I would give ANYTHING...well, except any effort whatsoever

ClumsyArtist

[/quote]
^THIS. Take a dollar and see how many calories you can buy in junk food, and compare it to how many calories you can buy in the produce section. I am not saying it is impossible for low income people to be healthy, but the odds are stacked against them very heavily. I know from experience. I work a well paying job now, but grew up in a very poor part of South Carolina. My husband stays home with our daughter, and I still keep a very tight budget. I have found ways to make a healthy diet economical, but you can be damn sure it took a ton of time, energy, and devotion, on top of internet access and some reliance on my Culinary Arts background. I feel like that may have come off as a "poor me", but what I'm getting at is that I'm very grateful for the accessibility I have to resources I need and I am aware that certain opportunities have made my transition to a healthy diet much easier.
[/quote]

I understand, but am I the only one who is tired of this excuse? You can buy a Lean Cuisine meal for $2-3, less than an entire value meal at most fast food restaurants. I don't make a lot of money but find ways to make it work.

maecrocker

What she meant to say is that she would give "anything" if she didn't have to put any effort into it, could perhaps wrap herself up with saran wrap with herbs on it and lose the weight overnight, and still continue to eat the way she has been...........but mostly, anything......

yes...I JUST said something similar to this to someone else today. People want to just wake up tomorrow looking like models and not have to have done anything to get it or keep it....THAT is what they would give anything for.

I would give anything for that!

Big_Bad

WOW..
Ok, OBVIOUSLY there is a difference between being lazy and having emotional trauma that links with food.
No one here pointed a finger and called you and your mom lazy.

The statements were pretty generalized. I know plenty of people who are lazy. They want the perfect body, they just don't want to work for it. They want it in 60 days or less.

And yes, I know people who have disorders and other issues linked to food. I would never call them lazy. And I don't think someone here would either.

If you read the original post, it was ONE person talking about ONE friend who wanted the look but didn't want to work for it. This friend called her lucky when in fact it had nothing to do with luck. That was the post. All she was saying is, it's not luck, I worked for this body and you can have it too with good nutrition and exercise.
NO WHERE did she say that someone with an ED or other emotional problems is lazy.
And I read all the other posts. Didn't see anyone else say that either.

That's why I didn't quote the OP, given that I wasn't responding to the OP.

You must have missed the part where the poster said " If you don't bother trying to understand and work through food issues, that is lazy". Perhaps "food issues" was more general than disordered eating, but that's how I took it. I think the term "food issues" shouldn't be applied to someone who eats a pint of ice cream after a breakup. Just sayin'.

shannashannabobana

If someone can't be bothered to educate themselves on proper nutrition, that falls under lazy.

Dude, have you seen the information out there on nutrition? Go peruse B&N some day and you'll see 50 different plans for losing weight. Some work better than others. Some will work for you but not for someone else. I think we have gotten so much bad, contradictory advice on diet over the years that people are not 'lazy' if they are confused.

I understand what the OP is trying to say, but maybe you scared your coworker. She might be worried you would kill her at the gym or that you don't properly understand that if someone is overweight, they can't always start off working out at the same level as someone who has always been thin (reading between the lines, it sounds like you have).

I do think you can lose weight, but it's not always so easy as you make it out to be. Sometimes people try a number of things before they hit on what works for them.

Timshel_

I had something similar happen on a website. I posted a picture of myself and a 'regular' poster commented something like, "I wish I had the time to look like that." I replied, "Get off this website for 1 of the 4+ hours you are on here each day and you can".

Got lots of giggles and lulz from everyone except that poster.

Irony is cool.

toaster6

I understand what you're saying, but I kind of hate the idea behind it. Fat =/= lazy.

Everyone's bodies are different. Everyone has a different cultural background and personal history. What's easy for you may not be easy for others. If all it took was motivation then don't you think that the people that spend their lives trying to get thin would be there already? It doesn't take motivation and deprivation to cabbage soup diet or south beach?

The problem is bigger than people being lazy. It's a lack of education and bulls*it marketing that makes people believe that losing weight should be a quick and easy process and not a slow and tedious one. Fast food is cheap. Gym memberships are expensive. And not everyone has the same relationship with food as you do. Or genetics.

Get off your high horse.

No. If someone can't be bothered to educate themselves on proper nutrition, that falls under lazy. If you don't bother trying to understand and work through food issues, that is lazy. Willingness to try a fad diet in the hopes of quickly losing weight and then going right back to old eating habits as opposed to changing your overall lifestyle to get what you want is lazy. Many people who lost weight obviously didn't know about proper nutrition and many have/had food relationship issues and they worked to resolve them.

You're so right. My mom must be super lazy as someone who has a binge eating disorder and used food as a coping mechanism after suffering a sexual assault. And I must have been really lazy looking back on when I was suffering from bulimia and kept on a binging and purging because I was so neurotic about food.

I mean if you don't work out your issues like ASAP and look all ugly and fat because of it you are SOOOOO lazy!

Nowhere in my post did I say that a person had to work their issues "ASAP" because they "look all ugly and fat". The fact that I said "work to resolve" their issues pretty clearly implies that getting a handle on a poor relationship with food is going to take time and effort. If someone wants to blame their weight on food issues without EVER actually getting help for those issues-- without ever actually doing something about it-- that is lazy, sorry if that makes you feel bad.

Big_Bad

^THIS. Take a dollar and see how many calories you can buy in junk food, and compare it to how many calories you can buy in the produce section. I am not saying it is impossible for low income people to be healthy, but the odds are stacked against them very heavily. I know from experience. I work a well paying job now, but grew up in a very poor part of South Carolina. My husband stays home with our daughter, and I still keep a very tight budget. I have found ways to make a healthy diet economical, but you can be damn sure it took a ton of time, energy, and devotion, on top of internet access and some reliance on my Culinary Arts background. I feel like that may have come off as a "poor me", but what I'm getting at is that I'm very grateful for the accessibility I have to resources I need and I am aware that certain opportunities have made my transition to a healthy diet much easier.
[/quote]

I understand, but am I the only one who is tired of this excuse? You can buy a Lean Cuisine meal for $2-3, less than an entire value meal at most fast food restaurants. I don't make a lot of money but find ways to make it work.
[/quote]

Please tell me what grocery store chain you shop at. I want to go to there.

Round here I can get a fast food meal for $4 and a lean cuisine for $6. And lemme tell you, lean cuisine =/= weight loss. You're just setting yourself up for failure if your lunch is 300 calories.

gr8xpectationz

I understand what you're saying, but I kind of hate the idea behind it. Fat =/= lazy.

Everyone's bodies are different. Everyone has a different cultural background and personal history. What's easy for you may not be easy for others. If all it took was motivation then don't you think that the people that spend their lives trying to get thin would be there already? It doesn't take motivation and deprivation to cabbage soup diet or south beach?

The problem is bigger than people being lazy. It's a lack of education and bulls*it marketing that makes people believe that losing weight should be a quick and easy process and not a slow and tedious one. Fast food is cheap. Gym memberships are expensive. And not everyone has the same relationship with food as you do. Or genetics.

Get off your high horse.

No. If someone can't be bothered to educate themselves on proper nutrition, that falls under lazy. If you don't bother trying to understand and work through food issues, that is lazy. Willingness to try a fad diet in the hopes of quickly losing weight and then going right back to old eating habits as opposed to changing your overall lifestyle to get what you want is lazy. Many people who lost weight obviously didn't know about proper nutrition and many have/had food relationship issues and they worked to resolve them.

You're so right. My mom must be super lazy as someone who has a binge eating disorder and used food as a coping mechanism after suffering a sexual assault. And I must have been really lazy looking back on when I was suffering from bulimia and kept on a binging and purging because I was so neurotic about food.

I mean if you don't work out your issues like ASAP and look all ugly and fat because of it you are SOOOOO lazy!

I heart you. I have been reading through this thread, and I was getting increasingly upset that so many people who have had issues with their weight consistently failed to recognize the mental health element of weight gain/overeating/binge eating. I'm not saying that everyone who overeats has a mental health issue, but many people do, and it's disheartening to hear so many people dismiss that as being a "lazy fat-*kitten*," as one poster so eloquently termed it.

I *totally* agree with almost everyone here that it is infuriating when someone dismisses all the hard work as simple luck or as a blessing. It completely denies the success of the individual who has worked SO HARD to lose weight and get fit. But, yeah, it's not always a simple fat=lazy=stupid equation here. It's just weird to me that so many people who have struggled with weight loss can't see this.

Very well said!

RJay64

Me: "Really? Ok. You can have my body. Just give me 1 hour in the gym of your very best effort and follow a simple, healthy diet I'll help you develop and it's all yours."

Me: "No seriously, One hour a day and eat right. You wont be hungry or anything. Diets don't have to equal suck and after a little while, working out becomes addictive. I promise. We will work out together...I'll start easy on you ."

Personal trainer and dietician with proven results in the form of your figure and health? As a favor at no charge?
I would give ANYTHING for a friend to make that offer to me.

karllundy

BUMP. No luck here. I had 35 years of not working hard at it before I got help dealing with both my "food issues" and also working hard at adding exercise. It isn't a secret or even magical, but it certainly isn't luck or easy.

ClumsyArtist

^THIS. Take a dollar and see how many calories you can buy in junk food, and compare it to how many calories you can buy in the produce section. I am not saying it is impossible for low income people to be healthy, but the odds are stacked against them very heavily. I know from experience. I work a well paying job now, but grew up in a very poor part of South Carolina. My husband stays home with our daughter, and I still keep a very tight budget. I have found ways to make a healthy diet economical, but you can be damn sure it took a ton of time, energy, and devotion, on top of internet access and some reliance on my Culinary Arts background. I feel like that may have come off as a "poor me", but what I'm getting at is that I'm very grateful for the accessibility I have to resources I need and I am aware that certain opportunities have made my transition to a healthy diet much easier.

I understand, but am I the only one who is tired of this excuse? You can buy a Lean Cuisine meal for $2-3, less than an entire value meal at most fast food restaurants. I don't make a lot of money but find ways to make it work.
[/quote]

Please tell me what grocery store chain you shop at. I want to go to there.

Round here I can get a fast food meal for $4 and a lean cuisine for $6. And lemme tell you, lean cuisine =/= weight loss. You're just setting yourself up for failure if your lunch is 300 calories.
[/quote]
Target!

heytherelameman

I totally agree. I'm having success now, but I promise that if I had tried this two years ago, there's no way I would have been successful.

The difference is, two years ago I was working a stressful 9-5 job with a 90-minute commute every morning and night, plus some evenings and weekends. It was all I could do just to keep up with laundry and get halfway decent sleep. Now, I am LUCKY, that I have a job that affords me a better work-life balance (shorter commute, work from home some days, etc.), and I'm LUCKY that I have a supportive husband who has stopped bringing junk food into the house, and I'm LUCKY that I live someplace where walking is safe and easy, and I'm LUCKY to be free of the tremendous relationship and financial and work stresses that used to hold me back, and I'm LUCKY to have a doctor who helped me figure out how to overcome some of the challenges of PCOS, and I'm LUCKY to have supportive friends who will take walks with me and offer ideas or suggestions when I come up against a problem, and I'm LUCKY to have been born into a family that helped me develop coping strategies for life's problems that don't involve food.

I was going to get in here and say this, but she beat me to it.

As someone who is losing weight for the second time around... Do NONE of you remember when you were heavier (some, GREATLY overweight like I happen to be) and felt hopeless? You really NEVER wished for your weight to just fall off? I don't believe it one bit.

People who are overweight get generalized all the time, made fun of, beat down, treated as worthless because they aren't "beautiful". Of ALL PEOPLE TO SYMPATHIZE with their situation, I would THINK it would be people who WERE IN their shoes (and once weighed more)! Instead people on this thread call them "lazy" and "fat *kitten*". Honestly, even taking the step to change is effing HARD.

I have been thin before and I WILL be thin again, but I sure hope I do not lose touch with myself like this.

shannashannabobana

Ok, OBVIOUSLY there is a difference between being lazy and having emotional trauma that links with food.

I think the point is that you don't have any idea if something like that is in someone's background, so maybe you shouldn't judge people so harshly.

michellechawner

I always hate this.

You won't get skinny overnight because trust me, you didn't get fat overnight. Eat less, eat BETTER, and do work. People look at me and say "oh but you're naturally skinny".

Oh yeah? Highest weight was 167. In high school I was 110. I also have a pain disorder which causes severe pain, making working out difficult. Do I still try? YES. No more excuses. I could use all the excuses in the book with all my medical issues besides the Fibro. But instead I decided to break barriers and really give it my all and work on it.

I tell people "oh yeah, I eat less and exercise" and they look at me like I'm nuts. What? Just because I have a pain disorder means I can't exercise? The other greatest Excuse - "I'm too busy". I work full time too, and I volunteer 10-15 hours a week locally, and I can still find time...

ashleyisgreat

I totally agree. I'm having success now, but I promise that if I had tried this two years ago, there's no way I would have been successful.

The difference is, two years ago I was working a stressful 9-5 job with a 90-minute commute every morning and night, plus some evenings and weekends. It was all I could do just to keep up with laundry and get halfway decent sleep. Now, I am LUCKY, that I have a job that affords me a better work-life balance (shorter commute, work from home some days, etc.), and I'm LUCKY that I have a supportive husband who has stopped bringing junk food into the house, and I'm LUCKY that I live someplace where walking is safe and easy, and I'm LUCKY to be free of the tremendous relationship and financial and work stresses that used to hold me back, and I'm LUCKY to have a doctor who helped me figure out how to overcome some of the challenges of PCOS, and I'm LUCKY to have supportive friends who will take walks with me and offer ideas or suggestions when I come up against a problem, and I'm LUCKY to have been born into a family that helped me develop coping strategies for life's problems that don't involve food.

I was going to get in here and say this, but she beat me to it.

As someone who is losing weight for the second time around... Do NONE of you remember when you were heavier (some, GREATLY overweight like I happen to be) and felt hopeless? You really NEVER wished for your weight to just fall off? I don't believe it one bit.

People who are overweight get generalized all the time, made fun of, beat down, treated as worthless because they aren't "beautiful". Of ALL PEOPLE TO SYMPATHIZE with their situation, I would THINK it would be people who WERE IN their shoes (and once weighed more)! Instead people on this thread call them "lazy" and "fat *kitten*". Honestly, even taking the step to change is effing HARD.

I have been thin before and I WILL be thin again, but I sure hope I do not lose touch with myself like this.

Yes! That's exactly what I was getting at. A little empathy can go a long way!

Also: I don't think there's anything wrong with ranting a little and getting the frustration off your chest. Not at all. I was just a little startled by the more hostile comments about fat, lazy people, especially on a website that mostly caters to overweight people!

astrampe

Round here I can get a fast food meal for $4 and a lean cuisine for $6. And lemme tell you, lean cuisine =/= weight loss. You're just setting yourself up for failure if your lunch is 300 calories.

You are??? Why would you say something like this - my lunch is always 300 calories and I've lost 60lbs doing that...I don't eat it anymore, but for the biggest part of my original weight loss, lean cuisine WAS lunch - I still lost the weight....

claireewhitelaw

"You don't get what you wish for, you get what you work for"

Bownzi

lol... hmmmmm... yup there are those who say that but not many want to give much to get the body... i have been working for three years with a handicap and now i am finally getting to where i want to be.. its hard but sooo worth it...

ellen_kay

You are not alone. Everyone is looking for that magic pill and there is none. It takes hard work and discipline, and most people are lot willing to give that. We are the lucky ones who have found the magic pill in that hard work and discipline. Keep up the good work.

jofjltncb6

Conversation with a friend today...

Friend: "Your sooo lucky to have an "athletic" body. I would give ANYTHING to have your body."
Me: "Really? Ok. You can have my body. Just give me 1 hour in the gym of your very best effort and follow a simple, healthy diet I'll help you develop and it's all yours."
Friend: "ummm...."
Me: "No seriously, One hour a day and eat right. You wont be hungry or anything. Diets don't have to equal suck and after a little while, working out becomes addictive. I promise. We will work out together...I'll start easy on you ."
Friend: "I'm thinking about starting weight watchers. And I heard about this Raspberry stuff that makes you lose fat..." * turns away ending the conversation.
Me: :ohwell: What about giving ANYTHING?!? One hour a day and proper eating is too much?? ( I didn't say this...I just shrugged and told her let me know if she changes her mind.)

Now, I am not the most dedicated person (working on that) but I do work hard(-ish) for my body and health. I love feeling energized and strong. I am learning new things about nutrition and health every day. I research. I read forums. I keep track of the effects of intake and output on my body. I try to eat healthy most of the time...

I am sick of people telling me that I'm lucky! I am blessed to have had a mom that taught me self discipline and nutrition and sparked a passion for it in me as a teen, but I work hard to be healthy and stay in shape. It is by no means "luck."

How about you all? Are you lucky? Or do you just work your butt off? Am I the only person this bothers? Maybe I'm just *****y today...:blushing:

Amen.

LiftAllThePizzas

Of ALL PEOPLE TO SYMPATHIZE with their situation, I would THINK it would be people who WERE IN their shoes (and once weighed more)! Instead people on this thread call them "lazy" and "fat *kitten*". Honestly, even taking the step to change is effing HARD.

Maybe it's because people who have been there know that all the excuses are just lame BS excuses.

gsmithnp

Many of the issues people have (that I see) that keep them from losing weight:

1. Emotional issues relating to food (such as the person whose mother used food as a coping strategy after a traumatic event). Hopefully the individual will recognize that they have these emotional ties to food and find some way to deal with that, either through counseling or whatever.

2. A distorted perception of what a healthy weight should be. Some people honestly don't know HOW overweight they are--or their kids are. Or they have unrealistic expectations, thinking they should look like a magazine model.

3. A distored perception of what "eating healthy" looks like. Overly large portion sizes and high-calorie drinks sabotage weight loss efforts. I've had many people say "I don't drink pop, but I drink Gatorade/juice instead," not realizing that they have about the same amount of sugar. Or they eat cereal for breakfast, but don't realize they are eating 2-3 times the recommended portion size.

4. A distored perception of what exercise should be. I literally had one person tell me "I tried walking but my heart started beating fast and I started sweating so I stopped." She honestly didn't realize that it was the body's normal response to exertion.

carhicks

Seriously, I do not have an athletic body (yet) but I work hard to get in shape. I spend a lot of time in the gym, out walking and riding around the neighbourhood etc. I am not where you are (yet) so no one has said that to me, but when that time comes, I now have a great response. thanks

fiberartist219

I totally agree. I'm having success now, but I promise that if I had tried this two years ago, there's no way I would have been successful.

The difference is, two years ago I was working a stressful 9-5 job with a 90-minute commute every morning and night, plus some evenings and weekends. It was all I could do just to keep up with laundry and get halfway decent sleep. Now, I am LUCKY, that I have a job that affords me a better work-life balance (shorter commute, work from home some days, etc.), and I'm LUCKY that I have a supportive husband who has stopped bringing junk food into the house, and I'm LUCKY that I live someplace where walking is safe and easy, and I'm LUCKY to be free of the tremendous relationship and financial and work stresses that used to hold me back, and I'm LUCKY to have a doctor who helped me figure out how to overcome some of the challenges of PCOS, and I'm LUCKY to have supportive friends who will take walks with me and offer ideas or suggestions when I come up against a problem, and I'm LUCKY to have been born into a family that helped me develop coping strategies for life's problems that don't involve food.

I was going to get in here and say this, but she beat me to it.

As someone who is losing weight for the second time around... Do NONE of you remember when you were heavier (some, GREATLY overweight like I happen to be) and felt hopeless? You really NEVER wished for your weight to just fall off? I don't believe it one bit.

People who are overweight get generalized all the time, made fun of, beat down, treated as worthless because they aren't "beautiful". Of ALL PEOPLE TO SYMPATHIZE with their situation, I would THINK it would be people who WERE IN their shoes (and once weighed more)! Instead people on this thread call them "lazy" and "fat *kitten*". Honestly, even taking the step to change is effing HARD.

I have been thin before and I WILL be thin again, but I sure hope I do not lose touch with myself like this.

Yes! That's exactly what I was getting at. A little empathy can go a long way!

Also: I don't think there's anything wrong with ranting a little and getting the frustration off your chest. Not at all. I was just a little startled by the more hostile comments about fat, lazy people, especially on a website that mostly caters to overweight people!

You might be LUCKY to have a great husband, but I bet you CHOSE him on purpose, and WORKED to keep a good relationship with him, and you CHOSE your job and WORKED hard to keep up with that, and you PAY for your house... None of these things just fell upon you. Perhaps you met some people by luck, but you built relationships with your husband, your employer, your doctor ON PURPOSE.

I get frustrated when people ask me a question about my weight loss and don't listen to the answer because it discredits my hard work and dedication.

No, it's not easy to get started... but don't ask for help if you aren't ready for it.

One of my coworkers keeps asking what I have been doing, how much weight I've lost, and then she acts like she can't do any of those things because she has a kid... but I've met her daughter and I know that her daughter would exercise WITH her if she wanted to get moving.

I can't stand it when people pretend that are helpless because of their husband or kids... as if they don't know how those people got into their house.

I have worked very hard to find a job that ends at a reasonable hour, and a husband who loves me just as I am, and to NOT take on so much that my life is out of control.

It's not luck... well, some of it is, but most of it isn't. I'm unlucky because I have a thyroid problem, but I'm not a prisoner to it. My cycle isn't regular and it's taken me 2 years to lose 20 lbs, but I EARNED it. It didn't just happen out of nowhere.