What a relief to finally hear a story I can relate to in such a detail, Derek! With the exception of "I fight continuously to put as much as I can of my [food] onto her [plate]"... Oh, never! 

(And again, today, more of that stupid omnipresent advice that never works, yes, against genetics:

Jacek (desperately and hopelessly munching rice cakes...)

Originally written by John Bunch on November 19, 2008 6:51 PM It suddenly occurred to me that my extra 15 pounds, rather than being a liability, from an evolutionary and genetic point of view, is probably an advantage.

Caveat:

Excess body mass index (BMI) is a well-known predictor of morbidity and mortality, Dr Jensen says, but many now suggest that waist circumference is a more beneficial measure. http://www.imwr.com/issues/articles/2007-05_14.asp

However, measurement of WC as a preferable determinant of cardiovascular and metabolic risks is increasingly gaining popularity in recent years. That WC is indeed a better index than BMI as a measure of obesity among the Chinese has been recently reported in both Chinese men, women... http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-128075132.html

Originally written by Nichole Barlow on November 19, 2008 7:28 PM Maybe she should have her thyroid checked?  Maybe she needs more fats like coconut oil or olive oil?  Maybe she needs more protein?

She almost certainly needs an iodine supplement, practically everybody in Germany does. The soil here is very low in iodine and consequently it is not possible to get the minimum daily requirement from food alone. I take a tablet every day prophylactically (levothyroxin sodium + potassium iodide) but she does not like tablets and will not listen to me. We get plenty of olive oil, some Italian, some Spanish and some Greek, we buy a bottle of each and my wife cooks with it exclusively and always has done and puts it on salads so I do not believe that is the cause. And we use iodized salt regularly. I think that it is more likely to be something to do with her stomach. The medications for that do not work and have nasty side effects. What does work is to cut down on the size of meals drastically and that does work but also has the bad side that I described.

I hope you don't mind responding to what you wrote.

No, of course not, it is always nice to get a little sympathy! I mentioned our situation mainly to underscore that overweight, which is seldom fatal, is far easier to treat than underweight, which can be fatal.

Isn't it odd that many overweight people seem to be far more contented with their lives than many underweight people?

Derek

Originally written by Jacek Krankowski on November 19, 2008 5:46 PM (desperately and hopelessly munching rice cakes...)

Ah, yes, rice cakes. I was considering using those to insulate our living room ceiling but unfortunately they are usually circular (and burn too easily) and 3 cm-thick styropor sheets turned out to be easier to handle.

Derek 

Do you think they may have less than 327 kcal/100g???

Originally written by Jacek Krankowski on November 20, 2008 6:18 AM Do you think they may have less than 327 kcal/100g???

I understand that natural rice cakes as they come off the rice cake tree have zero nutritional value (which is less than styropor) so they are often supplemented with brown sugar which brings them up to the figure you quoted. They still have no nutritional value but, when toasted, the smoke is said to be an effective mosquito repellent. Burning rate 127 mm/second at sea level. 

Derek