Why am I fat?
It’s hard to watch/read/listen to the news and miss words about obesity. The kids are fat, the parents are fat, the celebrities are starving- people are eating too much, not enough, not cooking enough, consuming too many pieces of bread or cake, not eating enough vegetables…on and on. I’ve been thinking about the question that everyone seems to be asking “why are so many people fat?”. I wonder this for myself.
Why am I fat? I’ve been a hefty kid as long as I can remember. I weighed 80 lbs in second grade and 160 lbs in 6th grade. My mom’s side of the family is big and my dad’s side is thin. My sister grew up thin (but then began to gain after her teenage years) and I grew up fat. Both of us- in the same house with the same food and the same parents.
I can remember being five and finding honey roasted peanuts that my parents were eating while painting my room. When they were done they put the nuts in the closet for the next round of painting. I was so excited (they were honey roasted!) and sat in my closet chowing down on them. I also remember at a young age hiding extra food…toast, bananas, cookies etc.
It’s no mistake that my weight is directly correlated with my food consumption. I was relatively active, but often bored especially in the summer time. I can remember sitting at home eating and watching home décor shows. Food always excited me, and made anything better in my eyes.
A lot of researchers wonder if weight is genetic and if its harder for some to lose weight than others. For me, the struggle is something I seemingly (but difficulty) have control over. Its simple, less food+activity=weight loss. The struggle doesn’t feel genetic as far as my body resisting weight loss. If they suggested that the struggle was an internal need to eat more than most people then I would very much agree. I never felt that my weight was a result of mismanaged emotions, but more like my minds inability to manage my consumption of food.
There are people that can eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full and not think about food in-between. They can have foods they enjoy and not want to eat them until their buttons begin to snap off in order to fully enjoy it. There are people that can have desserts in their house and not even be tempted to eat it all in one sitting.
I don’t know what the answers are for other people or why it seems that the media and researchers feel that us fat people are crowding the streets, but I think it would be interesting to begin blogging what goes through my mind throughout the day when it comes to food. I have been slacking in my food and exercise recording efforts which is never really productive because I tend to be way more lenient with my food when I’m not plastering it on the internet. So, for the sake of experiments and research I’m going to continue posting my food intake as I normally do (under food journal), but I’m also going to keep track of my food thoughts to provide some insight into what its like to be someone who overeats, but is trying not to. I’m not sure if that makes any sense, but when I start writing it I think it will be self explanatory.
Why am I fat? I’ve been a hefty kid as long as I can remember. I weighed 80 lbs in second grade and 160 lbs in 6th grade. My mom’s side of the family is big and my dad’s side is thin. My sister grew up thin (but then began to gain after her teenage years) and I grew up fat. Both of us- in the same house with the same food and the same parents.
I can remember being five and finding honey roasted peanuts that my parents were eating while painting my room. When they were done they put the nuts in the closet for the next round of painting. I was so excited (they were honey roasted!) and sat in my closet chowing down on them. I also remember at a young age hiding extra food…toast, bananas, cookies etc.
It’s no mistake that my weight is directly correlated with my food consumption. I was relatively active, but often bored especially in the summer time. I can remember sitting at home eating and watching home décor shows. Food always excited me, and made anything better in my eyes.
A lot of researchers wonder if weight is genetic and if its harder for some to lose weight than others. For me, the struggle is something I seemingly (but difficulty) have control over. Its simple, less food+activity=weight loss. The struggle doesn’t feel genetic as far as my body resisting weight loss. If they suggested that the struggle was an internal need to eat more than most people then I would very much agree. I never felt that my weight was a result of mismanaged emotions, but more like my minds inability to manage my consumption of food.
There are people that can eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full and not think about food in-between. They can have foods they enjoy and not want to eat them until their buttons begin to snap off in order to fully enjoy it. There are people that can have desserts in their house and not even be tempted to eat it all in one sitting.
I don’t know what the answers are for other people or why it seems that the media and researchers feel that us fat people are crowding the streets, but I think it would be interesting to begin blogging what goes through my mind throughout the day when it comes to food. I have been slacking in my food and exercise recording efforts which is never really productive because I tend to be way more lenient with my food when I’m not plastering it on the internet. So, for the sake of experiments and research I’m going to continue posting my food intake as I normally do (under food journal), but I’m also going to keep track of my food thoughts to provide some insight into what its like to be someone who overeats, but is trying not to. I’m not sure if that makes any sense, but when I start writing it I think it will be self explanatory.
posted by Lorrie at 5:28 PM
6 Comments:
Another good post! I watched this documentary that talked about how our minds and bodies are built to gain weight, because not too long ago people would live with long periods of starvation.
Good idea with writing about your food thoughts.
Hey lady,
I totally hear you about not being accountable if you're not posting. Have you looked at Twitter? You can make little mini 200 character posts from the web, phone or IM. That may be easier to do a running commentary.
*hug*
j
Thats the million dollar question: why are some people fat? I guess for me, I've realized that I gain weight when I'm not able to control my circumstances. Its completely about my environment and whether there are healthy and delicious things available to eat without much hassle, and, even more crucially, whether I can walk everywhere. Living in Budapest was a nightmare, for example, on both counts and where I live now in London is great. Chicago was so-so for both and I struggled to stay at the same weight for two years.
whoa, what was that last comment about? i need the cliff notes
I noticed that the same spam is showing up on most of the blogs I read. Yikes!!! Hopefully it won't stop people from commenting on your amazing post. Like most of your posts, this one really made me think. Thanks.
I got type 2 diabetes and did a hell of a lot of research about diet, being overweight plays a massive part in type 2 diabetes and I was overweight.
I lost it all though, I had to.
I found out one crucial fact, while the body has glucose to fuel itself off of, it wont start the fat burning cycle.
In a nut shell, permanantly cut out all high and medium glycemic foods.
only have small amounts of low GI
Watch it all fall off within about six months, almost like magic.
New Year Diet Plan
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