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Author Message
25 new of 378 responses total.
nharmon
response 155 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 01:07 UTC 2006

I think the major problem is that people think they can lose in a few
weeks, weight they've spent years building up. If it took you 7 years to
go from moderately healthy to obese, what makes you think you will have
your weight back down in 4 months?

This is why it takes a lifestyle change. Weight is best lost over time.
No doctor is going to tell you that its healthy to drop 100 pounds in a
month.

> as a person loses weight, their metabolism slows down and they have to 
> further decrease the number of calories to lose weight.

As I understand it, the major cause of metabolism slow down is because
of vitamin deficiency. That is why if you are dieting, you should
definetely take a multivitamin. Keeps the metabolism going.
nharmon
response 156 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 01:08 UTC 2006

Re 154: Never, same goes for alcoholics and cigarette smokers.
gull
response 157 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 02:10 UTC 2006

Rane reminds me of people who say that homosexuals can turn straight if 
they want it badly enough, or that people suffering from depression 
just need to "snap out of it." 
keesan
response 158 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 03:04 UTC 2006

Rane, have you ever dieted to lose weight?  Not everyone is fortunate enough
to be a healthy weight without being hungry all the time, some people have
metabolic disorders, unlike you.  
naftee
response 159 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 04:04 UTC 2006

tod spikes his coffee at work
slynne
response 160 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 04:44 UTC 2006

One of my favorite blogs is Feministe. Today, one of their writers had
an interesting post about the magazine Redbook, an issue they had where
they showed pictures of women of various sizes and some of the anti-fat
reaction it got. 

http://w.ick.ca/5065

I thought this part was interesting:

"With obesity comes a series of health risks. Anorexia brings a lot of
health risks with it, too. So does smoking, working in a nail salon, and
coal-mining. The difference, of course, is that we don t teach smokers,
nail salon employees, and coal miners that they should be ashamed of
their very existance; that they re universally unattractive; and that
they re lazy, stupid, and justly on the receiving end of bigotted jokes.
This is what we tell fat people."

rcurl
response 161 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 06:02 UTC 2006

Re #157: homosexuality is inherent and not a choice. Are you saying that
obesity is inherent and not a choice (a choice through behavior adoptions)?
Perhaps some is, if there are glandular imbalances, but I don't think you can
compare obesity in most people with homosexuality. Depression is also a
neurochemical disorder. What kind of disorder is obesity? 

One can better compare the habit of obesity to the habit of smoking. Both are
correctable by a person making a decision to correct them. 
marcvh
response 162 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 07:20 UTC 2006

As Rane knows, or should know, obesity is often the result of of eating
disorders, with binge eating disorder being the most common.  My
understanding is that eating disorders have a neurochemical component
(but then again, what doesn't?)  It sounds like Rane is using
neurochemicals as his litmus test to determine whether overeating is a
"real disease" as opposed to a character flaw (yes?)

Obesity and depression also can go hand in hand; with so-called atypical
depression the symtoms include weight gain, excessive sleeping and so
on.  In such a case it seems hard for me to imagine how you could
effectively change the obesity without treating the depression.

An important difference between food and smoking is that you can
comletely give up smoking.  You can't completely give up food, although
people who hear moralistic sermons about the virtues of eating less may
decide to give it a try, resulting in anorexia.  Would that be
sufficient to demonstrate self-discipline?
slynne
response 163 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 12:59 UTC 2006

I think Rane doesnt believe that denying one's natural appetite is
anything like denying one's sexual desires. Interestingly, homosexual
behavior is more like smoking than obesity in that one can completely
give up sex or completely give up smoking.

nharmon
response 164 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 13:43 UTC 2006

> One can better compare the habit of obesity to the habit of smoking. 
> Both are correctable by a person making a decision to correct them. 

I think Rane is onto something, because obesity might be viewed as 
addiction. I wonder if there are any studies about treating obesity as 
an addiction. Of course, like Marc said, you have to eat, but you don't 
have to smoke.
keesan
response 165 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 13:49 UTC 2006

Jim used to work with someone obese and years later ran into him and did not
recognize him because he had lost so much weight.  He said he switched to
eating vegetarian.  People can make conscious choices to give up certain types
of things that they put into their mouths.  We know two other people who are
losing weight after giving up alcohol.  Counting calories is not likely to
work for long, but changing the types of foods you eat can have a big effect.
I lost 20 pounds when I stopped eating dorm food, which was full of grease
and sugar.  Giving up refined foods is likely to reduce someone's weight. 
I have seen some really fat vegans, who brought to vegan potlucks things like
cookies that they bought at the store, made without milk or eggs but with lots
of white flour and sugar.  Cheese is mostly fat.  It would be hard to gain
weight by eating unlimited amounts of fruit and non-starchy vegetables (or
even unrefined starchy vegetables without added fats).

When I was trying to gain 20 pounds I ate cheese and milk and eggs and ice
cream.  

I think Rane has never gone on a weight-loss diet.
nharmon
response 166 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 14:05 UTC 2006

I've thought about becoming vegetarian. If meat gets any more 
expensive, I just might.
slynne
response 167 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 14:09 UTC 2006

Changing what one eats only works for people who have bad diets. I have 
known fat vegans who dont eat sugar. 
cyklone
response 168 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 14:21 UTC 2006

Re #160: Again, apples and oranges. What non-health care costs do you think
salon workers and coal miners are externalizing on general society?
mary
response 169 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 14:30 UTC 2006

The following is a link to a blogger I like to read, because she's
in-your-face honest and edgy.  I don't agree with her point of view
here, in fact I think it shows an amazing lack of empathy.  But I
suspect she does speak for a whole lot of people who see this issue 
as simply lack of self-control.

http://miminewyork.blogspot.com/2005/12/fat.html

keesan
response 170 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 14:31 UTC 2006

What do the fat vegans eat?  White flour, white rice, white noodles?  They
all digest very quickly.  Fried foods?
jadecat
response 171 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 15:33 UTC 2006

For me the whole thing boils down to - healthy diet- with portion size
kept in mind- and exersize. Sure, as you begin to lose weight (with diet
alone) metabolism slows- which is where moderate exersize comes into play. 

Portion size doesn't seem to be much of a conversation topic in this
item. The biggest problem with Americans is portion size. You can eat
foods considered to be healthy, but if you eat huge portions you're
still going to end up with calories that your body can't burn- so that
turns into fat.

I like the website sparkpeople.com because it helps track what you're
eating (caloric content, fat content, etc) and exersize programs (how
many minutes, how many calories burned). For me this is really helpful
because over time I can see (via a reporting program) what areas need to
be adjusted- is there a particular time in which I binge a little/a lot.
What types of exersizes can I do- and how should I be doing them?

My goal is not to be a size 6- looking at 'skinny people' isn't the
answer. Not everyone has a bone structure that would work for size 6.
However, I don't feel healthy at my current weight, and I would like to
be healthier and stronger. That means getting rid of my extra fat and
building muscle. Muscles also burn more calories so that one can eat
more and not gain extra fat.

I fully recognize that my problem in attaining this goal is lack of
willpower. I do well exersizing for a few weeks, and then slack off. My
eating habits tend to go from okay to ooh-not-so-good, but don't tend to
hit terrible often. Luckily while my scale hasn't gone down really it
also hasn't gone up either.
richard
response 172 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 15:44 UTC 2006

anne did you smoke all those years in part because you thought the cigs could
be a diet aide, like if you were smoking you didn't need to be eating?
slynne
response 173 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 16:07 UTC 2006

resp:168 - Would rescue efforts when mines cave in count as a non-
health care cost to society? Probably not. But whatever, I generally 
think of obesity as a state of being (like gender, race, sexual 
orientation) so whatever extra costs to society there are dont justify 
discrimination, shaming, etc. My opinion is that anyone who thinks it 
is ok to publicly shame fat people or try to humiliate them are bigots. 

I think that the woman who wrote that blog Mary linked to is a bigot. 

I think statements like "they could lose weight if they wanted to, they 
are just undisciplined" really are similar to "those fags could stop 
having sex if they wanted, they are just undisciplined" 

I dont know what else to say about it, cyklone. 
edina
response 174 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 16:38 UTC 2006

You think she's a bigot?  Why?  Because she's honest?

Come ON!  Someone who balloons up to 600 lbs is not *stupid*.  They *know*
what they are doing, and by saying, "oh - but you have the right to be like
that" is enabling in a cruel and sadistic way.

jadecat
response 175 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 16:54 UTC 2006

resp:172 Nope. I smoked because I liked it and was addicted. However,
given all the chemicals in cigarettes it shouldn't be surprising that
smoking affects metabolism. The altered metabolism theory leading to
weight gain post smoking makes sense to me. It isn't always about the
person quitting eating more- it's that their metabolism has slowed down.
slynne
response 176 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 18:08 UTC 2006

I think she is a bigot because she is making those claims about the 600 
lb woman based on nothing but her own prejudice. She has NO IDEA what 
that woman eats. And even if she does eat that much, is it her fault if 
her body doesnt respond to the cues of fullness that other people's do? 
Is it her fault that she has a greater appetite than others? I dont 
know but I think it is likely that she has something wrong with her 
besides a lack of self-control. I think it is possible that is just how 
her body is. 

What would be interesting to find out although, of course we have no 
way of finding out, is how much weight she lost after having gastric 
bypass surgury. 

edina
response 177 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 18:18 UTC 2006

Your sense of denial is pretty much mindblowing to me at this point.
slynne
response 178 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 18:20 UTC 2006

I could say the same thing about you. 

edina
response 179 of 378: Mark Unseen   Mar 8 18:22 UTC 2006

Lynne, the difference between us is that I've never let my weight be an excuse
for anything.  Sure, I'm somewhat fat.  So what?  
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