Um, just curious then who's fault it might be? Everyone wants somebody else to blame for everything. Weight gain is not a complicated mysterious phenomenon. If you eat more calories than you burn you're going to get fat. Period. Why are we always looking for someone else to blame? People just need to exercise some dicipline. You'd think about the time this guy couldn't see his feet he'd go "Hmm, maybe I should change something here"/

 

It isn't that easy. If you quit doing all those things you mentioned, and suffered no withdrawal, either physical or psychological, then by your own admission, you are not really addicted. I quit smoking several years ago, and I know that if I were to go smoke a cigarette today, I would be buying a pack within a few hours. The compulsion is that strong. I am addicted to cigarettes. The truth is that a person does have to step up to the plate and walk away from their addiction. But don't discount the fact that many people don't ever reach that point. And don't discount the fact that food can be addictive...

I don't believe in suing McDonald's- that is ridiculous- but craving food is as strong as craving any thing else- maybe worse, 'cause you can live without nicotein, you'll die without food. Is it the fault of the addicted? partially, but they most likely didn't know they had a compulsive personality when they started over-eating.

It is hard to understand how a man could get so obese as to not fit throught the door without saying to himself, "I gotta do something," but then you get back to that "rock bottom" thing. Everyone has a different breaking point.

 

Hey dude we all live the cravings of food. I have a sweet tooth too and thats dangerous, but I keep it under control and stay in good shape. Its all a matter of what you want. If you dont care about your health and looks and self image then youre not going to care if your 800lbs. I cant beleive you only think that its partally the addicteds fault. Must be Mcdonalds fault for being overweight too. Must be the tobbaco companys fault if you die of lung cancer. Must be Fords fault if you get in a crash and die. Must be the eletric companys fault if you stick a wet screwdriver into an outlet and get shocked. Stop the excuses and realize that its YOUR fault that your fat and no ones else. If you continue to blame your problems on other people you will remain obese and disgusting. I have 0 sympathy for obese people because its there fault not anyones else, and its very clear what the solution is. Fat people choose to remain fat because thats what they wanted.

 

Hate the sin, love the sinner. Lots of people try drugs and use them on a regular basis and never get addicted. Lots of people can eat half a candy bar and put the rest in the fridge for later- I can't. Unless you've lived with an addiction, you can't understand what they are going through. Yes, it's their fault they are obese. They know that. They just don't have the power to stop eating any more than a drunk has the power to stop drinking, or a crack addict to stop using!

 

That is bull. You can quit drinking and you can quit smoking and you can quit being obese if you want too.

 

Based on personal experience, I must disagree. I watched my father, a brilliant man who could build and fix anything, destroy his life and lose everything he loved most because of an addiction to alcohol he could not overcome. He quit many times, and there was no lack of "want to", but he lost the battle and died alone at 52. He was twice wounded in WWll and faced recovery with great courage, but he was not able to defeat alcohol.
Believe me, it is more than "want to".
Dono

 

Sorry to hear that dono, it is so true.

 

I can understand being obese and still being able to move under your own power, but to see someone completely bedridden, or STUCK TO A COUCH, you know someone helped them get there. The fact that someone would bring them enough food to get them that heavy (they weren't that heavy before the bed or the couch) is just sick. Maybe they did it out of sympathy, but the best thing to do is say, the food is on the kitchen table- Go get it.

 

still as i have said before and it has been highlited several times here that an addiction is only as guilty as the addicted......you dont wake up one day and say "wow i want some addictive drugs" you also know the risk when you take that 1st pill or hit......or belt of liquor....i had a small drinking problem ....walked away without EVER looking back, Tobbacco (i dipped for 13 years) put it down on July 4th this year and have never looked back.......i had a drug issue that im not going into here...and with NO withdrawls, N.A., A.A. or DACCO made it out without ever looking back....call it BS if you may i call it determination...a little something alot of us lack now a days....."ill quit tomorrow" means "i dont really want to quit, ill just use this to stall" if you really REALLY want to quit something you will do what i did....and if i had a site to host it i'd link a pic of the 1/2 full can of copenhagen thats turned to DUST because its so old and unused.....i put it down and walked away.....now i didnt do it alone...i believe that God helped me out of all of the above....so its done....it dont matter who you are if you weigh in at 500+ Lbs. you had an option at SOME point to put it down and become healthy again.....

i like that one man and its true....they didnt get that way alone...at some point they lost the ability to move...it would be at that point they would learn to diet if i was in charge.

 

I myself have never been overweight. I've been an athletic person my entire life. I played sports when I was younger, big into hockey from age 10-18. I stopped playing hockey after highschool, got into weight lifting for a little while and then for about a year I didn't do much of any physical exercise. I gained about 15 lbs and was in the worst shape of my life. It was sort of depressing and such, it's only 15 lbs..but to me that is a lot. Went back to the gym and within 3 months I have gotten in better looking shape (my cardio still isn't as good as before) than I have ever been before. I go to the gym 6 days a week for 2-3 hrs a time. I've had cravings for food...everyone does...it's just that I have enough self control to say to myself ok..thats enough..time to relax on the food and lets get back to the gym. I have the determination to never let myself get overweight. I care about my appearance (esp being only 20) and I care about my health. I know now what kind of a difference being in shape vs being out of shape can do to a person's everyday life.

My mom has been overweight for as long as I've known her (wasn't always though). She was diagnosed with MS last year and since then she has gotten more lazy than she ever has been. I get very fustrated with her, because she'll ask me to do favors like turn on the fan or grab a pillow from the next room. She should be getting up and getting it for herself. She probably weighs about 250-275 max...but she gets NOTHING for exercise. She blames it on her disease (which does physically impair her a little but not enough to make her not get up) and that "it's hard". Well...it's my mom so I can't be very hard on her because she gets fustrated and says I don't understand.

Maybe I don't understand...but it seems to me like people who are very overweight...don't seem to care enough to stop themselves. When I gained my measly 15 lbs...I looked at myself and said wow this is awful (for me)...and I took care of the situation. The only way to do it is to nip it in the butt at the beginning. If you let yourself get 20-30-40-50+ lbs overweight...it's all downhill from there. It gets easier and easier to not have motivation to correct it.

I think most overweight people don't realise how easy it is for them to improve their situation. Right now my mom could walk down the driveway and be out of breathe. I would have to run 2-3 miles to be exhausted like that. If she walked up and down the driveway 3-4 times a week for 2 weeks...i bet she'd see a big improvement. I have to exert 100 times more effort/energy to gain any cardiovascular endurance...it's a lot harder for me to gain than it is for her...so my point is that it's not very difficult.

I don't feel bad for people who are overweight, do drugs, or are addicted to cigs. My dad has smoked for 20+ years, neither him or my mom have the determination to quit or do something about it. They won't get that way because they're perfectly content with the way they are, my mom goes on diets and sometimes makes an effort....but all she does it try and change the way she eats. She would need to exercise with eatting better. My mom doesn't even eat that bad...she eats well and doesn't eat a whole lot of food. She doesn't eat mcdonalds more than a few times a month...and she really doesn't eat that bad. She just doesn't get any exercise and her body is extremely inefficient at digesting food.

There is no magic formula to lose weight..there is no trick or system for it. Eat better..*****rcise more...you will lose weight and you will be very surprised by the kind of results you can achieve.

Doesn't matter what the excuse or reason is for being overweight...you can try to blame it on something else but the bottom line is "you're" overweight...doesn't matter how you got there anymore...you're at this point. If you want to fix this issue..than you'd have to exercise and eat better. For anyone to argue or make excuses as to why a person is overweight is pointless...you'll never get everyone to agree on it.

I also don't think it has anything to do with genetics...it's how you were raised and the environment you grew up in. I went to Canada and really realised how skinny the people in Canada are. I hardly ever saw any overweight people when I went...not anywhere near what we have here. Their environment is different.

You'll think it's genetics because you'll see an american family of overweight people...but the real reason is they all got their eatting habits from eachother...not their genes. My mom is overweight, her brother is overweight. I am not because my mom knew the importance of raising me with good eatting habits so the same thing didn't happen to me.

Americans are getting lazier and lazier...as a consequence..they get fatter and fatter. Then they blame McDonald's and sue 'em. All I can say now is if you're overweight...make the decision to do something about it while you still can. No excuses...don't even think try and think about how you got this way. If you are that way...than you are...and the only thing you can do is get better, get worse, or stay the same. I suggest the first option.

 

Amen Brother Justin....i was gonna say that as well, like you said America has gotten a bit soft...dont believe me? 3 words...Remote Controlled FAN!!!......cmon people get up and MOVE!!! why is it that "obesity" has become a disease?? they will give you disability checks monthly for it....our fore fathers would roll over in their graves if they seen things today....SURE todays conviences make things easier but when you are so lazy that you cant walk to the mailbox without breaking a sweat dont you think something is wrong? Kids today are getting an early start at obesity....they sit all day in front of PS2 and XBox etc and play games.....how many of you remember when if you wanted to play football or baseball you had to grab friends and go OUTSIDE?? well thats the problem with America today we are becomming so lazy and soft. We cant blame a disease.....a man who puts a gun to his head is suicidal, a guy who stuffs his face with cheeseburgers and fries till he cant stand under his own power is "disabled"???!!! i say that the guy is suicidal as well....he's just taking the long road to the same place.....now we have to show special things on TV encouraging our children to "Go outside and play!!" well my lil girl will be an outside kid.....if she wants to play skateboard games ill buy her a board...if she wants to play ATV games ill buy her an ATV....i grew up in Moto-X and if you have ever ridden competetively you know its a work out in itself.....im with Justin on this one...cant blame anyone if you stick a gun in your mouth and it goes off, and you cant blame a company or ANYONE if you get fat for eating junk food daily. I still cant feel sorrow for someone who does something to themselves knowingly......if they had MS or Cancer, or Cerebal Palsey then YES i feel for their situation and wish them the best as i do anyone who wants to get better.....i think im up to .08 now but heres .02 more

 

You all are missing the entire point. The problem is a sickness called ADDICTION. The food (or alcohol, or drugs) is just a symptom, not the problem. Put the drug of choice down and the disease is still there. Once an addict, always an addict. That's what is meant by walking a mile in their shoes. If you don't understand addiction, consider yourself blessed.

 

We do see your point...we see everyone's point....it's right here in black and white (and a little blue and gray).

Someone could say I just simply don't understand because I've never been seriously overweight. I love food...I think everyone enjoys food...did they have food addictions years ago? No...it seems to be a new "thing"...

They had alcoholics back in the day...i don't remember hearing about food addictions though...

There are many times when I have a huge craving for something to eat, and I eat it. But like I said I have enough self control to stop myself from letting it get out of hand. Others do not.

Just so everyone knows, I don't wish to argue...just try to enlighten from a different perspective. I've heard the perspective from many people dealing with overweight issues...a lot of people in my family are overweight...

In the end, whoever it is, does not have the determination to fix their problem. It doesn't matter how they got there...doesn't matter why they believe they became that way (excuses are not going to get the situation solved)...the bottom line is they are that way and don't do a good job of trying to remove the problem from their life. It's all fundamental, they choose to remain the way they are rather than exercise/eat better to improve their situation. They are not necessarily happy with themselves, but they're not discouranged enough to do anything about it. If they want it bad enough, they can make it, just like any drug addict or alcoholic.

It seems too many people these days are looking for reasons why stuff happens or excuses to make them feel better about the situation they're in. It all goes back to trying to make themselves happier/more content with the way they are instead of NOT being happy with the way they are and doing something about it. See, I have a different mentality, I would get ticked at myself if I ever got 20 lbs overweight and I'd take care of it. I notice when I gain 5 lbs or 10 lbs, cuz I do eat and gain weight. But then I realise what I'm doing and stop it.

It's just a mental challenge and a basic principle of diet/exercise. I grew up with video games and computers...I still was outside everyday playing street hockey or doing active things, I would get bored in the house like that.

On Maury Povich or whatever that talk show is, a whilea go he had some kids in the 150-200lb range, who were only 4-5 years old! Genetics? No...lazyness...sort of...bad parenting, BINGO! Every one of the parents who had a child like that, completely screwed up on teaching their child proper eatting habits and they themselves didn't care becasue they were overweight too. They just said "well our family is all like that so it's ok"...ya..sure...excuses excuses.


I do not mean to offend anyone...and please keep in mind my posts in this thread are not directed at any one FTE member. I have used "you" and "your" type statements in these threads in a general matter of speaking, so don't think I am speaking to someone here, I'm speaking "you" as in everyone.