Also, there is a difference between being a bit overweight and being morbidly obese.
You don’t have to look like Kate Moss or Karen Carpenter. You can be bigger and be healthy if that fits your frame and build.
But when your doctor tells you that you’re having heart problems and such…well, that’s when fat becomes unhealthy.
It’s OK, you were weak from hunger. Congrats on the weight loss, BTW. I’ve lost about 100 lbs over the last year. On my own, though, no encounter sessions.
Someone help me out here – what’s the short story like this? The one where the guy signs up to quit smoking and the company does increasingly vicious things to his wife until he stops smoking for good? I think in the end the cut off her pinky. It’s a good, if freaky, little story.
Human stupidity?
Jodi -Stephen King- Quitters inc.
Jodi, see also the movie Stephen King’s Cats Eye.
Not that King has a funny eye or a marble, he just tacked his name one the title, ya know? 
You guys are too good – I can’t even steal from an obscure Stephen King story without someone catching me?
In the interest of full disclosure, I was also riffing off of Joey Skagg’s wonderful hoax, The Fat Squad.
Daniel
Hey… there’s a business plan.
I might actually stick to a diet plan if it involved late night visits from mafia goons. (“We need to have a talk. The butter fried cheese sandwich. You know I’m not happy when you eat deep fried fat like that. You know what happens when I’m not happy.”)
That could work.
Isn’t there also an Orson Scott Card story like this in Maps in a Mirror? Or am I thinking of “Fat Farm”?
My mom was a WW “group leader” (the one who leads the meetings, weighs the members, gives the little speeches, and does the counseling). She went from 199 pounds to her goal weight of 139 pounds in about eight months. She has kept the weight off for the most part, but it’s been over 20 years since she joined, and her body’s changes as she’s aged have resulted in a gradual gain of about 15-20 pounds, which is still a healthy weight for her. I realize that it’s only one anecdote, but the point of WW is to learn a healthier way of eating for LIFE, not just until you get thin enough to cause envy at your high school reunion.
WW has a “maintenance” program, which may have changed slightly since I last discussed it with Mom, but I’d bet not by much. After reaching a predetermined goal weight, and staying within two pounds of it for six weeks on an eating plan modified a tad from the one you follow while trying to lose weight, a WW member becomes a “lifetime member”. The maintenance plan is intended to be followed (loosely, usually) for LIFE. WW is the least restrictive diet I’ve ever seen, and it isn’t hard to continue to eat in a healthy way forever if you have the proper tools. From personal experience, I know that WW is one of those tools.
It’s absurd that these folks want to blame their gluttony on anyone but the guy doing the chewing.
Sermon over.
scout, upon rereading I see that I somehow missed your “lifetime member” comments. Sorry 'bout that. Color me a copycat. :smack:
I’ve got some Weight Watchers related questions. Can I convince a few of you Weight Watchers members to join me over here?
Thanks!
Fenris
So, you’re saying it’s okay to be fat when you have a medical problem. That’s fine. Has anyone ever tried to NOT eat when taking 80 mg of Prednisone? Christ! It’s like you’re possessed!
Being big naturally is just having a big frame. That’s not morbid obesity. Morbid obesity is being at least 100 pounds overweight and is usually caused by (yes, overeating) a chemical imbalance which treats food like an addiction.
I agree that heredity doesn’t cause an increase in obesity rates. The convenience of fast food restaurants and dinners that come in boxes and cans is a big reason for the increase.
However, heredity plays a part. I’m sure there were some families in the 1950s and earlier that tended to be on the chubby side. But with the proliferation of fattening foods like McDonalds and anything made by Chef-boy-R-Dee, the “fat families” are now more than just on the chubby side. They are noticeably FAT. If you were to see my mother’s side of the family, you’d notice that we are all huge. I’m talking about 70-120 pounds overweight. Not some of us…ALL of us. NOW tell me that a bad metabolism isn’t hereditary.
AND, If anyone here is NOT 100 pounds overweight and hasn’t been through the emotional aspect of being fat, knowing that you’re fat, yet STILL reaching for the chips, then your opinion doesn’t mean shit to me. I’ve been addicted to pills and cigarettes and it’s the same feeling. You reach for a cigarette or a pill, all the while knowing it’s not good for you. Be smug all you want, but it’s not as easy as “eat less and exercise, ya fat ass”. You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.
I know I’ll get flamed for this, but what the fuck?
Oh, I suppose I could post something about the actual OP… :smack:
Anyone who does WW, quits the plan and gains the weight back, then decides to sue is a moron. [I think “quits the plan” is the key phrase here] I did WW and gained back my 15 pounds lost and I just blamed myself. The program didn’t fail me, I failed when I stopped. How difficult is that to understand? I know I eat a lot. I’m not going to sue WW or McDonalds, though.
Actually, I never eat at McDonalds. Can I sue them for sucking?
Look Bunny, I’m not saying that losing weight is easy, and I’m not saying that bad metabolism isn’t heredity. I’m saying that you’re confusing explanations with excuses. It doesn’t sound like you’re living a healthy lifestyle, so until you start, you can cram the excuses about your family being overweight.
To abuse your valid analogy, you’re addicted to being obese. Are you blaming your heredity, or are you blaming the fact that you can’t stop reaching for the chips? Maybe you’re blaming your hereditary food addiction. If so, how do you perceive junkies?
Woo-hoo! If this case actually goes through and the woman wins, then I’m suing Nicorette because I started smoking again.
:rolleyes:
I am not 100 pounds overweight and I have have a family that is presdisposed to being overweight. My answer is that I choose not to reach for the chips. or the cigaretts or the pills. Please take responsibility for yourself. It is the only way you will respect yourself.
As a person who comes from a family in which many members were between 70-120 pounds overweight, and nearly all 50+ pounds overweight, I say that metabolism is only part of the issue. Yes, folks like us probably tend genetically to gain weight slightly more easily and find it slightly more difficult to lose it.
However, terrible eating habits were passed down from generation to generation. When I joined WW, so did a lot of my family members. We also started exercising regularly. We all lost weight and improved our health. Most of us were able to reach weights that were in the healthy range for our height. The only one who couldn’t get there was my mother, who is nearly 60. She did, however, drop a shocking amount of body fat and gain a lot of muscle mass, but she lifts weights and works out every day. She was also able to stop taking her blood pressure medicine and is no longer borderline diabetic.
Genetics may play a small part, but it’s not the whole story. Take a look at the eating and exercise behaviors of your family members. I’m willing to bet most of the blame lies therein.
Ooh, sign me up! What I need is a guy the size of Bobby Bacala to stand in front of my refrigerator and block access. Even better: he could eat all my groceries right after I buy them!
THANK YOU!!!
The Blame Game! Let’s all play!