JH> anybody that can't lose weight is a liar or too far gone.
  > and even those people can drop weight.

AA>Right. The whole notion that fatness "is in the genes", seems
  >bogus.

I think a lot of the weight issues are learned things or situational. I've
known a lot of people where it's normal to put more food on the table than
needed and people are expected (taught) to eat until they are 'full'.
The problem with that is often the amount of food required to feel full gets
higher and higher as your stomach stretches to accomodate what you eat.

My family grew up with a given amount of food served to you with no
expectation of second helpings, with the exception of special meals like
Thanksgiving or Christmas meals.

Another problem is the 'comfort food' issue where people eat to feel better or
because they are bored.

I also am convinced that there is a genetic component, that two people eating
the same amount and living the same way, one may end up weighing quite a bit
more than the other. You work around that by eating no more than you need to
maintain a healthy weight though. This is a bit like the joke about the best
way to ensure a long life is to choose the right grandparents. You are stuck
with whatever you got at birth and all you can do is try to work around it.

Losing weight is hard since you are going against 'something' normal for you
to accomplish it, so I have a lot of respect for people who can make the
changes necessary. I am a much bigger fan of self control than getting one's
stomach stapled though.

Exercise is important to health under any circumstances if your normal life is
not filled with situations that naturally gives you lots of exercise.

All that said, many would probably choose not to put much stock in what I say
since I've never had that problem. My doctor says that I'd be in exceptional
condition if I were 20 years younger than I am. I'm 68 and have no issues with
blood pressure or cholesterol or diabetes. My resting BP is about 110/65 and
pulse about 58. My BMI according to two sources is on the line between healthy
and slightly underweight. I walk, jog or bicycle more than drive a car and
virtually never drive to my mailbox which is a 1.8 mile run to and from the
house. In recent weeks, in my exercise routine, I've moved up from doing 100
to doing 110 push-ups in under 3 minutes. I get lots of exercise mowing lawns
or shovelling snow and looking after the wooded lakefront lot where I live.

I figured early on that staying as healthy as possible would make things a lot
easier as I got older. Once you can finally retire, who wants to be in such
lousy shape that you can't do active things and enjoy life?..

BTW.. as for the 'genetics' idea, I am in far better health than either of my
siblings, both overweight and the younger one severely diabetic, so you can
take that for whatever it's worth..

---
 * SLMR Rob  * .. After we pull the pin, Mr. Grenade is NOT our friend!
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