You never see an obese 70 year old

After a couple of years eating a mostly plant based diet, with some chicken and fish now and then, and regular use of dairy, The Wifester and I decided last month to go all vegetarian, she's actually doing vegan, that's a bit much for me right now, but maybe I'll try to aim for it in the future *baby steps*. I'm not sure I can give up cheese, though. Mmmmmm cheese...
But I digress.

This all came about after watching Forks Over Knives. If you haven't seen it, it's quite compelling! I even switched from dairy milk to coconut milk for my coffee. I'm pleasantly surprised by that one!

Anyway, I am really struggling with losing weight, even on the plant based diet. And, I'm embarassed to admit, that I actually struggle to get enough exercise because my weight and size makes it so difficult for me to have the stamina I had even just a year ago. I am considering weight loss surgery (lap band).

Even on the mostly plant based diet, I've fluctuated over the last year, losing 30 lbs, then gaining 45...

I'm 41 years old now, and I've struggled with my weight my entire life. I was a fat toddler, a fat grade schooler, a fat middle and high schooler, and now I'm a fat adult. I worry that won't live long enough to be a fat senior citizen.

I feel like if I could just lose enough weight to have more energy and more mobility, I would be able to exercise more and help myself lose more weight. I struggle with the guilt of "taking the easy way out" on this, but I also feel like my life is dependent upon me being healthier and losing this dangerous weight. What are your honest thoughts on that?

Are you an apple or a pear?

I was reading some articles today about some research that scientist have been doing on how fat stores in our bodies. Basically, they have found that the fat in your butt and hips is "good" fat, it helps fight heart disease,lowers risk of increased weight gain, and other benefits. While, as we've known for some time, belly fat is bad, it contributes to heart disease and cancer, it is associated with higher rates of obesity and diabetes. The other interesting thing I read was that they are finding, at least in lab animals, that certain chemicals found in the lining of microwave popcorn, boat paint,plastic food wrappers, and as fungicide for crops are causing or contributing to obesity. The wacky thing that happens, in the short version, is that when the pregnant mom is exposed to these chemicals, even in tiny amounts, while the fetus is developing, it causes a disturbace of the endocrine system in the fetus, which is the system that helps us to maintain our metabolism. Our metabolism, if you don't know plays a major role in our energy level and subsequently, our weight. They see that the offspring of these exposed animals are small at birth, but end up gaining signifigant weight later, and are more likely to become obese, even though they eat and exercise the same amount as unexposed offspring of unexposed mothers.
Very interesting.

Something else I picked up on... why is it that when they talk about body types, skinny body types get terms like "hourglass", and "athletic" while fat body types get defined by food-terms like "apple" and "pear". That's just an unnecessary jab, if you ask me.