Don't Blame Fat People

[SassyKitten]

It's really not that expensive to eat healthy. Cheap items often on my grocery list are bags of granny smith apples, bananas, almonds, flaxseed bread, sliced turkey, salad greens, bagels, yoghurt(also great for satisfying sweet cravings, especially the Yoplait Whips), triscuits and hummus(also great for satisfying salty food cravings), cans of chili, and Lean Cuisines are easy enough to find on special for $1.50 each, or if not no more than $2.50 each, cheaper than eating at McDonald's.

 

For beverage, I have a Brita water pitcher and a water bottle I keep filled, along with some Crystal Light to add in if I feel like I need a little bit more flavor in my drink. The raspberry-peach fiber blend is delicious!

 

And it works out cheaper than going to McDonald's. I should know, I'm a student currently living off my loan money. That said, having to cut down on sushi, my favorite thing, was hard!!!!

[phineas]

The BMI chart is flawed. IT was developed over 200 years ago by a mathematician to track population trends in a small European country. It was not intended by the maker to be reflective of the whole human race or to be a measure of health.

 

I read your post fine. I just reject the argument. I honestly believe that people naturally fall into a wider range than allowed for by the all hallowed BMI chart.

 

Flawed is an understatement.

at 5'8" & 180lbs in college you could see my ab muscles.

I wasn't ripped, just in shape & working out heavy.

 

According to that chart I was borderline Obese. LOL!

 

The only real way to determine if someone is overweight is by bodyfat % i'd think.

[SassyKitten]

The only real way to determine if someone is overweight is by bodyfat % i'd think.

 

When I was losing weight, I took the way my clothes were fitting much more seriously than the number on the scale. Besides, muscle weighs more than fat. The last time I weighed myself, I was 5'10" and 150 lbs., but also a size 6. The yoga has left me toned but not over the top.

[stace79]

I really dislike when people say that body type is not "normal". I've known quite a few girls and guys who have had a lot of difficulty in gaining and maintaining a "normal" weight, myself included; they were quite skinny and rumors spread about them having eating disorders, but they ate just as heartily as the next person. How can someone say that those people don't have a genetically predetermined condition, or that they're not "normal"?

 

We're all so used to seeing a bunch of fat people walking around that if we spot a naturally thin/skinny person we automatically come to the conclusion that they must be starving themselves, that they're not "normal". Ugh.

 

You know what I mean. I don't mean "thin" girls. I mean super-skinny, "I live off diet coke, carrots and cocaine" skinny model types that you can see their bones sticking out.

[stace79]

The BMI chart is flawed. IT was developed over 200 years ago by a mathematician to track population trends in a small European country. It was not intended by the maker to be reflective of the whole human race or to be a measure of health.

 

I read your post fine. I just reject the argument. I honestly believe that people naturally fall into a wider range than allowed for by the all hallowed BMI chart.

 

Which is why you go by body fat percentage. Much healthier way to gauge your weight. Also hate to say it but those stupid health tests we had in school -- can you walk/run a mile? do sit ups?

 

You know darned well the difference between a healthy person who just tends to carry more weight in their thighs or something from an obese person.

 

I can accept that, for instance, in my family women tend to be bottom heavy. We just have heavier legs, hips and butt than most women. I do not accept that someone fat enough that you hear them struggling to breathe at the dinner table is "normal".

[SassyKitten]

Which is why you go by body fat percentage. Much healthier way to gauge your weight. Also hate to say it but those stupid health tests we had in school -- can you walk/run a mile? do sit ups?

 

Those fitness tests were bull. And actually sit-ups can be very bad for your back as well.

 

Even if you can't measure body fat, if you have excess jiggle, or for that matter excess bone sticking out, you're probably unhealthy.

[brainygirl]

Which is why you go by body fat percentage. Much healthier way to gauge your weight. Also hate to say it but those stupid health tests we had in school -- can you walk/run a mile? do sit ups?

 

You know darned well the difference between a healthy person who just tends to carry more weight in their thighs or something from an obese person.

 

I can accept that, for instance, in my family women tend to be bottom heavy. We just have heavier legs, hips and butt than most women. I do not accept that someone fat enough that you hear them struggling to breathe at the dinner table is "normal".

 

Aha, and this is where the societal problem is.

 

According to fashion, I am fat and undeserving of love or companionship because of it. According to BMI charts I should have diabetes and strokes and be unable to breath at night or properly digest my food.

 

But I can hike up a mountain all day. I can chase my boys and ride my bike.

 

Oh, and I eat plenty healthy. Yesterday I think I ate two apples, a peanut butter on wheat sandwhich and some popcorn. That's all I wanted wasn't starving myself but that's pretty typical of what I eat.

 

And yet, I'm "stuck" at this weight. I've lost maybe 20 lbs in four months of not eating any fast food and limiting sweets and such.

 

Which gets me back to my original point, that some people must have a higher set point.

[USMCHokie]

One time, in college, there was a Burger King about 25 yards from my dorm, and they had a 99 cent Whoppers. I ate a Whopper for lunch and 2 Whoppers for dinner every day for a week.

 

It made my stomach stick out... But I sure saved money!

[SpanksTheMonkey]

Well you don't need the bottled water OR the coke, so that saves money. $60 for meat, ok, for how many people? For how long? Unless it's for a month or you're buying the best sea bass or fancy cuts of beef that's excessive.

 

I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just confused by your post

 

Thats for 2 adults for about a week and a half's worth of meet im from nz I think our grocery's are a bit more dear then the USA..

 

 

24 bottles of Naya water on sale is $2.50 for 24.

24 cans of soda $7.99

 

Healthy is NOT more expensive. It's a matter of educating yourself on healthier choices and you will see, it's less or equal to

 

You would never get near those prices over here most bottled water is at least 2.75 a bottle I can get a 2.5 letter of coke for 2.19 some times less if its on sale my example being water is of course the healthier choice over coke juice is just as high as water sadly..

 

Now I'm confused, was STM referring to meat and cheese as healthy or not healthy?

 

I do not eat cow/pig or any other mammal, though that's more because I love animals. I do eat fish, seafood and occasionally turkey or chicken. I'm not very budget conscious when grocery shopping but my (mostly) healthy groceries aren't very expensive.

 

Yes meat and cheese are healthy in moderation like anything else.

 

Acutally not sure if he meant it was healthy or not.

 

I'm like you, I eat no other meat, but a little chicken and some fish. I was a strict vegetarian for years though.

Then a chicken pecked me and I said "You're all going on the bbq"...kidding!

 

I live alone, shop super healthy and I spend about $40 a week on food. And I NEVER eat out and make my own lunches.

I will go to Costco once a month to stock up on salmon and chicken.

 

SHE meant yes it can be healthy lol..

[SpanksTheMonkey]

One time, in college, there was a Burger King about 25 yards from my dorm, and they had a 99 cent Whoppers. I ate a Whopper for lunch and 2 Whoppers for dinner every day for a week.

 

It made my stomach stick out... But I sure saved money!

 

Sadly thats so true im not going to even get into taco hell im fairly sure you could feed a small army there for under 10 bucks no wonder half the USA is obese..

[SassyKitten]

One time, in college, there was a Burger King about 25 yards from my dorm, and they had a 99 cent Whoppers. I ate a Whopper for lunch and 2 Whoppers for dinner every day for a week.

 

It made my stomach stick out... But I sure saved money!

 

It probably would have worked out as well to opt for turkey or pastrami sandwiches. Loaf of bread(6 sandwiches) = $2, 2 containers of sliced turkey or pastrami(6 sandwiches) = $6, Mustard = $1, Greens for the 6 sandwiches = $3, averaged together makes $2 per sandwich, filling enough to be a meal in itself.

[USMCHokie]

Sadly thats so true im not going to even get into taco hell im fairly sure you could feed a small army there for under 10 bucks no wonder half the USA is obese..

 

I'll just pretend I didn't hear you say that...because Taco Bell is the greatest place on Earth...

[jamesum]

A bit of extra pounds is fine for me. But obese people are just disgusting.

 

I'll just pretend I didn't hear you say that...because Taco Bell is the greatest place on Earth...

Without their $1.99 deal, I dont know if I can survive life.

[USMCHokie]

It probably would have worked out as well to opt for turkey or pastrami sandwiches. Loaf of bread(6 sandwiches) = $2, 2 containers of sliced turkey or pastrami(6 sandwiches) = $6, Mustard = $1, Greens for the 6 sandwiches = $3, averaged together makes $2 per sandwich, filling enough to be a meal in itself.

 

Heh, don't worry, it was just meant to be a funny anecdote from my past...I hardly do that anymore...my diet right now is "scary good"... and hella cheap as well...at this point, I'm just maintaining a disgustingly low BF...

[SassyKitten]

I went through a stage recently where I was having a lot of the $3.50 double cheeseburger meals from McD's. I didn't gain too much weight, but it did screw with my digestive system.

[Feelin Frisky]

It's always sage dating advice to tell people who come on here to "get in shape."

 

So many people these days are overweight or just plain fat. This is unattractive for a number of reasons a few of which include health, appearance, and abilities.

 

But blaming a fat person for being fat is a lot like blaming a poor person for being poor. What I mean by that is the person most likely doesn't want to be fat.

 

Yes genes and to a greater extent choices play a big role in being fat... but as a society how can we let healthy food cost more then junk?

 

I am proud to be an American.

 

I just don't want this country to be known for being fat, unattractive, unhealthy slobs.

 

I have a big problem with the FACT that the government subisdises CORN so that mass amounts of it can be grown more cheaply then otherwise possible... THIS CORN IS NOT FOOD... its actualy not the type of corn you can eat.

 

What this corn is used for is to make SUGAR SUBSTITUTES and ANIMAL FEED FILLER. Humans were not mean to eat all the artificial chemicals we eat. DONT EAT FOOD with HFCS or CORN SYRUP... or NATURAL OR ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS>.. even when it says NATURAL FLAVORS... that still means CHEMICALS and they DON'T LIST THE INGREDIENTS.

 

MEAT is cheap because they feed the animals CORN FEED crap that the animals CAN'T DIGEST... so they keep these sickly animals ALIVE with ANTIBIOTICS. WE INGEST THIS CRAP. All beef was better tasting like KOBE beef back in the day.

 

Look people from a purchase power prospective PLEASE stay away from CORN fed BEEF such as the kind you see at the supermarket... PLUS stay away from all that artificialy CORN made CORN sweetened food.

 

EAT FOOD WITH REAL INGREDIENTS.

 

Most importantly we all need to VOTE and live in a world where HEALTHY food is cheaper then McDonolads and JUNK FOOD crap.

 

Vegatables and healthy edible food should be subsidised and CHEAP. Coke and candy and junk/McDonalds should be EXPENSIVE.

 

So yes fat people do have some control. But we are all to blame.

 

Beside genes and choices there is one major factor that makes it terribly hard for an person who has always had weight problems to get in shape and remain that way. That is their parenting. There have always been too many people, too young having too many kids to the point where the majority haven't discovered themselves before they really realize that there's so much more to it than the idea of "having a baby". What we're doing is not having a human toys that stays cute for a couple of years and then a creature whose chips fall where they may.

 

In my case my mother had me. Then she had seven more almost annually. She started with me at twenty and if you ask me now about her at her current age I still don't see any kind of well formed individual identity. To her and many like her, a child's runaway over-consumption of food is merely "he or she loves to eat". There is no responsibility taken for the fact that she's always been obese herself and rationalized it to make it seem ok and has taken her place among generations whom have perpetuated this idiotic way of expressing that it's the child's choice and not their neglect that has allowed the child to self-medicate with pleasure foods until thy've gotten obese and then have to face the social truth that most disdain obesity and damn the individual for "making choices" which are ridiculous to project onto a baby of adolescent.

 

Such a person becomes "pre-disposed" to obesity because they have been either pacified with food to shut them up or simply neglected to the point where expectations are already skewed and they feel deprived now if not given what they're used to. A person who if allowed to be chubby or tubby before they have a socio-political consciousness can not be blamed for being that way because they have never known any other way than what they have been grown into. The hurt and culture shock of entering school--especially one's which have no social development policy objectives (that would pretty much cover all US schools) create a situation where there is systematic neglect which turns a blind eye to cruelty toward the obese child and is often a source of cruelty itself for placing blame upon the child when in fact the child never was nurtured to understand choices and long term implications.

 

It's a lucky break to not have a such a lackadaisical parental rearing or any kind of sluggish thyroid condition which cause adolescent state obesity patterns. But it's a real big social sin not to orient all to the truth that one is not just having a baby--a toy that is cute for a couple of years--but instead they are creating a full spectrum human life which requires a lot more knoledge and nurtring than baby talk and and kiddy foods.

[SassyKitten]

Frisky - I feel your pain. A lot of my family is obese, and following their eating patterns I spent my childhood obese and was therefore bullied. I've lost a considerable amount of weight in my 20s and often get told I could model. But when it comes to dating, I still often have fat girl syndrome as I haven't been able to hold down a relationship, often leaving me feeling as unattractive as I did when I was a kid.

[RedDevil66]

It probably would have worked out as well to opt for turkey or pastrami sandwiches. Loaf of bread(6 sandwiches) = $2, 2 containers of sliced turkey or pastrami(6 sandwiches) = $6, Mustard = $1, Greens for the 6 sandwiches = $3, averaged together makes $2 per sandwich, filling enough to be a meal in itself.

 

Sliced, fatty, high sodium lunch meat is as unhealthy has BK burgers.

Sliced meats = unhealthy

lean cuisine (though better than mcd's) = unhealthy. They are laced with enough sodium to cause instant heart disease.

 

Here is a healthy lunch that is cheap

 

Baked tilapia (takes 12 mins to bake), green salad and almonds and apples.

[SassyKitten]

Baked tilapia (takes 12 mins to bake), green salad and almonds and apples.

 

Sounds delicious, though I tend to go more for 5-6 small meals over the day than 3 big ones, so the tilapia and salad alone would probably fill me up.

 

One salad I do often is greens, Craisins, walnuts, and raspberry vinegarette. It's very good with some feta cheese as well, but unfortunately my digestive system can only handle dairy with active cultures, such as yoghurt.

[allina]

Aha, and this is where the societal problem is.

 

According to fashion, I am fat and undeserving of love or companionship because of it. According to BMI charts I should have diabetes and strokes and be unable to breath at night or properly digest my food.

 

But I can hike up a mountain all day. I can chase my boys and ride my bike.

 

Oh, and I eat plenty healthy. Yesterday I think I ate two apples, a peanut butter on wheat sandwhich and some popcorn. That's all I wanted wasn't starving myself but that's pretty typical of what I eat.

 

And yet, I'm "stuck" at this weight. I've lost maybe 20 lbs in four months of not eating any fast food and limiting sweets and such.

 

Which gets me back to my original point, that some people must have a higher set point.

 

No one said you're undeserving of love. I'm not sure where that came from.

 

As for the rest of your post.....ok, if you say so.

[MrNate]

One time, in college, there was a Burger King about 25 yards from my dorm, and they had a 99 cent Whoppers. I ate a Whopper for lunch and 2 Whoppers for dinner every day for a week.

 

It made my stomach stick out... But I sure saved money!

 

A fat kid at heart just like me, lol

[threebyfate]

Aha, and this is where the societal problem is.

 

According to fashion, I am fat and undeserving of love or companionship because of it. According to BMI charts I should have diabetes and strokes and be unable to breath at night or properly digest my food.

 

But I can hike up a mountain all day. I can chase my boys and ride my bike.

 

Oh, and I eat plenty healthy. Yesterday I think I ate two apples, a peanut butter on wheat sandwhich and some popcorn. That's all I wanted wasn't starving myself but that's pretty typical of what I eat.

 

And yet, I'm "stuck" at this weight. I've lost maybe 20 lbs in four months of not eating any fast food and limiting sweets and such.

 

Which gets me back to my original point, that some people must have a higher set point.

Out of curiosity, I totalled the average count on the above mentioned foods and came up to under 700 calories. The average person burns 1200 calories at complete rest. This means that if you didn't do anything all day long, you'd still be in a deficit of 500 calories. If you cook, hike, shower, do anything, you will be burning off more than that.

 

A pound of fat is approximately equivalent to 3500 calories.

 

Say your net calories per day is negative 1000. In four months where each month is assumed to be 30 days, you should have lost closer to 34 lbs.

 

If your net calories per day is negative 1500, in four months, you should have lost over 51 lbs.

 

Something is so not right in Kansas. Keep in mind that soda pop or any high calorie drinks, alcoholic or not, will greatly affect your ability to lose weight.

 

If it's not lifestyle, as in sedentary or calorie consumption, consider a hypo-thyroid condition or perhaps you're taking medication that's impacting on your weight loss.

[alphamale]

McDonalds should be EXPENSIVE.

bite your tongue

[brainygirl]

Out of curiosity, I totalled the average count on the above mentioned foods and came up to under 700 calories. The average person burns 1200 calories at complete rest. This means that if you didn't do anything all day long, you'd still be in a deficit of 500 calories. If you cook, hike, shower, do anything, you will be burning off more than that.

 

A pound of fat is approximately equivalent to 3500 calories.

 

Say your net calories per day is negative 1000. In four months where each month is assumed to be 30 days, you should have lost closer to 34 lbs.

 

If your net calories per day is negative 1500, in four months, you should have lost over 51 lbs.

 

Something is so not right in Kansas. Keep in mind that soda pop or any high calorie drinks, alcoholic or not, will greatly affect your ability to lose weight.

 

If it's not lifestyle, as in sedentary or calorie consumption, consider a hypo-thyroid condition or perhaps you're taking medication that's impacting on your weight loss.

 

yesterday was atypical in that I was driving cross country and just didn't have any apatite.

 

Today . . . dinner was beef stroganoff, lunch was can't remember, breakfast was jelly toast.

 

I don't drink alcohol but maybe once or twice a month, and any soda or coolaid is zero calorie.

[MrNate]

yesterday was atypical in that I was driving cross country and just didn't have any apatite.

 

Today . . . dinner was beef stroganoff, lunch was can't remember, breakfast was jelly toast.

 

I don't drink alcohol but maybe once or twice a month, and any soda or coolaid is zero calorie.

 

Ah that may be why brainy. I think you might be slowing your metabolism down with this erratic meal pattern. Don't forget if you drastically cut calories you will trigger the starvation response in your body and will cling on to fat out of evolutionary habit.

 

And I've seen you before during our avatar reveal thread, and you don't look nearly as bad as you made yourself out to be.