More

Extreme Weight Gain: Why Are So Many People Upping Their Weight On Purpose?

The Huffington Post Canada   First Posted: 10/24/11 11:38 AM ET   Updated: 10/24/11 11:57 AM ET

It may not look like it right from his website photos, but Drew Manning is actually a personal trainer.

The 30-year-old from Utah is challenging his body and the minds of health experts by intentionally gaining 80 pounds (36 kilograms) in six months. He then plans to show the world how to lose "the weight."

For Manning, changing his body is part of his overall goal to help educate people . "I will be teaching people how to get back in shape by allowing everyone to follow my specific meal plans and workout plans," he writes on his site. "People that (sic) are overweight have to overcome both physical and emotional barriers when it comes to losing weight. I hope to have a better understanding of this through my experience over the next year." Critics say he's pulling the "stunt" for publicity sake.

Gaining and losing weight to achieve some level of notoriety is nothing new. Last March, Donna Simpson announced she wanted to be the world's fattest woman. Then at 600 lb (272 kg), the 42-year-old from New Jersey ate 12,000 calories per day. Simpson, who already held the Guinness World Record for the world's heaviest mother, wanted to weigh 1,000 lb (454 kg).

"I love eating and people love watching me eat... It makes people happy and I'm not harming anyone," she told The Daily Mail.

Fast-forward six months later and Simpson is now pledging to change her lifestyle habits and get thin -- her "goal" changed after she was dumped by her fiancee.

And while Simpson has given up on her quest, there are plenty of people waiting in the wings, particularly those who want to hold a world record.

Susanne Eman, who claimed she weighed 728 lb (330 kg), has said she wants to weigh one ton. And then there's Pauline Potter, who seems to have beaten her to the punch.

Many people who want to gain significant amounts of weight view their lifestyle choices as something positive, even sexy. Gaining weight is sometimes linked to 'feederism' -- the sexual satisfaction from gaining body fat. This fetish flourishes in online communities, where men and women post photos and share stories, says The Guardian.

Scientists and experts disagree with the positive spin. Obesity is linked to everything from heart disease to strokes and diabetes. It's also costing our economy a ton -- The Globe and Mail reports the financial impact of obesity is about $7 billion per year.

Doctors say it's imperative to maintain healthy habits on a daily basis. If you're looking for some quick advice to get in shape, check out these tips from Health.com.

Learn A Lesson in Portion Control
1 of 8
Studies show that recording meals may help you lose up to 5 percent of your weight, says Robert A. Carels, Ph.D., an associate professor in the psychology department at Bowling Green State University.

Start today: Snap before and after photos of each meal with your camera phone. Keeping a visual food diary is a more accurate way to see what and how much you're eating, United Kingdom researchers say. Afterward, download the pics so you'll have a record.

More from Health.com:
Get Slim All Over Superfast
The Best Gadgets to Make You Slim
16 Little Ways to Lose Big Pounds
Total comments: 22 | Post a Comment
1 of 8
Rate This Tip
Unimpressed.
Sounds great!

  • 1

  • 2

  • 3

  • 4

  • 5

  • 6

  • 7

  • 8

  • 9

  • 10
Top 5 Tips
loading...
Users who voted on this slide
← Prev|Next →
loading...

FOLLOW HUFFPOST CANADA LIVING

It may not look like it right from his website photos, but Drew Manning is actually a personal trainer. The 30-year-old from Utah is challenging his body and the minds of health experts by inte...
It may not look like it right from his website photos, but Drew Manning is actually a personal trainer. The 30-year-old from Utah is challenging his body and the minds of health experts by inte...
Related News On Huffington Post:
 

Read more from Huffington Post bloggers:
Jowita Bydlowska

Jowita Bydlowska: Kate Middleton and I Would Probably Rather Be Sad Than Fat

The lives of thin women revolve around denial, restrictions, guilt, and depression over failing... I know because I'd been hiding my own fat monster and had to appease it with Prozac and talk therapy. Still, I suppose, I'd rather be sad than fat. And so would Kate Middleton, probably. And so would you.

What's Your Reaction?
Amazing
 Inspiring
 Funny
 Scary
 Hot
 Crazy
 Important
 Weird
 
 
  • Comments
  • 22
  • Pending Comments
  • 0
  • View FAQ
Comments are closed for this entry
View All
Favorites
Recency  | 
Popularity
Page: 1 2  Next ›  Last »  (2 total)
ladytrixc
8 Fans
 
06:33 PM on 11/02/2011
A body that weighs 180lbs with about 5% body fat that goes up to 260lbs in a matter of months and then tries to lose it again is going to have a significantly easier time of it than bodies that have never been fit. If he was such a great trainer with no ulterior motives, he would be publicizing this. Se how much fast the "former athletes" loose weight on shows like "The Biggest Loser"? It's not because they work harder, it's because they have a base of muscles to burn off more calories than a house wife that has never touches a piece of gym equipment in their lives.
Permalink  |
onlymdh
47 Fans
02:49 PM on 10/31/2011
I didn't know that gaining wait caused hair to grow on a man's chest and stomach.
Permalink  |
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mkthinker
81 Fans
09:58 AM on 10/26/2011
The trainer makes sense to me. A lot of people say a lot of garbage about losing weight and it really is harmful to people trying to lose weight. This way he can say he did it and that it works. This is similar to the man that ate almost nothing but twinkies but reduced his calories to prove that how much you eat determines weight gain or lose, not specifically what you eat. The fact is no one needs to make one dollar off of your weight loss and honestly a lot of manufactures of food will lose money. So now there are jackals clamoring that they hold the one and only secret and you should pay them for it. First though they have to make it seem complicated enough that you need their services. This is doing so much harm to the health of our nation and is disgusting. You want to be smaller, eat less. You want to be healthier, eat more veggies and less processed food. You can pursue either goal alone or together. I personally lost the weight then focused on nutrition because that worked for my psychologically. I'm personally glad that I lost weight before the peak of this weight-loss research sideshow because honestly it must make it harder. I was also lucky enough to know a couple people that lost weight and kept if off under a doctors plan in the 90s before big money fully bought into the health 'industry'.
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Welshish
The sadder but wiser girl for me.
1315 Fans
08:36 AM on 10/26/2011
The trainer gaining weight makes some sense. I have always thought that Bob Green (on Oprah) thinks exercise is fun because his body wants to be slim. I have mentally challenged him to gain weight and see how his body fights it. Then, he might have more understanding of how difficult it is to lose weight when a person's body fights it.
Permalink  |
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
bmitche
662 Fans
02:46 PM on 10/25/2011
Telling someone how to lose weight is good, but gaining 80 pounds to show someone how to lose it, is taking it just a bit far. I do admire your determination.
Permalink  |
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
kauna13
5 Fans
01:42 PM on 10/25/2011
That just doesn't sound like it should work the way they want it to. People who have been overweight for years will have far more struggles with diet and exercise than some of these "trainers" that have already lived the healthy lifestyle. I'm not sure what they're trying to prove, but it's patronizing.
Permalink  |
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
LittleSanityLeft
105 Fans
10:44 PM on 10/26/2011
You have some valid points. A person who's lived a healthy lifestyle and then gains 80 pounds will find it far easier then a person who has been 80 pounds over weight for a decade. The reality is that if you've lived a unhealthy lifestyle for decades it SHOULD be incredibly hard to lose the weight. For years you've trained your body for the shape your in and the idea that you should be able to turn that all around in a year during the later years of life is unrealistic depending on genetics, of course.

That being said though, this trainer can't live a unhealthy lifestyle for a decade just to better prove his point. What he does have is the extra pounds, the mindset to eat right and workout hard and willingness to change his lifestyle. All these things unhealthy individuals need to learn. So maybe watching someone else working towards their goals can be helpful and inspiring.

He maybe being opportunistic but I don't think he's being patronizing.
Permalink  |
photo
syllcurie
56 Fans
01:11 PM on 10/25/2011
Putting the weight on is a downhill ride on a well-oiled skateboard. Unfortunately, the return trip is more than just uphill and an entirely different matter for most.
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Randy Kroken
49 Fans
12:29 PM on 10/25/2011
I am a bodybuilder and a natural one at that. Outside of the rigorous physical work it takes to be a bodybuilder, the Psychological riggers I think are far greater. Many people who do not partake in some sort of work out tend to overlook the facts of the mind body connection. When a person takes on a work out of any type the Psychological values naturally change and also grow, get stronger. Heading in the opposite direction on purpose to me is truly crazy. I personally would not put all the already done hard work into reverse to prove a point for any reason. Any person who knowingly and intentionally heads in a direction of potential harm as these people are doing already display Psychological issues at some level. As far as this personal trainer goes there is no reason he can not take a individual who is already obese and turn them around. Personally I fear that some people will catch this story and follow these peoples leads and pay the price in the end of it all with poor health and or death. Not a good example on how to be. What type of people are actually going to look up to people like this.
Permalink  |
anilimili
compassion trumps hatred
148 Fans
12:14 PM on 10/25/2011
Well, there is nothing healthy about it--if anything, it is succumbing to an addiction, as well as regressing developmentally to a place where everyone needs to care of you because you cannot take care of yourself even for the most basic things... People who are gung-ho on gaining so much weight get a lot of PYSCHOLOGICAL benefit from being waited on hand and foot (and other parts of their body, too, considering that at some point they cannot even walk, let alone go to the bathroom or bathe or wash themselves!!!). There is nothing pretty or happy about it--it is a sick need to be catered to (pun quite intended), and it 'shackles' others to them because people feel obligated to not abandon them when they cannot do anything for themselves. I think that people who become so obese that they cannot take care of themselves need to be hospitalizes in psychiatric units where their input would be controlled. I DON'T think that there should be the burden on the rest of society to feed their addiction (ok, another pun intended...). While being overweight does not at all imply being lazy, as far as I am concerened; being THAT fat and making that limitation be the goal of one's life is a very unconvincing way to justifying EXTREME LAZINESS. Grow up, get up, and get moving. We're not your babysitters!
Permalink  |
MajorMel
396 Fans
11:49 AM on 10/25/2011
I don't have an issue with the personal trainer gaining 80 lbs and then showing people how to take it off. But I also looked at the photos and stories of the women mentioned in the article (Donna Simpson, Susanne Eman, and Pauline Potter) who are gaining exorbitant amounts of weight for no other reason than to be in the news. It is a slow form of suicide, plain and simple, and these women clearly need serious mental help. I don't understand why their family and friends (if they have any) aren't DOING something to help them, since they themselves are too mentally "gone" to have a full understanding of what they're doing to themselves. Can't ANYONE help them get the professional help they need? I'm being absolutely serious here.
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Randy Kroken
49 Fans
12:32 PM on 10/25/2011
You are 100 % on track
Permalink  |
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mielkele
Ignorance breeds hatred.
191 Fans
11:13 AM on 10/25/2011
Sick, physically and mentally.
Permalink  |
rkeeeballs
rock and a hard place
530 Fans
10:50 AM on 10/25/2011
And the poor and the hungry and the homeless watch you eat like a pig ... in the land of plenty ... called america... so many wish to come here and do what you do...............sad...we should be better than that............yup
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
ScottandSandra Cannon
I don't discriminate
136 Fans
10:48 AM on 10/25/2011
Why is he gaining so much weight? Because he went off the steroids.......
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
George Dayton
1st Supply Battalion
1075 Fans
09:28 AM on 10/25/2011
I wanna get SO big I can't wipe my rear.......
Permalink  |
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Randy Kroken
49 Fans
12:33 PM on 10/25/2011
I have always wondered how a person that weighs so much actually manipulates their rear end onto a toilet and line that all up with the pottie hole to make the drop.
Permalink  |
cree1997
273 Fans
09:09 AM on 10/25/2011
"I love eating and people love watching me eat" NO, no one enjoys watching someone that big shove more food down their throat. We also do not enjoy watching an addict shoot up or a drunk chugging drinks.
Permalink  |
Page: 1 2  Next ›  Last »  (2 total)