Weight looks different on everyone

July 24, 2011 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: My mother is 38 years old, weighs 128 pounds and is 5-foot-9. I am 16 years old, weight 135 pounds and am 5-foot-6. She looks bigger than me and does not fit into my clothes, so why do I weigh more than she does?

DEAR READER: Two people of the same weight can look drastically different. One pound of muscle is smaller than one pound of fat, so it is possible for someone muscular to weigh more than an individual of the same size who isn’t as muscular. Perhaps you are simply more muscular than she.
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Daily Column

March 25, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
I have been reading your column for many years and have a great deal of respect for your advice. I think your diet of no sugar and no flour is perhaps the best way to lose weight, but my problem is to lose weight in the right places. Does it matter where the calories come from where the weight goes? I am 81 years old, 5’3” tall, and weigh 125-130 pounds. I don’t feel that I need to lose much, but every ounce I eat seems to settle on my belly and hips.

My size 8-10 clothes still fit but they look so different with my belly. I read constantly about losing belly fat in three to five weeks. Can I lose weight in a particular area of my body by eating a different diet? I love carbohydrates, always have, and find it difficult to give them up. I would, however, if I thought it would help. While I do overindulge at times, I most often keep that habit to a minimum.

Please help me with this troubling situation. I will thank you forever if you can give me some sane advice.

DEAR READER:
First, I must commend you on being 81 years old and weighing what you do. Many individuals your age — men and women — lose interest in their looks and how they present to the public.

In all likelihood, your prominent abdomen is not caused by the type of food you eat. Your intake of calories from specific foods will not result in weight distribution to an area of your body of which you approve or disapprove. Consider your whole body; it’s unlikely you can gain weight in your arms or legs, shoulders or ankles. By the process of elimination, an abdomen is a natural location for weight to accumulate. I surmise you probably do not exercise as much and are not as active as you once were. This alone can lead to weight in areas where you don’t want it to be.

You don’t mention any medical conditions that would lead to the change in your stature. A heart condition, arthritis, or hypertension might restrict you somewhat, but mild exercise might help all of the diagnoses I’ve mentioned. If you have a diagnosis of concern, I would suggest you speak with your primary care physician for his or her direction on appropriate options.

Then, if your doctor is in agreement, you might consider a walk around the block each day, modified sit-ups, or yoga. In fact, if you have a health club or nursing association in your neighborhood, the personnel there can direct you as to appropriate exercise. Remember to begin slowly and work up to a comfortable program.
When all is said and done, you just might feel better and will find those size 8-10 dresses fit better in the long run. Good luck.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “A Strategy for Losing Weight”. Other readers who would like a copy should send a self-addressed, stamped, number 10 envelope and $2 to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.

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Sunday Column

March 16, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
I hope you can give me an answer to my problem which is about to drive me nuts!

I am a 50-year-old male, 5’9” tall, somewhat well muscled yet, have a 36” waist, and weigh 190 pounds. I drink alcohol on occasion, never smoked, have no health problems and take no medication. My daily diet consists of coffee and one cookie in the morning, water and a sandwich with mustard for lunch, and a well-balanced supper.

I don’t use sugar in my coffee or tea. I don’t drink soda or sugary juices and don’t eat iced cream, baked goods, chips, junk or fast food.

I work at a seasonal job doing turf maintenance from April until the end of October. In that time, I will lose ½ to ¾ pound each week until I get laid off in October. During November my weight loss levels off and is maintained easily because I am quite active outdoors hunting and the like. Sometimes I’ll lose a pound or two during that time. Then comes December! I’ll gain a pound per day (almost all belly fat) for the first two weeks and then will gain between two and five pounds more the last two weeks. The weight gain then stops and I have to work like heck to get it off. This has been going on for almost ten years and only happens in December. Nothing in my diet changes. In fact, the only change in my lifestyle is that I do not get up every day at 4:30 AM. Otherwise, I’m just as active as when I’m working.

Is it possible that a genetic or chemical trigger is set off in me because of the shortness of daylight or could it be something else? I’m ready to explode because I’m so frustrated. I wish I could skip December altogether or go into hibernation.

DEAR READER:
A person will ordinarily gain weight when the caloric input exceeds the caloric needs. Your conscientious approach to a healthful lifestyle is remarkable; in fact, your caloric intake is far from being extreme. I’m tempted to blame your “belly fat” on stress, a condition that causes increased waistlines for most of us. With your obvious concern about your end-of-year annual weight gain, you may enter December with trepidation and your system may adversely react and cause you to store excess fat despite your diet and activity level.

Do you attend many family or community parties during the holidays that might provide empty calories? If not, perhaps something as simple as additional coffee ingested daily during the winter months might slow your calorie consumption. To explore this possibility you may want to write down everything you eat and drink in December, as well as your exercise habits, to determine if there is an alteration in your daily routine. Perhaps you are consuming more or are less active than you think. By keeping a journal you can go back and review it. You may even find a pattern of which you were completely unaware.

I recommend that you address your concerns with your family physician. For instance, you may want to have your metabolism checked with a thyroid blood test. In fact, after taking your history, your physician might consider other blood tests that may provide the missing pieces to your puzzling weight gain. At the very least, your doctor can follow your weight loss/gain to identify any reasonable cause for it.

It appears that you are healthy. Your weight depends on calories. This relation can have a genetic basis. Were either of your parents or your siblings troubled by inexplicable weight alterations? If so, treatment for your pattern would be different. Maybe it’s time to relax and not be perturbed by your modest winter alterations. What you gain in December is basically what you are losing in the summer. I don’t believe you need to worry about your loss/gain pattern. However, your family physician can help you.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “A Strategy for Losing Weight”. Other readers who would like a copy should send a self-addressed, stamped number 10 envelope and $2 to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.

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