read this if you are FAT!!!

http://www.fatnutritionist.com/

She is whip smart. Her face is so cute. She is SO worth reading. Thanks PC for informing me of Michelle's existence a few weeks back.

It turns out, I am a metabolically healthy fat person. My blood pressure is low - at times too low. My blood sugar level is excellent. All my lipid levels are within the norm. After I exercise, my heart rate falls very rapidly, a sign of cardiovascular health. I am on my feet a lot, I use public transit in place of a car. I eat a healthy diet. Yet, I am fat. "As of Jul 14th, 2012, your BMI was 31.45", says my calorie counting app. That's not overweight, that is obese. And I have stomach fat, which is especially bad. But I feel great (when not depressed or super agitated).

Such metabolically healthy fat people exist. Overweight elderly outlive normal and obese elderly in a large scientific study. Obesity is not necessarily a death sentence. Obesity is also a misnomer - obese people do not necessarily eat more than the thin people. Calories in, calories out hypothesis is not necessarily right. Health comes at every size. Diets are a surefire way to ADD ON pounds (kilos). In terms of health, weight fluctuations are worse than weight itself. I have just rattled off a list of things I have learned from Michelle's blog and from the articles/evidence she reviews. I invite you to explore for yourself, especially the evidence.

My response to this acquired knowledge and inspiration was to stop calorie counting. And I am not saying calorie counting is a bad thing, it is just that I already knew the calorie content of foods by heart, after two years of calorie counting. At first, calorie counting helped me lose weight, but then I gained everything back, so calorie counting is not a magic bullet.

I am no longer weighing food. I do not worry about remembering what I have eaten (I was calorie counting on Livestrong.com which does not offer an android app). I have more free time. I am not counting exercise to the minute - I am just making sure to walk no less than 45 minutes a day on most days, often 60 mins. I will probably get a pedometer as Dark Heart recommended and then I would not have to keep a tab of minutes in my head - the thing will do the counting for me.

I would still recommend a trial of calorie counting for someone who has never done it; it is especially good for meal planning. So for educational purposes, to learn about portions, sure, but all your life? How boring. The goal should be to rely on the feeling of satiety and not numbers to tell us if we have eaten enough. I feel liberated now that I do not count exactly 10 walnut halves for a portion, but just grab a handful at will.

That's good you can get past it but my pro zyprexa weight was 100 lbs I'm now 145 and I simply can't get past it I'm only 28 and I feel like a huge blob my own reflection disgusts me and contributes hugely to my depression. I would probably feel different if the meds would have actually helped me even a little but they didn't and so far nothing has helped my bipolar so I'm fat and insane

Um, your 145 lbs after gaining 100?

If your meds are not working or giving you side effects that outweigh the benefits (pun?) Then why do you take them?

I meant my pre-weight was 100 sorry heads fuzzy my psychiatrist refused to change my meds until I became obese now I'm stuck on a diet to lose the lbs and have been on many medications since that haven't worked they started me on abilify a few weeks ago but that hasn't kicked in yet and thank god it hasn't made me hungry but the downside is barely 2 hours sleep a night and that's with taking zopiclone. If I was 20lbs over my starting weight and sane I could be happy but not at this weight

Get a new psychiatrist and don't be so trusting. Doctors are just mechanics. If the meds are that bad, refuse to take 'em. If you absolutely must be medicated, your doctor will give you something else.

...yep I'm pleased for you hamster!...grab them there walnuts!...shut your eyes and grab them...it's nuts to count nuts!

I'm not fat but part of me is a bit yep...I have a belly, it's an Aussie bloke thing

(walnuts...are they like from walmart?)

Since that experiance I'm straight with her if I don't like it or it doesn't work after a few months I come off it. She wants to put me on a mood stabilizer now so I've told her I want lamictal as I've heard that's the best one to tackle the depressive episodes. I refuse to be her guinea pig any more I've also asked for cipralex as an AD as its worked wonders with my partners social anxiety disorder but that's only if I need that extra push out of the depression

Good for you. I hate how you have to be difficult with some people just to be treated like a human being!

Lol tell me about it I was so passive before but with them you have to be assertive to get anywhere. Just hope you're keeping ok

I agree, all the great working drugs cause such weight gain its not fair, depression is the hardest then we look in the mirror and see some "over weight" person looking back at you. I'm not please or happy. Some days I just want to stop them all just to loose the weight.

I havent gained weight from any of my drugs but im just fat I was so fat before its hard to tell. lol My doc said he wont put me on anything that causes weight gain because of my already incredible fatness.

There is a lot of research going on now to figure out certain things about the differences in why people react differntly to the same diet. Why it's so hard to lose weight, etc. Well, we have a rep who works for an insulin company. He works with a super smart endocrinologist who is studying GLP1 inhibitors which, is beyond me a bit, but basically has something to do with telling your body that you're full. Her research has led to researching the microbes that live in your stomach and intenstines and how they break down food.

One thing they've discovered is that it's not just 'metabolism' necessarily, but that some people have lazy microbes that function the way science tells us. Other people have super hero microbes that can eat through anything, including non-soluable fiber which is supposedly impossible to digest. These super hero microbes are able to get nutrition and energy out of everything, which leads to excess in the body, wich leads to being overweight.

I'm guessing it has something to do with survival. Remember it wasn't that long ago where being heavier was considered sexy because it meant you weren't starving to death. Anyway, I will find out the name of the researcher the next time I see the rep and post it.

no, walnuts are from my local farmers' market and I keep them at the fridge. Walnuts from walmart are already rancid, I am sure. I absolutely love your pun about counting nuts.

yep I'm a punny guy hamster...

oh dear!

hey aint it just great when you get to crack one...a walnut out of it's shell and it's all in one piece!...

I mean how cool is that?

The big trouble is, you sometimes canNOT lose it. I have been off Zyprexa forever, the weight is still with me

...I've looked around and despite all the dumb jargon!

nobody on either side of medicalism has a clue to why antipsychotics make people bigger..fatter...softer...rounder...or whatever?

hamster you said you were like a gymnast yeah

I have been like a tall kalahari bushman for as long as I can remember but now I have to wear shorts because my jeans don't fit.

nobody knows....

different bodies do different things with the surplus....

what is it?...."oh I'm not psychotic no more I need to be warmer?"....wtf?

anyway I'm just rambling I was just interested in side effects and curious at the intellectual defelctions the medical world had to offer...

I like my belly and my butt....so be it

I can totally relate. I am taking Cymbalta, Lithium, Lamictal and Trazadone. I have gained 45 pounds and absolutely hate myself. I want to go off my meds to lose some weight, but I am afraid to at the same time. I also think my meds are no longer working. I have been feeling very depressed lately and that usually indicates its time for a med change. I was diagnosed bipolar 11 years ago and I have been on the current coctail for several years. I am feeling very hopeless and a big part of that is not being able to lose weight. Why on earth would these med manufacturers think it was a good idea to make a depressed person fat? You go to the doc and tell them you feel hopeless, tired, low self-esteem, unsociable, etc. and their answer is "here let me give you a pill to make you fat, too." Because that'll help!

So the question is, what do we do?

I have read about it too in the evidence section on Michelle's blog. Looking forward to your next post!

I'm in the vicious circle of gaining and losing lately its been all up. When I get hypo-manic, I have no appetite and I am so busy being a spaz that I don't have time to eat and I don't think about it. When I'm depressed (now) all I do is eat.

My primary doctor told me I would be healthier if I just stayed at 1 weight even if its on the high side as its more unhealthy to yo yo.

And about the nuts, yes its great to crack on and have it come out whole it never seems to work with brazil nuts which I really like and also are supposed to be good for you as they contain selenium. Pistachios are very satisfying and they're already half cracked.

My lifestyle keeps me from gaining too much because I am on my feet wandering the beauifully disgusting city of mine. I find it really comforting to take public transit because it gets me where I need to be. Without it I would gain weight. My bf and I gained weight the month I had a car before it wrecked...lmao

If I had a car I think my wandering spirit would nt be so strong.

Counting calories helped me. It mainly helped with portion control. I need to start again. Q.Q

I lost 4 stone in a year and I haven't put it back on.
How?

Well. I just started going out more - staying in my feet; doing household chores instead of sitting around bored; making social arrangements for every day. And I kept an eye on what I was eating but didn't obsessively watch it.

If you want to lose weight, it's simple: get plenty of exercise and just don't overeat.

RB ♥

According to Michelle, quoted in the OP, your GP is right on.