Having a Weight Problem is Really an Eating Problem

Everyone talks about their weight and diets and and and...bottom line they have an Eating Problem.

Reduce portions, put less on your plates, and change food choices and what you are drinking..

And drink more water.

could be in reality, deep down other things in the body causing this in some like depression,stress, the brain that is giving away the wrong kind of signals - some eat far less than they should, some more - etc, the thyroid gland could be messed up.

but like you wrote, could be about ignorance or being raised on specific food that has less (to none?) nutrition and the wrong sort of carbs etc. suger tooth...

For me - if my mind, brain is in balance - primary this - then all the rest comes in place (as I too have the knowledge and practice it). But no matter what on how anyone looks, their body, through someone else's eyes, I think it is so important to show respect to that person, we're all humans and we all deserve the same amount of respect.

[Gem]

Originally Posted by jaminhealth

Everyone talks about their weight and diets and and and...bottom line they have an Eating Problem.

Reduce portions, put less on your plates, and change food choices and what you are drinking..

And drink more water.

Yep. Calorie balance determines changes in body weight.

More Calories in than out, the body gains mass.

To lose mass you have to burn more calories than you eat.

The trick is changing body weight by gaining, but not losing muscle mass, So what we really think about is body composition = or body fat percentage

All we really need is adequate muscle mass along with a healthy body fat percentage. I.E a good lean mass to fat mass ratio.

Many people want to lose weight, and they do, but they lose a lot of muscle mass, which is no good. Hence we want to be very specific with fat loss. Not just weight loss.

If underweight, best to work on gaining muscle. If you just eat more without working the muscles (lifting weights), the additional weight will be more fat; not a good lean/fat ration

Adding body weight we need to be specific about gaining muscle (not fat). Losing body weight we need to specific about losing fat (not muscle).

That comes down to nutrition and activity.

Gaining weight - lifting weights with excess calories to gain muscle (not fat). Losing weight - lifting weights with a calorie deficit to lose fat (and not muscle). Nutrition needs high protein to fuel muscle growth or muscle maintenance respectively.

Hence you need priorities. In exercise, weights first and then cardio. Weights are always important for intentionally changing body weight. Cardio is also good as a second priority as it helps burn a few more calories which means you get to eat a bit more. If underweight and find it hard to eat more - better not do the cardio.

The nutrition has the following priorities

1) appropriate calories
2) enough protein (and make up the rest of calories with fat and carb)
3) micronutrients (coloured veg for vitamins and minerals) and water/hydration
4) meal timing (can be anything from or 6 meals a day to intermittent fasting - depends on individual)
5) nutrient supplements

[astralsuzy]

Originally Posted by jaminhealth

Everyone talks about their weight and diets and...bottom line they have an Eating Problem.

I agree with you but there are people that take medication and that makes them over weight.

[Altair]

But eating doesn't have to be the original problem eventually leading to weight gain. Sleeping issues for example can mess things up and you can gain a lot because you are too tired during the day to exercise and lack motivation to make healthy meals. Stress is another issue.

[Native spirit]

This is not true for many people.some people have a Disorder which prevents them loosing weight.
Medication can make you put on weight.
Also Genes have a lot to do with it.


Namaste

[astralsuzy]

There are other reasons of being over weight. What Altair and Native spirit say is correct.

[Gem]

In my work I deal with different people with different genetics, medications and hormonal concentrations, but there are no special cases that violate calorie balance. There are some who are genetically or hormonally predisposed to partitioning calories to fat and will always have a higher than normal body fat percentage because their intake of enough calories leans toward fat storage rather that lean mass maintenance and growth but such individuals can still achieve their full genetic potential.

There is a very small minority who do not have the energy to perform and very little can be done, but if you are an individual who says my hormones or meds make me fat, but don't lift weights and consume a good nutritional profile, there is much more potential.

Even being female rather than male predisposes people to a higher body fat percentage, so obviously genetic/hormonal traits determine what's individually healthy and what individuals can attain. However, body-weight is still a function of calorie balance and the same nutrition with activity fundamentals apply to near enough everyone.

Just because some have disorders and genetics that mean they'll never be Charles Atlas doesn't mean that everyone can't reach their own potential, and if they have told you it's useless because these meds and hormones are as such... I'd say lets start lifting a couple of times a week and tracking nutrients to find out just how much is possible.

If there's other reasons stress, time constraints, illness and so forth that undermines motivation for this, then what's mechanically required is not going to happen until that's sorted if possible, but I reckon some small improvement could still be figured out.

Lets not just accept it as simply 'correct' when reality holds so many nuances and it's probable that more than one thinks is possible.

[Gem]

Even the meds situation... optimising nutrition and activity might make dose reductions possible (that is common), and literally any case of hormone imbalance can be improved with proper nutrition and activity. I'm saddened to think that people might be convinced that it will not work for them because the cause is a medical malady, and I have yet to meet one single person who did not benefit significantly by improved nutrition and appropriate levels of strenuous activity.

[astralsuzy]

What you said sounds wise Gem. We can make improvements to help the situation.