DIET, DIET,DIET...Why don't people just get more ACTIVE???

Sister I hear you. I agree with you. Some will argue metabolism and their genes. There is alot to be said for a garden based way of eating. We often drive everywhere and use the remote, then the trip to the bathroom during commercials seems to require a stop at the refrigerator. Just think about your choices and then take control over your activities. This will allow you to become a thinner and healthier you.

How I wish I could be more active .. it would be really simple for me to lose wieght then .. you see I know I don't overeat and I do take care with what I eat .. but I still eat too much for the lifestyle I have to lead .. I am very sedentary .. I have mobility problems and silly muscles that spasm if I use them too much .. there's no cure so I am stuck with it .. When I am able to be more active .. which is mainly summer time I can lose the weight I put on over winter time when even getting out of the house is a struggle (the cold makes my muscles spasm) .. if we just had a bit longer summers than winters I'd be onto a winner .. !!

This is so true Ally. Why we people are so lazy! We jsut talk about diet, but never talk about a good exercise through which we can loose wait faster. We only discuss diet because it does not need any extra activity. Because of us our pets are also gaining wait. We are lazy to take them for walk.

Okay, I will get off my butt and do something. Geez your worse than my mother...lol You're right it's terrible the obesity problem is pretty bad. I suffer with it myself. I don't bother with diets, I find I just eat more. I try to eat healthier foods with less fat and drink diet soda, water or sugar free drinks. I do need to be alot more active. Especially now that it's winter. Well thanks for the kick in the pants, it's just what I needed. I'm going to start walking the dog twice a day. I'll let you know if it helps.

I agree, and this is what I tried to do when I was working harder on losing weight. And there was one year where my family actively got out and walked around the block together for exercise a few years back, too, and I always really enjoyed that! ^_^ That was before we got the treadmill that we have now, which I sadly don't use half as often as I should. Anyway, the best way to lose weight is definitely to change your lifestyle, not to just go on some fad diet. I agree 100% with that. That is what I did. I cut out most sweets from my diet because I had to; I also cut out caloric drinks. I exercised more. I ended up losing around 70 pounds. I still wish that i weighed less, but at least I'm only a bit over the weight that is recommended for my height, now, because I'm tall for a girl. I still feel way too big, but I am still less heavy than I had been for many years. And it was all done through living healthier, not trying to diet, which really doesn't work because you will just slip back into your old habits after a diet.

You are right on so many points but I have to ask, what is the heaviest you've ever been? Do you know what it's like for a person who is 50 lbs overweight, 100 lbs overweight, 200 lbs overweight? For some of those people it is hard to get up and do much of anything. Sure, they can do small things to get started and that's great but their food intake is the main thing that needs to be adjusted. Some of them are completely lost on how to get out of their darkness and even walking down the street causes them to be out of breath and ready to pass out. Starting with a "diet", for lack of a better word, is a start and it's an easy way to get started on the right path and being able to exercise a little bit at a time. If it was as easy as just getting up and walking, then no one would be overweight because most of us who are - walk every day and we're still not losing the weight we need to lose. I agree that people need to get up and move but I think the type of foods available now is what is causing obesity to be the problem that it is now. Too many people eating fast food, junk food, processed foods and so on. Food that wasn't around years ago when obesity wasn't such a problem. Just my two cents. :)

you have a point. it's better to be active in our everyday lives. try not to focus much on losing weight. instead, have fun doing everyday acts. the outcome isn't as quick as you wanted it to be but it's healthier and safer. plus less stress because you aren't weighing yourself everyday and getting disappointed if your weight is still the same.

Easy to say that. I have osteoarthritis in both knees, and my knees no longer have the ability to be straight, which causes me to have a lot of trouble walking. I can walk very short distances with my cane, but not without some support. That has caused me to live a more sedentary life. How is someone like me supposed to be active?

I think some times obesity is a genetic even. What you are saying is not completly true with all obese people. Both the things have to be given an equal importance for obese, diet as well as active participation for exersion too. You can't ignore diet controle.

Excellent advice. Diets do not work for long term weight loss. If they did, why is there a new diet out almost every day? They are mostly all lies and deceit. The fitness/diet/weight loss business is a $50 billion a year thing. With people spending that kind of money every year, we are in worse shape than ever. Supplements are all a waste of money and have never been proven to work. It doesn't make sense. You are on the right track. Being practical is the way to lose weight and stay fit.

Get more active. That's a nice thought but what about people who have thyroid conditions or those that can't get out of the house for other reasons? I am not making excuses for those who are overweight but being someone who was morbidy obese, it's a completely different story from both sides of the fence. When I was fat (yes, I said the "F" word) I rarely made eye contact with anyone. I was content in my own little safe world. When I started to lose weight all of a sudden the people that couldn't be bothered with me were calling me or wanting to hang out. I didn't lose weight to please anyone but myself, that is one of the biggest rules of the game. If you are trying to lose pounds to impress someone then that few days of dedication won't last more than a few days. Again, I am not defending those that are fat, over weight, obese or large but I see things from both sides. I do try to motivate people, get them out of the house and somewhat active but they have to really want to change. I don't drive anywhere unless it is more than three miles. Yes, I do go to the gym but that's because I weight train. Before people start knocking fad diets and saying that diets don't work, stop to think about what it's like to have a hundred extra pounds on you. You are looking for something to help you and while most of them are scams, there are products out there that can help. I amnot asking people to be sensitive to those who are overweight but more times than not, there are medical conditions (be it mental or physical) that add to the weight issue. Wow, sorry if that sounded like a ran t...

AGREED! I am sick of all these stupid pills, all these weight loss programs, throwing up after you eat, refusing to eat at all, your body NEEDS food! weather you like it or not, unless you can manage to transform, there is no getting past it! Exercising is not that bad, in fact once you start it becomes fun, weather its going to the gym and running, or walking your dog, it is NOT that bad, pills are not going to do it, some people think they do, but all they do is make it seem like your not hungry so you don't eat as much.. Which in the end is bad for you, pills and diets are not the answer! sorry if any of this was rude.. Good to get it off my chest :P

You have a point there. But there are some people who cant do exercise because of their health conditions. You had point out so many ways on how to be active and not just rely on diets.

I have the same problem, in the last 1 or 2 years I got a few extra kilos, which really bother me. But the thing is, that I work all day on the computer, since i am a graphic designer. It takes a lot of concentacion, stress and deadlines ... When I come out of work I am so tired, I feel like I don't have any energy left in me. I just go home, eat and go to sleep a few hours, and when I realise it's bed time again... But i really need to do something with those extra kilos :-)

Yes I agree tht we will have to become more active to lose the weight but we still need to be on a diet of healthy foods to lose the weight no matter how much exercise we get it won't matter if they aren't healthy eating involved,unless of course your doing for just maintence to keep your weight at a certain level. I have no best friends,no kids, and my spouse won't do anything with me, to cold to walk or even think about swimming unless I was a polar bear,and no snow to go sleding in.Yes I know excuses,excuses,excuses..Alot of us have problems where we can't get up and exercise at home and most don't have the proper equipment or the knowledge of what really works and what doesn't. I agree the obesity has reached a high these last few years, And I'm not saying it isn't the persons fault that they are overweight becuase I myself know it's my fault I am the only one controling the spoon going in my mouth and I'm the one who sits and does nothing to stop it. But I think that we are also needing a coach a support group to help us through bad moments we cannot control like binges and such and depression is our worst enemy it drags us down and and by the time we get back up for air we have gained anywhere from 10,20,50 pounds. So until we also get our heads straightened out nothing is going to help us.

You are very right in saying that diets doesn't work at all. What we need to do is get up and work out. I have read in a magazine about how to eat right and not go thru dieting.It says that "eat more and weigh less". It explains that we should not go into dieting because it really doesn't work and maybe bad for our health. What we need to do is eat healthy.Eat more of the healthy stuff.And of course we should do our exercises in parallel with healthy eating.

Exercise alone is not proven to cause a major reduction in weight. A change in eating habits is also required. That's why people go "on a diet". You must also understand that many people have mobility or other health problems that preclude them from physical activities. Often, if these people can lose a bit of weight first, their health begins to improve and they are able to get around more and gradually increase their activity. I agree with you that people should encourage their children to be active and do fun, active things as a family. However, I just wanted to point out that there are other things to be considered.

Yes for sure We have always been healthy and active. I wrote an article for my website that addresses this very issue It called lose weight with-out dieting. If anyone is interested http://therawfoodguy.com

I think it is difficult to persuade children to do exercise. My 5 year old moans every day about having to walk to school. Also the sort of society we live in doesn't encourage exercise as we now live further and further away from shops, schools, family etc that we have to use our cars rather than walk. Also swimming and other forms of exercise all cost money and it is the poorer families who have the most difficulty as they can't afford to do it, and combined with the fact that junk food is cheaper than healthy food they don't really have a chance. I think the government should act and make a sugar tax and also force fast food restaurants to produce healthier foods.

I think it has a lot to do with our habbits. They're the funny little things that we as people do on a day-to-day basis. I really like playing sports and hiking, but ever since I got an Xbox 360, I've spent hours defeating Gears of War and haven't had much, if any, time for outside fun. About a week ago, and with a very big sigh, I sold it. I don't have the kind of discipline it takes to monitor a couple hours here and there; Microsoft sure knows how to make 'em. So, I guess it really comes down to our eating and recreational habbits, and the kind of discipline we have (or the lack thereof). My opinion? If you can't control the craving, run the hell home!