Monkeybot

Really, I had no idea genetics could influence weight that much. I'll do some more reading.

Monkeybot

"They say God is inside all of us. Well, I hope God likes burritos, because that's what He's getting!"

-Jack Handey

MadKally

hahahaha snort

kwigibo

the sockpuppet has risen from the dead, surely he is the messiah! <img src="graemlins/notworthy.gif" border="0" alt="[Not Worthy]" />

Ysabella

Well, to further explain my example, I weigh about 230, a women's size 20 (I was about the same in 1999). Large gal. I have <a href="http://www.soulcysters.com/" target="_blank">PCOS</a>, a <a href="http://about.thyroid.com/" target="_blank">hypothyroid</a> and, as a special bonus, <a href="http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1660.50706" target="_blank">exertive asthma</a>. Doing a triathlon, despite my challenges (and never really having been athletic) was a real achievement for me; I was in tears when I realized I'd really done it.

Please understand I'm not actually whining about my sad life or anything, my life is quite grand and I've never let my size stop me, but my weight is incredibly hard to control. Any of you, if faced with my problems, would find it so. And it's tiresome when people assume I'm lazy/slothful/gluttonous/Satanic/hated by God because of my size.

scigirl, I understand you - but that's why I mentioned I didn't lose any inches, either. Maybe a few, but my clothes did not become looser or anything.

Michael, I have a brother who has that big Mountain Dew monkey on his back. (Oh, and shut up!)

[ January 23, 2002: Message edited by: Ysabella ]</p>

bonduca

I saw your pics, you are gorgeous. The only way I could do a triathlon is if someone set me on fire. Take heart, Ysabella. If "god" hates you just because of your measurements, just imagine what he thinks of an opinionated feminazi slutcakes like me.

I will save you a seat at my table in hell.

[ January 23, 2002: Message edited by: bonduca ]</p>

Viti

Metabolism is a huge factor...and I think hormons are as well.

Until I turned 25 or so, I couldn't gain weight...I ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted and stayed at 100 lbs (I am 5'6")...my nickname was "da Bones"

For some reason this all stopped around the time I noticed some changes in my monthly cycle and other hormone related changes (Gyno said to most women experience hormonal shifts every 7 years or so). I worked REALLY hard for a few years at staying 100-105...but finally stopped and am now around 135. I look at pics from back then and think I look terrible (my arms were like pins although I like my face better without so much cheeks).

Hubby, weighs today exactly what he weighed at 19 regardless of what he eats. A few years ago, he tried his ass off to gain weight by daily weightlifting and eating 2500 calories a day for 6 months...he gained 10 lbs.

Bree

I'm a "big girl" too - at a size 14 - having been a ballet dancer it was VERY difficult for me to understand that my body actually WANTED to be a 14 instead of a 0, since my mindset was warped to think the other way round.

Ysabella

Thanks, bonduca. Any idea I have of "god" is a hazy, pantheistic kind of deal, not some humanoid entity that would pick on me particularly. Which isn't to say I don't feel put-upon, sometimes. Wow, you've got a table reserved in Hell? Or is there a big one for all the IIers?

Heh, Bree, I took a ballet class for fun a few years ago (I had done it briefly at age 6). All the other gals in the class were size 2 (if that). Looking in the mirrors I'd always think "One of these things is not like the o-thers!" But it was quite fun actually.

The real truth here is that some naturally skinny types tend to assume that they're doing something RIGHT and someone like me is automatically doing something WRONG. It makes some people feel really righteous. And some take it farther and assume that they know what I should be doing, just because they themselves have never had a weight problem. And now we hear that some assume they are more loved by God as well.

scombrid

I don't see how simply being fat would be a sin as I remember being taught. Gluttony could take many forms and being fat is often not a result of gluttony, so being fat certainly wouldn't in itself be a sin. My eating habits in my body-building efforts are gluttonous compared to the eating habits of most people with weight problems. Of course since I don't believe in devine law sin is irrelevant in my world. As long as I am not directly denying food to anyone else and am eating to meet my needs no wrong is committed.

Now for a diatribe on the American body image. In short the American body image is fucked up. Thin is equated with fit, especially in women. Why our culture can't look at a skinny out of shape person with the same derision they hold for overweight people I don't know. Or for that matter, Why do we worry so much about everybody elses condition? Why any derision at all? (Although when my previously skinny office mate with the affinity for his easy chair, whoppers, and Budweiser complains about his gut I have no sympathy). I guess lack of fitness is easier for thin people to cover with clothes.

I see women in the gym everyday that do nothing but cardio and obviously don't eat much. Muscle and fat are both burned away until there is just skin and bone. When they get down to some ridiculous small size they disappear for about six months and come back with fifteen pounds of fat added and no muscle tone. There are very few women in the gym that embrace their body type and work for optimum sustained performance. Most seem to want some lanky ideal that is unhealthy and near impossible to maintain. If you're naturally big, stay big and work on body composition. There is a woman in the gym now that is 5'10" and about 175lbs, maybe heavier. She was kind of flabby when she started her program but through a balanced weight training and cardio routine she has built a beautiful body (over a couple of years). She didn't even change her total calorie intake much. Hell with the scales. Until people see fitness as something to work for continuously and view food as fuel this type of conversation will continue to crop up in some form.

Lady Shea:
Re: Your Hubby
With intense weight training, 2500 calories is barely enough for maintenance in a medium sized male. It takes around 1500-1800kcal for base metabolism. A two hour workout will burn 500-800kcal depending on intensity. Progressive muscle overload with heavy weightlifting will push the base metabolism up to the higher end of natural because the body must repair itself following heavy lifting and burns extra calories at rest. I'll use myself as an example. I weighed 160lbs in 8th grade (age 14). At the start of my senior year in college (28 months ago) I weighed 153lbs. I started an intense weight training program and jumped to 165lbs. 12lbs in six months is really good. I didn't gain another pound for three months. I'd peaked on what 2500kcal could do. I then assumed I was a "hard gainer" as some call it. I bumped my diet to 4000kcal at the advice of a friend (all wholesome food, no junk) and have gained 2-3lbs per month since then.
If your husband is serious about adding some muscle mass, tell him to stick with it for more than 6 months and shoot for 2000-3000 surplus calories per week (ie. eat 500kcal more per day than he thinks he needs). I've had plateaus last almost that long.

[ January 25, 2002: Message edited by: scombrid ]

[ January 25, 2002: Message edited by: scombrid ]</p>