Obesity and addiction

[goldfinch]

I think that there are many factors that lead to weight gain but it is undisputed that one of the most predominate factors is your genetic makeup and other aspects of your biology. There are separated twin studies that evidence this factor. A genetic predisposition in a world of plenty can mean fat for a large number of people. I look at the women in my family history. My sisters are round. My niece is round. My grandmothers were round.

Parents of children whose family is fat should work hard to instill habits in the kids that will help them resist overeating and that it might be harder for them then it might be for others to keep weight off.

The drug addiction analogy has truth in it as well. There is evidence that brain receptors (dopamine receptors) which play a key role in drug addiction play a key role in responses to food as obesity approaches.

http://dept.wofford.edu/neuroscience...ing2006/o3.pdf
http://www.nih.gov/news/health/mar2010/nida-28.htm

Once you are fat and lose the weight it is extremely difficult to keep it off. Not regaining weight may be a fundamentally different problem from why you gained weight in the first place. The fat cells are still there, wanting to be fed. Research on hormone levels after weight loss is still in its infancy but there is evidence that even after a year hormone levels did not go back to the original pre-diet levels. Ghrelin was up (an appetite stimulant) and leptin down (a suppressant). You are driven to eat. There are metabolic differences between me at 103 pounds who used to be 160 and a person whose consistent weight for adulthood was around 103 pounds. If your resiliency is low, maybe your are depressed or injured, it can now become even harder to resist eating and the food itself is rewarding, making you feel a bit better when you are down.

As loathe as people are to admit it, weight gain, loss and maintenance are complicated biological and psychological issues. Where I have beef is when people make it a moral issue, a failing of personal responsibility, a failing of the power of one's will: People who are fat are lazy and lack motivation. This is a moral judgment and not based on any kind of scientific understanding of weight gain and loss. It is circular reasoning as well. I would bet that just about everyone who has lost weight are highly motivated to keep that weight off. Extremely motivated. But unfortunately, desire or "will" alone are not a recipe for success. We need tools.

For me behavioral approaches helped, good old principles of conditioning. For example, if you tend to eat meals when you watch tv you may get hungry just by watching tv. So, break that connection by eating only at the table with the tv off. Or, you may eat mindlessly when food is available. Make it difficult to eat mindlessly by having only food around that requires preparation. Based on data gleaned from the National Weight Loss Registry there are factors which are shared by many who successfully keep the weight off. Number one, they are exercisers. As in an hour a day of exercise. They also keep close track of their weight and what they eat. There are other factors as well. How they lost their weight seems to vary and does not seem to be a significant factor in keeping it off. So, I weigh myself every day an keep a running trend analysis so I can catch small weight gains early. I count and record my calories, even if they are high that day. I exercise religiously. For whatever reason, I don't have a properly functioning weight regulator so I need these tools.

People say it is a lifestyle change. Yes, I suppose it is. It is adopting a lifestyle that a naturally thin person would not have to adopt. It may include having a rigid set of rules about how and when you eat and how much you exercise. It is more than just eating healthy and getting exercise. I have said that you need to be a bit obsessive to go down this path and was criticized for it on Bikeforums. Those who lose weight and keep it off are pushing their bodies to places that is not the norm for them. Given that most people regain their weight a single-minded preoccupation with keeping it off seems necessary.

Whatever the factors that enter into weight gain and loss, I am done blaming myself. All I can do is educate myself on what has worked for other people and try my best.

[VeganBikeChick]

People say it is a lifestyle change. Yes, I suppose it is. It is adopting a lifestyle that a naturally thin person would not have to adopt. It may include having a rigid set of rules about how and when you eat and how much you exercise. It is more than just eating healthy and getting exercise. I have said that you need to be a bit obsessive to go down this path and was criticized for it on Bikeforums. Those who lose weight and keep it off are pushing their bodies to places that is not the norm for them. Given that most people regain their weight a single-minded preoccupation with keeping it off seems necessary.

What a wonderful post, goldfinch! So insightful! I am in awe in all that you've accomplished, and if I can take just a piece of that knowledge, it would help me so much. Thank you.