Yes, I'm sharing a Cracked article, because you need my witty commentary.

http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/fat-officially-incurable-according-to-science/

Bottom line: for clinically obese people, there is really no way to live the rest of their life at a normal weight.

Quote :

"And when I say "no one," I mean those cases are so obscenely rare that they don't even appear on the chart. They can't even find enough such people to include in the studies. It's like trying to study people who have survived falling out of planes. Being fat is effectively incurable, every study shows it, and no one will admit it."

I was depressed just reading this. If the author knows what he's talking about, fat is something you can literally catch at any time. If you put on 50 pounds you have irrevocably lost all chance of living like your former self (short of surgery). And you are likely to get fat by having fat friends says science, so it's contagious, and half of the nation is infected.

Maybe we need to admit that fatness is like gayness - you're just not going to change it. Then maybe we can accept drugs as the answer, and be a healthier and happier nation...

7/5/2012 9:30:21 PM

I vote to illegalize fat marriage

7/5/2012 9:32:21 PM

I kinda skimmed the article so they may have mentioned this, but I didnt realize until a few weeks ago, and this may be obvious but it never really dawned on me, but my friend told me that you can never get rid of fat cells, you can just make them smaller. Hence, why once you have them, you can get fat again so easily.

7/5/2012 10:10:31 PM

if they can't find fat people, they must have not visited Kansas City when they were lookin

7/5/2012 10:14:15 PM

what about that bodybuilder that went from ripped to fat to ripped?

7/5/2012 10:49:53 PM

Quote :

"If you put on 50 pounds you have irrevocably lost all chance of living like your former self (short of surgery)."

oh i read it now. this is not what it said at all. and it's a cracked article.

7/6/2012 12:16:35 AM

Quote :

"I kinda skimmed the article so they may have mentioned this, but I didnt realize until a few weeks ago, and this may be obvious but it never really dawned on me, but my friend told me that you can never get rid of fat cells, you can just make them smaller. Hence, why once you have them, you can get fat again so easily."

It's not true that you can't get rid of fat cells, it's just that you rarely very rarely lose fat cells. Similarly, you don't often gain fat cells. However, you can "shrink" fat cells, which is usually the goal for most people.

I think fat people tend to regain weight because of behavioral issues. They got fat for a reason - they ate too much. If they fall back into the same bad behavior, they'll probably blow right back up. The guy that has always been skinny isn't likely to adopt the eating habits necessary to put on weight, but a former fatty is comparatively more likely to.

Also, this is a cracked article. You taking this seriously, brah?

[Edited on July 6, 2012 at 1:01 AM. Reason : ]

7/6/2012 1:00:33 AM

Quote :

"It's not true that you can't get rid of fat cells, it's just that you rarely very rarely lose fat cells. Similarly, you don't often gain fat cells. However, you can "shrink" fat cells, which is usually the goal for most people."

The way it was explained to me was that it's much easier to gain/lose fat cells up through adolescence, and then once you're done growing the number of cells stays rather constant and they just grow/shrink in size.

7/6/2012 1:04:09 AM

Well, I'm fucked.

7/6/2012 2:29:45 AM

Quote :

"I think fat people tend to regain weight because of behavioral issues. They got fat for a reason - they ate too much. If they fall back into the same bad behavior, they'll probably blow right back up. The guy that has always been skinny isn't likely to adopt the eating habits necessary to put on weight, but a former fatty is comparatively more likely to."

Well that tendency to eat until they blow up again is both their own genetics as well as lingering effects from their fat days. Supposedly. The sad proposition is that if you put on a huge amount of weight, then you will forever be more hungry for the rest of your life.

7/6/2012 8:25:59 AM

You guys are talking about a cracked.com article like it is legitimate.

7/6/2012 8:54:14 AM

Quote :

"what about that bodybuilder that went from ripped to fat to ripped?"

Quote :

"What’s not clear from the research is whether there is a window during which we can gain weight and then lose it without creating biological backlash. Many people experience transient weight gain, putting on a few extra pounds during the holidays or gaining 10 or 20 pounds during the first years of college that they lose again. The actor Robert De Niro lost weight after bulking up for his performance in “Raging Bull.” The filmmaker Morgan Spurlock also lost the weight he gained during the making of “Super Size Me.” Leibel says that whether these temporary pounds became permanent probably depends on a person’s genetic risk for obesity and, perhaps, the length of time a person carried the extra weight before trying to lose it. But researchers don’t know how long it takes for the body to reset itself permanently to a higher weight. The good news is that it doesn’t seem to happen overnight. “For a mouse, I know the time period is somewhere around eight months,” Leibel says. “Before that time, a fat mouse can come back to being a skinny mouse again without too much adjustment. For a human we don’t know, but I’m pretty sure it’s not measured in months, but in years.” "

Quote :

"Scientists are still learning why a weight-reduced body behaves so differently from a similar-size body that has not dieted. Muscle biopsies taken before, during and after weight loss show that once a person drops weight, their muscle fibers undergo a transformation, making them more like highly efficient “slow twitch” muscle fibers. A result is that after losing weight, your muscles burn 20 to 25 percent fewer calories during everyday activity and moderate aerobic exercise than those of a person who is naturally at the same weight. That means a dieter who thinks she is burning 200 calories during a brisk half-hour walk is probably using closer to 150 to 160 calories. Another way that the body seems to fight weight loss is by altering the way the brain responds to food. Rosenbaum and his colleague Joy Hirsch, a neuroscientist also at Columbia, used functional magnetic resonance imaging to track the brain patterns of people before and after weight loss while they looked at objects like grapes, Gummi Bears, chocolate, broccoli, cellphones and yo-yos. After weight loss, when the dieter looked at food, the scans showed a bigger response in the parts of the brain associated with reward and a lower response in the areas associated with control. This suggests that the body, in order to get back to its pre-diet weight, induces cravings by making the person feel more excited about food and giving him or her less willpower to resist a high-calorie treat. “After you’ve lost weight, your brain has a greater emotional response to food,” Rosenbaum says. “You want it more, but the areas of the brain involved in restraint are less active.” Combine that with a body that is now burning fewer calories than expected, he says, “and you’ve created the perfect storm for weight regain.” How long this state lasts isn’t known, but preliminary research at Columbia suggests that for as many as six years after weight loss, the body continues to defend the old, higher weight by burning off far fewer calories than would be expected. The problem could persist indefinitely. (The same phenomenon occurs when a thin person tries to drop about 10 percent of his or her body weight — the body defends the higher weight.) This doesn’t mean it’s impossible to lose weight and keep it off; it just means it’s really, really difficult. "

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-fat-trap.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

[Edited on July 6, 2012 at 9:35 AM. Reason : s]

7/6/2012 9:30:43 AM

And iirc, the fit->fat->fit guy said he never had any cravings for fast food, baked goods, etc. before his challenge, but afterward he found that he still wanted them all the time. Most people don't have the willpower to resist something they crave every day for the rest of their lives, so they give in.

7/6/2012 9:36:17 AM

If you think you can't, you're right.

The mind and body can achieve and accomplish a lot; and is only often hindered by self/society imposed limiting beliefs.

Yes, it may be more emotionally/metabolically hard to stay lean after being obese. But hard is not can't, nor is it an excuse for not trying.

7/6/2012 9:51:57 AM

I can't tell if that is directed at me or the notion in general. Because I agree with you.

7/6/2012 9:55:14 AM

Quote :

"You guys are talking about a cracked.com article like it is legitimate. "

...would be a coherent argument if anyone genuinely disagreed with what it said.

^^^^ But how much of America's obesity problem is with people who used to be thin? So maybe it takes a few years for your body to establish a new higher baseline for body weight, but this doesn't help the vast majority of people with an obesity problem since they've been that way for more than a few years, and most of them have been that way since childhood.

If you want to talk about people who are really screwed, look at the next generation. Their bodies are basically being hard-wired for heavy food cravings and high efficiency muscles that screw them until they die.

Man, I just ruined my emotional state today thinking about this

7/6/2012 10:08:57 AM

Quote :

"Well that tendency to eat until they blow up again is both their own genetics as well as lingering effects from their fat days. Supposedly. The sad proposition is that if you put on a huge amount of weight, then you will forever be more hungry for the rest of your life."

I was pretty fat as a kid, especially as a teenager. Even from age 8-12, though, I was a little chubby. For me, "cleaning my plate" was never an issue. My parents didn't have to beg me to finish my food. I've always had a big appetite.

I still do have a big appetite, I just make it work for me in a positive way. I don't know if I have more of an appetite because I was fat, or if I was fat because I had a big appetite. Point is, I like to eat, and I like to eat a lot.

The real distinction you need to make is between "desire to eat" and "hunger". They're not really the same thing, in my opinion. Try going 24 hours without food if you're not used to doing it (seriously, I recommend doing this if you're a healthy, non-diabetic male). You will experience true hunger, and it'll probably help clear this concept up.

There will never be a time when I don't want a Cookout milkshake. I don't care if I've just eaten 3 lbs of food at the chinese buffet, I still want it. It's about self-control. You can be controlled by instincts, or you can take control of them.

The real folly of the article, though:

Quote :

"The number of people who go from fat to thin, and stay there, statistically rounds down to zero."

You don't get to "statistically round down to zero". The number of people that lose weight and keep it off is not insignificant, it's simply a very low percentage of the people who do lose weight. The vast majority of people are stupid and lazy. You could just as easily say, based on this logic, that the number of people who will become knowledgeable about political issues that affect them statistically rounds down to zero, or that the number of people who will actually learn the lessons of history statistically rounds down to zero. Those statements are on equal ground with the cracked.com assertion, in my opinion.

Things that take work and effort are avoided by average joes. This is the nature of society, and for the people that actually are willing to put forth some effort, there can be tremendous rewards. I think that's how it should be.

[Edited on July 6, 2012 at 10:31 AM. Reason : ]

7/6/2012 10:21:48 AM

^ What he said. I was also a fat kid and now I'm one of those skinny bitches all the other women hate.

7/6/2012 10:27:55 AM

To be fair, I think a good number of people are fat kids and grow out of that when they hit puberty. I was one of them. I think that's in some ways pretty different from being fat as an adult and trying to maintain a healthy weight from there. It seems like people who were fat as kids often hit a healthy weight during adolescence and are able to stay there without too great a struggle. But I guess that depends on why exactly they were fat as kids. And I am basing this on personal observation rather than science, so I'm probably wrong.

7/6/2012 10:38:46 AM

I didn't grow out of being fat. I had to work for it and got teased by my family for trying to eat low fat (didn't know better at the time).

7/6/2012 10:44:05 AM

I love when people try to use anecdotal evidence to disprove peer reviewed studies.

7/6/2012 10:45:09 AM

whatever, those scientists are stupid. everyone knows its just calories in, calories out

7/6/2012 10:49:52 AM

Fat people accepting they are fat is the problem.

Had some relatives that were told that being fat was killing them, and they lost weight and have kept it off.

7/6/2012 10:55:07 AM

Is there a study that compares how easy it is to go from overweight child to healthy adult with going from overweight adult to healthy adult and maintaining a healthy weight long term? I know there are plenty of studies on either one separately. I imagine there probably is info out there, but I haven't seen it, so yes, I'm just talking from personal observations. And I'm not even claiming I am right.

7/6/2012 10:57:47 AM

Quote :

"whatever, those scientists are stupid. everyone knows its just calories in, calories out"

And it still is "calories in, calories out".

People want to accept some deterministic view of the universe because it absolves them of responsibility. If their hardships aren't due to their own shortcomings or lack of discipline, but rather because the universe, fate, or genetics has it out for them, it makes for a slightly more comfortable existence.

Humans can reason and make decisions. The quality of our lives is largely determined by the soundness of our decisions. You can either embrace this reality and take the reins, or you can let life shit on you day after day and complain about how hard things are.

[Edited on July 6, 2012 at 11:11 AM. Reason : ]

7/6/2012 11:11:32 AM

Quote :

" If you think you can't, you're right."

This is over simplifying it.

I think the more accurate (and more appropriate for this thread) statement would be:

"If you don't want to, you won't."



For many people, "think I can't" = not wanting it bad enough.

7/6/2012 11:15:34 AM

They don't want it bad enough until a life altering event happens.

7/6/2012 11:55:36 AM

you sure know a lot about other peoples lives and motivations

7/6/2012 11:58:16 AM

1. stop eating bullshit food (we all know what's healthy, it's not like it's a secret)
2. exercise and stop being lazy
3. keep doing it
4. ...
5. profit

haven't seen any results? repeat step 3.

7/6/2012 12:02:05 PM

^^ what excuse do you have?

7/6/2012 12:15:16 PM

o snap

7/6/2012 12:23:40 PM

You are making yourself sound pretty unintelligent, GREEN JAY. I guess it is understandable given your situation though.

7/6/2012 12:27:34 PM

Quote :

"They don't want it bad enough until a life altering event happens."

Wait, so is there actually evidence to say that someone drops weight radically and keeps it off in this situation? Because my reading was that people more often just die.

7/6/2012 12:51:25 PM

I am talking about obesity related medical events. It isn’t always fatal; some people survive a heart attack, for instance. Most obese people die of a slow death anyway, because they develop other obesity related problems. Diabetes II is a big killer. You can develop gout, diabetic retinopathy ( blood vessels in your eyes can swell and leak( causing partial or full blindness in some people), acute renal failure because proteins leak in to your tubules causing it to plug up( some people require dialysis 3-4 times/week), arthritis from bearing the weight. Just to name a few.

Not only does it kill, but there is increase financial burden on you when you are taking all of these pills just to keep you alive, and sometimes it’s not enough until you drastically change your lifestyle.

This should be more than enough to inspire change. But many continue to live however they want, until something happens to them. That’s what I meant by that statement.

7/6/2012 1:22:18 PM

[Edited on July 6, 2012 at 1:57 PM. Reason : nevermind]

7/6/2012 1:43:25 PM

it's an addiction.

so, like smoking, or even heroin and crack, some people can't kick it no matter what they do, or what they go through because of it.

7/6/2012 1:58:02 PM

The McRib is not a drug. I used to suck dick for coke. Now that's an addiction. You ever suck some dick for a McRib?

7/6/2012 1:59:26 PM

why did you delete your post?

7/6/2012 3:19:58 PM

Quote :

"You ever suck some dick for a McRib?"

yes

7/6/2012 3:21:37 PM

I felt bad for talking about my mom

7/6/2012 3:31:33 PM