fat camp

[Gambatte]

This shocked me.

12yr old girl, school friend of my daughter, fat almost obese, here in Germany, will spend the last 6 weeks before school summer break into a "retreat" supposedly to learn how to lose wait, get motivation for healthier nutrition / lifestyle / exercise. Even more shocking is that the mother (also fat) of this girl is a nurse.

My mum is a nurse, retired, and growing up and observing her I came to believe nurses, as health care professionals, are meant to steer us all towards healthy lifestyle, which of course (should) includes all: health care medicine sleep nutrition and exercise.

Isn't educating children into healthy lifestyle one of the pillars of parenting?
Does a child really need 6 weeks fully off, with all the hassle this comes with like financial cost, missing school and friends and activities, etc etc....?

How about healthier nutrition and more movement? Why is it so difficult???????
I know of course parenting can be difficult, we have our own parental challenges too, but hey this is what life is abut, innit?

Yes, I'm preaching and I'm judgmental.

[molehill]

I think nurses, doctors and all others in the medical proffesssions are the same as the rest of us. They all know what they should and should not do regards personal health, eat too much, unhealthy foods, drink, smoke, exercise or not; we all know the right from wrong and like the rest of us they choose their own paths - for better or worse.

[noel]

I'm lucky in that I am one of those skinny people who finds it hard to put weight on. It's easy for me to think fat people just aren't disciplined/motivated enough. But the more I learn about this, the more I realise it's really hard for people who seemingly naturally put weight on. I think factors such as genetics and gut bacteria play a much larger part - so it's not just about people being told or taught to make healthy choices.

[Llani Boy]

I think nurses, doctors and all others in the medical proffesssions are the same as the rest of us. They all know what they should and should not do regards personal health, eat too much, unhealthy foods, drink, smoke, exercise or not; we all know the right from wrong and like the rest of us they choose their own paths - for better or worse.

I totally agree with what you say Moley. However, a few years ago whilst visiting my dad in Morriston Hospital in Swansea and a couple of years ago when my mum was in Bronglais, Aberystwyth I could not believe the size of some of the staff, both uniformed and otherwise.

I know from personal experience that working shifts, especially those that include nights, is not conducive to a healthy diet and good sleep/rest. But I would have thought that those at the sharp end in dealing with the sometimes acute problems brought on by obesity would keep themselves in better shape.

But as you say Moley, "like the rest of us they choose their own paths"

[PiesAreGood]

I wonder if there could be a fatalistic element to the choices some people at the sharp end of healthcare make? As in, if every day you see people suffering and dying, I can see the path to thinking sod it I'm just going to enjoy the time I have doing what I enjoy.

[Marco]

I'm lucky in that I am one of those skinny people who finds it hard to put weight on. It's easy for me to think fat people just aren't disciplined/motivated enough. But the more I learn about this, the more I realise it's really hard for people who seemingly naturally put weight on. I think factors such as genetics and gut bacteria play a much larger part - so it's not just about people being told or taught to make healthy choices.

When I was at school I was a 'chunky' lad, and I played loose head prop for the school rugby team until I was 15 (when I stopped growing and was replaced by a taller boy). I was over a stone heavier then, than I am now.

I stopped drinking and cleaned my diet up when I left school and quickly became a skinny person who struggled to put weight on.

My elder brother is obese, but I don't think he eats very well - and the nearest he comes to sport is watching it on the TV. I agree that there are a lot of factors, but I believe it is an attitude thing and all about what you want your body to do. If I'm training well, and eating healthily, I become skinny and struggle to put weight on; if I eat badly, don't exercise much, and drink (sorry folks, I'm just telling the truth), I start to go in the same direction as my brother.

[Travs]

Agree Marco.

I started gaining weight, despite playing football multiple times a week, i was living the Sunday Footballer's lifestyle... Eventually i got to a point where i stood on the scales one xmas and i was most definitely overweight.

Pretty much overnight i completely changed my diet and started being more committed to my exercise, dropping over 10kg in 3 months, and eventually dropping another 12kg on top of that to fight professionally.

But i'm a very motivated person, and thankfully had the outlook and financial circumstances to allow me to make changes.... i'll readily acknowledge that there are a great deal of people who haven't got such fortunate circumstances, due to family, financial, mental health issues.... but the vast majority of people could certainly improve their lot with a little bit of dedication.

[Mossdog]

I learned a while a go that it's so much easier not to put the calories in, in the first place, rather than try to exercise them off.

Most of my adult life Ive been lucky in that my weight has hovered between 75 kgs and 80kgs. As I've aged and my metabolism has slowed, coupled with periods of injury that have impacted on my ability to exercise at the level I enjoy, I've had to think more about food intake.

What works for me is a simple (if weird) mental exercise. If the piece of cake (or whatever) I'm being offered looks to be about 450 cals (or so), I mentally recall the amount of rowing/running effort it's going take to cancel that out and bring me right back to where I was before I started scoffing the cake!

It takes me about 35 mins of hard rowing to burn 450 cals or, on my local, out-the-back-door fell run that's 4 up hill miles or so. Consequently, if I say no thanks to the cake I'm already 'burned off'(deficit) 450 cals (hooray) and if I then also go and do the equivalent exercise too, that's 900 plus cals - quids-in! Ditto other none meal times offerings. That's in addition to the 2000-2500 cals we burn just by sitting still each day.

I know the logic is a bit wobbly,- no pun intended - but as I said it works for me. To be fair, it does help that I've never been a foodie and tend to like very simple veggie food ('fuel').

[Travs]

I just go without a breakfast. Well, to be more precise, i have a small scoop of protein in a little bit of milk.

I used to eat ridiculous amounts of breakfast when i was overweight. 5 or 6 weetabix. Or 4 slices of toast. But i was always hungry by 10-30 again anyway. So the mental trick i use is that i might as well be hungry for a few hours in the morning for a reason.

[Marco]

I learned a while a go that it's so much easier not to put the calories in, in the first place, rather than try to exercise them off.

Most of my adult life Ive been lucky in that my weight has hovered between 75 kgs and 80kgs. As I've aged and my metabolism has slowed, coupled with periods of injury that have impacted on my ability to exercise at the level I enjoy, I've had to think more about food intake.

What works for me is a simple (if weird) mental exercise. If the piece of cake (or whatever) I'm being offered looks to be about 450 cals (or so), I mentally recall the amount of rowing/running effort it's going take to cancel that out and bring me right back to where I was before I started scoffing the cake!

Respectfully, I'm going to disagree with what you've said. It's more than a case of simplistic maths, with calories in equalling calories out. Some people hold onto calories better than other people, which is why diets are more effective for some people than others. For people who are fat, and are dieting almost all of the time, their bodies get trained to be really good at holding onto calories.

Not all calories are equal, either. I'm sure we all know how much more difficult it is in extracting calories from salad vegetables than a liquid such as beer. Meat or fish takes a lot of energy to break down, massive compared to the amount required for cake, so it's not just the number of calories that you consume.

Your metabolism doesn't have to slow, either. Mine hasn't, probably because I got into HIIT before it had a name, and it's something I've kept up as I find it works well. One of the things that happens to a lot of people is that they lose muscle - and muscle burns a lot of calories, even when you're asleep. If you maintain high resistance training, such as weights or running up very steep hills, then it is possible for men* to maintain or even increase muscle which will increase your metabolism

* It's a lot harder for women to build muscle

I just go without a breakfast. Well, to be more precise, i have a small scoop of protein in a little bit of milk.

I used to eat ridiculous amounts of breakfast when i was overweight. 5 or 6 weetabix. Or 4 slices of toast. But i was always hungry by 10-30 again anyway. So the mental trick i use is that i might as well be hungry for a few hours in the morning for a reason.

If you follow much of the current research in biochemistry, a lot is talked about time-restricted eating, (TRE), where you attempt to consume all of your calories in a short 'window'. The principal is that your body is able to spend more time in 'maintenance mode' when it is not doing the hard work of digesting food. I've been following a 12hr eating window for some time and I find it works well for me, although some experts recommend a 10hr or less window. This is for general health, rather than weight control, but you have highlighted the fact that digestion is better at certain times of the day.

It goes without saying that this makes having a social life difficult!