mobility I do have. It's true, it's harder to move when you're so big and heavy. I find that my body hurts less and I'm more mobile throughout the day when I do some basic stretches. When I'm not bed-ridden, I find that a brief walk after meals actually halts my weight gain. Sometimes, I even notice a drop in the scale, though it's very minor. I'd say, changing what I eat and taking a brief walk down the street after every meal were, and are, my biggest game-changers.
 

OJJJEM

Well-known member
Mother of Dragons Posts: 583
My portion guidelines follow similarly to this on days that I am able to eat. For me, open hand is leafy greens/low-starch, nutrient dense veggies. Closed fist is whole grains/high starch veggies. Open palm is lean proteins/good fatty proteins (nuts, seeds, certain fishes), and tip of the thumb is healthy oils/whole-fat dairy. Four meals a day. Based mostly on a whole-foods diet. A piece of fruit every morning. Room for a weekly small "cheat" (this is where that cookie would go). Walking after every meal. This does not include my fermented foods guidelines. That varies depending on product and need. Granted, this is a guideline. I do believe in making exceptions (like my daughter's cupcakes, or when my friend takes the time to bring me a burger after cooking for my entire family).
1688861815626.png
 

Thorncastle

New member
Ranger from New Hampshire
Pronouns: He/Him
Posts: 1
Obesity is rough. Period. Full stop.

I was an every-season-sport kid growing up and so I never had to pay attention to what I was eating because with my young metabolism (at the time, lol), I never gained weight.

Then college happened. I suddenly had all the food I could eat, but I was no longer very physically active. I'm up to 268lbs (5'9"), and I lament the feats of physicality I used to be able to do with my body. My biggest issue is late night binge eating where I'll just storm raid the pantry, fridge, whatever isn't bolted down after my wife and kids go to bed. My wife clearly knows about this and she loves me for who I am (God bless her), but short of putting a bike lock on the fridge and pantry, I'm not sure what the solution is.

The bike lock scenario won't work because the kids wake up really early and I want THEM to have a healthy relationship with food. They wouldn't understand the nuance of how it would only be done at night, long after I've had a healthy amount of daily calories before 10pm, so it's not a restrictive eating disorder or anything. It's just I'm awake, I'm bored, and I eat to the point where I feel uncomfortable and shameful. I thought that maybe I could still do the bike lock thing and then tell the girls that it's because a monster sneaks in at night and eats everything, but I quickly realized that would be a bad idea XD.

I'm starting the hero's journey program tomorrow and am really excited that I found this place. My mind has always worked better with a creative spin on things so the RPG element sounds really fun and interesting.

Its great that there's a space like this. I just want to be healthy for my family (and for myself).
 

Nitrous828

Active member
Jedi from United States
Posts: 32
"May The Force Be With You!"
I am 5' 10'' and the highest weight that I had was 200 lb, I am sure none of you would consider that obese in any standard, I was in my mid 20's when that happened, I can only imagine how hard it it for anyone struggling with obesity, I was only 200 lbs and I hated everything about it, how I looked, how the clothes fit me, how tired I'd be form doing basic stuff! like I said I can no way relate to what true obesity feels like but for me, I was always dreaming about being slim or having a 6 pack which always seemed like an impossible goal for me, I had a back disc surgery back in 2007 and the Dr. told me that I have to stay slim and cant carry heavy stuff or play sports any more! I was devastated when I heard that! I soon realized that sugar was destroying me, I blamed our education and that false food pyramid that they taught us as kids! I was so hooked on iced tea and sugars, but as soon as I learned that our bodies were not created to handle all this extra sugar that's in almost every product we buy at the store, I started to cut down on my sugars, I stopped eating sweets, drinking iced tea, found sugar free ketchup, and started to drink only water, within 6 months all my extra weight disappeared, I then started to workout keeping a healthy diet, and after another 6 months my six pack arrived, I realized that the healthy diet should be a life style and not a means to an end thing, because if you adopt a diet to reach a specific goal you will always revert back to your old habits, but if you keep a healthy diet as a life style you are set for life, I do have 1 or 2 cheat meals at most every weekend, so thats around 50-100 cheat meals a year, so I do get a chance to eat my chips/ice cream/pizza or whatever I crave every weekend, but I make sure I stick to my healthy diet all 5-6 days of the week, I will turn 44 this month and currently at 140 lb as I lost all my muscle mass when I stopped working-out for a couple of years, I'm currently trying to bulk up on my weight back up to 160 since I got back to training last month, I now have 2 young kids which is only encouraging me to keep that healthy diet as I would love to be there for them when they grow up!

to end I hope my story helps in any way and I do wish everyone a healthy and successful life style!
 

OJJJEM

Well-known member
Mother of Dragons Posts: 583
Physical therapy is helping me lose weight... It's a slow process, but I'm also only out of my bed a few hours a day... There are a lot of reasons why we become obese, and why we can't lose it once it's had, or keep it off once we've lost it... Today, I weighed in at 287lbs. It has taken me a LONG time to get back under 300lbs, and then, it took another LONG time to push past the 295lb stagnancy. I had moments where I brought it down to about 290, but then back up to 295... I haven't been able to maintain a weight under 290lbs for over a week in a long time.
 
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