I think this “addicted to food” business is a bit overblown. When I was eating too much, it was because I really liked to eat, and because my body had gotten used to demanding a larger amount of food than I needed.
It’s true that a lot of fat people have really messed up emotional problems with food, and changing for them will never be as simple as it was for me. So I do have a lot of sympathy for people who have to struggle with profound psychological issues regarding their diet.
I consider myself quite lucky that my problem was never that severe. For me, it was just a matter of diligently tracking the numbers, and suffering for a couple weeks while my body got used to running on far fewer calories. It was surprisingly easy.
But not everybody is as lucky as I am. For some, eating is a compulsive behavior, like people who constantly wash their hands or pull their hair or have a panic attack if they don’t turn the lights off in the correct order.
It’s taken a lot of time for people with serious mental illnesses to begin shedding their stigma. (Better treatment options have also helped.) I hope the superfat compulsive eaters and people who treat them can achieve the same kind of progress.
Of course, most people who are fat are fat because they eat too much and don’t have a food addiction. It’s not that they’re intentionally gluttonous, it’s that our society has a glut of food, out-of-control ideas about portions, and when you get used to that, you become hungry for more food than you need. And you stay that way, getting gradually fatter and fatter, until you change the way you eat. And that can be extremely difficult, because it also requires an acclimation period, during which you will constantly be hungry.
She doesn’t look too bad at all. Even so, I don’t get the anger. It seems misplaced, when there are so many other, more important things to be angry about.
Guess what I do at my job? Hint: I sit at my desk eight hours a day. You know what no one’s forcing me to do? Eat fattening snacks.
Just because you’re hungry, there’s nothing that says it has to be, say, chips/cookies/brownies/whatever instead of something like raw veggies.
/gkick
Thank you. I will treasure it forever and ever.
And yet, they still whine about it, even when they know exactly how to fix the problem. If you see someone hitting themself in the face over and over, complainign about the bruises, you don’t think they’re the least bit retarded for continuing to punch?
I have a fucking amazing ass. I also have a lot of residual muscle in my thighs from a decade of Irish dance, some of which has turned to fat: like I said, out of shape. I also don’t bitch about my weight or my appearance.
No, it’s not. If I’d said, “My god, why does everyone think I’m such an asshole?! Why can’t people recognize me for the delicate, loving flower I am?!?!?!” you’d have a point.
I bet you call the cops when you see a boxing match on TV, too, don’t you.
God yes. Read the nutritional facts for fast food sometime. (Not you specifically, friedo.) It’s easy to hit 1000 calories in a meal that will barely last you through four hours. Fries alone can be a good 300-400 calories.
Believe me, I have more than enough anger to go around. I’m an anger multi-tasker. Scientists have theorized that I have the ability to be pissed off about more than 1.123584*10^16 things simultaneously.
From the animation in the link in the OP, it looks like fatness is a contagious disease that is spreading from it’s epicenter in Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. Maybe you could wall off those states or something.
Are you suggesting that I implied that people are forcing fat people to eat? I am suggesting that fat people’s metabolism and appetite are forcing them to eat. You probably don’t have the same metabolism and appetite of those fatties you hate so much.
Raw veggies do not satisfy hunger in remotely the same way that cookies, crisps, chocolate bars do. Be realistic.
Edit: Why am I wasting my time on this? I could be stuffing my face with cheeseburgers…
Actually, they do. Volume is a big part of “feeling full,” which is easier for people to feel than the amount of energy they get from a cookie. Even if you have to eat a bagful of carrots to match the energy of a couple of cookies, that’s going to fill your stomach more.
Jesus, stop being such a busybody. Unless they’re posting about you on a forum, why do you care who someone is pissed off at?
On to the non-parodic part of this response:
I care because:
a) I ride public transit. Every fatty on the bus is one taking up more than their share of space.
b) I fly on planes. Every fatty on the plane is one potentially spilling over into someone’s personal space and driving up the ticket price for everyone else.
c) I have health insurance. Every fatty covered by my insurer is one driving up the premiums for everyone else on the plan, especially if they develop diabetes, and especially-especially if their lack of self-control carries over to their compliance with their condition management for the diabetes.
Yes, but feeling full and feeling satisfied are not the same. I don’t think eating a bag of carrots is going to give me the same pleasure rush as eating half a packet of chocolate chip cookies.
I inserted my comments in red, just to be different. The fat person is the least of my worries, he or she is probably not the psycho who’s out to “get you”.
Nothing “forces” anyone to eat other than a tube down the nose.
Bzzzzdt. I get hungry a lot. You know what I do? I cook smaller portions, so I don’t gobble the whole big meal down, or I portion a smaller amount out to eat and the 'fridge the rest right away. I snack on healthful things like carrots instead of chips. I limit sodas, desserts, and fried or otherwise fattening snacks to treats instead of regular entitlements. I eat large portions of healthful things like salads. And sometimes, I just deal with the fact that I’m hungry and go do something else.
That’s on the agenda for April, after the one about puns.*