A weighty issue

[graceanne]

What I don't like is that you are accusing me of being dishonest. This I find very insulting. You are welcome to your opinion on the subject at hand but not to make unfounded claims against me.

Ok. That's fair. I still think what I think, but in that case I should have kept my opinion to myself. Especially since it is that, an opinion. I can't know what you think or feel. So I apologize for accusing you of lying.

If you don't want to start those threads then please don't complain that you don't see them.

I was making a point that if people were actually as concerned with everyone's health their would more threads about other things that concern people's health, and less about people's weight. I've been at this forum . . . I forget how long, and I can't think of one. Weight, however, pops up once to twice a year.

I didn't answer your question because it is not relevant to the discussion I started.

I felt it was relevant to what you were saying. You were saying that you care about me and my health. I was pointing out that I don't feel you do. (As said above, that's an opinion. I'm explaining why I asked that question.) The question was relevant to what you were saying.

I know that you have health issues that affect weight loss. I know you have crohns. I am well aware that among the population that is overweight/obese there are a certain percentage of people for whom weight loss is either medically impossible or extremely difficult. I am not asking you or anyone to defend their weight.

Just for the record, crohns is only one of my health problems. I also have chronic anemia, malnourishment, arthritis, severe scoliosis, severe nasal allergies, asthma, chronic exhaustion, chronic pain, and insomnia.

I have been told that osteoporosis will happen, it's a matter of time. Why? Because I lost in the genetic lottery. Lucky me.

 

[graceanne]

I ID as a single mom. I have Master here and he helps with some things, but they are not his responsibility. Every decision about them, plus everyday stuff bath's I do myself. I don't think it's right to impose on him.

That being said I still have one more adult around than you do. I struggle a lot. I can't imagine how it is for you. Not to mention the stress of your husband being overseas.

You're my role model. Seriously, I don't know how you do it.

Ok. Now I'm embarrassed.

It's much, much harder than people think it is. And perhaps folks like me, nh, and gracie have heard so much crap that we're overly sensitive to it. But sometimes I wish that everyone who compares their existence to ours had to live our lives for a few days. They might come away with a wealth of understanding that they never had before.

That covers it, perfectly.

 

[Keroin]

Enjoy the thread.

I've tried to express my compassion and discuss what I consider a relevant issue. It seems several people are intent on turning it into something personal.

NH, I don't have solutions. I have ideas but I'm no longer willing to discuss them in this atmosphere.

I'm gone.

BTW, BB, I've seen photos of you, I think you are beautiful.

 

[nh23]

Enjoy the thread.

I've tried to express my compassion and discuss what I consider a relevant issue. It seems several people are intent on turning it into something personal.

NH, I don't have solutions. I have ideas but I'm no longer willing to discuss them in this atmosphere.

I'm gone.

BTW, BB, I've seen photos of you, I think you are beautiful.

Lit can be rough. We've all argued like this in a ton of threads. Doesn't mean we all hate each other. Just have to put on your oven mitts before coming in the kitchen.

BB is beautiful. I agree with ya on that one.

 

[BiBunny]

Thank you both.

 

[graceanne]

BB is beautiful. I agree with ya on that one.

Me too.

 

[BiBunny]

Thanks to you, too, gracie. I think you, nh, and Keroin are all beautiful as well.

 

[Sir_Winston54]

9 seconds in (and more)

 

[nh23]

9 seconds in (and more)

If we did it would be a dull world indeed.

 

[JMohegan]

In this part of the world, the meat that we get in the store is bottom of the barrel, cheapest quality going. The only local meat consumed is pig and fish. But, thanks to overfishing, there are few consumable fish left inside the lagoon. Pigs are usually saved for special occasions. Large scale agriculture is not feasible because of the size of this island and the fragility of the ecosystem - eg, run off into the lagoon of bio matter and pesticides.

This creates a perfect vacuum for big food companies to move in and pedal their wares. Combine that with a population that is grossly undereducated and you have the perfect market for the worst quality food on the planet to be sold on a regular basis.

Half the labels here are in foreign languages. Not that anyone would read them, anyway.

I'm sure lots of folks just see this as your typical freemarket economy but I see it as exploitation. It's happening everywhere, too.

Diabetes is epidemic here.

I acknowledge that I don't have proof but I do believe that the "unknowns" in our food are definitely contributing both to the rise in obesity and a host of other health problems.

BTW, for anyone in southern California, Clover-Stornetta is a reliable, organic dairy brand that allows no hormones or drugs in the animals that supply them. Terrific company.

The free market issue is tough, it really is. I agree with osg's comments. There's a lot that I'm proud of about this country, but the export of tobacco and junk food products just isn't on that list.

On the other hand, Coke has a right to make coke, and people have a right to buy it. You can't force people to avoid making unhealthy purchases, so what can you do?

One option is to levy taxes, to discourage consumption by increasing the cost. Another option is regulation, such as requiring prominent calorie counts on menus and labels. In addition, zoning laws could limit the number of fast food restaurants in a given area. School districts and other public buildings could forbid junk food in cafeterias and vending machines on their property.

I don't mean to imply that enacting any of these laws & regulations would be easy, or correct the problem entirely. I'm just saying that there are measures that could be taken.

A quick note on education, since you mentioned that issue with regard to the population on your island. As I noted earlier in the thread, education helps, but it's not enough. In the US, relative education levels explain the gap in the trend lines below, but do not explain the trend itself.

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa78/johnmohegan/education.jpg

 

[JMohegan]

What I don't like is that you are accusing me of being dishonest. This I find very insulting. You are welcome to your opinion on the subject at hand but not to make unfounded claims against me.

Exactly.

 

[graceanne]

Exactly.

Ok. That's fair. I still think what I think, but in that case I should have kept my opinion to myself. Especially since it is that, an opinion. I can't know what you think or feel. So I apologize for accusing you of lying.

.....

 

[Sir_Winston54]

If we did it would be a dull world indeed.

Nahhhh... we could "get along" without all being the same. A big part of getting along, as I used to try to teach my students and athletes, is learning to listen to the other person's point of view and do their best to consider it "from their shoes." That didn't mean that they had to agree with the other's POV, but simply try to understand where the other person was coming from. If they could do that, then they could "agree to disagree" without being personally insulted/incensed.

Or as (I think) George Carlin said: "Before fighting, walk a mile in the other guy's shoes. That way, you're a mile ahead of him, and he's barefoot."

 

[JMohegan]

Thank you, Graceanne.

 

[nh23]

Nahhhh... we could "get along" without all being the same. A big part of getting along, as I used to try to teach my students and athletes, is learning to listen to the other person's point of view and do their best to consider it "from their shoes." That didn't mean that they had to agree with the other's POV, but simply try to understand where the other person was coming from. If they could do that, then they could "agree to disagree" without being personally insulted/incensed.

Or as (I think) George Carlin said: "Before fighting, walk a mile in the other guy's shoes. That way, you're a mile ahead of him, and he's barefoot."

I try to do that. Sometimes I don't, I should work on that. I was telling Bunny a few minutes ago, sometimes I will completely agree with Master, yet I'll play the antagonist just so we can see all sides of the issue. Not disrespect him by any means. Just a debate. However on some issues it's harder than others.

 

[graceanne]

Thank you, Graceanne.

You're welcome.

 

[graceanne]

I try to do that. Sometimes I don't, I should work on that. I was telling Bunny a few minutes ago, sometimes I will completely agree with Master, yet I'll play the antagonist just so we can see all sides of the issue. Not disrespect him by any means. Just a debate. However on some issues it's harder than others.

It's called 'playing devils advocate' and can be fun. But it only works (for me) on subject that I have nothing invested in emotionally. I have no sense of humor on things that involve obesity. There are others, but since I don't want to discuss them I won't bring them up.

 

[nh23]

Nahhhh... we could "get along" without all being the same. A big part of getting along, as I used to try to teach my students and athletes, is learning to listen to the other person's point of view and do their best to consider it "from their shoes." That didn't mean that they had to agree with the other's POV, but simply try to understand where the other person was coming from. If they could do that, then they could "agree to disagree" without being personally insulted/incensed.

Or as (I think) George Carlin said: "Before fighting, walk a mile in the other guy's shoes. That way, you're a mile ahead of him, and he's barefoot."

yes, but do you eat animals? I can't help it, every time I see that in the other thread I about piss myself. It's like watching a sitcom.

 

[the captians wench]

Oh man. Man oh man. It's like giving the kid a cigarette.

I had my share of McD's - maybe once every two weeks. I'm not saying never, though never is probably good - but you don't start it out at 9 mos. 9 mos they're navigating peas FFS!

My mom tells a story about my first thanksgiving. I would have been 8 months old at this point.
My mom and my aunt were fixing dinner but little wenchie was hungry. My aunt put some carrot sticks infront of me. I poked around at them and continued to cry. Auntie asked what was wrong, and my mom informed her that I'd never seen carrots before. So auntie puts some frozen peas infront of me. I play with the little round balls a bit, then contiue to cry. Auntie verbably sumerized that i didn't know what peas were either.
At this point she asks what veggie I would recognize. My mom says "she knows what french fries are".

Now I'm not sure how often we ate out when I was that age and it was just me and my mom, but I do know from the time I was 5 up we only ate out twice every two weeks. We got either Mcyd's or pizza on payday, and then mom and I would eat at Mcyd's when we did laundry at the laundrymat that saturday. The latter stopped once we got a washer and dryer at home.

This hurts my brain. I've told viv previously that I want hormone free products where possible.

It bugs me that I can't trust the food I buy even on the perimeter of the store.

I've been having some major hormone influxuations the past year or so. Mom and I have been wondering if maybe it has something to do with me eating cheap meat.

Eating orgainc is expencive. Hell eating healthy is expencive in both money and time. Every one knows food cooked from scratch is better for you, but it takes time to cook. I try to cook, but most days I just don't have the energy. I used to spend my off days cooking and freezing meals but lately I've fallen victom to what's easier. My freezer has something in it it hasn't since my ex moved out, pizza rolls. I don't even know why I bought them other than they are quick and easy. I don't even really like pizza rolls!

Junk food is super adictive. I think we should explore this. I know I have the hardest time kicking soda. I am back up to 2-3 32oz cups of water durring my 9-10 hour work day, but I'm still having 12-16 oz of diet coke while I'm there too. And my water consumption at home used to be a 24 pack of bottled water a week, now one will last me two weeks.

Yaknow, one of the big reasons, besides the obvious, that I can't wait to get back to Ireland is for the food. Everything tasted so fresh. I could swear that I could taste the grass the beef ate before it was butchered. All of the restaraunts we went to were like this. Hell even the instant soup his mom made was better than stuff I get here.

I'm about *this* close to posting pictures of myself for comparison.

Bunny, this is actually something that keeps me motivated. I go back and look at the first pics I took of myself. At that point I was proud I lost 20lbs which means I was still well over 350. I can go back and see where I've slimed, and how I have. I can remember how even just getting ready for work was winding. I have a long way to go before I'm at a healthy weight, but things have slowed down a lot. It's going to, I'm still maitaining or loosing at a very healthy weight. Nearly 200lbs in 5 years is an average of about 3-4lbs a month. Now really I lost the first 100 in less than a year and the next 50 or so over the next 18 months. But no one can keep up weight loss like that and stay healthy.

it is a critical debate with major economic and health repercussions for our country overall.

This is what I worry about when we talk about nationalizing health care. I'm worried about some one in washington deciding if it is an economically sound investment for me to recieve treatment, or perhaps a more pressing example, is it an economically sound investment for my 82 year old chain smoking grandma to have a pace maker?

 

[the captians wench]

Any one seen the ads for the new reality show "More to Love"?

Is it a step in a good direction displaying average size women and one man in a positive light? Or should we not be showing over weight people as role modles?

The show says that the average size of an american woman is 14/16. I know I fall into this average, but I also know I'm overweight.

Is showing average sized women any healthier to our young girls looking for role modles than showing women who are a size 2 or lower?

 

[Netzach]

yes, but do you eat animals? I can't help it, every time I see that in the other thread I about piss myself. It's like watching a sitcom.

I attribute my weight gain to biting the heads off squirrels in the park.

What, I'm the only one?

Om nom nom.

 

[Netzach]

This is what I worry about when we talk about nationalizing health care. I'm worried about some one in washington deciding if it is an economically sound investment for me to recieve treatment, or perhaps a more pressing example, is it an economically sound investment for my 82 year old chain smoking grandma to have a pace maker?

Right now those things are determined by some dillweed in CT, for me. I'd rather it be up to my local post office.

 

[nh23]

I attribute my weight gain to biting the heads off squirrels in the park.

What, I'm the only one?

Om nom nom.

*spew* I seriously can't stop laughing. Maybe you should try pigeons. Less calories.

 

[ownedsubgal]

I attribute my weight gain to biting the heads off squirrels in the park.

What, I'm the only one?

Om nom nom.

sheesh, don't you know you're supposed to chew and spit?

 

[Netzach]

sheesh, don't you know you're supposed to chew and spit?

*guilt*

*purges an owl pellet.*