I have compassion for anyone else who struggles with their weight.  I’ve struggled with my weight my whole life.  Its a painful struggle that I can understand, as I’ve been in extraordinary shape or obese over the years.  Going back and forth multiple times.

Here are some observations that I have noticed from my lifetime of waging the battle.

1) Our culture is very prejudice toward fat people.  People treat you differently if you are thin or fat.  Fat people are even prejudice toward other fat people.  People who have been thin all of their lives do not understand.

2) Our body and hunger is regulated by a complex mix of chemicals.  Chemicals have a huge impact on us, far more than people understand.  I think my body doesn’t have the right balance of chemicals and I am left hungry all the time no matter how much I eat.  Plus, I have a slow metabolism.

My doctor and I have tried medication that has helped to suppress my appetite.  I wish I could be on it all the time because when I am my thoughts about food are gone, and my body responds to food.  I eat some and I’m not hungry anymore.

People that say being obese is just a personal failure… I’d like to dump an overabudance of hunger chemical into your body and see how “strong” you are to resist the physical response.  Let’s slow down your metabolism too.

3) Food can be an addiction.  Anyone who has ever struggled with an addiction can understand what a person goes through that has that problem.  The difference with people addicted to food is they have to eat to survive.  Drug users don’t have to take drugs to live.  Alcoholics don’t have to drink to live etc.  Food addicts have to eat to survive, so they are constantly having to face the addiction.  Its like if the cocaine addict had to snort cocaine, or the heroine addict having to shoot up to live.  They can all stop cold turkey, but the food addict can’t.  The body doesn’t dump chemicals directly into your blood stream to force you to take drugs, drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco.

4) From a Christian perspective, I’ve studied how God designed us.  He originally designed us to eat fruits and vegetables.    It is very interesting that fruits and vegetables have all of the vitamins, nutrients, protein, and carbs that we need to survive.  We don’t need anything else.  All we need to eat are fruits, vegetables, and water.

It wasn’t until Noah’s time that God altered it to include meat.  In Genesis 9:3 God says, “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.”

So what should we eat?  Fruits, vegetables, and meat.  God, who is our designer, told us exactly what we should eat.  Look at the example of Daniel and the diet he asked for when they were taken to Babylon in Daniel 1:8-16.  They were in better health and even looked better than the others who ate regular food after ten days.  The diet?  Vegetables and water.

5)  God also wants us to be physically active.  He proclaimed that we are to work for 6 days and rest 1.  Obviously that was physical work to survive like hunting, farming, and ranching.  Not that we are only to do that.  The proof is when we are physically active we get stronger.  When we are not physically active our body deteriorates.

6) There are foods that have a negative impact on our body.  Anything that causes our insulin levels to rise are not good for us.  White bread, potatoes, white rice, pasta… processed foods etc (all “empty” calories) will cause our insulin levels to rise, which from what I’ve studied so far makes us extra hungry and packs on the pounds.  If insulin levels rise I believe that has an impact on our hunger chemicals because the body knows we are not getting the nutrition and vitamins we need.  So it makes us hungry as the body craves what it needs to be healthy.

7)  Our job is to feed to the body healthy food.  From what I studied, that also causes a chemical reaction so we feel full and the body will use its reserves (fat) because it knows that it’s currently getting what it needs.

8) To lose weight we have to get proper sleep.  My doctor put me on a CPAP machine so I don’t snore.  Snoring, sleep apnea, and sleep apoxia causes bad medical problems and one is that the body has a hard time losing weight.  Has something to do with chemicals again.  My doctor said that I probably have had snoring problems my whole life and weight gain only makes it worse.  I’ll be using my CPAP skinny or fat.

9) There is a documentary called Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.  The fellow is all about eating healthy food.  He juices vegetables and fruits to get all those nutrients and what not.  He lost a ton of weight, and he helped a guy lose a tremendous amount of weight.  Plus, the both had a medical condition that went away when they were eating right.  They both got off the medication they were on.  I don’t recommend only juicing, but it is good too.

10) Calories do matter, and I work hard to stay away from “empty” calories.

11) Diet is 90% of the battle.  Exercise supplements.

Of course, I always refer people to their doctors on health issues and doing things.

All of these observations are things I do.  I am healthy and losing weight everyday.  My body craves vegetables, fruits, and super foods now.  I drink water and fruit juices, and I am exercising at least 30 minutes a day.  Light weight lifting is good too.  I am doing my best to stay away from unhealthy foods, especially soft drinks that are nothing but chemicals and refined sugar.

Eat right and exercise.  That is how you get healthy.  Fad diets and all the rest are not helpful.

These are just observations.  I’m not a doctor or nutritionist.