I'm glad this topic has come up.  I'm not obese, but have gained 30 pounds
in the last 4 years.  In doing my own research, I came across research that
indicates that post-menopausal females usually weigh more than when they
were pre-menopausal.  This is because the human body is efficient at staying
alive and well.  After the body stops producing hormones at a certain rate,
we gain fat to increase our ability to store our hormones.  This occurs in
men, too, who at a certain age begin to gain weight because their bodies
don't produce hormones in the quantities produced at a younger age.  This is
only one reason we gain weight and have to struggle so hard to lose it.   Or
perhaps our screwed up diet has damaged our bodies in such a way that make
it impossible to lose excess weight; or we might be at that age when the
body requires extra fat; or we have the genes of a lineage that was adapted
to a particular climate that required increased fat storage.  It doesn't
matter to me the reason as much as accepting the way our particular body
works and looks.  I question our society's view of fat bodies.  We're real
people, not plastic playthings as presented in popular media.  I think that
anyone who has tried to maintain the healthiest diet possible, yet who
doesn't lose the fat, just has a body that is very efficient at holding onto
its fat resources.  The other thing to be concerned about is perception.
Our mind doesn't always view our body in the most objective way.  We may
think we're overweight when really we're at the right weight for our age and
circumstances, even though we're heavier than we were a few years ago.  In
some cases, perception is everything.

Thanks for your ears.


When it comes to diet, each individual must work within ones own
parameters.....  The paleo diet is good for all
but it's the "tweaks" that individualize.....
siobhan wrote:
:
I have one of the most
: > paleo and cleanest diets you'll ever see, and yet I am overweight.
>
:
:Todd wrote:
: That's right.  We need to be clear about this: Paleo does not
: cure obesity. There is sometimes a : tendency to "blame the victim"
:
: