A weighty issue

[nh23]

Just throwing in a little tidbit and not directed at anyone or any particular posting:

Back when my wife was 21, she was very sick (very sick as in: she already received the anointing of the sick in hospital). She was down to 50 pounds (height 5'5) due to her illness. To quote her:"I'm tired of obese people complaining how difficult it is to not eat. They should be in the situation where they have to eat or die, when every chewing makes you puke, when every bite is filled with disgust, when your stomach tells you it's completely totally full, when every little movement hurts. I wish all I had to do was to stop doing something."


(She is usually really nice (unlike me), but this is one of her few pet peeves...)

Her metabolism now is so fucked up that she basically just eats sweets to be able to maintain 100 pounds. We spend $50 per month on sweets alone - and although 100 pounds is still way under the "normal" BMI, she doesn't look anorexic. So anyone who tells me (s)he would look anorexic when within the normal BMI is just babbling without a clue.

I would imagine going through something like that would really put things in perspective.

On the other end of the spectrum are people with illnesses that make them gain weight, or unable to lose it. People who have to take steroids, etc..

 

[Netzach]

I was a bit busy last night, so couldn't join the discussion (and am just now catching up) but Marylin gets brought up every freaking time people discuss weight.

Marylin Monroe was a size 12 in the 1950s - 36/22/35

Based on Land's End clothing charts, a modern size 12 measures - 38/31/42.

[generic statement]

DEAR UNIVERSE, PLEASE STOP USING MARYLIN TO DEFEND WEIGHT ISSUES

[/generic statement]

*headdeskheaddeskheaddesk*

That's cool sort of. Let's still compare her measurements to the average person upheld as gorgeous, and she's looking very normal, and within the range of normal.

I was listening to an NPR thing about the modeling industry in it's nascent era - there was a prominent model who was 5'4''. That would never ever happen. I have no idea why not, it's not like the lens shrinks your torso to nothing if you're under 6 feet.

The fact is we went from worshipping good genes to worshipping very very RARE genes and essentially only putting genetic wonders on the runways.

 

[Netzach]

I'm sure there are also some genetic factors in this race but not enough to account for all 90%.

Not so sure.

You have a population who is suddenly eating foods their ancestry probably never touched. Flour? Rice? Corn product?
Soy, unless your last name is Nakimura or Chen is probably not something you are able to digest and metabolize well. And it's in every freaking thing out there now.

Of course differences between human races are infinitesmal, but gut flora seems like it could be a biggie.

Probably very not-good. And possibly enough to create endocrine system havoc.

There was a study done with a bunch of indigenous New Mexicans who were having heart attacks all over the place. It was a small study sample.

They got people off the fry bread, white bread, flour and crappy GMO corn from Mexico, and onto a diet their forebears would have eaten. Yucca, heirloom corn, lean rabbit, etc. Not even the total fat-phobic AMA kind of diet either, still animal fats and grains, but *better* ones. You guessed it, heart attacks down. Crazy - ass down.

Now, if I were to eat their food, I'd probably be hospitalized and awful.

People think they can eat things just because they don't kill you that day. And MD's are no help. They're happy to kill you with white goo.

 

[Netzach]

Then the obesity rate would be 99%. I'm sure there are a lot of women who know how to shop and how to cook healthy meals. I doubt a doctor's wife is going to serve her husband beanie weenie and cheesetoes and Mountain Dew every night.

Dude, the absolute win was seeing my Gastro pitching a McD's wrapper before my appt. in the trash. He's a marathoner though. Some people would rather eat poison and run it off, and some people not so much.

I see plenty of skinny people who eat three bites of utter shit and never cook anything. This is somehow ethically better and I should pay into THEIR actuarial tables?

An Md's wife is living a vastly different life from his single mom admin asst.

People who can take the time to train and keep their appointments at the gym tend to have $$$. If it's so freaking important to people that everyone else be thin, point some of your damn outrage off the nearest big ass and onto the nearest funding cut for phy ed.

 

[Netzach]

I would imagine going through something like that would really put things in perspective.

On the other end of the spectrum are people with illnesses that make them gain weight, or unable to lose it. People who have to take steroids, etc..

Or the people with 2 feet of intestine left who can no longer eat food. I don't think they're wishing inability to eat food on anyone ever.

Every time I eat anything I'm pretty relieved I still can. I have bigger things to worry about than someone else's ass in tight pants and how mine compares.

A lot of the rest of this shit is superfluous. Did you get up? Can you chew? Bravo. Be thankful.

 

[Netzach]

For my particular body type, eating too much isn't the problem. I actually wasn't eating enough. I was skipping breakfast, and lunch. Eating a big dinner. It was also the types of food I was eating. I can't do red meats, white bread, white poatato's.

Ay ay ay. I feel this.

That's the most common thing I hear from people, I find myself doing the same damn thing and it's literally one of the worst things you can do. Eat about 900-1000 calories at your one sitting of the day, maybe 5-800 and really screw yourself hard - - that's a total key to fucking your metabolism into pre-diabetes, diabetes, and making it nigh impossible to lose weight.

It's also, when you are can't sit down do I have time to pee? busy - the easiest thing to do. Not doing it is damn hard work. I've been doing the cook once a week thing and prepping a lot of proteins into plastic baggies.

 

[neci]

http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/artists/fernando_botero/Girl%20Eatting%20Ice%20Cream.jpg
Botero girl eating ice cream

 

[CutieMouse]

Millions of £$ spent on advertising, a lot of it aimed specificaly at children. Unclear labeling of products. Sponsoring of school canteens. etc

Soooo parents/the school system/adults aren't responsible for teaching kids critical thinking skills re: advertising?

Adults are incapable of actually reading portion labels on packaged food? (a good starting point is portion control)

Schools are unable to turn down corporate sponsors?

 

[the captians wench]

Countries in colder climates tend to have higher obesity levels due to the higher carbohydrate intake to keep warm. What was that program where the guy lived on nothing but McDonalds? Supersize me? The fast food industry has a lot to answer for. (I do like the occasional Chinese or pizza!)

Anything that makes you happy is addictive, same with food.

I'm not sure about the genetic argument, not many obese folk in the sudan.

But as long as it does not affect your health, who cares!

This is where I step in. Most here know I work at Mcyd's. I stared 5 years ago. When I started, I weighed 375-395lbs at 5'3. I had to have men's pants bought for my uniform because the uniform company did not make women's pants large enough to fit me.

I eat Mcyd's at least twice a day, but some times 3 or 4 times. Not always a meal, but a sandwhich here and there. I'm hypoglycemic, I have to eat every two-three hours to keep my sugar at a balanced level. I have to eat something with protien, so I'm not just snagging a parfait or apples. And after a 9 hour shift I'm exhausted and I know there's no chance that I'm going to cook at home, so I either eat there where it's free or I'm buying on the way home. In this time, free usually wins.

Today I weigh 205-215 and I'm down to a size 15/16. I think I'd loose another 20lbs if I cut my hair! The job I do is a very active job. I also take a mile walk at least once a week, but I'm trying to get back up to everyday, or the pool should be open (gotta get on the landlords about that) and I'll get back up to 10 laps a day.

Mc Donald's does not make you fat. Choosing to eat like shit and remain inactive makes you fat. And eating like shit involves both over and under eating as well as just eating very unhealthy stuff.

Now according to every thing I've seen, I am considered, at the very least, savierly over weight. My doctors are not so worried at the moment because I am maintaining my weight and probably healthier than I ever have been.

The smallest I have been is 165 lbs. At that wight I have been both a size 9/10 and a size 16. I don't worry about my weight as much as I worry about my measurements anymore.

What does the fast food industry have to answer for? No one holds a gun to my head and makes me grab McDonalds on the way home... I love Chipotle Burrito Bowls - however, if I pay attention while I'm eating and stop when I'm full, ONE burrito bowl is enough for dinner, lunch the next day, and a snack (with tostado chips) the day after. If I don't pay attention and spend 30 minutes going "nom nom nom mmmm Chipotle" until I eat the whole damn thing in one sitting - that's my own damn fault, not the restaurant's.

*giggles* I do the same thing. I actually get extra meat though. I need the meat to be able to consider it a good snack for me. The rice can be a bit too much carb for me at times, so it makes 3-4 meals for me, but I might be eating a bit more often than normal.

 

[Netzach]

Schools are unable to turn down corporate sponsors?

welll.....that's the million dollar question isn't it?

 

[Netzach]

*giggles* I do the same thing. I actually get extra meat though. I need the meat to be able to consider it a good snack for me. The rice can be a bit too much carb for me at times, so it makes 3-4 meals for me, but I might be eating a bit more often than normal.

I always go through backwards or get the salad, no rice tortilla corn or beans. The huge portion isn't so huge at that point.

 

[CutieMouse]

welll.....that's the million dollar question isn't it?

That is the hardest question... right next to funding the humanities and vocational programs.

 

[Netzach]

http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/artists/fernando_botero/Girl%20Eatting%20Ice%20Cream.jpg
Botero girl eating ice cream

I find those sexy and lovely. I find that the question of obesity is always tinged with this kind of moral superiority, because someone feels they can control their weight better than someone else.

9 times in 10 that person smokes. Or is a relationship addict and a freaking mess. Or has no impulse control when shopping. Or drinks. Or has no social impulse control. But holy shit, did you see HER (it's always her) in that DRESS?

I wonder if that's the real backstory, that here's a way you can kick someone else when your own inability to control YOUR habits gets to be too much, and it's socially more ok.

 

[the captians wench]

I always go through backwards or get the salad, no rice tortilla corn or beans. The huge portion isn't so huge at that point.

I really do love the rice, I just go light on it, and I only allow myself to splurge on this once every other week or so. Better for my budget, and better for my diet.

While I can't mimic the rice, I have found that I make a mean corn salsa. This with chicken cooked in taco seasoning with a sharp chedder will usually tame my craving. Not exactly the same, but a fine substitute.

 

[WriterDom]

$77 million are paid monthly to approximately 137,000 persons who met obesity requirements for disability. Eat it until you meet it.

I like the grilled chicken salad at McDs. I'd like a large shake too but that's 1160 calories.

 

[Netzach]

$77 million are paid monthly to approximately 137,000 persons who met obesity requirements for disability. Eat it until you meet it.

I like the grilled chicken salad at McDs. I'd like a large shake too but that's 1160 calories.

Honestly? You pay more for the arts. 137,000 people? 1 million have CD/UC and we're supposedly a rare disease.

Is it fair that my premiums are driven up by dickweeds tearing their tendons trail running somewhere they need to be medivac-ed out of?

 

[neci]

http://www.zombietime.com/botero_abu_ghraib/IMG_1767.JPG

 

[nh23]

$77 million are paid monthly to approximately 137,000 persons who met obesity requirements for disability. Eat it until you meet it.

I like the grilled chicken salad at McDs. I'd like a large shake too but that's 1160 calories.

You're thin. Great. You're not a burden on society. Awesome. We get the point. Has it made you any happier though? Has it helped you find love? Has it helped you find purpose in your life?

It's not just fat people. Like I said earlier and Netz pointed out. There are a million other things that are raising costs.

 

[nh23]

Dude, the absolute win was seeing my Gastro pitching a McD's wrapper before my appt. in the trash. He's a marathoner though. Some people would rather eat poison and run it off, and some people not so much.

I see plenty of skinny people who eat three bites of utter shit and never cook anything. This is somehow ethically better and I should pay into THEIR actuarial tables?

An Md's wife is living a vastly different life from his single mom admin asst.

People who can take the time to train and keep their appointments at the gym tend to have $$$. If it's so freaking important to people that everyone else be thin, point some of your damn outrage off the nearest big ass and onto the nearest funding cut for phy ed.

My Mom is like this. She's a thin person. Always has been. Her cholesterol is double what mine is. She eats a lot of things that she shouldn't. I'd say she eats out for the majority of her meals.

People will look at me in disdain when I'm eating and pass right over her. She's thin so she must be healthy. I'm fat so I must be unhealthy.

 

[Netzach]

You're thin. Great. You're not a burden on society. Awesome. We get the point. Has it made you any happier though? Has it helped you find love? Has it helped you find purpose in your life?

It's not just fat people. Like I said earlier and Netz pointed out. There are a million other things that are raising costs.

Well, and how many of these people were fat prior to being sick?
There are so many people with genuinely fucked up to the point of unfuckable endocrine systems. The poorer you are and the darker your skin, the more your fault it has to be, so there's a giant lack of proper diagnosis.

T works with underserved populations in health care. He sees a lot of fat people who are simply casualties of bad habits not gonna change no matter what, and he sees a huge handful of people who are fat after diagnosis and meds or *in lack of* both of those things. Where if they lived in another area, and were a whiter demographic, you better believe they'd have been diagnosed by then.

 

[WriterDom]

It seems like a lot of people get to the point of no return. Met this guy I knew in high school a month ago. He is running his dad's business so he never left town. He's so fat he looked like a cartoon. I don't think I could get my arms all the way around his ass. Not that I would want to. Fat belly too.

Weight can be a struggle for me too but I have a tipping point where I will start to lose. I don't know what it is that makes someone pack on an additional 100 or 200 pounds. If you try to lose weight you start seeing yourself as you are. It's depressing to lose 20 pounds and still feel fat. At some point you just stop weighing at all.

He could be eating away his gay feelings. He was kind of a sissy. Now he is married to a woman.

 

[pink]

i worry more about myself and less about others. i handle my own situation and do my very best, it's all i can do.

 

[Netzach]

i worry more about myself and less about others. i handle my own situation and do my very best, it's all i can do.

Holy shit, what a concept!


I do tend to *think* about other people, but I usually start from the assumption that their lives are at least as complicated as mine and likely more and go from there.

 

[pink]

Holy shit, what a concept!


I do tend to *think* about other people, but I usually start from the assumption that their lives are at least as complicated as mine and likely more and go from there.

i am wise in my old age. *chuckle*

 

[Keroin]

Not so sure.

You have a population who is suddenly eating foods their ancestry probably never touched. Flour? Rice? Corn product?
Soy, unless your last name is Nakimura or Chen is probably not something you are able to digest and metabolize well. And it's in every freaking thing out there now.

Of course differences between human races are infinitesmal, but gut flora seems like it could be a biggie.

Probably very not-good. And possibly enough to create endocrine system havoc.

There was a study done with a bunch of indigenous New Mexicans who were having heart attacks all over the place. It was a small study sample.

They got people off the fry bread, white bread, flour and crappy GMO corn from Mexico, and onto a diet their forebears would have eaten. Yucca, heirloom corn, lean rabbit, etc. Not even the total fat-phobic AMA kind of diet either, still animal fats and grains, but *better* ones. You guessed it, heart attacks down. Crazy - ass down.

Now, if I were to eat their food, I'd probably be hospitalized and awful.

People think they can eat things just because they don't kill you that day. And MD's are no help. They're happy to kill you with white goo.

When I see toddlers in the grocery store sucking back a bottle of coke for breakfast and their parents eating a dozen donuts, I think there's probably more wrong here than the introduction of corn products. No one in the world is going to stay fit and healthy with that diet. No one.

I eat lots of food that are not native to my ancestor's diet.

I find those sexy and lovely. I find that the question of obesity is always tinged with this kind of moral superiority, because someone feels they can control their weight better than someone else.

9 times in 10 that person smokes. Or is a relationship addict and a freaking mess. Or has no impulse control when shopping. Or drinks. Or has no social impulse control. But holy shit, did you see HER (it's always her) in that DRESS?

I wonder if that's the real backstory, that here's a way you can kick someone else when your own inability to control YOUR habits gets to be too much, and it's socially more ok.

Huh? I don't smoke. I'm a happy person with healthy personal relationships. I don't overindulge with booze. I have no desire to kick anyone, especially not because of my own problems.

I do, however, find it alarming that the global rate of obesity is climbing so high, so fast. I do wonder why this is and what can be done about it because I don't believe it's healthy. Please show me where I've gone after anyone in a mean spirited way?

I don't care how someone looks, I care about the effects obesity has on society in terms of physical and psychological health and what that means in regard to things like medical costs.

You're thin. Great. You're not a burden on society. Awesome. We get the point. Has it made you any happier though? Has it helped you find love? Has it helped you find purpose in your life?

It's not just fat people. Like I said earlier and Netz pointed out. There are a million other things that are raising costs.

Yes, but right now, in the US, weight related health issues are the number one problem. It only makes sense to look at the biggest problem and think about ways to solve it.

And yes, being fit and healthy has made me happy. It is hard work but I love how it makes me feel emotionally and physically. The confidence being strong and healthy has given me has helped me find love. As for the purpose of life, I never worried about that much anyway.

i worry more about myself and less about others. i handle my own situation and do my very best, it's all i can do.

Holy shit, what a concept!


I do tend to *think* about other people, but I usually start from the assumption that their lives are at least as complicated as mine and likely more and go from there.

Believe it or not, in real life, I do not run around beating my chest and tearing my hair out, screaming: "OMG, you're too fat! You shouldn't smoke! You should exercise more! You're not enough of a man!" In real life, I worry about me and those close to me, and help others where and how I can - without judgement. But, on a public discussion forum, I enjoy discussing the thoughts rolling through my brain and the issues that I find important.

In every "issue" thread I see a version of the "Worry about yourself and leave everyone else the fuck alone" argument. Fair enough. So, tell me what topics are acceptable for me to start? Under what circumstances, and within what parameters, may I discuss which groups of people and what exactly may I say or not say about them?

Should we only discuss cats? Frankly, I'm cool with that. Just let me know.