Fat Acceptance...

[DawnCt1]

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?

I guess that is something that one always has to decide for themselves. There is a lovely woman who I see at the gym all of the time. She exercises in the pool because she is morbidly obese. She has a huge abdominal hernia that the surgeon won't touch because she needs to lose 100 pounds first. She had weight loss (banding I think) surgery 6 years ago, became pregnant, and started eating again. The risks for her right now are terrible. She isn't a good surgical risk, her joints are killing her but she is making a serious effort and has lost weight. I give her a tremendous amount for showing up every day, regardless of how she feels.

 

[Angelhalo]

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.

YOU'RE not listening or reading or whatever.

SOME people have weight issues that all the exercise and diet changes in the world cannot help. It DOES NOT mean that they are helpless or hopeless or have given up. Their size and the fact that they can't change it, ALSO does NOT mean that they never exercise. They just have health issues that YOU are not aware of and are JUDGING them for without knowing ANYTHING about their situation.

I'd much rather teach my kids to be healthy and to accept ALL of those around them for who they are without judging a book by it's cover. Your viewpoint of judge and shame with NO actual knowledge of the situation is FAR more scary.

 

[DisMN]

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.

That's nice and fine for you.

I've been fat AND I've been thin. I guess I'm just not a self-hater because I like me the same either way.........I don't like myself any less because I'm fat. I'm not less satisfied with my life because I'm fat. It's sad to read so many people that think they have less value because they're overweight.

 

[DISUNC]

Just want to say that every funeral that I have been too there was a skinny person in the casket!!!!!

How bout a thread to accept people for who they are?

Just because someone is overweight does not make them "a burden to society", any more/less than a average weight person does.

Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez!

 

[DawnCt1]

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

Some people don't have that choice however Most people DO have that choice. I never said that it has anything to do with donuts. I said that I would like to have a Dunkin Donut's coffee roll for breakfast. It is one of my favorite things but I make the choice every day not to. There are other things that I would love to eat but I don't keep them in the house. Its a choice I have made.

 

[bekkiz]

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.

Nope, you're 100% wrong. Study after study after study proves that "long-term life style changes" will only result in at most a few pounds lost and kept off over a period of 5 years. I see you link to some fantastic blogs, but clearly you don't read them (let's not beat around the bush, that is clearly your blog you're promoting.) Similarly, you absolutly cannot take a skinny person and make them fat. You just can't and studies over the past 10 years prove that over and over again.

The Olympics are on, let's look for one second at some of these world class athletes....
Christian Cantwell, a shot putter stands at 6'5, 335 lbs. Basically morbidly obese by the absolutly ridiculous BMI standards. He eats about 5,000 calories a day and has a 15% body fat.
Compare to Deena Kastor (marathon). She's 5'5, 105 lbs and eats more than 4,000 calories a day. She's seriously malnoursished, according to BMI.
And again, compare to Cherly Haworth, who at 300 lbs and 5'9 eats 3-4,000 cals a day. Another one who's morbidly obese.

All athletes at the top of their game. All people who are considered beyond "unhealthy" by government. And all people under the strict control of trainers, coaches and nutritionists.

Every person in this world has a different genetic make-up. Every person in this world has different fingerprints, shoe sizes, hair texture and height. Is it really out of the realm of possibility that your overall body composition (muscle/fat/water) is also controlled by gentics? Can you really expect to be able to change how tall you are? How easily you tan? No, of course not. If your "set weight" is 250 lbs, then you are going to be crazy to expect to suddenly be 150 lbs without incuring serious health risks.

One of the main goals of FA is to promote a healthy lifestyle that looks beyond weight. To live a happy, healthy life that makes you feel good about yourself. I think this is a goal that people at any size should embrace. But it's also not my job to be the enforcer. I just need to do what's best for me. And you just need to do what's best for you.

 

[lillygator]

eta...didn't mean to quote.

I was just googling obesity and came across this...As the prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased in the United States, so have related health care costs—both direct and indirect. Direct health care costs refer to preventive, diagnostic, and treatment services such as physician visits, medications, and hospital and nursing home care. Indirect costs are the value of wages lost by people unable to work because of illness or disability, as well as the value of future earnings lost by premature death.

Most of the statistics presented here represent the economic cost of overweight and obesity in the United States in 1995, updated to 2001 dollars.[10] Unless otherwise noted, these statistics are adapted from Wolf and Colditz,[11] who based their data on existing epidemiological studies that defined overweight and obesity as a BMI > 29. Because the prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased since 1995, the costs today are higher than the figures given here.

Q: What is the cost of overweight and obesity?

A: Total Cost: $117 billion
Direct Cost: $61 billion*
Indirect Cost: $56 billion

*A recent study estimated annual medical spending due to overweight and obesity (BMI >25) to be as much as $92.6 billion in 2002 dollars—9.1 percent of U.S. health expenditures.[12]

http://win.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/#econ

thought it was interesting....

 

[DawnCt1]

That's nice and fine for you.

I've been fat AND I've been thin. I guess I'm just not a self-hater because I like me the same either way.........I don't like myself any less because I'm fat. I'm not less satisfied with my life because I'm fat. It's sad to read so many people that think they have less value because they're overweight.

Now you might find this difficult to believe, but I have never been "a self-hater" either. I don't like myself any less when I am fat, nor am I less satisfied with my life, but I sure feel a heck of a lot worse. My knee hurts, my back bothers me, I tire more quickly because I don't exercise as much. No one said anything about anyone having less value. Its about feeling better and hopefully living longer.

 

[Instinct27]

YOU'RE not listening or reading or whatever.

SOME people have weight issues that all the exercise and diet changes in the world cannot help. It DOES NOT mean that they are helpless or hopeless or have given up. Their size and the fact that they can't change it, ALSO does NOT mean that they never exercise. They just have health issues that YOU are not aware of and are JUDGING them for without knowing ANYTHING about their situation.

I'd much rather teach my kids to be healthy and to accept ALL of those around them for who they are without judging a book by it's cover. Your viewpoint of judge and shame with NO actual knowledge of the situation is FAR more scary.

I really don't care about weight at all... I believe people can be fat and fit but that being said... (I'm just going to post what I posted b4)

Satisfaction... people in those websites 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.

I understand that the people are not helpless, but the message they portray can easily be viewed that way.

 

[MushyMushy]

Just want to say that every funeral that I have been too there was a skinny person in the casket!!!!!

How bout a thread to accept people for who they are?

Just because someone is overweight does not make them "a burden to society", any more/less than a average weight person does.

Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez!

To add to that -- I've only known two people in my life who have ever had heart attacks and they were both skinny! One of them was a runner (female) and the other worked pretty hard labor most of his life (male).

Gee.

 

[Angelhalo]

Some people don't have that choice however Most people DO have that choice. I never said that it has anything to do with donuts. I said that I would like to have a Dunkin Donut's coffee roll for breakfast. It is one of my favorite things but I make the choice every day not to. There are other things that I would love to eat but I don't keep them in the house. Its a choice I have made.

And AGAIN I say good for you

 

[DawnCt1]

Just want to say that every funeral that I have been too there was a skinny person in the casket!!!!!

How bout a thread to accept people for who they are?

Just because someone is overweight does not make them "a burden to society", any more/less than a average weight person does.

Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez!

I have seen all shapes and sizes in caskets, so your anecdotal experience doesn't mean too much. Everyone should be accepted for who they are but those who are morbidly obese do cut their lives short, drive up the cost of health care and cause worry and concern from their families.

 

[lillygator]

btw OP, love the Gator pic.

 

[Instinct27]

Nope, you're 100% wrong. Study after study after study proves that "long-term life style changes" will only result in at most a few pounds lost and kept off over a period of 5 years. I see you link to some fantastic blogs, but clearly you don't read them (let's not beat around the bush, that is clearly your blog you're promoting.) Similarly, you absolutly cannot take a skinny person and make them fat. You just can't and studies over the past 10 years prove that over and over again.

The Olympics are on, let's look for one second at some of these world class athletes....
Christian Cantwell, a shot putter stands at 6'5, 335 lbs. Basically morbidly obese by the absolutly ridiculous BMI standards. He eats about 5,000 calories a day and has a 15% body fat.
Compare to Deena Kastor (marathon). She's 5'5, 105 lbs and eats more than 4,000 calories a day. She's seriously malnoursished, according to BMI.
And again, compare to Cherly Haworth, who at 300 lbs and 5'9 eats 3-4,000 cals a day. Another one who's morbidly obese.

All athletes at the top of their game. All people who are considered beyond "unhealthy" by government. And all people under the strict control of trainers, coaches and nutritionists.

Every person in this world has a different genetic make-up. Every person in this world has different fingerprints, shoe sizes, hair texture and height. Is it really out of the realm of possibility that your overall body composition (muscle/fat/water) is also controlled by gentics? Can you really expect to be able to change how tall you are? How easily you tan? No, of course not. If your "set weight" is 250 lbs, then you are going to be crazy to expect to suddenly be 150 lbs without incuring serious health risks.

One of the main goals of FA is to promote a healthy lifestyle that looks beyond weight. To live a happy, healthy life that makes you feel good about yourself. I think this is a goal that people at any size should embrace. But it's also not my job to be the enforcer. I just need to do what's best for me. And you just need to do what's best for you.

You're telling me that most of the people obese in this country fall into the olympic athlete category? I know there are genetic predispositions but I cannot agree that 100% of muscle/fat/water is controlled by genetics.

 

[DawnCt1]

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.

Its unfortunate that her gym experience was not a positive one. The gym I go to has people in all shapes and sizes, from 8 to 88.

 

[MushyMushy]

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.

I totally agree with the gym thing. It's so hard for an obese person to get any kind of quality exercise because of sheer humiliation factor.

Do you know how discouraging it is to try going out for walks only to hear nasty comments from passing cars? Or getting the looks and comments in a gym (where you're paying for the privilege)? Swimming would be THE perfect exercise if it weren't for the mortification of putting on a swimsuit. Forget riding a bike. Dancing? Yeah right.

Let's face it, society wants us to be thin and berates us for not being active, but beats us down when we try.

 

[bekkiz]

You're telling me that most of the people obese in this country fall into the olympic athlete category? I know there are genetic predispositions but I cannot agree that 100% of muscle/fat/water is controlled by genetics.

No, but what I'm saying is even under the strictest conditions with trainers and nutrtionists, people can be fat and people can be skinny. Each of these people probably grew up in a similar body type and luckly found something they're really good at that fits that body type. Like how Micheal Phelps is weirdly proportioned in his arms and double jointed in his knees. Had these people not found a sport they loved that fit their body type, I'd be willing to bet they'd be within 20 lbs of their current weight (maybe even smaller due to the high muscle percent).

I also never said that things are 100% controlled by genetics, but if you fail to acknowledge that it is a huge factor then you're missing a huge piece of the puzzle. Sure people who eat high fat, high calorie food and do nothing all day are going to be unhealthy, no matter what their actual weight it. Some people are just born with a lower set weight than others. Living that unhealthy lifestyle isn't good for ANYONE and weight isn't necessarily the only thing that needs to be looked at.

(p.s. not that I care about people who enjoy eating high fat, high cal foods on the couch all day. None of my business. More power to them, if they're happy!)

 

[PrincessKsMom]

The thing that bothers me most about this thread is that it comes back to medical costs. What about: smokers; alcoholics; drug addicts; people who have numerous children; people who can't get pregnant and their insurance pays for some type of procedure (sometimes 2-3 times) so they can become pregnant; people who knowingly have children, even though they may be passing along some hereditary disease; people with mental illness. I had one child, why should my insurance rates go up because you choose to have 6, which not only entails fees related to birth, but throughout their 18 years after? Why should I pay for you to go to rehab, yet again? What about those people who don't have health insurance, but go to hospitals and don't pay anything because they are a hardship case? Don't you think that in the long run, we wind up paying the tab for them as well?

Why don't we just take everyone outside and shoot them, and leave only the perfect behind? Everyone who uses their insurance puts a drain on the benefits, not just fat people, so please don't throw the weight of the world on top of my already large shoulders. Everything in the world is not my fault because I'm fat.

 

[DISUNC]

To add to that -- I've only known two people in my life who have ever had heart attacks and they were both skinny! One of them was a runner (female) and the other worked pretty hard labor most of his life (male).

Gee.

Lets just say that throughout my 30 year career, I've know many many instances of people calling in sick or out of work due to jogging injuries, pulled muscles at the gym..etc.! Not once has anybody called in sick cause they ate too many Ring Dings!

Its all very subjective.

 

[DISUNC]

I have seen all shapes and sizes in caskets, so your anecdotal experience doesn't mean too much. Everyone should be accepted for who they are but those who are morbidly obese do cut their lives short, drive up the cost of health care and cause worry and concern from their families.

No more so than joggers with ripped cartlidges, Gym entusist with torn muscles.