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, the older I get i'm sure the more weight I will be gaining since my metabolism will get slower..
That's what they always told me. "Just wait until you're a teenager." "Just wait until you hit your 20's." "Once you're 30..." The only thing I haven't tried yet is having kids.
I'm still skinny. I made a pumpkin pie last night. I ate half of it, and a quarter more this morning. It was good. I consider "healthy" eating to mean, eating real food. I don't care how many calories or how much fat or cholesterol or whatever it has. I just care if it's real food or hydrogenated-fructose-red-40. (Mine had a crust I made myself, with butter). I don't formally exercise. Actually, I have a thing against it. I naturally do functional activities that move muscles, increase heart rate, etc., but I refuse to do an activity simply for the sake of exercising.
I'm 5'9 and have a diet consisting of mostly energy drinks, soda and other junk food. I'm a 30 x 30 in skinny jeans with room to spare and a size XS in slim fit shirts from Hot Topic. It's really just metabolism, but I also haven't eaten meat in over 9 years so that might have to do with it is well....just sayin...
I still believe it's all in our genetic make up. I can only get myself so far before genetics takes over. If it wasn't then why aren't I weighing a lot less based on all the diets and exercises and other gimmicks out there? I also wish to be taller, like 6'4", but due to genetics from my parents, it isn't going to happen.
This thread had me thinking back to all the "naturally skinny" guys that I have fattened up in hanging out. Gaining is just like losing. It does not happen overnight. Learned behavior also has a huge influence on wt.
Everyone I know that is heavy eats for it. (obviously leaving out thyroid people)Same with the skinny ones.
Love.doll: You should get some mealshakes and be eating way more than 2000-2500 cals to gain. Try 3000-3500. When you get to a higher wt your hunger will pick up.
Genetics and metabolism clearly play a role in whether a person is fat or skinny. But it can be a real eye opener to keep a food diary and record every bite for two weeks or so, totaling up the calories on a daily basis. Sometimes "a little bit of this" and "a little bit of that" really add up.
My dd and I made a 8x8 in pan of fudge a couple of years ago. I decided to combine math and nutrition and had her figure out the calorie count. There were more than 6,000 calories in the pan--enough for an adult to live on for at least 3 days. We ended up giving most of it away to neighbors and really savored what we kept. And have you ever looked up calorie counts for restaurant meals? It's amazing.
So, if you're overweight, before blaming genetics, it might be worthwhile to pay attention to how many calories you're consuming over a stretch of time.
So, diet and exercise will only get an individual so far but should one focus on how to increase metabolism instead or is it all based on genetics?
Genetics is big. I'm skinny like my pops and aunt on that side and about half of my mom's side are skinny.
Alternatively my Mom and her 2 brothers have always leaned more toward obese.
However my father's physician discovered he had hyperthyroidism....which means the thyroid was overactive and caused him to not put on weight like he would have otherwise. I'm suspicious that his sister (my aunt) may have had the same issue which caused her to be thin as well. I could very well have the same 'problem'. I say it like that because I'm not sure this is really a problem for me. I'm skinny....it's not like this is a serious condition.
So genetics....if you're genetically stable condition pushes you to gravitate toward some weight then maybe that's it for you. I mean you can't stuff your face with twinkies and expect to maintain your weight....even I would put on some pounds if I ate nothing but junk 24/7. If you eat right and excersize a moderate amount for a long period of time...years....and you are still what you consider to be 30 pounds 'overweight'...maybe that's not really overweight...for you. Maybe that is the healthy weight for you.
They always assumed that I had some sort of "secret" to not being as huge as they were, and when I told them no, other than watching portion size and refined carb intake...they insisted that I must just have good genes.
Yep. I eat when I'm hungry. It's not unusual for me to skip dinner entirely simply because I'm not hungry enough to bother to make something to eat (living alone it's easy since I don't have to feed anyone else). I almost always eat breakfast and I never miss lunch.
That's what they always told me. "Just wait until you're a teenager." "Just wait until you hit your 20's." "Once you're 30..." The only thing I haven't tried yet is having kids.
Oh, they told me those things too. I'm 47 and I haven't hit that wall yet, despite all the points where they said I would -- including producing children. After each of my kids, I was right down to my normal weight (same as when I graduated high school) within three to four weeks. Of course, these are the same women that ate like pigs during their pregnancies and then didn't exercise afterwards. Me...I eat when I'm hungry. If I'm not hungry, I don't eat. I walk anywhere close, and I use stairs instead of elevators. Just things like that.
Of course, now their mantra is "just wait until you hit menopause". Well, I'm waiting. Meanwhile, I think I'll have a big piece of chocolate cake for dessert...
Genetics certainly plays a big role in everything. My co-worker has a really unhealthy diet, but he's incredibly thin. I'm thin and eat a healthy diet. I guess we have similar metabolisms.
Many of the people on this thread have mentioned lifestyle as a major reason why so many Americans are fat, and I definitely agree. You know what the biggest cultural shock for me was when I made my first trip to Europe 8 years ago? That there were NO obese people around except for American tourists! There were a few overweight and fat people, but they were in the minority overall. I know that we can't chalk these differences just up to genetics. The fact is that Europeans on average walk more, eat smaller portions, and eat less processed foods than Americans.
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