# A big hand for Stoid, she ate a book. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 9, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063 "2011-03-09T16:49:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/121 "2011-03-15T19:04:04Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Gods help me, I might be starting to like Shodan. Like someone ( **BT**?) said, he’s often quite amusing outside of his personal woo areas. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > I think there really is something genetic going on with obesity. Not even close to exclusively, but there has to be a factor, as some people’s situations clearly demonstrate. Oh, you mean the Alien Fattifying Ray that’s been beaming down over the U.S. for the past couple of decades, causing an explosion of obesity that’s nobody’s fault because our genes suddenly make us fat? > [@LilyoftheField](#): > > well, to be fair - since you didn’t actually do that (understandably!), its not really fair for you to say that. You don’t know, you’re assuming… Physics says you’re wrong. > [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > That thread is the sort of thing that the dude on the train with crazy eyes would say while everybody else moves to the end of the car and avoids eye contact. Oh my god, I need to hook Stoid up with the Comissioner of Generals! He has several high-rise buildings interested in his ideas, you know. > [@PlainJain](#): > > Excellent username/post. Yeah, \*\*may\_be \*\*does that a lot. Honestly, he did us all a big favor when he registered. ---
**Author:** ![may\_be\_ignorant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@may\_be\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/may_be_ignorant)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/122 "2011-03-15T22:21:57Z")
> [@](#): > > Yeah, \*\*may\_be \*\*does that a lot. Honestly, he did us all a big favor when he registered. i try ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheField](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@LilyoftheField](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheField)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/123 "2011-03-16T00:34:05Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Physics says you’re wrong. I know, right? And that’s not all! The food pyramid was handed down from on High on a mountain top, I think a burning bush was involved, am I right? And low fat is the way to go if you want to be healthy! And the whole ‘calories in, calories out’ paradigm has just been so damn successful, I can’t understand why anyone argues with it! Everyone who’s fat is, ipso facto, a lazy glutton! It’s so obvious! Sure, it’s a bitch and a half for me to just lose ten pounds, but that’s not going to stop me from calling anyone who can’t lose 50 or 100 pounds or more, a lazy ass, excuse making moron who just can’t be assed to do it right! And by ‘right’ of course I mean physics! And me! Well, except for the part about me being wrong. 'Cuz I’ll just make physics my bitch. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/124 "2011-03-16T00:55:56Z")
> [@LilyoftheField](#): > > Well, except for the part about me being wrong. 'Cuz I’ll just make physics my bitch. 😛 Well, you’ve already killed logic, so you’re off to a pretty good start. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheField](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@LilyoftheField](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheField)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/125 "2011-03-16T01:08:24Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Well, you’ve already killed logic, so you’re off to a pretty good start. That’s a little harsh, isn’t it? Logic was already mortally wounded, the least I could do was put it out of its misery. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/126 "2011-03-16T13:33:39Z")
> [@LilyoftheField](#): > > And the whole ‘calories in, calories out’ paradigm has just been so damn successful, I can’t understand why anyone argues with it! Everyone who’s fat is, ipso facto, a lazy glutton! I don’t get why people think that the abysmal success rate of traditional diets is a point in favour of this Taubes clown. Just because the calories in-calories out diets \*don’t \*tend to produce long term success doesn’t mean that Atkins-style diets \*will \*automatically produce long term success just because it’s different. They have both been shown to produce short term weight loss. Until research shows that more people stick with low-carb - and as far as I can tell it hasn’t, despite Atkins being around since the 70s - there’s no reason to assume low-carb is better. Human beings are just shitty at weight control and weight loss. It’s okay to admit that - we’re shitty at lots of things. Admitting that doesn’t equate to calling fat people lazy gluttons (except insofar as evolution has driven us all to be lazy and gluttonous). The fact that there is no good, proven diet out there doesn’t mean that any new one that comes down the pike must be Gods answer to the problem. The fact that people like you and Stoid are credulous enough to believe such a huge logical fallacy is what drives the incredibly giant American diet industry though, so kudos, I guess, for your effort in keeping the economy alive. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/127 "2011-03-16T14:05:15Z")
In the other thread, I tried (in my very flawed way) to help **Stoid** see that she’s dishonest with herself – she claims to want only the truth, and the facts, and she’s happy to admit when she’s wrong. But she’s been wrong in that thread at least a couple of times I know of, and the closest she’s come to admitting that is “That’s what I said from the beginning!” when she’s changed her position two or three times already. In my opinion, someone who will intentionally or unintentionally justify their words and actions in that manner will also, intentionally or unintentionally, justify their actions when it comes to losing weight. I have severe doubts regarding **Stoid** ’s claims of her weight-loss efforts, and her accuracy when she counts the calories she consumes. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/128 "2011-03-16T14:10:39Z")
Yeah, my personal experience has been that being overweight is pretty directly related to just eating too much food and not getting enough physical activity, i.e. consuming more calories than I’m burning. When I’ve made a concerted effort to change this situation, I’ve lost weight. It’s a stone-cold bitch to do this and maintain it long-term and I’ll be the first to admit that. I’m also open to the possibility that some people have a metabolism that prevents them from losing weight even in a calorie-deficit situation, but so far I’ve seen no actual evidence that this occurs in reality. (That’s my polite way of saying that people are basically making that up for whatever personal reason - whether to make themselves feel better about being overweight, or to sell books, or whatever. But like I said, if there’s actual evidence, I’d be happy to see it.) ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/129 "2011-03-16T14:21:00Z")
> [@LilyoftheField](#): > > And the whole ‘calories in, calories out’ paradigm has just been so damn successful, I can’t understand why anyone argues with it! The only way to lose weight is to consume fewer calories than you use (and using does include both conversion to energy and storage as fat). There has never been a single study to disprove this, which is not surprising, because otherwise it would break the laws of physics. (If you believe otherwise, I have a perpetual motion machine to sell you.) Calorie-restricted are _simple_, but they are not _easy_. When they don’t work, it’s not because of some heretofore undiscovered law of physics whereby people create matter out of thin air. TL;DR: My god, you’re not only a self-entitled bitch, but a retarded one, too. Have you met \*\*curlcoat \*\*yet? I bet you guys would be besties. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/130 "2011-03-16T14:22:49Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Yeah, my personal experience has been that being overweight is pretty directly related to just eating too much food and not getting enough physical activity, i.e. consuming more calories than I’m burning. When I’ve made a concerted effort to change this situation, I’ve lost weight. It’s a stone-cold bitch to do this and maintain it long-term and I’ll be the first to admit that. I’m also open to the possibility that some people have a metabolism that prevents them from losing weight even in a calorie-deficit situation, but so far I’ve seen no actual evidence that this occurs in reality. My weight is definitely directly related to what I eat and how much exercise I get. I know full well that I make the wrong food choices sometimes, whether for convenience or emotional reasons or whatnot. Because of that I’m a little over what I’d like to be - there’s no point in lying to myself about where that extra 20 pounds came from. Every weight-loss TV show I know of (Biggest Loser, Heavy, X-Weighted) puts overweight people on a low-cal diet with lots of physical activity. Miracle of miracles, all of them lose weight. I am willing to accept that metabolic and genetic differences between people will affect weight loss, but it’s not impossible. It’s frustrating because any discussion about weight seems to quickly degenerate into sneering “put down the fork, fatty” comments on one side, and shrieking “don’t call me lazy and stupid because I’m fat” comments on the other side. The whole idea of taking personal responsibility without shame or moral judgment seems to get lost in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/131 "2011-03-16T14:24:39Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > TL;DR: My god, you’re not only a self-entitled bitch, but a retarded one, too. Have you met \*\*curlcoat \*\*yet? I bet you guys would be besties. You know, I thought just that in the snow shovelling thread. Middle aged, entitled, stupid, sheltered, doesn’t think she has to do any work … hmm, reminds me of someone. If there were any snow in Orange County, I’d be convinced they were the same person. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/132 "2011-03-16T14:32:14Z")
At least she doesn’t eat [anonysnot](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=600687). ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/133 "2011-03-16T15:06:19Z")
> [@Meyer6](#): > > “put down the fork, fatty” This new fangled diet you mention sounds intriguing. I think I’ll give it a whirl. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/134 "2011-03-16T15:21:31Z")
> [@Meyer6](#): > > The whole idea of taking personal responsibility without shame or moral judgment seems to get lost in the middle. But that’s the _fun part_! > [@Muffin](#): > > At least she doesn’t eat [anonysnot](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=600687). I am _not even going to click on that_. Just the link text has me gagging. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/135 "2011-03-16T16:05:52Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Ugh, I tried but I couldn’t get through it. Stoid was given lots of valuable information and advice, but she chose to ignore it (sound familiar?) and found every way possible to deny reality. Bonus points for the sneering at gastric bypass surgery. Okay, of all the stupid flying around in that thread, Stoid sneering at gastric bypass surgery was fairly astute (by accident). The stupid part was to actually recommend gastric bypass surgery to someone who has demonstrated again and again and again that she can’t keep to dietary restrictions if her life depended on it. Which – if she had the surgery – her life _would_ depend on it. And much as we’d all like to be freed of Stoidthreads, that’s a bit beyond the pale. Save the recommendations of bypass surgery for the people willing to take some responsibility for their actions, since they’d need to. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/136 "2011-03-16T16:15:34Z")
> [@Meyer6](#): > > You know, I thought just that in the snow shovelling thread. Middle aged, entitled, stupid, sheltered, doesn’t think she has to do any work … hmm, reminds me of someone. If there were any snow in Orange County, I’d be convinced they were the same person. Has she ever indicated she has Gypsy heritage and gets mortally offended by offers to shake hands? Y’know, for the trifecta. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/137 "2011-03-16T16:33:59Z")
> [@Tahssa](#): > > This new fangled diet you mention sounds intriguing. I think I’ll give it a whirl. Wait, did someone write a book about this? I’d like to read half. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/138 "2011-03-16T16:40:04Z")
Oh come on. Everyone knows you \*say \*you’ll stop at half, but then you’ll just keep reading until the whole thing’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/139 "2011-03-16T17:02:35Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > Okay, of all the stupid flying around in that thread, Stoid sneering at gastric bypass surgery was fairly astute (by accident). > > The stupid part was to actually recommend gastric bypass surgery to someone who has demonstrated again and again and again that she can’t keep to dietary restrictions if her life depended on it. Which – if she had the surgery – her life _would_ depend on it. > > And much as we’d all like to be freed of Stoidthreads, that’s a bit beyond the pale. Save the recommendations of bypass surgery for the people willing to take some responsibility for their actions, since they’d need to. Oh, you’re right. Stoid is the poorest candidate for the procedure that I can think of. The bonus points I’ve awarded her are for peering down her nose at the idea, as though it were uncouth or beneath her. Accidental astuteness indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063/140 "2011-03-16T17:04:25Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Wait, did someone write a book about this? I’d like to read half. If you read half, you won’t possibly understand it. Only Stoid has those superpowers. Actually, even if you read the whole thing, if you don’t agree with Stoid you probably didn’t understand it anyways. Seriously, she whinged endlessly that nobody would read her precious book. I actually did read (half) the book (which I can’t believe I even did), determined that I thought it was a big steamy pile of crap, and yet she still won’t acknowledge that. She’s now implying that I have no ‘integrity’ and I just believe whatever I want to believe. Right. > [@Muffin](#): > > At least she doesn’t eat [anonysnot](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=600687). Christ, I can’t imagine being so financially desperate that picking through trash seemed like a good idea. I guess the vintage porn business doesn’t pay like it used to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-hand-for-stoid-she-ate-a-book/574063.md?page=8)