Fat Acceptance...

[Instinct27]

Yes. LOL

By the way, there's no need for people to pretend to be worried about someone elses health.......just admit it you don't like fat people!

To be honest my concern isn't for the health of adults. I think many of these websites send some dangerous messages to the impressionable youth.

 

[Angelhalo]

To be honest my concern isn't for the health of adults. I think many of these websites send some dangerous messages to the impressionable youth.

Don't worry they're being bombarded with the same "you're only a worthwhile human being if you're thin" messages that the rest of us are.

 

[DisMN]

To be honest my concern isn't for the health of adults. I think many of these websites send some dangerous messages to the impressionable youth.

As opposed to those non-dangerous, safe messages on other websites, messages like "you're ONLY a worthwhile individual if you're a size 2?"

 

[Instinct27]

Satisfaction... people are simply coming off as fully happy with the way they are and feel they don't have to change a thing. Improvement isn't achieved through satisfaction.

No one is preaching losing weight as the only way to reach happiness. Living well is how you reach it. Stay active, eat nutritious foods whether some machine tells you that you are supposedly heavy or not is completely inconsequential.

From reading some of the comments in those fat acceptance websites... the message of living well is not being promoted. Simply being satisfied is. Satisfaction may be fine for adults not willing to change but children go through changes and need to improve their lives as best they can.

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

I'm a fat smoker, so I'm really getting a kick out of these replies!

This is the greatest reply on the thread.

Hands down.

 

[DawnCt1]

Respectfully, I think the point some people have (myself included) is that while it is OK (actually fine I guess) that overweight people have a "positive body image", it is not HEALTHY. In any way, shape, fashion or form. None. The adverse health effects are numerous, proven & undeniable.

If a "large" person believes that their lifestyle is good, they are fooling themselves. Denial of an unhealthy lifestyle does not make it ok. I link them into the same category as smokers, alcohol & substance abusers.

The thing is that, in most (but not necessarily all) cases, this is due to a sedentary lifestyle & an unwillingness to make the right decisions for a healthy lifestyle. It's easier to cry for "acceptance" than it is to lose the weight. That would take work.

JimB, you are brave. You touched the THIRD RAIL!

 

[Mahnahmahnah]

Just as another poster here, my BF has struggled with her weight for years. In high school she was on every diet imaginable (Optifast anyone?) and then her Dr prescribed diet pills that where in essence 'speed'. Her mother is Italian who has the mentality of " if you're fat it means your loved". Her brothers on the other hand, made fun of her by calling her "fatty", etc.

She continued dieting (Atkins/WW/Jenny, etc.) until she got extremely ill. She was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis which the Dr.s believe came from all her years of abuse to her body. And, well she ended up losing weight real quick from that. I'm pretty sure she doesn't like her diet right now that she HAS to be on in order for it not flare up.

BTW - she was never 'obese' - it was her size F ta-ta's (which *I* think are fabulous ) that made her 'appear' to be bigger than she was.

This is JMHO:

I think some people are just programmed to be bigger and you shouldn't mess with that. I'm not talking about the totally extreme cases, just in general.

You are a worth while human being no matter what you look like.
If other people don't like it - well than bleep them.

 

[DawnCt1]

Fat people take up far more than their half of the bus seat or the Metro seat, yet they only pay one admission, so they are are affecting me with their extra flesh in THAT instance. . . .

I have also sat in airline seats in which the person next to me has needed a seat belt extender and has attempted to lift the armrest on the seats. I say attempted, because I do not allow the armrest to be raised for obvious reasons. I have paid for my entire seat, and I don't want to share it.

 

[pooh6890]

JimB, you are brave. You touched the THIRD RAIL!

You are absolutely 100% correct. I am overweight because I eat and drink too much. I am sick and tired of overweight people looking for excuses to be fat. Last year I lost 30 pounds. I was so proud of myself. Now a year later I have gained back the 30 and another 15, which I have since taken off. Last weekend I CHOSE to eat, drink wine and watch Lifetime movies all day Saturday and Sunday instead of eating light and getting outside and getting some exercise. It's funny because when I actually get into a healthy lifestyle, i.e., eating right, no drinking and walking every night.....I FEEL BETTER. When I don't do that I am just lazy. Fat people are NOT happy with the way they are and it's just an excuse. I am fat because I am lazy about it and then sometimes I am not lazy and really try to lose the weight and eat healthy. I am going to try really really hard to take off the 30 I took off last year before I go to Disney in November.....please keep your fingers crossed for me.

But that is just me!!!!!!!

 

[FergieTCat]

I have also sat in airline seats in which the person next to me has needed a seat belt extender and has attempted to lift the armrest on the seats. I say attempted, because I do not allow the armrest to be raised for obvious reasons. I have paid for my entire seat, and I don't want to share it.

Believe me when I say the feeling would be mutual.

 

[smartestnumber5]

To be honest even if ALL those studies had fabricated results... Is it worth the risk?

Well actually there are also plenty of studies which indicate that the vast majority of people who lose weight will gain it back again. I believe the process of losing and then regaining weight has also been associated with an end weight which is heavier than the original weight before the attempts at losing weight. And it is suspected that the yo-yo-ing in itself is harmful to one's health regardless of the long-term outcome.

Now given those studies, is attempting to lose weight worth the risk?

 

[Angelhalo]

Believe me when I say the feeling would be mutual.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I will admit that I am of two minds about this article. Before I go any further, let me come right out and say that at the moment I am attempting lose 50 lbs, and it's nobody's fault but my own that I am overweight.

I see absolutely nothing wrong with people feeling good about themselves, I firmly believe that before you can make any positive change you have to accept yourself for who you are. At the same time, I'm not entirely comfortable with promoting an unhealthy lifestyle, does that make sense?

Last night my roommate and I were both watching "Half Ton Man" on TLC, and I will admit that it was hard not to be judgmental. I have seen several of these types of shows, and it always gives you a good perspective. We had a hard time feeling any kind of compassion for this man. At one point they asked his wife how much he ate before he started losing weight, and he literally cut her off and said that he did not eat more than anybody else, that it was purely genetics. I'll be honest, I cannot feel compassion for this man, he is unwilling to take any kind of responsibility for his habits.

I realize there are medical conditions that can cause you to be overweight or obese, Prader Willis chief among them, but the number of people who truly have no control over their weight is very small. I have had a knee problem that has kept me from doing strenuous exercise and just had surgery which keeps me from moving around much at all at the moment, but I can compensate by not eating as much or eating foods that contain fewer calories.

I guess that was a long winded way of saying that while I think it is a good thing to have a positive self image and to not judge people on their weight, I think actually celebrating and encouraging any kind of unhealthy lifestyle is taking it too far.

 

[DawnCt1]

You are absolutely 100% correct. I am overweight because I eat and drink too much. I am sick and tired of overweight people looking for excuses to be fat. Last year I lost 30 pounds. I was so proud of myself. Now a year later I have gained back the 30 and another 15, which I have since taken off. Last weekend I CHOSE to eat, drink wine and watch Lifetime movies all day Saturday and Sunday instead of eating light and getting outside and getting some exercise. It's funny because when I actually get into a healthy lifestyle, i.e., eating right, no drinking and walking every night.....I FEEL BETTER. When I don't do that I am just lazy. Fat people are NOT happy with the way they are and it's just an excuse. I am fat because I am lazy about it and then sometimes I am not lazy and really try to lose the weight and eat healthy. I am going to try really really hard to take off the 30 I took off last year before I go to Disney in November.....please keep your fingers crossed for me.

But that is just me!!!!!!!

I hate exercising. I don't think it is fun. I gained weight when I tore my rotator cuff, had surgery and spent a year recovering from that. I spent another 6 months losing the weight that I gained recovering from surgery. There were things I would rather do than spend 100 minutes at the gym exercising, but at my age, its what I have to do to stay fit. I would love to have a Dunkin Donuts coffee roll for breakfast but I don't. I don't say never, I just say, "I'll have one next week". The older one gets, the harder it is to lose weight, so I have resolved not to put it back on. Winter is the hardest because of the holidays and eating habits change. During the summer I mow the lawn every three or four days so thats an extra 3 and a half miles back and forth in the yard that I don't get in the winter. The bottom line is, I have been overweight,and I have been thin. I like thin better.

 

[Instinct27]

Well actually there are also plenty of studies which indicate that the vast majority of people who lose weight will gain it back again. I believe the process of losing and then regaining weight has also been associated with an end weight which is heavier than the original weight before the attempts at losing weight. And it is suspected that the yo-yo-ing in itself is harmful to one's health regardless of the long-term outcome.

Now given those studies, is attempting to lose weight worth the risk?

It is partially because of fad diets, unwillingness to stick to an exercise program, and lack of dietary education that this is happening. This is the concern that I am feeling for the youth. People have to realize that there is no point in short term changes. It would be 10x more beneficial to make a small change for life.

People have to make changes that they will be willing to stick with, if not they will continue to yo yo. Embracing an active lifestyle will help but if you aren't willing to stay with it, like you mentioned it may cause more harm.

 

[Angelhalo]

I like thin better.

Good for you. Some people don't have that choice. And it has NOTHING to do with donuts.

 

[MushyMushy]

Fat people take up far more than their half of the bus seat or the Metro seat, yet they only pay one admission, so they are are affecting me with their extra flesh in THAT instance. . . .

Show of hands -- would you rather sit on the bus next to THAT poster up above, or this poster down below?

I'd choose this down here any day of the week. She's proof positive that beauty comes from within. A lesson many have failed to learn.

Ah I've accepted it. I was born short and round with all this curly hair and I"m going to die short and round with all this curly hair.

I've learned to accept that I'm loved and that I can love. I've accpeted that some are only going to take me as what they see and find me lacking and that's okay because I'll find them lacking and not worthy my time.

I've accepted that I'll never be able to run as fast or as long as my husband but I'm happy that I can run at all. I've accepted that I'll shop in "plus size" clothes forever but just think of myself as a regular normal woman.

I've accepted that people who do not know me are going to glare at me when I'm eating even though they have no idea that my health is fine with no problems of blood pressure, diabetes, hypertension or anything else that seems all overweight people are going to be afflicted with.

Most of all I've accepted that this is my life and I'm going to be happy and live and love and enjoy it and simply not give a damn what others think of me.

 

[Instinct27]

Good for you. Some people don't have that choice. And it has NOTHING to do with donuts.

This is the attitude that scares me... I really don't mind it for adults but I do NOT want my child hearing this. It promotes a feeling of helplessness that doesn't have to persist. One can easily lose willingness to exercise with this mentality.

 

[Ember]

I got half way through reading and my blood was boiling...

My mum is obese. She is one of the most kind hearted people you will ever meet, and yet all people can see when they look at her is that she is fat. But they have no idea. She works with a psychologist, a nutritionist, a physiotherapist, and attends bi-weekly group meetings to help over come the disease of obesity. Much like any other addiction such as drugs or alcoholism or gambling, over eating isn't a simple fix. You can tell an alcoholic to "just stop drinking and you're life will be so much better!" but that doesn't mean it's something they are capable of doing.

What she's going through is difficult and hard, and when people like the posters here chip away her sense of self worth they make it even harder. When she was going to the gym people actually had the nerve to tell her she was too fat to be there. For heavens sake! She was trying to do something about it, would a little encouragement have been out of line, or even a smile rather than hurtful words?! Now she swims in the pool in her apartment because she was so humiliated at the gyms - and she tried several all with the same result.

The truth is you don't know what it's like to walk in someone else's shoes. And until you do please keep your ignorance and hate to yourself. Fat or thin, people are people and they are all deserving of dignity.

 

[Angelhalo]

Show of hands -- would you rather sit on the bus next to THAT poster up above, or this poster down below?

I'd choose this down here any day of the week. She's proof positive that beauty comes from within. A lesson many have failed to learn.

I'd rather sit next to this:

Than this:

ANY DAY!