A weighty issue

[FurryFury]

McDonald's is just a generic term for all the other fast food places. Not that real restaurants are any better. The serving sizes are a day's worth of food.

Subway isn't bad if you are doing the low fat thing.

I rarely do the low fat thing. I simply eat less. The less you eat, the less your stomach can feel comfortable holding. However when I do eat the 6" veggie delight, I will get the works on it. I may not even be able to eat it all. It is true that greasy fatted food makes me sick after a bite or two.

The serving sizes are great for me. I don't eat it all and make several meals or snacks of it.

Did y'all see that sixty minutes segment they did on how farmers are paid not to produce? And how food is enhanced with corn syrup, practically everything has it and it's not good for us? It was broadcast a few years ago but I was outraged. I mean movie popcorn designed to practically kill us sucks! It smells so damn good. Yes, I get some. Yes, I'm addicted.

Fury

 

[graceanne]

Two things really opened my eyes about weight. First my Dad got off of steroids which he had been on most of his life. The bloated look and hump went away and he lost weight. Not only that but his rage became more rare and less severe. I would have never expected those HUGE changes.

Second my Mom, got on anti anxiety drugs and anti depression drugs after his death. She got down to a size 6 from a size 13 very quickly but she was more suicidal than ever. They put her on older, more traditional drugs and since she is much bigger than her traditional size 13.

That's only two things I know about. There must be tons more factors. I do know that drug use in the country for behavior and mental disorders is sky rocketing at the same time, so is weight.

Food manufactures are making a fortune. Drug companies are making a fortune. A lot of people are losing a great deal though, IMO. This is just the tip of the ice burg. These trends will continue to grow.

Fury

You're preaching to the choir. The only reason I allwed the prednisone was because it was that or loose my entire colon. I guarantee that having a coloscopy would depress me a lot more than this weight. I would never leave my house again.

And to anyone who's reading this, I DO NOT want to hear some feel-good story about someone you know who had a coloscopy and lived a happy and wonderful life afterward. I dont' fucking care - you're not the ones looking at walking around with a bag of shit taped (or whatever) to your body for the rest of your life.

 

[FurryFury]

The medical weight standards are not perfect. Athletes, for example, are often in incredible shape but overweight according to their BMI (weight in kg/height in cm squared) because muscle weighs more than fat. However, most doctors are aware of that (they do teach us that in medical school) and anyone who looks at an extremely muscular athlete and tells them to lose weight is, in fact, an idiot. And people's bone structure/body type doesn't always fit exactly within those guidelines. Doctors should be smart enough to figure that out.

The body mass index, though, is used for a reason. And there is a phenomenal amount of research to show that obesity is related to many, many other health problems. They showed us a study a while ago that scared me badly, which presented the correlation between increasing BMI and the number of years of life expectancy lost. Even at a young age, it's pretty significant - and if one is severely overweight, the risk of dying from a variety of things such as heart attack and stroke is exponentially higher even for young people.

The reason this scares me is that my SO is clinically obese. A healthy BMI is 18-25; his is 37. I love him dearly and want him to be around when we're old. His weight worsens his joint problems and asthma. It also makes certain positions/activities inconvenient, if not difficult, but that's not my main worry. Living with him, I know that his eating habits are awful and he doesn't exercise; when I first met him he was working out and eating well and weighed nearly 100 lbs less. Some of it, though, is genetic. His entire family has weight problems. His weight dramatically affects his self esteem as well.

I've been lucky with respect to my genes and my metabolism. My issues with weight are mostly in my head - I was a ballet dancer and puberty hit me rather harder than the other girls in my class (that or I just never became anorexic), and my mother was always warning me that if I did X, Y, or Z I'd get fat. So I have a tendency to be overly concerned, though my weight hasn't ever been out of the healthy range.

I think that as a society and as individuals we do need to be concerned about obesity as a health issue. As a society, we need to worry about the costs of medical care and the loss of productive life. As individuals, we need to maintain our health so that we can maximize the precious time we have with the people we care about and who care about us.

I agree. I don't worry about weight as a number. I wouldn't mind more weight if it were muscle at all.

My husband claims I'm anorexic. I'm not but it is true that my body image when I look in the mirror tends to be along the lines of too fat, too old MUST do something to improve.

I must say since posting pics on Lit and whenever I work out, I have improved my overall outlook a good bit. Still it's difficult to maintain at times, like when I find out my body is getting broke down in one area. Man does that suck.

Fury

 

[FurryFury]

You're preaching to the choir. The only reason I allwed the prednisone was because it was that or loose my entire colon. I guarantee that having a coloscopy would depress me a lot more than this weight. I would never leave my house again.

And to anyone who's reading this, I DO NOT want to hear some feel-good story about someone you know who had a coloscopy and lived a happy and wonderful life afterward. I dont' fucking care - you're not the ones looking at walking around with a bag of shit taped (or whatever) to your body for the rest of your life.

I understand how you feel. My Dad and I had many talks about this.

Every time my body lets me down I get mad, depressed and many other negative feelings.

Steroids can be a huge help with your disease. I'm well aware of that. You use the tools you must to take care of yourself in the least invasive way you can.

I hate steroids though. Damn things make me hyper as hell, tear up my stomach (which doesn't take much), and unable to sleep. Right now I could benefit from some due to the inflammation and pain. in my upper right side of my body, but it looks like I'm going to be fine with out it. I'm going to be fighting a long battle though or a series of them.

*hug*

Fury

 

[graceanne]

I understand how you feel. My Dad and I had many talks about this.

Every time my body lets me down I get mad, depressed and many other negative feelings.

Steroids can be a huge help with your disease. I'm well aware of that. You use the tools you must to take care of yourself in the least invasive way you can.

I hate steroids though. Damn things make me hyper as hell, tear up my stomach (which doesn't take much), and unable to sleep. Right now I could benefit from some due to the inflammation and pain. in my upper right side of my body, but it looks like I'm going to be fine with out it. I'm going to be fighting a long battle though or a series of them.

*hug*

Fury

*hugs* I pray you don't end up needing them, and if you do I pray they help quickly. If you go on them, and need to vent (cause I don't know about you, but they make me AGGRESSIVE) you can IM me anytime.

 

[FurryFury]

*hugs* I pray you don't end up needing them, and if you do I pray they help quickly. If you go on them, and need to vent (cause I don't know about you, but they make me AGGRESSIVE) you can IM me anytime.

*hugs back tight*

Thanks so much beautiful Graceanne! You are so generous and kind. *smiles*

That's actually one reason why I chose to see a Chiropractor instead of an MD. I figured all the MD would do is throw drugs at me and possibly (I really didn't think this was likely) refer me to a surgeon.

Now that I've seen the X'rays and read up on it, surgery would have been recommended and a shot in the shoulder of steroids would have been given at the very least. So, in conclusion, I think I made the best though at the time a rather terrifying choice for me. I may still need surgery in time but I hope to avoid it and the steroids.

Fury

 

[graceanne]

*hugs back tight*

Thanks so much beautiful Graceanne! You are so generous and kind. *smiles*

That's actually one reason why I chose to see a Chiropractor instead of an MD. I figured all the MD would do is throw drugs at me and possibly (I really didn't think this was likely) refer me to a surgeon.

Now that I've seen the X'rays and read up on it, surgery would have been recommended and a shot in the shoulder of steroids would have been given at the very least. So, in conclusion, I think I made the best though at the time a rather terrifying choice for me. I may still need surgery in time but I hope to avoid it and the steroids.

Fury

I hear that. And to tell the truth if it'd just been a matter of loosing a portion of my colon, I'd have taken the surgery over the steroids.

 

[FluteMaster]

From the other end

Just read the entire thread (mad impetuous fool that I am), and thought it should be required reading for anyone who thinks about weight issues. Packed full of intellectual goodness and sweetened with fun and good humour.

However, I just wanted to tell a different story. I was skinny when I was young - seriously skinny and teased at school about it. As a young adult and a tad under 6 ft I was about 130 lbs. As a result I felt wholly unnattractive, and so I was a late runner in the relationship stakes.

Nowadays, in my 40's, and having put on a bit of weight, I think I look better, but I will always carry the pain and insecurity of those early days, and I carry a lot of negative self image. I may look "normal" in terms of weight, but that doesn't mean I feel it.

So for everyone who struggles with how they look - {{{{{{hugs}}}}}}

 

[the captians wench]

Just read the entire thread (mad impetuous fool that I am), and thought it should be required reading for anyone who thinks about weight issues. Packed full of intellectual goodness and sweetened with fun and good humour.

However, I just wanted to tell a different story. I was skinny when I was young - seriously skinny and teased at school about it. As a young adult and a tad under 6 ft I was about 130 lbs. As a result I felt wholly unnattractive, and so I was a late runner in the relationship stakes.

Nowadays, in my 40's, and having put on a bit of weight, I think I look better, but I will always carry the pain and insecurity of those early days, and I carry a lot of negative self image. I may look "normal" in terms of weight, but that doesn't mean I feel it.

So for everyone who struggles with how they look - {{{{{{hugs}}}}}}

My ex was the same way. 5'8 and 110 thru school. And pale as a sheet. He had a lot of self image issues, and I think that's one of the reasons he wanted to get married. After we got married, being the good little house wife I was, I cooked every meal for him. He started to pick up some weight that way, and so he began to work out. By the end of our marriage he was looking really good.

His girlfriend now doesn't like the sixpack abs look (heaven knows why) and she's always dated bigger guys. So he's still putting on weight, only now it's not the healthy kind he was before. He's starting to look chubby (I never would have imagined that while dating in high school). I jokingly commented about it, and he absolutely growled at me. He says that he keeps feeling like he's gaining too much but his girl is telling him he's not. Is it possible the feeder became the feedee?

 

[FurryFury]

Just read the entire thread (mad impetuous fool that I am), and thought it should be required reading for anyone who thinks about weight issues. Packed full of intellectual goodness and sweetened with fun and good humour.

However, I just wanted to tell a different story. I was skinny when I was young - seriously skinny and teased at school about it. As a young adult and a tad under 6 ft I was about 130 lbs. As a result I felt wholly unnattractive, and so I was a late runner in the relationship stakes.

Nowadays, in my 40's, and having put on a bit of weight, I think I look better, but I will always carry the pain and insecurity of those early days, and I carry a lot of negative self image. I may look "normal" in terms of weight, but that doesn't mean I feel it.

So for everyone who struggles with how they look - {{{{{{hugs}}}}}}

I had the same problem. Girls are vicious when you are skinny in high school.
I wasn't trying to be. I tried everything to put on some weight. It's not just overweight people that get rude comments and stares thrown at them.

Fury

 

[FluteMaster]

I had the same problem. Girls are vicious when you are skinny in high school.
I wasn't trying to be. I tried everything to put on some weight. It's not just overweight people that get rude comments and stares thrown at them.

Fury

Kids are vicious in school full stop - I was at an all boys school and lousy at sports, wore glasses - total geek. The girls I sometimes met didn't need to say anything, I was already terrified.

Ah well - the happiest days of our lives??

The comments that are thrown are for anyone who looks different in the "wrong" way.

 

[FurryFury]

Kids are vicious in school full stop - I was at an all boys school and lousy at sports, wore glasses - total geek. The girls I sometimes met didn't need to say anything, I was already terrified.

Ah well - the happiest days of our lives??

The comments that are thrown are for anyone who looks different in the "wrong" way.

For those people that had a good school experience I'm happy for them. For those that think it was the best time in their lives I feel sorry for them.


I agree, if we look different, act different, speak about different things and so on they yep, we get made fun of, blend baby blend. That's the key.

Fury

 

[tzigane]

I agree, school can be miserable if you aren't exactly the "right type." There is nobody as mean as an adolescent kid.

On a slightly different note, I was flipping through the channels the other night and caught a couple minutes of America's Next Top Model. I'd heard people making a big deal about the fact that the show is now including "plus size models," and thought I'd take a look.

Yeah...the "plus size models" were wearing a size 8 or 10 at 5'10"+. When the average American woman's height is between 5'4" and 5'6" and her size is 12, that is not plus size. I'm slightly disturbed by this.

 

[the captians wench]

I agree, school can be miserable if you aren't exactly the "right type." There is nobody as mean as an adolescent kid.

On a slightly different note, I was flipping through the channels the other night and caught a couple minutes of America's Next Top Model. I'd heard people making a big deal about the fact that the show is now including "plus size models," and thought I'd take a look.

Yeah...the "plus size models" were wearing a size 8 or 10 at 5'10"+. When the average American woman's height is between 5'4" and 5'6" and her size is 12, that is not plus size. I'm slightly disturbed by this.

and here I was all excited to be in juniors again (15 whoo hoo) and finally able to dress my age and my personal style.

 

[CutieMouse]

*****

 

[FurryFury]

I agree, school can be miserable if you aren't exactly the "right type." There is nobody as mean as an adolescent kid.

On a slightly different note, I was flipping through the channels the other night and caught a couple minutes of America's Next Top Model. I'd heard people making a big deal about the fact that the show is now including "plus size models," and thought I'd take a look.

Yeah...the "plus size models" were wearing a size 8 or 10 at 5'10"+. When the average American woman's height is between 5'4" and 5'6" and her size is 12, that is not plus size. I'm slightly disturbed by this.

Every little bit helps IMO. Those girls do not have the confidence on the show of the thinner girls. Chips on your shoulder generally help you fall apart on reality shows. One girl is left of those two.

Fury

 

[the captians wench]

Not to flame or anything, but just because the "average woman" is 5'4" - 5'6", and a size 12, does not mean a size 12 isn't plus size.

A quick check online of size charts, shows a US 12 to be a waist measurement of 32-35" (measurements can vary by manufacturer, but most often, a 12 is around 32"). I'm sorry, but a woman who is 5'4" to 5'6", with a 32-35" waist, is plus sized, even if she falls into "average" measurements..

I may think of a reply later, that's all I can get to form right now.

 

[FurryFury]

I actually felt that my mom was most beautiful and lovely when she was a size 13 than any other size.

Fury

 

[CutieMouse]

*****

 

[tzigane]

Not to flame or anything, but just because the "average woman" is 5'4" - 5'6", and a size 12, does not mean a size 12 isn't plus size.

A quick check online of size charts, shows a US 12 to be a waist measurement of 32-35" (measurements can vary by manufacturer, but most often, a 12 is around 32"). I'm sorry, but a woman who is 5'4" to 5'6", with a 32-35" waist, is plus sized, even if she falls into "average" measurements..

My point was that just because the average American woman is a size 12, that does not mean a size 12 suddenly stops being the beginning of the plus size scale. If we use that logic, in another generation a size 14/16 will become "average", so that will stop being an indicator of being larger; a generation after that, a size 18/20 might be average, and so on.

I don't think I was as clear as I meant to be. I agree with you that size 12 is on the plus size scale, whether or not it's the national average. What I meant to say was that a woman who is 5'10" or taller and a size 8 is not plus size.

And FurryFury, you make an interesting point about the confidence issue with those particular models. I didn't watch enough of the show to tell much about it, but...how long do you think the other girl will last?

 

[FurryFury]

I don't think I was as clear as I meant to be. I agree with you that size 12 is on the plus size scale, whether or not it's the national average. What I meant to say was that a woman who is 5'10" or taller and a size 8 is not plus size.

And FurryFury, you make an interesting point about the confidence issue with those particular models. I didn't watch enough of the show to tell much about it, but...how long do you think the other girl will last?

It's hard to say. I doubt she will win. Up until last week she hadn't brought much of anything to the completion in photo sessions. Last week she did a good job. Now we will see if she keeps it up and gets stronger or if she let's the show break her down.

Fury

 

[the captians wench]

I keep trying to find words in my head and I just can't seem to get them out.

Since when has 12 been a plus size? Maybe it's because I'm a youngen around here but I always thought that 16/18 was the begining of plus sizes and that was the small end.

I know you didn't mean to, and I know I shouldn't let a word really bum me out but I've worked hard the past two years with the goal of getting that would plus out of my size and the little w off of my lables.

Of course women were smaller in the 20's and up thru the 50's, they did a different kind of work. Their bodies were made for a different kind of living. Go back further and you can watch the sizes change and shift. Not to mention the fact that just about any thing you eat has chemicals in it now that it didn't have back then. You can't drink a glass of water with out getting cloreene.

I'm a bit emotional now to begin with so I probably shouldn't even be attempting this because I don't think I'm really making a point.

 

[CutieMouse]

*****

 

[FurryFury]

I keep trying to find words in my head and I just can't seem to get them out.

Since when has 12 been a plus size? Maybe it's because I'm a youngen around here but I always thought that 16/18 was the begining of plus sizes and that was the small end.

I know you didn't mean to, and I know I shouldn't let a word really bum me out but I've worked hard the past two years with the goal of getting that would plus out of my size and the little w off of my lables.

Of course women were smaller in the 20's and up thru the 50's, they did a different kind of work. Their bodies were made for a different kind of living. Go back further and you can watch the sizes change and shift. Not to mention the fact that just about any thing you eat has chemicals in it now that it didn't have back then. You can't drink a glass of water with out getting cloreene.

I'm a bit emotional now to begin with so I probably shouldn't even be attempting this because I don't think I'm really making a point.

Yes, that is the way I've always seen it as well.

Fury

 

[Etoile]

Maybe I just have a different understanding of plus size than others. On other forums I'm on, I've seen women argue that plus sizes shouldn't begin until 20/22, or that a XXL - XXXL isn't a plus sized garment. I've been every size between 4 and 22, and I have a hard time seeing any size 12+ as not being plus sized. That's the point at which the cut of a garment starts to need to be adjusted to fit a fuller bust/tummy/hips, which is why it's the defining breakpoint for me.

See, for me, "plus size" begins at the point where normal stores don't carry it in great quantity. Despite the national average being over size 10, most stores - I'm talking major department stores, mostly - carry sizes 4-12 usually. And those 12s are in scarce supply, let me tell you. Occasionally you can find 14's in the regular section, usually they are in the women's section, if there is such a section at all. For me, plus size begins when I have to prowl through shops trying to find something in my size, and all I can find is lower sizes.

Right now I'm a 14. Yeah, it's usually in the "women's" or plus size section. Then again, I have a hard time shopping at Lane Bryant too, because they don't always carry stuff *small* enough for me. And considering that I am probably pretty damn close to the national average, it's astonishing how much trouble I have finding clothes in my size. Blah.