Half of Us Trying To Lose Weight

For those questions and discussions on the McDougall program that don’t seem to fit in any other forum.

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Half of Us Trying To Lose Weight

Postby f1jim » Sat Oct 20, 2018 2:43 am

Really? Half of us are trying to lose weight?

https://consumer.healthday.com/vitamins ... 38808.html

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While adopting this diet and lifestyle program I have reversed my heart disease, high cholesterol, hypertension, and lost 54 lbs. You can follow my story at https://www.drmcdougall.com/james-brown/
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Re: Half of Us Trying To Lose Weight

Postby Werner1950 » Sat Oct 20, 2018 8:46 am

Doing what they can to lose weight? HARDLY.
There is a huge chasm between stating an intention and doing what you can.
"An ounce of evidence is worth a pound of presumption"
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Re: Half of Us Trying To Lose Weight

Postby GeoffreyLevens » Sat Oct 20, 2018 1:08 pm

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Re: Half of Us Trying To Lose Weight

Postby f1jim » Sat Oct 20, 2018 1:35 pm

One is a study of people at large and the other is looking strictly at young people. Neither seems to be good news.
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Re: Half of Us Trying To Lose Weight

Postby Grammy Ginger » Sat Oct 20, 2018 4:09 pm

f1jim wrote:One is a study of people at large...f1jim


Pun intended?
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Re: Half of Us Trying To Lose Weight

Postby f1jim » Sat Oct 20, 2018 4:24 pm

Yes, glad someone got it.
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Re: Half of Us Trying To Lose Weight

Postby GeoffreyLevens » Sat Oct 20, 2018 4:58 pm

Grammy Ginger wrote:
f1jim wrote:One is a study of people at large...f1jim


Pun intended?

I missed it until you pointed it out! Thank you. And a good one it is Jim.
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Re: Half of Us Trying To Lose Weight

Postby QubitBob » Sat Oct 20, 2018 7:17 pm

Jim,

Thank you for posting this. It is spot-on.

This is a great article. I noticed that Stephanie Schiff, the registered dietitian interviewed for the article, stressed that the most successful strategy for weight management is lifestyle modification with a plant-centric diet and little-to-no processed foods. Oh how I wish people would follow her--and Dr. McDougall's--advice.
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Re: Half of Us Trying To Lose Weight

Postby viv » Mon Oct 22, 2018 9:57 am

The adolescents and young adults in high school now are nearly all heavy. The girls especially are fully accepting of their size. In fact the bigger the behind the better. Thy young men seem to like it that way. So different when I was a teenager when Twiggy was the ideal body. You just know that things are going to get even worse.

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Re: Half of Us Trying To Lose Weight

Postby JeffN » Mon Oct 22, 2018 10:40 am

f1jim wrote:Really? Half of us are trying to lose weight?

https://consumer.healthday.com/vitamins ... 38808.html

f1jim


While half are trying to lose weight, the percentage has dropped

Image

Probably for 2 reasons...

1) being heavy is the new norm. They don’t look different then most of the population so why try.

2) All their attempts have failed so, with point one, why keep trying

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Re: Half of Us Trying To Lose Weight

Postby Mom+Me » Fri Oct 26, 2018 4:32 am

JeffN wrote:Probably for 2 reasons...

1) being heavy is the new norm. They don’t look different then most of the population so why try.

2) All their attempts have failed so, with point one, why keep trying

In Health
Jeff



While being overweight does seem to be coming more normal, I still think there's a stigma. With social media and filters, etc., the stigma may even be worse...especially with young people who often can still get away with horrendous eating patterns without it showing up too much on the scale yet. So then the youth who are overweight are ridiculed/bullied all the more.

As far as the population in general, I think so many people feel hopeless that they don't even bother anymore. Another failed attempt only dings their self esteem all the more. ... Then you couple the "Why bother?" attitude with all of the "yummy" items available, and people just succumb. It's ashame. Not that the people should be shamed, I just mean that it's a terrible predicament/situation.

Oh yeah, and let us not forget the instant gratification society we are in...it's waaay beyond the microwave mentality. Too many people feel entitled to do what they want and get what they want now, with little thought/concern for their future well being. Besides, with all the "cool" commercials out there saying that this drug will take of this, that, and the other "with little or no cost to you", that just fuels this dangerous cycle.
"Eat your heart out (of trouble)!"--Dr. John A. McDougall
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Re: Half of Us Trying To Lose Weight

Postby JeffN » Fri Oct 26, 2018 7:07 am

1) being heavy is the new norm. They don’t look different then most of the population so why try.


When surveyed, many overweight and obese Americans no longer "see" themselves that way because they look like most everyone else now.

Here are a few examples from published data...

As you can see in this Gallup Survery, as we as a nation get heavier, more Americans do not see themselves as heavy.

Image

A 2010 JAMA study revealed that a growing proportion of overweight adults — 21 percent of women and 46 percent of men — consider their weight “about right.” (about a 33% average)

In 2010, according to the AHA survey on Life's Simple Seven, 33% of Americans considered their weight as "normal." (similar to the one above).

However, 8 years later, we can see things changed in this update from the AHA on the same issue. Notice in the second column from the left 63.1% of Americans think their weight is "normal." Same organization, same survey but twice as many Americans think their weight is normal, yet we have actually gotten heavier.

Image

Obesity has become normalized.

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Re: Half of Us Trying To Lose Weight

Postby f00die » Fri Oct 26, 2018 8:00 am

yup, at one point in the past
i gained 20lbs in about 2 months
bmi 26 to 29
several ppl spontaneously complimented me
said i looked "healthier"
i thought it was ridiculous
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Re: Half of Us Trying To Lose Weight

Postby Atheria » Fri Oct 26, 2018 8:41 am

When my pretty fit male friend was living in North Carolina, people picked on him all the time as the vast majority of people there were very overweight. He said he always stood out in a crowd because he wasn't 250-300 lbs.

Just go to any online dating site and look at how people describe their body type. Most who select "normal/average" or "fit" are actually overweight...noticeably so. I'm not talking 10 lbs.

People say rude stuff to me all the time. I get called: chicken legs, celery stick, etc. At least when I was in Paris years ago, I felt more at home!

Here people are worried about terrorists, etc. but Americans are eating themselves to death. The military is having a heck of a time finding recruits who can pass physicals.

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Re: Half of Us Trying To Lose Weight

Postby Mom+Me » Sat Oct 27, 2018 1:27 pm

Yes, I do agree that becoming overweight +/or obese has become much more common and acceptable. Thank you, Jeff, for including the added graphs and clarifications.

When I wrote my above post about there stlll being a stigma, bullying, etc., I was focusing primarily on the youth. I still see quite a few very trim teens around. But, I see the opposite of them, too. ... I've heard the stories of teens/early 20 somethings trying to look like so and so (fill in the blank thin celebrity) and I've heard of the bullying towards those who don't look like said celebrity.

But yes, Viv, the thicker look (including bigger rears) does seem to be the "in" thing.

Atheria, I know exactly what you mean about your fairly fit friend and also yourself being looked upon as too skinny.

fOOdie, it's also crazy how people's perceptions of you changed in the wrong way when you gained weight.

I noticed after Dr. McDougall lost some weight a couple to a few years ago that there were some who commented that he now looked sickly. But the majority of the commentators said--and rightly so--that he looked healthy and people just weren't used to how a healthy weighted person looks. I couldn't agree more. I think he looked and looks great!

When I think more about this topic, I'm realizing that I see a wide range of people in my day to day life (no pun intended). When I'm in more affluent areas, most (certainly not all) people are trim and fit looking. Being healthy, or at least what they think is healthy--coconut oil, paleo, etc. is what they're trying to achieve, and physical fitness is a priority. But when I get away from those areas, especially in the more rural areas, it's usually the complete opposite; the majority of people are overweight or obese. Seeing a trim person and one who runs, etc. is much less common. In these areas, they seem to cherish and indulge in homemade "goodies"/passed down family recipes more often. Again, I am generalizing. I think, too, that people in the more rural areas are probably used to (passed down through the generations) the farming life where they ate the hearty meals to get them through their physically demanding chores. But of course the chores--some of them at least--have become less labor intensive, so they don't use up so many calories as their ancestors used to. And we all know that hearty, tasty meals can still be eaten with gusto if they took out the meats, dairy, eggs, and oils. ... But please know that I am not in anyway downing the intelligence of these people. There are plenty of people who believe and act nutritionally wrong whether they are college educated or not, live in affluent, non affluent areas, in the city, or in the countryside.
"Eat your heart out (of trouble)!"--Dr. John A. McDougall
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