For those of us that crave fat-makin’ food due to depression and the like, there is some help. I’ve been taking 5-HTP, which is a building block for seritonin. I find when I take it, I don’t crave as much junk and am able to stop eating earlier than when I don’t take it. It’s a natural supplement, you can get it at a health food store. It works like Phentermine or Meridian, but, like I said, it’s natural. No side effects. Except the first day I was reallllly gassy, I mean, it is an herb. That’s pretty normal with a new herb. And I started off at 300 mg a day, which I have cut back since then to 200mg a day.
Please do some research on it to see if it’s right for you, or consult your doctor or whatever, just don’t run out and grab a bottle and take them. You have to be responsible and very careful with this stuff. Also, you can’t be taking any kind of other Zoloft or Prozac or anything like that.
It’s best taken with juice, and no protein. ALSO: You need to take them throughout the day, not just in the morning, which can be a pain. I get up and take mine with a little bit of juice, then have the protein shake and the rest of the vitamins when I get to work. Then I take another one in the afternoon.
I used to crave all kinds of sugary crappy foods, but the reason for that, I found out, is those are also seritonin makin’ foods. So once I boosted it, I’ve not been craving the crap. It’s not a cure-all by any means, and I still want choclate once in a while, haha, but it does help. I’m not constantly craving tons of crappy sugary snacks. I don’t feel as depressed or dark. And I didn’t want to go to those clinics and take a synthetic pill. This stuff is synthesized from a plant.
My friend is on Meridian, and that stuff keeps the seratonin from being reabsorbed in the brain. This stuff helps you make more. I have the same results she’s gotten (as far as eating less, fewer cravings and improved mental outlook) without going to a weight loss clinic/doctor for $25 each visit plus the pills ($19 for 7). This stuff (I bought a good brand, there are cheaper ones out there, so do your reasearch and find out how they make it and what’s in it.) is about $20 for a bottle of 30 (100 mg) that I take twice a day.
Again, do your research! There’s a book for $3.95 out there in the health food store I go to with all kinds of clinical studies and explains the whole thing. But there’s info online too.
I apologize if this is out of line or offensive, I just wanted to share my experience. And I apologize for all the misspellings too, I have to hurry up before the boss busts me, haha…
A girl
“I am reminded of two rules to live by I ran across once. “1. Do not try to be annoying. 2. Do not be easily annoyed.” I think you’re breaking both of these. After all, you do have the choice not to be annoyed by these people. So why don’t you just choose not to be, eh?”
When they are in my face and appearing on my tv screen bitching about something that is not my fault, it annoys me. I can not choose to not be annoyed. I am not autistic.
“And by the way, the “fuck off” is not a reflection of my maturity, but rather a reflection of your own. In your case, it appears to be a terminal problem.”
I wish I could be cool like you and use swear words, and totally avoid the topic. Because that’s cool, man.
“Doc, it annoys me in real life when my friends bitch about their hair all day long. Does this mean I get to discriminate against them and call them names? Do I get to call them lazy and call into question their very character?.”
If you had bothered reading this thing through rather then jump in the deep end whilst throwing a hissy fit, you would realise that I have already said that nobody deserves to be “moo’d” at or “oinked” at or any other name relating to their weight. Before you make a fool of yourself any further, read the arguement all the way through rather then re-hash topics we have already covered.
“I noticed many of the people who are annoyed by the bitching are the same ones who would deny a fat person a job because they are fat. The message is: You are fat and lazy and it’s all your fault. You don’t deserve a job or even commen decency. And don’t bitch about it either!”
Pfff… well if that’s the message you derive from it, then you need a head scan.
Logically speaking, the idea of an assumption is that it is an unstated but indispensible component of an argument. You never did say it, but by ascribing a positive value to the majority view of what constitutes an attractive trait, you necessarily endorse this view. If you choose to state that the majority view is not intrinsic to our nature, then I ask you to define why you value these traits? Really, look deep inside. How do you know that thin is in? Why did bellbottom jeans look cool in the 70’s, grody in the 80’s, but retro in the late 90’s? If there is some god-awfully important reason, I’d be interested to hear it. And if you think that your entire platform can stand on the health benefits of a slimmer life, please consider this first; the science of our times is in no way removed from the prejudices of our times. One actually could argue that the conclusions reached by medical science concerning the detrimental effects of excess weight are insidiously influenced by societal bias. I don’t know if you’ve ever done any science, but many situations are of such complexity, that simply by asking a given question guarantees a given result. I don’t deny the research concerning the harmful effects of obesity. However, as human animals, we research the topics we deem to be of paramount significance. Scientists, generally, are no further above the influence of cultural bias than you are. The ramifications of this bias are simply difficult to perceive on a contemporary basis. Allow 1000 years to elapse and our decendants will view our values as being as backwards as we view those of the denizens of the year 1000.
True. But as I alluded to above, the topics researchers are interested in investigating are subject to cultural bias. If we hated slender people, there’d be just as much research concerning the harmful effects of being too thin. And you’d be using those study results (erroneously, IMO) to validate your bias.
Mates are what it’s all about. Haven’t you noticed that humans seem to be more than a little concerned with sex? In your original post you describe a TV news study, right? You watched it, right? Why? What was so interesting? Maybe nothing else was on, maybe you were bored, but some nugget of that broadcast was captivating enough to make you pay attention. So how do you think the producers of the show chose that particular topic and presented it in that particular way? In a subsequent post you agreed with posters that pointed out that a week long study that follows 13 fatties around doesn’t constitute science. Guess what? The reporters and producers knew it wasn’t science either. So why oh why, on a corporately held broadcasting company that rakes in the dough by captivating an audience with a neverending parade of slender, facially symmetrical ideal mates, why would they present an unscientific study portraying obese individuals in a poor light? Hmmm…toughie, huh? I’ll give you a clue, you ready…you better lie down. There’s propaganda on our TV. Hard to believe you were a victim of propaganda, huh? There’s an underlying current of messages we are constantly bombarded by, and many of these we accept (mostly those we already believe to be true) without a moment’s reflection.
Fat people are admittedly discriminated against, but they shouldn’t bitch because it is fat people’s fault that they are fat and you don’t want to hear about it anymore.
Why should fat people let society treat them badly and not complain about it? The name callers are aided and abetted by the majority of people who watch T.V. and say “What are those fat people complaining about? It’s all their fault they are fat (as if being fat is some monsterous crime) so if society treats them badly it’s all their own fault.” It’s not society’s fault for treating fat people badly. A fat person’s choice to overeat gives society the right to treat them badly.
What message am I supposed to derive from it? Are you not saying it’s my fault I’m fat, so shut up?
Firstly, choosybeggar, I suggest you sit down with a dictionary for a few days because your vocabulary needs some serious lengthening.
“Logically speaking, the idea of an assumption is that it is an unstated but indispensible component of an argument. You never did say it, but by ascribing a positive value to the majority view of what constitutes an attractive trait, you necessarily endorse this view. If you choose to state that the majority view is not intrinsic to our nature, then I ask you to define why you value these traits? Really, look deep inside. How do you know that thin is in?”
I can’t help but notice that my original posting to this board has been taken a bit out of context. So before we go any further, I would like to point a few things out:
I believe if an obese person and a slim person are both equally qualified and able for the job, and the employer has to choose between the two, in most cases, the employer will choose the slim person.
**I do not believe this is fair. However, I believe it happens.
I believe calling obese people names is wrong, and if they are innocently walking past someone and that person hurls names, then it is wrong.
Those people who are obese and genuinely have a medical problem and aren’t in control of it, my sympathy pours out to you by the truck loads.
OK, so basically the question you have posed to me is this:
“then I ask you to define why you value these traits?”
And my response is that I don’t, but others do, others descriminate against obese people, and if those people are obese by choice and don’t want to be descriminated againt, then they should lose weight, and not bitch about it. This is the real world, and it consists of evils. Not everything is going to make everyone happy. People need to adapt to the environment around them in order to survive, just like our ancestors have done for thousands of years…
"One actually could argue that the conclusions reached by medical science concerning the detrimental effects of excess weight are insidiously influenced by societal bias. "
Ok, Ok, despite my name I am no medical expert and I do not want to argue with you over topics such as these, because I have little knowledge in the area and are therefore in no position to question you.
“However, as human animals, we research the topics we deem to be of paramount significance. Scientists, generally, are no further above the influence of cultural bias than you are. The ramifications of this bias are simply difficult to perceive on a contemporary basis. Allow 1000 years to elapse and our decendants will view our values as being as backwards as we view those of the denizens of the year 1000.”
Again, I am not a philosopher and what you speak of here is not the arguement I thought may have elapsed from my post. I don’t agree nor disagree with these views of yours. I am in no position to question, and this is becoming a lot more complex then it needs to be.
“True. But as I alluded to above, the topics researchers are interested in investigating are subject to cultural bias. If we hated slender people, there’d be just as much research concerning the harmful effects of being too thin. And you’d be using those study results (erroneously, IMO) to validate your bias.”
And if I had an electric charm with women and and a wallet full of cash I would not be sitting here at my computer. But I am. So what “could” happen in hypothetical situations is not the basis for an arguement in this situation.
And finally your bit about propoganda. Perhaps you can view it as propoganda if you like, I don’t share this view of yours. However, the documentary did show me that some people who are obese and plead that they have no control over their weight - are not genuine. Maybe the doco was all a hoax, I don’t know, but it brought me to a realisation that - there are such people amongst us.
Ayesha, I for one love your sexy ass- your words convey a power and sexiness that are awesome. Now, lemme crack open a fresh can of Steen’s Syrup, and we can set to on that cornbread !!! ( I’m a Yankee with a stealth supplier of Steens in Louisianna ).
“I read every post in this thread including these:”
Then why on earth did you write:
“Does this mean I get to discriminate against them and call them names?”
I had already said I do not agree with name calling. I had already said I don’t believe it’s right the way fat people are mis-treated by employers. I said it happens. Was I not clear on this before?
“Fat people are admittedly discriminated against, but they shouldn’t bitch because it is fat people’s fault that they are fat and you don’t want to hear about it anymore.”
I do not want to hear a fat person say to me that they are not in control of their weight when they actually are. Was I not clear on this before?
“Why should fat people let society treat them badly and not complain about it?”
They can complain about it if they want. I will then complain back. Was I not clear on this before?
“What are those fat people complaining about? It’s all their fault they are fat (as if being fat is some monsterous crime) so if society treats them badly it’s all their own fault”.
I said if they bitch that they are not in control of their weight, when they are, then it’s their problem. Those who have genuine illnesses get my sympathy. Was I not clear on this before?
“What message am I supposed to derive from it? Are you not saying it’s my fault I’m fat, so shut up?”.
I’m saying that if you are fat, and are in control of your weight, but tell people you are not, then I will criticise you. Was I not clear on this before?
Doc, I chose to respond to one of your posts because you are definitely a reasonable guy. In the first of your posts that I replied to you stated that the fat lawyer on some show was only respectable by virtue of the unrealistic script. In essence, that the other characters treated her with a respect she would not have in real life. In your opening post, you described a show whose conclusions about the behaviors of the obese were entirely unsupportable based on the evidence they presented. And you sounded as though your thinking on the matter was influenced by that show. My interest in posting was to use your examples to explain further the points I made in my opening post.
I applaud you for thinking that people shouldn’t be wrongly discriminated against. But what should we do when we see it happening? Yes, if you are being wrongly put upon, then you should toughen up. You better. I think you make a good point there. But an expectation that the oppressed should just keep their mouths shut…that kinda cuts against the grain of my beliefs. I bet it does yours as well. You also believe that weight loss is feasible for most obese people. But where’s your evidence?
Doc Moss, you assume that the people who were complainging, and then woofing down food, are the problem. They do not have a right to complain how fat they are when they eat copious amounts of food in a single sitting.
Well, I’m about to repeat what various other posters who are smarter and far more eloquent have already tried to say.
Not everybody has control over what they eat. Even the ones who seemingly do.
Many people who are obsese are addicted to food. Just like people are addicted to alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, sex, or various other things. Maybe you have never been addicted to anything, but once started, it is extremely difficult to end an addiction.
The first step is admitting there is a problem. My grandparents are alcoholics, but they will never, ever admit to it. They just have an occasional drink…every hour. They will always be alcoholics, and they will probably die due to their addiction. However, they are not bad, horrible, rotten people. They are good people. They have a problem. That doesn’t mean they are worth any less. Some men and women who are addicted to food will not admit to it. Why? Because, how could one be addicted to something they need to survive?
Well, this is the way I see it.
When people are dissatisfied with their lives, they automatically search for something that fulfills them, validates them, makes them happy. Some people turn to booze, some people turn to sex. And some people turn to food. When anything is taken in excess it is negative. Yes, even sex.
So, knowing that some people who are obese, addicted to food, trying to fill some sort of void in their life (Whether “real” or “perceived”), can you still critize them for complaining even as they eat?
What I’m trying to say is, the only happiness some people know is food. And some people can not stop eating. Because when they eat, they feel good. I think it has to do with a seritonin imbalance. That also causes depression, as well as various other disorders.
I know that when I was on Prozac, I ate a lot less, because I didn’t need the food to feel good.
Ok, now that I’ve rambled, let me simplify for you.
Low self-esteem/emotional void/chemical imbalance/etc=self-medicating in the forms of food/alcohol/drugs/etc=external and physical problems such as obesity/addiction/etc=ridicule from people who cannot possibly understand what is going on=more self-esteem problems=more self-medicating=more ridicule. And it goes on and on and on, like the song that never ends.
And there are couple people in this thread (Doc Moss and webmasturbator I’m looking at you) who are part of the problem, not the solution.
And I already said that name-calling is only the most visible example of discrimination. Tacit silence and nodding approval is even worse. The fact that it happens is not a reason to let it happen.
If fat people were in control of their weight, they wouldn’t be fat. This country is weight obsessed. Everyone talks about it all the time. Why do fat people have to shut their mouths about it?
And when you complain, fat people with any sense should get outraged.
Fat people are not looking for sympathy (well, they are, just as everyone is looking for a little compassion). Fat people are not looking for your scorn either. But we bucklet loads of that.
Fat people are about as in control of their weight as everyone else is. This country as an issue with self-image. It’s hard to find a person who is happy the way they are. Yet the fat ones get to be told to stop whining. I’m fat. It’s my fault. I should shut up.
It’s called “anthropology.” And thank you for the succinct definition.
I’ve been away from this thread for a few days–no point in exposing myself to the webmastrs of the world if I don’t have to. However, in catching up I see I haven’t missed anything except the welcome entree of choosybeggar. Welcome aboard, sir or madame. Otherwise, we are going in the same circles. We just change partners now and then.
In all this discussion, what conclusions can be drawn?
webmastr is an unrepentant jerk.
Doc Moss makes the occasional good point, but should try to recognize that his (her?) opinions are not facts, although enough of society agrees that I can see where the mixup could occur. And am interested in hearing where either of them works where blatant discrimination against fat people is the accepted norm.
My fellow fat Dopers are still the nice people they were before I knew they were fat. I thank the skinny Dopers who are understanding of our situation–note that I did not say “sympathetic of our plight” because I refuse to think of myself as a victim. The rest can kindly go to Hell.
I am fat because I eat more than I burn. TFB. It is a very simple equation and one that is none of the OP’s business.
I would prefer that the seats in theaters and airplanes were bigger, but can see why I am not considered part of a big enough market to make it seem economically sensible to widen the seats and reduce seat counts. OTOH, I also see my fellow Americans continuing to broaden in the beam and look forward to the day when we have the economic clout to force changes.
I could lose weight. I have many times. I expect to make a push to lose some in the very near future. However, regardless of the success of my dieting I assume I will not be able to lose enough to change webmastr’s opinion of me. I will still sicken him. That’s his loss, but is to expected from a bigot like him.
Certainly were. And rather than get back on track and address all the rest of my post, you just skipped it.
I note you chose a very narrow bit of what I said to respond to, and stretched it out so that it appeared you were being thorough. In fact, you completely ignored the most important points.
Let me start by saying that you are playing the same game that webmastr is: mistaking opinion for fact, although you did watch a single tv show about 13 people and that apparantly makes you an expert with nothing left to learn. So let’s try again. Remember, just as you say fat people choose to be fat, it’s pretty apparent at this point that you are choosing to remain ignorant.
This sentence makes no sense. Either they are in complete control of their weight (in which case we have to assume they would be slim; why would anyone who isn’t a sumo wrestler set out to get fat) or they are out of control, they cannot be both simultaneously. The fact that you made this error in your communication demonstrates perfectly the flaw in your belief system.
Actually, without going back an re-reading what you explained, my memory tells me that the documentary showed you only that some people may have misjudged the amount of food they were eating. That is the most that could fairly be concluded from what you described.
My point, which you sort of danced around, was that it does not matter how much they eat, since I have conceded that many, maybe even most, fat people eat more than the amount they should to make and keep them slim. Remember that I started by saying we were going to leave aside physiological factors (even though those factors often include the fact that for seriously obese persons who have been dieting off and on all their lives, the amount of food necessary to sustain life and prevent fat is now ridiculously tiny, far less than it was when they began. But that’s beside the point, as I say.) What is really at issue is why, and whether that can really be said to be entirely within their control. Given the remarkable number of fat people in this country, given the fact that they are, without question, discriminated against, despised, tormented, rejected, reviled, taunted and generally tortured in every conceivable way, I continue to be astonished at people like yourself who insist that fat people “choose” to be fat, in the same way one might choose what shirt to wear that day, and speak of losing that weight, and keeping it off, as if it were no more complicated or difficult than choosing a different shirt.
See, this is the part where you were being offered an education and you chose to remain ignorant. Your “view” is beside the point, since it has no education, experience, or training to back it up – just judgment and a single TV show, the flaws in which we have already pointed out.
And how in god’s name would you know one way or another if someone was trying to deal with their addictions? If they are drunk/stoned in front of you, then they are not trying? How about that at this moment, they tried and failed? You going to hold it against them next time? But we are comparing this to fat folk…so if a person is fat, they are not trying? How the hell do you know? Do you know if they just lost 5 pounds? 50? 100? Maybe they’ve been on a diet for a year? If you see them eating what you judge to be the wrong food, how do you know they haven’t *just * fallen off the diet? Are you not familiar with “If at first you don’t succeed…” but to you it only counts if you succeed?
Guess what…if ** knowledge ** is the criteria for having an opinion,* you shouldn’t have any about obesity, either * . What is with you people who think you are experts because you eat?
What if their depression results in them eating too much as a way to numb the pain of life? All sympathy disappears?
Again, if they were in total control of their weight, they wouldn’t be fat. Again, why is it their responsibility that society is shitty? Sounds like you’re saying what you keep insisting you are not: that it is ok to mistreat fat people. NO IT ISN’T. By your logic, if someone does something stupid like play with firecrackers, and as a result blows their face off and becomes disfigured, it is okay to taunt them for being so ugly… after all, it is a result of them doing something stupid and dangerous that they could have chosen not to do, right?
Remember, you can choose ignorance, or you can choose knowledge. Let me educate you: compulsive overeating is extremely similar in character to many other conditions we consider illnesses: alcoholism, drug addiction, anorexia, bulimia. It also shares characteristics with OCD, it is frequently a component of depression, and is often a response to psychological disturbances caused by child abuse and sexual assault. Compulsive overeating is just the only one that leaves unmistakable evidence. On most people, not all. But the ones who don’t get fat don’t worry about it.
And this is all before we even start addressing the very real physiological components to obesity without overeating AND to compulsive overeating itself, since there is much evidence, and more every day, that compulsive overeating is a symptom of a condition called hyperinsulinemia, in which the body is resistent to insulin, causing wild swings in blood sugar and completely screwing up the body’s signals of hungry/full, and driving people to eat inappropriately.
Now we come to something really interesting:
Before I get into discussing how you have avoided the point of my query, allow me to direct your attention to what looks like a tiny glimmer of understanding that perhaps the obese who compulsively overeat are not “choosing” it, are not in the complete control you repeatedly accuse them of being.
But let’s get back to my point with this…
How you would so like to remain superior to all those who are supposedly weaker than you. So are you saying here that you were never “stupid” enough to eat?
I said it several different ways and you avoided addressing any but this, so I will say it again:unless and until you have the same compulsive urges that drug addicts, alcoholics, compulsive overeaters, smokers, bulimics, anorexics, and people who wash their hands 117 times a day have, * you cannot claim to be in any way superior to them *. You are not resisting anything! You are not struggling with anything! That’s the equivalent of telling someone who speaks French that you are superior because you speak English so well. But you never had to work at it, and they do. But that does not make them inferior to you! In fact, it could even be argued that the fat people of the world, along with the drug addicts, bulimics, etc. are superior to YOU because they live a life that is constantly challenged in ways yours is not, and yet they keep on taking up the struggle day after day. Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose, but every hour of every day is shadowed by their struggle. Yours is not. You who do not face these demons have the equivalent of the silver spoon in your mouths, bitching about welfare queens. Spare me.
A: the script was not originally written for a fat woman. Camryn Manheim, REAL fat person, met with David E. Kelly REAL writer / producer, and made him believe in this character.
B: The actress and the writer have worked together for 3 years (4?) to portray this attorney as a real person. The audience is buying it. Do you suppose that’s because there are real fat people in the world who are smart, strong, confident…?
C: This is all about looks, right? Didn’t you and wm both say similar things about snap judgments based on appearance? Well, forget watching the damn show…just look at Camryn Manheim. I can’t imagine anyone looking more professional. She looks great.
Ignorant? Different story…
Because you are wrong, and you keep rejecting the education you are being offered on the subject.
First of all…when and where is all this bitching occuring? Are you really telling me that you and webmastr are being accosted by fat people complaining to you how fat they are? I really have problems believing this. Please be more specific about who, when, and how often, because I think you are grossly exaggerating, if not outright fabricating.
Secondly, just like webmastr, you can’t seem to stay consistent. Which of the following is it:
a) Fat people are in your face bitching about how fat they are and they can’t help it, or:
b) Fat people are in your face bitching that people are being shitty to them and treating them badly?
Choice a) seems unlikely, and as for choice b) you keep telling us you agree that it is unacceptable for people to be shitty to fat people. Do you actually believe that is true, or are you trying to be politically correct while still getting your little digs in under the radar by claiming that choice a) is really a big issue in your life?
Umm… Doc? You know that the people in the little box are not really talking ** * to you * **, don’t you?
And let me take us back to my original post, and the parts you skipped:
Here’s what I see, Doc: you are disgusted by fat people (probably also a little freaked out by them, most people are; one of those “there but for the grace of God…” things). You want to say so out loud. But you are smart enough to realize that it’s really pretty low life to do so. So you are trying to make it sound like it’s alright because x, y, z – bottoming out at fat people deserve it because they made themselves fat. Well, bullshit. Fat people suffer plenty, whatever “suffering” you experience as a result of their existence doesn’t in any way excuse you or anyone else being unkind to them or discriminating against them. They have problems and issues you cannot begin to understand and are in no position to judge. And it is really vile of you to even imagine you can… the only reason fat people seem like such targets to you is because their struggle is visible.
Carnie Wilson just lost 152 pounds. How? Out of desperation, because * she could not control herself * she elected to undergo extremely dangerous surgery that rewired her whole digestive system in such a way as to physically prevent her from overeating. If she even tries to overeat, she becomes extremely ill. She is now, and for the rest of her life, doomed to eat a very small selection of foods that her body can handle, and must take supplements in order to be properly nourished. She has entered a different kind of painful life in order to be thin, because she could not control it and could not bear it.
Does that sound like something that is “totally within her control”? Would you do that to yourself if you felt you were totally in control?
Please, STOP saying that obesity is totally within everyone’s or even most people’s control. Superficially, yes. It is true that technically, each person actually picks up the food and puts it in their mouth. But if it were really all that simple, there would be no addiction problem of any kind anywhere in the world with any substance at all. And that is far from the truth, as we all know.
When you have walked a mile in my skin, you may begin to know me. But even when you have walked ten thousand miles in my skin, you have still not walked far enough to judge me.
My guess as to why people in America are fatter than the rest of the world populace is because of the higher standard of living (we don’t have to work as hard for all of the luxuries we get). And because we don’t have to work as hard, we get to sit on our collective fat ass and eat. Plus, all of the additives and preservatives only compund the problem. But, our population continues to grow and our economy continues to boom, so I guess we’re doin somthing right.
webmastr can kiss my entire ass and take the whole day doing it if he has to.
I’m not about to post height/weight statistics but let’s just say I used to wear a size 9 and I don’t anymore, a size 16 or 18 is more like it.
When I want someone’s opinion I will ask for it. Most people would never dare to comment on another’s bad breath, camel toes, or inappropriate behavior, yet, these same people have no qualms whatsoever in commenting on somebody’s weight/size/etc.
I am active, eat normally, work full time, have a very active sex life, and I can touch my head to my knees with no problem. I am intelligent, educated, professional and I have a healthy ego. I also am hurt every single time someone says something about “how fat you’re getting”
I bathe and dress myself every single day and I do possess a full-length mirror. Do you think that there is any way that I am unaware of what my body looks like. Yes even my ass.
My brother is skinny, has no muscle mass at all, none of his own teeth left mostly unemployed and drinks a case of beer a day yet he feels superior because he is thinner than I am. Fuck that.
AND FUCK YOU WEBMASTER AND ANYONE ELSE WHO SHARES HIS VIEWS. I MAY BE OVERWEIGHT BUT YOU ARE DAMAGED,DISGUSTING AND BENEATH CONTEMPT.
When I want an opinion I will ask for it, until then just keep your fucking poisonous crap to yourself. And watch it I just may try to sit on you.
Uh, in most all of the grocery stores I’ve seen, many of the cheapest/lowest-fat foods are located in the produce department. ~ Most people who are overweight eat too much calories and/or don’t exercise. Nobody gets fat from breathing. -Unless government agents constantly accost you and stuff pork rinds into your mouth, and then shoot your brain with Secret Fat Rays so you won’t remember…“Here Come The Men In Fat”…
[—sorry, couldn’t resist] - MC
I don’t think the report is referring to salad fixin’s. Yes, low fat items are more expensive than the “regular” stock. In the meat department, lean ground beef is more per lb than regular ground beef and the cheapest is the tube stuff with all the added fat and fillers. A package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts is about twice the price of a whole chicken. Alot of fat free products are more expensive than the cheaper generics and when you’re trying to feed growing kids on a tight budget, low calorie is less important than filling their tummies and making sure they get enough milk. I know, I’ve had to do it.
First of all, I’ve always hated the way I look. Always. I’ve never been obese, but always in that “I wish I could lose 20 pounds” category. So I decided to do something about it some 7 years ago. I got in shape. I became a dedicated gymrat. And I have run two half-marathons (no full marathons yet; am currently working on that goal after some time off to have Dr. Teeth Junior).
And, surprisingly–or maybe not–I really didn’t lose that much weight. I look pretty much the same. But I feel a lot better. I came to realize that “feeling good” is a much better, more healthy goal than “looking good.” I continue to run because of how it makes me feel, and am trying to rid myself of the whole bad body image psychological thing.
I’m sick and tired of the way we as a society feel we can judge those who don’t look the way we think they should. You see it all the time–rolled eyes and pursed lips at the larger-than-average people in line at Wal-Mart. For those of you who think this way, such as Webmaster, let me say this: losing weight and keeping it off is HARD. Add in other personal problems and you’re looking at a Herculean task. For example, I’ve had a few bouts with depression. It was never bad enough for me to seek medical attention, but it made trying to lose weight–or reach any goal besides getting out of bed in the morning–murderously hard. Mental and psychological problems do not make weight loss easy.
Because I know how hard it is, I’m the first one to cheer on those who are trying to become more healthy. Nothing impresses me or pumps me up more than the sight of an overweight someone out there on the track, huffing and sweating and trying to do something that is healthy but ultimately very difficult. Try being a cheerleader, Webmaster, rather than a critic, if you really want to have a positive impact on all those fat people out there.
A final note: I have friends who are gorgeous–lovely, slim size sixes and eights. And all they ever seem to do, most of them, is go on and on about how many calories this or that has in it, and how fat they feel, and how worried they are that they’ll get cellulite one day. This is supposed to be healthy? :rolleyes: My plumper friends who cheerfully consume cheesecake with me as we discuss the books we’ve just read are much more interesting to be around–and, as a general rule, are much happier with themselves.
