[shell83]

I have something I like to call a fat gene....yes its an excuse but now im waaaaay over weight. MY dads's side of the family was ALLLLLL overweight, and he passed it on to me. yay. What does this mean if my obesity is partly because of genetics? Will it be harder for me to lose weight? any suggestions for getting past this?

[Amanda456]

hey Shell83

I know what you are going through, My dads side of his family are all over weight...I use to think that I was fat because of that side of the family but I realized that it was just what I was putting in my mouth and what I was NOT doing excerise wise. Having overweight relatives might have the tinniest effect of your weight loss from genetics but I really dont beleive that you are doomed and that you are going to be fat all your life,..Look at me...I started at 282 and I know weigh 233... All I really did was watch what I ate, No fried foods, etc etc and I started to excerise. Just because you have heavy relatives doesnt mean that you will lose more slowly or not at all.... Even with my weight loss, I got my dad off the couch and he is actully starting to walk more. You can do IT. Yes it might be hard in the begining, finding what really works for you but beleive me you will lose if you put the effort into it... Hope that helps!

Best Wishes,
Amanda

P.S if you ever want to PM me you are more then welcome!!

[steelymonica]

shell83,
My parents, brothers and sister are all overweight. My mom is probably close to 300 lbs. I don't really know, I have never asked and she has never told. It worries me because from her attitude it seems as if she is going to have to have a major catastrophe in order for her to open her eyes and make some changes. I am the thinest in my family weighing in at 181 on a 5'1" small frame.

Dr. Phil talked about the "fat gene" one day on his show.... this isn't a quote but basically what he said.

---Yes there is a fat gene. Does that mean you are going to be fat if you have this gene? No. All it means is that you are more prone to gain weight than other people. ---

Then it dawned on me. I have to treat this fat problem like an illness. For instance, there are several types of illnesses that can be controlled through nutrition and exercise. This is one of those illnesses. The fat gene is just an illness that needs to be controlled. If you had heart disease you would go to the doctor, he would tell you what you need to do and you would do it because you don't want to be sick, right?

Smile today... because you have already had your "check up" and you know what is making you "sick". Diagnosis is half the battle of any disease. Now we just have to LEARN to treat it.

Well, that's my 2penny take on it.
Have a happy day!
Sharon