You're fat because you eat too much

[GreatSpirit]

Please read this article, as it makes so much sense.

As stated, people are fat because they eat too much. I don't want to hear anyone's excuses like "my metabolism is too slow", which is the excuse I used for almost 15 years. It's BS. Overweight people actually have a much higher metabolic rate than thinner people because it costs calories to keep yourself that big. I didn't even realize this until a couple months ago. Ironically, you can still get fat by eating the healthiest foods in the world if you eat too much of them. It's all about calories man and dieters are telling us not to count calories.

As for my progress, I am down to 170 lbs and still dropping . The last time I weighed this much was back in junior high. Yes, I was a fatty all of my teenage years and 20s and I can never get back that time so lets hope my 30s will be a blast.

I really feel bad for people who spend hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars on these ridiculous meal plans and personal trainers, when all they had to do was simply EAT LESS! It gets discouraging for people because they automatically think they have to eat all fruits and vegetables. Now you definitely should be trying to eat healthy, but if you're looking to initially lose weight, just eat less. Thats all you have to do.

The greatest reward for me so far?? I'm mentally in a better state and far less depressed. Trust me, the feeling you'll get from loosing weight is well worth the struggle!!

[AnthroHeart]

I thought those meal plans replaced normal costs for food. I spend about $300 a month in normal food anyways. I could probably direct that to a meal plan to lose weight.

[isis]

You're fat bc you eat too much or bc you don't care if you're fat or bc you want to be fat or bc you're a sumo wrestler or bc of a medical condition or bc of a weak willpower muscle or bc of etc.

[Shawnna]

The physical is the other side of the spiritual; like two sides of a coin.

[Bluebell]

not everyone is fat because they eat a lot. not everyone is fat, period. not everyone will benefit from losing weight. not everyone wants to lose weight.

i'm so sick of people telling EVERYONE to do this & that to lose weight as if it's everyone's goal! i don't bloody care!

[Matt1]

I have lost a lot of weight going veggie and going to the gym a few times a week. I haven't yet reached my goal though. I wouldn't say its as simple as eating less, its more about life style changes in order to maintain a healthy weight and if your doing it out of the need to feel socially accepted then you have deeper distortions imo.

I went down from 252 Pounds to 176. My goal is 168 pounds. Although i have noticed my weight lose decreasing lately as i reach near my goal, so its about pushing the extra mile to try and reach it at this point, which is often easier said than done. You can also look at the psychological reasons for overeating.

[Ankh]

Thank God there is positive polarity which doesn't care if you eat too much or if you are fat or pretty or ugly. It doesn't tell you or others what to not to do and it is never in your face... 

Just saying. There is nothing wrong with this thread. Each is welcome to express itself. But it is messages like this that just make me to appreciate positive polarity even more!

[Patrick]

I agree about not making excuses for yourself. But being fat, if it is an issue for the person, is just a catalyst.

On the scientific side of things though, it is my understanding that the causes of becoming overweight are much more complex than just eating too much. A promising avenue of research is the effect of contemporary food on the hypothalamus. In lots of people it disrupts the feeling of fullness resulting in overeating.

So of course becoming fat requires overeating and/or expending less energy, but what causes these in the first place?

[Diana]

I have never been fat, but my weight has fluctuated during hormonal imbalances. That's the physiological explanation. A good friend of mine who is a psychic once told me that fat can be emotional protection, or in one case, an anchoring device to keep someone here in 3D. I suppose the reasons are endless.

That said, whatever the emotional or physical reasons, I agree that overeating can be part of the whole imbalance. I don't mean to say that everyone should be thin. My best friend since high school is very overweight, but it's just her and she's comfortable that way—and she is very beautiful, not only to me. But if there is an emotional imbalance, that can inspire overeating for example. So if one is not comfortable with one's weight, one way to approach the situation and correct it, is to eat less food (hopefully nutritious food for so many reasons). It can get the energy moving with intention and action, while analyzing and "fixing" the underlying emotional causes are more difficult to access. And when the weight starts coming off, then the emotions may surface to be dealt with.

I think it's important to love your body. If you are overweight and don't like being so, then you may be sending messages of disappointment or loathing to your body. I haven't had a lot of luck directly loving aspects of myself I don't like. So what I do is take some action about that particular aspect, or shift focus to something expressing gratitude. I used to obsess on every tiny indication of aging, but now I look at myself and say that I look great for my age, or for any age. I believe that and I can express this with honesty. I could go back and pick out the tiny flaws, but I simply use my will power and focus on the good stuff.

The point is to keep creating your life the way you want it to be, and if weight is an issue, I think the best way to balance that is to first not hate your body or any part of it. It is my theory that this is one reason why there is so much breast cancer—because so many women are unhappy with their breasts (if you don't believe this, just look at the stats of the number of implants). It's easier to not focus on what you don't want by doing something that is helping to change what you don't want, such as eating less if you desire a lower weight, or changing lifestyle by exercising plus eating differently.

[Nicholas]

So of course becoming fat requires overeating and/or expending less energy, but what causes these in the first place?

Food and drugs are by far the most popular forms of addiction.

I think this video speaks well in answering Patrick's rhetorical question.

[Bluebell]

as i understand it, & i might have it wrong, when people eat polluted food, instead of releasing the extra calories as energy the body holds onto both because the toxins get stored in the fat. & if u start losing weight the toxins r released into the bloodstream making u feel crappy. toxic food is also addictive.

eating pure, rich, nutritious food, real butter, real cream, enjoying it & how it feeds u, being grateful, feeling appreciation & enjoyment. eating when ur hungry. not when ur not. imo that's the best diet. not to lose weight but to be healthy. that's how the french/italians do it.

but to each their own.

[Furry rabbit]

I think fat if born with it is not because of eating too much sometimes that's the case but not always except it must be hard for the fat people because they feel they need more food to fill themselves up and can result in the comfort of there food so they comfort eat it must be hard if you think your the only fat one like skinny feels as though there different because there so skinny skinny people eat lots and don't get fat same fat people arnt always fat because of food x but my question is eat what makes you feel comfortable If it doesn't then diet and get help x x 

[Parsons]

This is personally a very sensitive topic which I feel compelled (and qualified) to discuss.

I am a little under 5' 11" and just under 30 years old. By the time I was in high school, I was at my full height and weighed around 235 lbs. At one point after high school, I weighed around 300 lbs. I was extremely unhealthy, unhappy, and self conscious. I knew the primary contributing factor of my obesity was overeating, but I was so impoverished and depressed at the time, eating fast food / junk food was one of my few comforts.

Later, my wife moved out and separated from me due to my destructive and addictive behavior (marijuana, depression, arrested development). When I was alone, I was able to lose almost 100 lbs partially because of fasting one day every few days. I also stopped buying an kind of junk food / sweets. Eventually, because the junk food / sweets were not easily accessible, I stopped craving them. I also started eating much smaller portions of food and my stomach shrank. I felt so much healthier and happier at that weight (200-215 lbs).

After about a year and a half later, my wife and I got back together. I was able to keep the weight off for a few months, but then my wife started making huge platters of brownies and other baked confections. The smell and taste of them were too much for me to resist. I would eat my evening meal when I got home from work, then partake of one or two brownies. Once the brownies ran out, I would start raiding her stashes of chocolate and other sweets that were not hidden in any way. Once I got in the habit of having a sweet treat, I would want one every night because I am a creature of habit. Every time I opened the freezer / fridge, I would be greeted by ice cream, chocolate candy, and pie. Eventually, the supply of junk would run out after a week or two (sometimes longer). But then one day I would open the fridge and she would go bananas with sweets / carbs. Recently, she bought two half gallons of ice cream, a pumpkin pie, a pumpkin flavored cake, and several different varieties of candy bars. She then baked 'blondies' (similar to brownies). A few days later, she ordered pizza and ordered a giant cookie the size of a small pizza. Every time she went bonkers with buying carbs, I would gain 5 pounds and would keep it on. Consequently, I went from a stable 200-210 lbs back up to 245-255 lbs today.

My wife's intentions are/were are loving, but the end result is very unhealthy:

At the present space/time the condition of well-meant and unintentional slavery are so numerous that it beggars our ability to enumerate them.

It was my time alone that brought me clarity on the situation: I was addicted to overeating / refined carbohydrates. I had all the hallmarks of addiction. Before this realization, I was in denial that what I was doing was addictive behavior. I had/still have no impulse control when sweets are easily accessible, especially when nobody is watching me. I intellectually know and also feel how bad these sweets / refined carbs are for me, yet I still consume them on a daily basis. I have had serious consequences to my addiction, yet I continue with it. Because of my motorcycle accident back in 2009, I have two very bad knees. The more overweight I am, the more painful walking or even simply laying in bed gets. Worse still, my disability makes it much more difficult/painful/dangerous to do any exercise involving my legs. I also suffer from sleep apnea, which worsens as I gain weight. Furthermore, I routinely get acid reflux from eating too many refined carbs which sometimes set off my panic attacks.

Before my accident, I had a job that was very physically demanding (loading heavy equipment into a van). Despite all the exercise I was getting, I gained a lot of weight because I was eating a ton of junk food at the time. The more weight I gained, the more it negatively impacted my job. One of my co-workers even commented on this, saying that I was slowing down at my job and would eventually be unable to do my job due to my obesity. He was right, of course. What I am getting at is I was no longer a high functioning addict because my addiction was effecting my job and personal relationships.

I have explained all these personal consequences to my wife several times and begged her not to buy all these sweets or at least hide her sweets, but she is a food addict herself that is deeply in denial. I even offered to purchase her own mini fridge/freezer that I could just train myself to never open so I would at least have some ability to control my impulses, but she refuses. Since we are addicts living together, we enable each other.

---

Growing up watching children's TV, I was constantly bombarded by advertisements for sugary cereal. I would then go to the supermarket with my mother and beg her to buy it for me. Every morning, I would start the day off with cereal that basically was just candy with milk poured on top of it. My mother would buy several 24 pack pallets of canned soda and I would consume several of those a day. The vending machines at school were full of junk food and soda.

Today, I have stopped consuming soda and cereal all together. However, I will occasionally walk down the cereal aisle at the supermarket when I go shopping with my wife and I just want to vomit. Nearly every box of sugary cereal has some cartoon character on it with brightly colored packaging with cereal drenched in food coloring shaped into stars or other attractive shapes. Its blatantly obvious the target audience is children. Its no wonder that heart disease and obesity is such a pandemic in the USA (and several other countries).

Could you imagine if when watching kid's TV, cartoon characters prompted you to bug your parents into buying you cigarettes and alcohol with brightly colored packaging targeted towards children? I honestly wonder if we would be better off if that were the case rather than large food corporations trying to get children addicted to sugar. My reasoning is that lung cancer, liver disease, and other diseases related to drinking/smoking are causing death MUCH less frequently than diseases related to obesity.

I am not the first person to notice the barrage of junk food advertisements we suffer daily:



PS: I am not judging any individual on this forum or in this world for that matter. I am merely sharing my own experiences with this type of addiction and opinion on this matter. My motivations are to raise awareness to the point to reach some of the people in denial about food addiction. Any person who wants to recover from food or any addiction has to be self-motivated, so telling someone what to do does no good. I am also not saying 100% of overweight people are that way because of overeating... However, I'm sure its well over 50% of overweight people are that way due to overeating; hence this post.

[Jade]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences.

The way I understand and see it, is that modern food is so manufactured and processed that people think they are eating meals but they are really eating almost nothing. All of the real nutrients and life has been removed from the food to homogenize it so it's able to be produced in bulk. People eat food without nutritional content, so their body demands more food. Or its sprayed with chemicals to further reduce its life force. I think it's totally legitimate that there are people who constantly feel hungry and that is why they are overweight. No one has taught them what real food is.

Sugar is highly addictive. However, just like everything else, if you can willingly detox from it, is becomes less palatable (or at least in such large quantities). This is exacerbated by things that have "fake" sugar (aspartame et al) because aspartame is SO sweet, that it desensitizes your taste buds to natural levels of sweetness. Someone who drinks Diet Coke all the time is not likely to find a ripe strawberry to be sweet on its own. They put aspartame in milk now, too.

I totally get and understand why people are fat. It is a HUGE catalyst here, and I think mainly it involves self-acceptance in the face of addiction and societal rejection. I don't think rejecting the fat self is the answer. I think accepting the "flawed", addicted, hurting self as a valid self and deciding whether you prefer a different valid self is the answer.

[Bluebell]

exactly Jade! i feel SO GOOD & satisfied after eating a fresh salad. & yes i eat it w dressing & meat but the chi in it is a real luxury. i consider fruit/veggies the best treat. i can't afford that everyday. a lot of people can't afford produce.

[Diana]

This is personally a very sensitive topic which I feel compelled (and qualified) to discuss.

Thank you, Parsons, for your honesty and courage in relating your story.

You have very sadly described the plight of so many today. The generations that grew up since the 60's and all the processed and packaged foods, have all been dealing with the sugar/carb addictions to some degree. And as Jade mentioned, there is no life force or nutrition in these things. I am like you, and the control I have is to simply not have it in the house. My boyfriend, however, hides potato chips in his office.  

[AnthroHeart]

I don't really eat sweets, yet I am overweight. I do have a rum and coke zero about once a day.

I did used to eat chips profusely. And I eat burgers quite often and put french fries on them. But I drink tea with Splenda.

[AnthroHeart]

[Monica]

As stated, people are fat because they eat too much. 
all they had to do was simply EAT LESS! It gets discouraging for people because they automatically think they have to eat all fruits and vegetables. Now you definitely should be trying to eat healthy, but if you're looking to initially lose weight, just eat less. Thats all you have to do.

I think you're right, in most cases. But there really are people out there (like me) who already eat fruits and veggies, very low-calorie, and haven't had a donut or soda in decades, and should be skinny, but aren't. These people are the exceptions...but there really is a metabolism issue in some cases.

[Ashim]

As stated, people are fat because they eat too much. 
all they had to do was simply EAT LESS! It gets discouraging for people because they automatically think they have to eat all fruits and vegetables. Now you definitely should be trying to eat healthy, but if you're looking to initially lose weight, just eat less. Thats all you have to do.

I think you're right, in most cases. But there really are people out there (like me) who already eat fruits and veggies, very low-calorie, and haven't had a donut or soda in decades, and should be skinny, but aren't. These people are the exceptions...but there really is a metabolism issue in some cases.

It could be an enlightening excercise just to write down what you eat every day. Make a note of it.

[Monica]

It could be an enlightening excercise just to write down what you eat every day. Make a note of it.

Yes, Agreed! I've done this and discovered I wasn't eating enough calories. This can slow down the metabolism.

[K-PAX]

~ Left Bring4th to avoid bullying ~

[Ankh]

Hi Parsons,

I didn't read your post until now.

I have an addictional personality too. I used to be addicted to drugs in different periods of my life, but it has stopped now (thank you, GOD!!). I was recently even tested in this area on couple occassions, but passed those "tests" each time.

I've been addicted to other things in my life too, but all have fallen away except two. Smoking and drinking alcohol.

This night I realized that nothing I do or tried to do is helping with these last two addictions. Or maybe it is helping but the progress is so painfully slow that I can't see the light at the end of this tunnel for the moment. The realization hit me pretty hard and I cried a lot. Would I be alone, I maybe not care about it, and would let these two addictions slowly kill me or shorten my life. But I have a daughter who I care about so much, and I do desire a change into a healthier life style for her. I don't want this to affect her in any way.

I am still a highly functional addict as you called it (great expression btw!). I don't drink or smoke when I work, and can hold myself during these periods. I used to drink when I came home from work, but have stopped now and it feels good. So the progress is there, although it is depressingly slow. I am not able to quit "cold turkey". I tried it on many occassions but it just doesn't work for me. It feels like I'll get stomach cancer or something similar of equal seriousness if I use my will that strongly. I have to go about it in a different way. I tried to do it step-by-step, for instance only on special occassions (this applies to both drinking and smoking btw), but lose this struggle eventually. It works in the beginning but then I lose it again, and is back where I began. I tried to apply self understanding and awareness. What is happening when I drink for instance? Why do I desire it so much? Why do I seek it? What do I seek in it? Etc etc. It all comes down to seeking the Creator, desiring to be one with what we call the Creator. And without it there is like a big, black hole inside of me. Well, great! Then it's all about meditation and balancing and polarizing and serving others etc etc. But that is a SLOW progress, and doesn't happen over a night. At least not for me. And meanwhile I wake up each and every freaking morning to suffering and struggle with these two addictions! Some days I win. And many others I lose. Ugh!

You seem to go through a similar struggle, and you said that it's good to raise awareness of it and stop the denial. Ok, but then what? The craving is still there...

What spoke to me most is this well-known Ra quote in regards to these addictions:

"The proper role of the entity is in this density to experience all things desired, to then analyze, understand, and accept these experiences, distilling from them the love/light within them. Nothing shall be overcome. That which is not needed falls away.


The orientation develops due to analysis of desire. These desires become more and more distorted towards conscious application of love/light as the entity furnishes itself with distilled experience. We have found it to be inappropriate in the extreme to encourage the overcoming of any desires, except to suggest the imagination rather than the carrying out in the physical plane, as you call it, of those desires not consonant with the Law of One; this preserving the primal distortion of free will.

The reason it is unwise to overcome is that overcoming is an unbalanced action creating difficulties in balancing in the time/space continuum. Overcoming thus creates the further environment for holding onto that which apparently has been overcome.

All things are acceptable in the proper time for each entity, and in experiencing, in understanding, in accepting, in then sharing with other-selves, the appropriate description shall be moving away from distortions of one kind to distortions of another which may be more consonant with the Law of One.

It is, shall we say, a shortcut to simply ignore or overcome any desire. It must instead be understood and accepted. This takes patience and experience which can be analyzed with care, with compassion for self and for other-self."

So Ra says that what is not needed will fall away, when it is experienced, analyzed, understood and accepted. And our job is to distill love/light in these experiences. This takes patience and compassion. Great! So we understand that it takes time, but as I said, meanwhile there is struggle and suffering going on, and I am not even speaking about the damage it does to the body.

This night I realized that nothing I've done this far is working so that I can stop right away, or get a healthy relationship to these addictions (I would be VERY happy if I could drink and smoke only when there is a party or some similar special occassion). It felt like there is nothing more I can do here, like I have given up and leave it now in the hands of God so to speak. So I will be praying now for help with this problem in a positive way, as there is nothing more that I can do myself. Yeah, keep meditating of course, and trying to understand more and be aware of what is happening, but also praying a lot.

How about you? It's been some weeks ago since you wrote your post. How are you doing now?

[Diana]

 I also am working on my health and body and it's a learning in self care/self love/self respect ... I use "stevia" (powdered form) (a natural sweetener from a plant) and make my own comfort foods with it... for a year I have avoided sugar (but not dieting otherwise) and I have slowly lost 2-3 stone in 12 months.... and it's staying off..

now becoming able to walk and exercise ... the journey continues....

So you lost about 30-40 pounds just by avoiding sugar? That's awesome. How in the heck did you do it? Sugar is so addictive as Parsons points out. I haven't had much luck with stevia. Could you post some of the comfort foods you make with it?

[Diana]

I am still a highly functional addict as you called it (great expression By the way!). I don't drink or smoke when I work, and can hold myself during these periods. I used to drink when I came home from work, but have stopped now and it feels good. So the progress is there, although it is depressingly slow. I am not able to quit "cold turkey". I tried it on many occassions but it just doesn't work for me. It feels like I'll get stomach cancer or something similar of equal seriousness if I use my will that strongly. I have to go about it in a different way. I tried to do it step-by-step, for instance only on special occassions (this applies to both drinking and smoking By the way), but lose this struggle eventually. It works in the beginning but then I lose it again, and is back where I began. I tried to apply self understanding and awareness. What is happening when I drink for instance? Why do I desire it so much? Why do I seek it? What do I seek in it? Etc etc. It all comes down to seeking the Creator, desiring to be one with what we call the Creator. And without it there is like a big, black hole inside of me. Well, great! Then it's all about meditation and balancing and polarizing and serving others etc etc. But that is a SLOW progress, and doesn't happen over a night. At least not for me. And meanwhile I wake up each and every freaking morning to suffering and struggle with these two addictions! Some days I win. And many others I lose. Ugh!

I understand the addiction thing. My brother was an extreme addict. My father was half Iroquois, which predisposed me and my siblings with a genetic tendency to not tolerate alcohol. It manifests as an exaggerated response to the alcohol high, while also feeling more poisoned by it. 

There is the physical level of addictions that one may address, in helping to mitigate the struggle. There is a really excellent book, "Potatoes not Prozac," written by a PhD. who ran an addiction clinic very successfully by using diet to balance the brain chemicals. Addictive people often have skewed beta-endorphin responses. 

If an addicted person can get some relief from the brain chemical imbalances, it may be easier to address the underlying emotional and spiritual issues. 

I sympathize with your plight. Having a daughter, and feeling this way, must be very difficult. I find that the more empowered I feel, the easier it is to do difficult things such as not eat donuts or whatever. You'll get there.

[Matt1]

I used to drink quite a lot but i have basically stopped now for a year, other than a couple of random one of moments when things got a little crazy. For me i used a lot of will power but try my best to channel that will power into loving acceptance and then into a balanced view.

[AnthroHeart]

I stopped drinking a couple of days ago because I ran out and don't feel like spending $30 for another bottle that will last only a week.

[K-PAX]

~ Left Bring4th to avoid bullying ~

[K-PAX]

~ Left Bring4th to avoid bullying ~

[Bluebell]

for healthy sweets i like a bowl of natural yogurt w bananas, honey & berries. dates r very sweet too.