Losing weight is genetic..so I can't lose it?
 

That is what someone told me today. Now, I'm aware that weight loss and genetics go hand in hand together, but does that mean when i'm at goal I'm not gonna look any different? |: I'm gonna still have this horrendous tummy hang? I do weights every other day so I'm tightening while I lose, but will I not be able to LOSE it?

That is ridiculous! Of course you can lose weight! What idiot told you that!?

Whoever told you that is a total idiot. Losing weight has zero to do with genetics; it has to do with hard work and determination. The only genetic aspect to weight is that if obesity runs in your family, you obviously have a higher risk of experiencing it yourself. But I repeat: GENETICS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH LOSING WEIGHT.

Don't let the ill-informed opinion of one idiot make you feel as though losing weight is impossible. It isn't. I know it sounds cliched, but if *I* could do it, anyone can. And that includes you. You just have to want it bad enough to be willing to work for it!

Have you ever seen a healthy weight person with horrendous tummy hang? I know I haven't. It may take some time for your skin to recover from the weight loss, or it may never fully recover. You might always carry more weight in you stomach than other areas; it will still be much smaller than it is now. But, you can lose weight, get fit, and be happy with the body you end up in.

Do you mean body proportions (because I think that that is what that person means)- like if your body will still be proportionally bigger in the tummy vs your other body parts? Some parts will be slower to lose than others due to where we put the weight. For me its my legs.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're saying but genetics plays a huge role. It doesn't mean one can't lose weight but it does mean that it might be harder for some than others. Off the top of my head here are several - I'm certain there are many more.

BMR - some people have a higher metabolism, others lower.

How fast one's body adapts to reduced calories.

Insulin sensativity varies amoung individuals.

Leptin sensativity varies.

Even will power has a genetic component.

I don't mean to be insensative to your emotions but do you believe everything you hear? Do you honestly think there are people who could be dropped on a desert island with only fresh water and no way to get food and they would remain fat?

As for your stomach - consider yourself lucky. You're young. Odds are high that your skin will tighten up and you will lose it.

Well, if the show Lost teaches us anything, nope. Hurley seemed the same size the entire time. :p

This is definitely true. My legs will never be skinny like my sister's legs. I got my mother's legs, she got my father's legs. :p But, while they stay proportionately on the larger size, they do get smaller and look shapely rather than chubby as I lose weight and get fitter.

I suspect that genetics is part of the equation and can make weight loss more difficcult. Since suspecting a genetic component to my own weight loss (I'm adopted and the only person in my immediate or extended familyy to have had a weight problem as a child or young adult, and the only woman to exceed 200 lbs before the age of 30 (and I did so before 7th grade) and the only person to exceed 275 lbs ever (let alone almost 400).

None of my siblings' children have been overweight either. Being raised in the same family and food environment, it does make me wonder what my bio-parents look like.

Body weight is an interaction between environment and genetics. When I thought that "it didn't matter," I didn't understand why I had to work so much harder than everyone else seemed to. When I realized that the deck might be stacked against me, it made me realize that I had to work harder and smarter than everyone else. I had to experiment to find what worked for me, because what worked for other people and what people said would work for me, didn't always.

Whether it's genetics, a physical defect, or a mental one that makes me super-crazy-hungry on a high-carb diet, and makes it impossible for me to keep certain carbohydrates in my home, it doesn't really matter. I had to learn that I couldn't "do" moderation like many people could (or said I should be able to).

There is no "shoulds" when it comes to weight loss, you have to find what works for you, even if it seems like a bad idea to other people.

I have a hard time accepting the fact that I have to eat as low-carb as I do, because I've always been opposed to low-carb diets. If I had realized that a low (but not too low) carbohydrate diet was the only plan that worked for me without causing such rabid hunger that I spent every hour obsessing over the food I couldn't eat.

Controlling carbs has controlled the rabid-hunger, and I almost didn't discover that, because I thought that all diets were the same and all that mattered was eating less and moving more (that I couldn't seem to DO that until I found a way to control the hunger doesn't seem to matter to anyone but me).

One day there may be a genetic test that will help people before the weight becomes an issue, or maybe help them find the best diet without having to go through the trial and error that we're all left with now.

I think I may have had blood sugar issues for my whole life (and maybe one day there'll be a genetic test for it). For as long as I can remember I haven't been able to eat sweet foods for breakfast without getting sick. Now I recognize that as a blood sugar issue. It's just a guess, but I think one day there will be a genetic test that will help people find the right diet and exercise program for their genetic traits, but until then trial and error is all we've got.

We can't change our genetics and we don't yet have treatment options designed to deal with the genetic aspect of weight loss, but that doesn't mean it's hopeless, it just means that if it feels like other people seem to find it easier to maintain a healthy weight, you just might be right.

I'd also really suggest experimenting with different styles of eating, especially when it comes to the percentage and types of carbs in your diet.

I never would have imagined I could lose weight without constant, gnawing, torturous 24/7 hunger, until I discovered that on 3000 of high-carb eating, I was far hungrier than on 1500 or even 1000 calories of low-carb eating. On super low-carb I have no hunger, but I also have other unpleasant side effects, so I've had to find a middle ground.

Oddly though I didn't find a lot of help in finding a middle ground (at least not the specific kind of middle ground that I needed). I had to invent my own plan to deal with the problems I was able to identify.

To succeed, many of us have to become lab rat and scientist (which doesn't make for good science, but it's really all that's available when the "common wisdom" doesn't work).

If the popular advice does work for you, more power to you, but if it doesn't you just have to keep experimenting until you find what does work for you. Genetics can make that search longer and harder, but it doesn't make the path untravelable.

My whole immediate family is overweight. I was told the following things growing up:

I actually probably have a small/medium build...but I'm not sure. I wear a size 0 (and I eat over 2000 calories a day) and I realize I was just eating too much. I know it's hard when you're a kid and adults say something to you (even when you're in your late teens) but it's worth it to question what they say...because I certainly wouldn't be where I am otherwise.

Some of us are more prone to different conditions due to our genetic makeup. That doesn't mean we can't overcome obesity. It only means we have to be more diligent in keeping our "fat genes" from taking over.

Never give up.

You will not always look this way! You won't be just a smaller version of where you are now!

I think, however, that thanks to our DNA (as others have pointed out) there will always be "problem areas" and tendencies. Our body shapes are just as they are.

I have always had a tummy pooch. Skinny or fat, I've had that pooch. I've never been the flat tummied beach beauty. My c-section only enhanced it. I'm hoping that my level of fitness will shrink my tummy, and flatten it more, but I doubt it will ever really go away. I don't think I'll ever be totally flat tummied in this lifetime.

However, even if you keep your tummy because your genes dictate it's presence, if lose the weight, and you work hard, and you get in shape, it's not going to be this big blubbery fold. You will shrink, and tighten and look good. I don't know how old you are, but you look young, and that's a bonus!

Don't worry. Keep working hard. The results are worth it!

No matter what role genetics plays in our weight issues it's the one thing we can't change. Don't let it frustrate you or stop you in your efforts to reach your goal! You are doing great so far so continue to focus on the things you can change like food and exercise.

You will look very different at goal. Time is on your side!

Genetics plays a role in your body shape. For example, if your entire family is around 5'5" - it's a good chance you will be too. If all the women in your family have big hips, chances are you will too.

Environment probably plays a bigger role then genetics, especially since you are still in high school and living at home. If you're entire family overeats bad food at home....chances are you will too.

But you've already proven you're your own person - by the amount of weight you've already lost!

It's a struggle, no doubt, but YOU have the ultimate choice on how your body looks - within reason. You probably can't (or want to be) a 4'9" 98lb person, but you CAN be a 5'4" 150lb person.

Will you have saggy skin on your belly after you've lost weight? No one knows really. If you do, I guarantee you, you can hide it. Wouldn't you rather be 150lbs with a slightly flabby belly then where you are now?

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