interesting article

[baubosboy]

"Scientists have found intriguing evidence that one major reason so many people are overweight these days may be as close as the seat of their pants. Literally. According to the researchers, most of us sit too much.

"In most cases, exercise alone, according to a team of scientists at the University of Missouri, isn't enough to take off those added pounds. The problem, they say, is that all the stuff we've heard the last few years about weight control left one key factor out of the equation. When we sit, the researchers found, the enzymes that are responsible for burning fat just shut down.

"This goes way beyond the common sense assumption that people who sit too much are less active and thus less able to keep their weight under control. It turns out that sitting for hours at a time, as so many of us do in these days of ubiquitous computers and electronic games and 24-hour television, attacks the body in ways that have not been well understood..."

Rest of it here:

abcnews.go.com/Technology/DyeHard/story?id=3922069&page=1

[Steven Barnes]

There is no case where increasing caloric output and decreasing input will not handle weight. It may not be EASY to do those things, but those are the two things that must be handled. The other considerations can make things easier or more efficient, but people keep trying to ignore the laws of physics and leap to the emotions, or endocrine system, or whatever. Interesting, but stick to basics above all.

[Argent'horn]

Every time you write this idea here or on your blog, Steve, I have the nagging feeling that there is something wrong with it. I have finally figured out, at least in part, what bothers me. What if a person has so much toxic material sequestered in his or her fat tissue that cutting back on food while exercising will lead to death before it leads to any significant weight loss. In this case, it is quite natural that there be really strong preprogrammed emotions built in to prevent weight loss as a protective mechanism. In a highly toxic environment, I can imagine that this situation is far more common than we would like to believe. I do not know exactly which non-excretable toxins are stored in fat, which ones in bone marrow, and which elsewhere, but this is not a trivial concern.

[Steven Barnes]

I'm sure that's true, but it doesn't change my basic position: physics trumps biology. That said, while you're right, that's why you shouldn't try to lose more than 1-2 pounds a week, and drink plenty of water: to pass the toxins. And of course you should work with a doctor if you have over 75 pounds of weight or so to lose. Where I REALLY agree with your inference is the emotional part. I believe that 80% of the time the problem is emotional, rather than physical: the body following the mind. Do you have any idea how often I encounter people with severe weight problems who had absolutely horrific family dynamics? Abuse issues? Rapes? I can't come close to believing this is a coincidence. In my mind, the emotions are corrupted, the body follows the dictates of the subconscious to obscure beauty, hide sexuality, or provide protective walls of tissue. I think in the vast majority of cases, you have it backwards: the emotions aren't protecting the body. The body is protecting the emotions. Of course, the feedback loop goes both ways, ultimately. Change the emotions, the weight falls away. Change the body, the emotions surface. You choose. Most people have a range of weight it is safe to lose: the first 10-50 pounds are "easy" and after that they hit those bare wires and sabotage themselves. I've watched people go through this cycle over and over again. Lose 30-40 pounds, yippee! Put it back on. Lose 30-40 pounds, celebration! Put it back on. The actual threshold of change is probably about 50 pounds. That's all they can lose before the panic of actually revealing themselves, expressing their sensuality, or whatever, kicks in. That's my opinion on it.

[Steven Barnes]

Further: most people would rather think there is something "wrong" with their bodies than with their emotions/mind. That's their ego speaking. Their body is doing exactly what their unconscious needs. That's why if you try to lose more than about 70 pounds without meditation or therapy, you're setting yourself up for a relapse the very first time you take your conscious attention off the problem. Beware of the games your ego will play to keep you from changing, growing. Healing. We're more than that, but the illusion is strong.