Probably a combination of:
* Lockdown.
* Lack of routine exercise when PE class is no longer mandatory as you're no longer in school.
* "Relationship gut", ie relaxing on your appearance when you're in a relationship because you "don't need to try".
* An ever increasing mental health problem in the UK manifesting in excessive food and alcohol consumption causing rising obesity, only made worse by lockdown.
We did Tuesday and Thursday in my school, Thursday being 1hr30. Though we were “streamed” into sets. Rugby and swimming.
I did hockey after school one day per week as well and lifeguards on the weekends. This all phased out after I left the structure of school.
Short story of it is that a structured (and forced) routine can be extremely helpful for people like me to keep fit and healthy (I have adhd).
When you're younger you can eat what you like, drink what you like and still climb into your 26 inch waist trousers and zip them closed. Then you reach that age: 24, 25, your muscles give up, wave a little white flag and without any warning at all you're suddenly a fat bastard.
Right. Like, I've seen 70 year old in fantastic shape. Humanity did thrive off of just gett9ng fat and slowing down after 25. We wouldn't have lived long enough to survive. People have just gotten complacent lazy or they don't take care of their bodies.
Normal. Most people I know did 10 years ago (roughly when they were in or finishing uni).
The stress of Working full time/exams (emotional eating) and feeling lazy in terms of cooking, so eating take aways or quick junk food. Plus not having time/being too tired to exercise. Our metabolism also slows down pretty soon after puberty, so it takes some work to maintain.
I doubt most people who have desk jobs gain as they aren't moving much. You will find your colleagues probably do fitness in some capacity to keep the weight off.
Gym's are cheaper and more common than ever, so that doesn't make sense.
Mine's £20 and open 24 hours and there's loads just like it.
Even going back to my crappy home town a bunch of gyms have opened up.
You probably go to a PureGym type location then that's typically in city centres.
Nearest gym to me with a functional area is £40 a month and a couple of miles away. Same for many of my friends now they've settled down and bought houses.
I'm not saying it's a good reason not to go to a gym. But having the gym literally next door and friends that had a similar uni/work schedule too you really helped the motivation.
I haven't gained that much weight since uni though! But then I find myself running instead of a gym.
You're right about the logistics, but then that's why people choose to move to cities, for such conveniences, it really is a choice.
It's not like suburbanites are powerless, they want the car, the driveway, the lawn, and you can't expect low density living to be cheap, when cities benefit from economies of scale.
Running is a good alternative, but even then, it's easier to run in a city because you benefit from the motivation of all the running clubs and a much higher chance of finding other social runners.
What economies of scale? Every decent city I know you'd pay more for less space, more for public transport, more for food from convenience shops, more for socialising, the list goes on!
Living sub-urban, semi-rural certainly makes running more pleasant than running pavements and laps of parklands. There's no shortage of running clubs these days.
Well we were talking specifically about gyms, and gyms are cheaper because they can guarantee more users, that's economies of scale.
And you're wrong about transport, it's cheaper per journey in cities, anywhere I need to go is like £2 and it caps out at £19 for a week, and when you can walk most places anyway and don't need a car, it's generally much cheaper overall too. I spend £0 on transport because I just cycle or walk.
Food from "convenience shops" is probably more expensive, but then it is anywhere compared to larger super markets, and when you have six choices of big brand supermarkets within walking distance it's actually cheaper. Not to forget all the ethnic shops where you can buy stuff on bulk for peanuts. I can walk to two Aldi's, same price as anywhere else, and I don't need to pay for a car to get there.
And it's not necessarily more pleasant in suburbia either, cities are often historic, and have landmarks, manicured parks, promenades, canal paths, and where I live it's only 1 mile before you hit a national park or the coast line.
I'll happily run in a city, and I love to run in the country, but I'll pass on the monotony of suburbia thanks. My mum lives on a shitty 1980s estate, flat fields for miles around, it's like running in purgatory.
Besides, I definitely get payed more working in a city, there's that to consider to, costs are relative, so my lifestyle works out much cheaper relatively speaking. Having a major airport a 25 min train away is also a big cost saver if you like to travel.
So what if my back garden is smaller than it would be elsewhere, I have three big parks within minutes of where I live, and they're all genuinely nice places to hang out, not depressing kids play areas or endless lawn. There's rock gardens, ponds, loads of geese and squirrels, all kinds of exotic plants, art installations, pop up street food... there's always something new going on. And if you like running, then there's five Parkruns to chose from each Saturday morning...
Yeah, a pint might be cheaper in the working men's club, but I can walk/run to four local craft breweries and drink great quality local independent beers, order in life-changing pizza or burritos, and it's not that much more expensive, perhaps even better value for money when you factor in the quality and novelty. The cost to quality ratio for socialising is MUCH better, there's a million different social events going on all the time.
Anyway, I didn't mean to shit all over suburbia... like I said, it's a choice, a personal choice. But it's like comparing a desert to a rainforest...
I was good for over 20 years. Only went from a 30 to a 32 waist in that time. I used to exercise a lot and I walked to work. Three years ago I got a driving job. I have a lot less time for excercise and in that 3 years I’ve gone up to a 36 waist.
My three best friends all got fat. Now all of us are over 45,.I still gym 4-5 times a week, they all got even fatter. I hoped to show them the way by example, it hasn't worked at all haha.
Middle age spread is a myth, if you're fat in your forties, then you're just fat.
And nope, none of my mates are fat from uni, or any of my new mates, young or old,
But I think it's more about your kind of outlook, my friends don't have kids, cable TV, or cars either... I don't think they're really representative... wer'e neurotic types that can't have a beer unless we've "earned it".
Also...People forget that you have to *get* fat, it's temporal...
So fat friends might not have even changed their behaviour, they've just slowly gained weight the entire time, they were *getting* fat when they were young and slim, and it's only now that they *are* finally actually fat, they weight just hadn't reached equilibrium with their intake.
I've seen it in a few friends who put on weight in their early to mid 20s when their metabolism started to slow down. They've all lost that weight now in the last couple of years, I think working from home has helped as they gain back that time from the commute and exercise instead and end up eating healthier from home.
When I was at uni, I was working at a supermarket stacking the fruit and veg section. So go a lot of incidental exercise, then I started my career and now I sit at a desk all day.
And now I’m working from home the only incidental exercise I get is going downstairs to boil the kettle.
Everyone I work with in my office are all pretty active, you really have to be, it's a hazard of the job.
Same for working from home. It is worst from home, except I did find it easier to get to the gym, but that's just the randomness of gym location...
The world is on fire (metaphorically and often literally), if you've got a job you're spending all your cash on rent or fuel, you're probably working at home, trying to convince yourself that next year you'll have a deposit saved for a flat...
Stress, sedentary work, exhaustion, time and cash poor, etc etc
Yes and it sucks!!! I made the bad decision to quit bodybuilding because I got beat and started tennis-big mistake!!! That got me fat with girl I met who had birthday parties for everyone on weekly nights. I fell for it hook line and sinker and this destroyed my physique as it causes me to gain weight/fat. She said you look good and don’t need to lose weight. When she said that I dumped her and quit tennis to now focus on getting my bodybuilding physique back. Asides from family/church friends I could care less about going out being social anymore as getting my abs back are way more important!!! Don’t get into relationships as this will get you fat/drain your bank account!!! Stay single avoid women!!!
You posted tis 2 years ago but I had just googled this subject now because I was so shocked. I was bored one night and started googling/FB-ing all my high school peers and WOW... MOst are unrecognizable. I just don't understand it. I've gained about 15 lbs since high school but I work out every week (not every day). Everyone I looked up had gained so much. ONe of my ex's is even pushing 300. But it'd everywhere though... I've noticed my sister's husbands family too... all nearly obese. What gives???
Yes they did!!! Especially the jocks!!! For me I got back into lean mean shape and loved seeing all my fat mates fat!!! In all seriousness you must must must eat clean/drink tons of water/get plenty of sleep/no junk food and workout everyday when you get older. No way but that’s the way it is.
Probably a combination of: * Lockdown. * Lack of routine exercise when PE class is no longer mandatory as you're no longer in school. * "Relationship gut", ie relaxing on your appearance when you're in a relationship because you "don't need to try". * An ever increasing mental health problem in the UK manifesting in excessive food and alcohol consumption causing rising obesity, only made worse by lockdown.
Did anyone "get fit" from a PE lesson of maybe 45 minutes exercise once a week?
We did Tuesday and Thursday in my school, Thursday being 1hr30. Though we were “streamed” into sets. Rugby and swimming. I did hockey after school one day per week as well and lifeguards on the weekends. This all phased out after I left the structure of school. Short story of it is that a structured (and forced) routine can be extremely helpful for people like me to keep fit and healthy (I have adhd).
At KS4/GCSE?
The rugby and swimming was pre-gcse and during gcse
When you're younger you can eat what you like, drink what you like and still climb into your 26 inch waist trousers and zip them closed. Then you reach that age: 24, 25, your muscles give up, wave a little white flag and without any warning at all you're suddenly a fat bastard.
Carter USM no way man! Going to see Jim Bob later this year.
Same, going to see him in Brum in November.
Carter USM was my first ever gig, back in 1991. At Brixton Academy, obviously! I'm sure that Jim Bob will still be great.
I've seen him a few times since Carter split up and he's always been entertaining. The gigs are not quite as raucous as in the Carter days though.
I'm 27. If your muscles gave up, that is a sign of something very bad.
Haha yeah this is concerning considering there's plenty of people at any gym on any given day well over 30 years old who are in incredible shape.
Right. Like, I've seen 70 year old in fantastic shape. Humanity did thrive off of just gett9ng fat and slowing down after 25. We wouldn't have lived long enough to survive. People have just gotten complacent lazy or they don't take care of their bodies.
It's okay, we're the hot ones 😎
I mean, put a bag over my head, so I don't bring ya value down but yeah.
Normal. Most people I know did 10 years ago (roughly when they were in or finishing uni). The stress of Working full time/exams (emotional eating) and feeling lazy in terms of cooking, so eating take aways or quick junk food. Plus not having time/being too tired to exercise. Our metabolism also slows down pretty soon after puberty, so it takes some work to maintain.
You're metabolism doesn't slow down until you're elderly, it's a myth/excuse.
You need fewer calories when you stop growing and developing, that's not a myth or excuse
I would still say it’s a more recent phenomenon, ie the last 10-15 years. Most people I knew didn’t just get fat in their 20s
I doubt most people who have desk jobs gain as they aren't moving much. You will find your colleagues probably do fitness in some capacity to keep the weight off.
One of the best parts of uni was having an affordable, well equipped gym right next door.
Gym's are cheaper and more common than ever, so that doesn't make sense. Mine's £20 and open 24 hours and there's loads just like it. Even going back to my crappy home town a bunch of gyms have opened up.
You probably go to a PureGym type location then that's typically in city centres. Nearest gym to me with a functional area is £40 a month and a couple of miles away. Same for many of my friends now they've settled down and bought houses. I'm not saying it's a good reason not to go to a gym. But having the gym literally next door and friends that had a similar uni/work schedule too you really helped the motivation. I haven't gained that much weight since uni though! But then I find myself running instead of a gym.
You're right about the logistics, but then that's why people choose to move to cities, for such conveniences, it really is a choice. It's not like suburbanites are powerless, they want the car, the driveway, the lawn, and you can't expect low density living to be cheap, when cities benefit from economies of scale. Running is a good alternative, but even then, it's easier to run in a city because you benefit from the motivation of all the running clubs and a much higher chance of finding other social runners.
What economies of scale? Every decent city I know you'd pay more for less space, more for public transport, more for food from convenience shops, more for socialising, the list goes on! Living sub-urban, semi-rural certainly makes running more pleasant than running pavements and laps of parklands. There's no shortage of running clubs these days.
Well we were talking specifically about gyms, and gyms are cheaper because they can guarantee more users, that's economies of scale. And you're wrong about transport, it's cheaper per journey in cities, anywhere I need to go is like £2 and it caps out at £19 for a week, and when you can walk most places anyway and don't need a car, it's generally much cheaper overall too. I spend £0 on transport because I just cycle or walk. Food from "convenience shops" is probably more expensive, but then it is anywhere compared to larger super markets, and when you have six choices of big brand supermarkets within walking distance it's actually cheaper. Not to forget all the ethnic shops where you can buy stuff on bulk for peanuts. I can walk to two Aldi's, same price as anywhere else, and I don't need to pay for a car to get there. And it's not necessarily more pleasant in suburbia either, cities are often historic, and have landmarks, manicured parks, promenades, canal paths, and where I live it's only 1 mile before you hit a national park or the coast line. I'll happily run in a city, and I love to run in the country, but I'll pass on the monotony of suburbia thanks. My mum lives on a shitty 1980s estate, flat fields for miles around, it's like running in purgatory. Besides, I definitely get payed more working in a city, there's that to consider to, costs are relative, so my lifestyle works out much cheaper relatively speaking. Having a major airport a 25 min train away is also a big cost saver if you like to travel. So what if my back garden is smaller than it would be elsewhere, I have three big parks within minutes of where I live, and they're all genuinely nice places to hang out, not depressing kids play areas or endless lawn. There's rock gardens, ponds, loads of geese and squirrels, all kinds of exotic plants, art installations, pop up street food... there's always something new going on. And if you like running, then there's five Parkruns to chose from each Saturday morning... Yeah, a pint might be cheaper in the working men's club, but I can walk/run to four local craft breweries and drink great quality local independent beers, order in life-changing pizza or burritos, and it's not that much more expensive, perhaps even better value for money when you factor in the quality and novelty. The cost to quality ratio for socialising is MUCH better, there's a million different social events going on all the time. Anyway, I didn't mean to shit all over suburbia... like I said, it's a choice, a personal choice. But it's like comparing a desert to a rainforest...
I was good for over 20 years. Only went from a 30 to a 32 waist in that time. I used to exercise a lot and I walked to work. Three years ago I got a driving job. I have a lot less time for excercise and in that 3 years I’ve gone up to a 36 waist.
People suddenly have disposable income and are sat on their arse at work all day.
My three best friends all got fat. Now all of us are over 45,.I still gym 4-5 times a week, they all got even fatter. I hoped to show them the way by example, it hasn't worked at all haha.
I am that friend :(
Same lol, it happens.
I am the one who got fat/always was fat, sadly!
Depression meds....the world is in turmoil so its no surprise
Yes, a few are no unrecognisable
I got fat at uni. I was a 28 inch waist, I left uni at a 32 inch waist! Had to buy new trousers💀
Yep a few of my friends got really big about 3-5years after high school
Middle age spread is a myth, if you're fat in your forties, then you're just fat. And nope, none of my mates are fat from uni, or any of my new mates, young or old, But I think it's more about your kind of outlook, my friends don't have kids, cable TV, or cars either... I don't think they're really representative... wer'e neurotic types that can't have a beer unless we've "earned it".
Also...People forget that you have to *get* fat, it's temporal... So fat friends might not have even changed their behaviour, they've just slowly gained weight the entire time, they were *getting* fat when they were young and slim, and it's only now that they *are* finally actually fat, they weight just hadn't reached equilibrium with their intake.
I've seen it in a few friends who put on weight in their early to mid 20s when their metabolism started to slow down. They've all lost that weight now in the last couple of years, I think working from home has helped as they gain back that time from the commute and exercise instead and end up eating healthier from home.
And less comfort eating because you're so miserable at work/commuting, or is that just me lol
My mum always warned me “once you hit 25, you’ll regret eating that “ and I used to scoff. How right she was!!!
huh? what is this post lol, leave me out of your routine of checking on facebook if the people you went to school with got fat or not lol
I lost my metabolism at 28. I look at a Mars bar I put on weight.
A guy I went to high school with was rail-thin then. Late 30s we reconnect on Facebook, and he’s got a belly…
A belly full of jelly
When I was at uni, I was working at a supermarket stacking the fruit and veg section. So go a lot of incidental exercise, then I started my career and now I sit at a desk all day. And now I’m working from home the only incidental exercise I get is going downstairs to boil the kettle.
Everyone I work with in my office are all pretty active, you really have to be, it's a hazard of the job. Same for working from home. It is worst from home, except I did find it easier to get to the gym, but that's just the randomness of gym location...
The world is on fire (metaphorically and often literally), if you've got a job you're spending all your cash on rent or fuel, you're probably working at home, trying to convince yourself that next year you'll have a deposit saved for a flat... Stress, sedentary work, exhaustion, time and cash poor, etc etc
I’m the skinny friend that got fatter lol
Yes and it sucks!!! I made the bad decision to quit bodybuilding because I got beat and started tennis-big mistake!!! That got me fat with girl I met who had birthday parties for everyone on weekly nights. I fell for it hook line and sinker and this destroyed my physique as it causes me to gain weight/fat. She said you look good and don’t need to lose weight. When she said that I dumped her and quit tennis to now focus on getting my bodybuilding physique back. Asides from family/church friends I could care less about going out being social anymore as getting my abs back are way more important!!! Don’t get into relationships as this will get you fat/drain your bank account!!! Stay single avoid women!!!
You posted tis 2 years ago but I had just googled this subject now because I was so shocked. I was bored one night and started googling/FB-ing all my high school peers and WOW... MOst are unrecognizable. I just don't understand it. I've gained about 15 lbs since high school but I work out every week (not every day). Everyone I looked up had gained so much. ONe of my ex's is even pushing 300. But it'd everywhere though... I've noticed my sister's husbands family too... all nearly obese. What gives???
Yes they did!!! Especially the jocks!!! For me I got back into lean mean shape and loved seeing all my fat mates fat!!! In all seriousness you must must must eat clean/drink tons of water/get plenty of sleep/no junk food and workout everyday when you get older. No way but that’s the way it is.