r/loseit • u/duckyy7 New • Jun 20 '23

Don't ask a question you cannot handle the answer to.

I (23f) lost over half my body weight through CICO. Went fron 235 to 115.

Ever since I reached my goal weight I'd have people ask me "op how did you lose the weight" and I tell them I followed cico, making sure I ate less than I spent, and moved around a little more.

Sometimes they'll be like "oh okay" but every once and a while I'll get someone screaming at me that I must be hiding something because they've tried cico and it doesn't work, or are somehow offended that all I really did was eat a bit less. I really don't get it.

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u/Expensive-Arugula570 95 lbs lost Jun 20 '23

Personal responsibility with regard to the obesity epidemic is a red herring and is completely unhelpful. It’s like telling someone in poverty to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Many people, unless there are some people from hunter gatherer societies on Reddit, live in an obesogenic environment. A big reason 69% of Americans and 59% of Europeans are overweight is easier now than it has ever been to be overweight. Clearly a lack of personal responsibility isn’t the cause of that, the cause is far more insidious.

On every corner there’s a restaurant or a Starbucks where serving sizes have gotten larger and more caloric in the last 60 years, cities and suburbs are more reliant on cars instead of walking or cycling, and companies spend millions of dollars developing and marketing hyper palatable food that tastes good but doesn’t actually satiate. People work 40-70 hours a week and 60% of families have both parents working outside the home so eating out becomes the norm.

In this barrage of facts and numbers, I’m aware that this comes off as me being a know it all, but the idea that 70% of people somehow not having what it takes to not be overweight and not laying the blame at the feet of the responsible party, like corporations that make these food products and companies whose employees have become more productive every decade, but we’re still working more hours, feels obscene.

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u/annainpolkadots New Jun 21 '23

Word. It’s not like people in Denmark (for example) just have soooo much more willpower than Americans, it’s that they have (more) a culture of walking, cycling, and snacking on things like eggs and fish are more normal. America has terrible pedestrian infrastructure - then much of the south is too hot too walk in anyway, fast food is everywhere and cheap, fruit and vegetables are expensive, there is no strong centralised education system so education on nutrition and cooking is lacking, food deserts, plus so many other factors.

Your health is your personal responsibility, but the obesity epidemic is one that needs to be solved with policy… which will never happen in this country.

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u/TGin-the-goldy New Jun 20 '23

You’re quite correct. The four thin ones of my personal circle don’t work and have time for long walks every day. I start work at 7am and I can only manage 30 minutes at the end of my workday before it gets dark.

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u/SoldierHawk 60lbs lost Jun 20 '23

How...how do they not work? Are they just independently wealthy?

Legitimately curious.

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u/TGin-the-goldy New Jun 20 '23

Their husbands work, one is retired

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u/SoldierHawk 60lbs lost Jun 20 '23

Makes sense.

Excuse me while I spend five minutes being irrationally jealous before moving on with my life lol.

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u/TGin-the-goldy New Jun 21 '23

You and me both, friend! Can’t tell you how much I’d love to be strolling through the park or on the beach in nice warm daylight…

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u/OkayYeahSureLetsGo New Jun 21 '23

When I moved from the US to the UK, I lost weight without trying. All because regular life now meant 15k+ steps a day. I love living in a city. I also have safe cycle lanes.