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Like I said in the other thread, mostly I'm fat because I'm too lazy to be otherwise.
There are some psychological effects that promote unhealthy eating. First, I grew up relatively poor and eating out was a reward. I don't mean eating out at a nice restaurant, I mean going to McDonald's was something extraordinary. As an adult I carry that thinking with me; I'm flush with money so I can reward myself constantly.
Also, Lani and I come from different "home cooking" backgrounds. What I like to eat at home and what she likes to eat at home are different. And eating out frequently allows compromise on this front.
It is easy to say "well I was brought up eating crappy 'southern home cooking' home cooking where everything is fried, or covered with cheese or gravy (or all three)." I love these foods. But my parents aren't fat. My grandparents are fat. Part of it is certainly different metabolism but part of it is that while they do eat these foods all the time they don't eat them int eh quantities I do. They don't eat dinner at 9:30 p.m. like I frequently do. My grandparents eat dinner at 5:30 and then don't eat again until breakfast.
Another problem is that being fat snuck up on me. I carry my weight exceptionally well, and it wasn't until I got over 240 or so that I began to develop a big gut, and even as I approached 300 pounds (I've since made it back down to 250) people would routinely guess I weighed 80 pounds less.
Exercise is another story. For four years I paid $400 a month to see a personal trainer three times a week. I got fitter, I got stronger, but I didn't lose weight because I still ate terribly and I hate aerobic exercise. I can run a marathon (and have while being obese) but I do it at a speed that is more about muscle endurance (something I have in spades) than aerobic endurance (something I don't have at all).
In the end I'm fat when I don't want to be because I have been successful in life while fat. I've had good jobs. I've been married twice. I've got friends. I've even achieved athletics goals (five half marathons, one full marathon, making it to the top of Half Dome) all while being fat. There is really no outside pressure on me to not be fat (other than from Lani since she is worried about my health).
Yet, I'm just lazy. I don't want to cook my own food all the time (even though I am a very good cook). I don't want to get up early so that I can do some running (even though running is not difficult for me).
And this is why you'll never find me bitching about being fat. Despite the "difficulty" of losing weight, I have made the choices that result in me being fat and continuing to be fat. Even though I don't "want" to be fat.
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