Obesity. Are you just lazy and dumb?

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  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    tomteboda wrote: »
    You know what a lot of people are missing? The original post was a critique of moral condemnation levied upon overweight individuals.

    I did miss this, even though I was in the thread it kind of came out of (and missed that somehow), because I don't think that people here in general are going to be levying moral condemnation on overweight individuals. So that was not my first thought as to what the thread was about. I agree that it's a bad thing to do, obviously, but it seems almost too obvious a point? I dunno, maybe I'm wrong, probably am.

    I will say that I think moral condemnation is wrong even if one does not stack the deck (this is not a criticism of SideSteel) and create a character like Margaret. I was fat without many of the hurdles that Margaret faced (as are a huge number of people in the US), and yet I don't think moral condemnation was the right response (even if I tend to fall into it with myself sometimes).
    By getting sidetracked into a discussion of the logistics of weight loss and maintenance, people are accepting assigning negative character and value traits to overweight people based solely on their weight.

    I find that pretty appalling, personally.

    I disagree -- I think it's all part of the topic given where it is and how it was raised. I mean yes, absolutely, it's wrong to levy moral condemnation on someone for being fat. But IMO there are connections being made here by some posters to efforts to respond to questions raised by people on the forum who are struggling--we aren't really talking about whether someone who is fat must not know what she is talking about--and if those connections are going to be made and people's efforts to help brushed off with "it was easy for you, you don't understand then," I think that's problematic.

    Again, I don't think that was SideSteel's point, but I think it's an important background to the discussion that explains in part the reactions.

    I guess I have a question. We don't know in any case, but let's say that a poster who says "how do I manage to eat less, I keep meaning to but I cannot" is a Margaret? What's the right response? I'd say ask specific questions about what she is struggling with -- IMO, too often people jump in and say "this is what I did, you should do this" and so often that's something like "go low carb" which might be a good answer, but we lack information to say it is -- and then try to give suggestions. She may say "no, I can't, no, I can't" in which case I personally will assume she's not ready yet but that maybe she has some things to think about and will wish her well and also say if she's not ready to make certain changes, that's okay. I don't see what else we could do or why that would be cruel or non-empathetic.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    except someone in here called their family land whales.
  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
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    johunt615 wrote: »
    except someone in here called their family land whales.

    i saw the term "ultra-fatties" on a thread earlier today too and cringed. le sigh.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited October 2016
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    johunt615 wrote: »
    except someone in here called their family land whales.

    i saw the term "ultra-fatties" on a thread earlier today too and cringed. le sigh.

    Inertia-gifted individuals?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    SideSteel wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    SideSteel wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    SideSteel wrote: »
    Simply Amazing Post. My old trainer used to say to me if "fat women" cared as much about their bodies as they do about their false nails and manicures, they wouldn't be fat any longer. I informed him that having their nails done - whether you like fake nails or not - was something that they could control. And it made them feel good.

    This post really was fabulous - thank-you so much! - Big Hug from Toronto!

    They can also control their weight, if they bothered to try. Your point made no sense.

    so if they try, they will succeed?

    Do you truly believe this?

    I believe if anyone prioritizes their health, puts in the time to calorically restrict and exercise then they can lose weight, gain strength and become a healthier version of themselves yes. I don't believe in the special snowflake who can accurately calorie restrict and exercise hard and still not gain strength or lose weight. This isn't a negative viewpoint, its an optimistic one.

    What I DON'T do is think that someone who has prioritized something other than their health is automatically wrong. Some people have other things in their life they may deem more important and that is their call.

    Correct me if I'm wrong but you are ALSO inherently assuming the ability to adhere to the caloric restriction?

    If the person isn't flawed then yes, if they are flawed then they need to address that. Like I said once you say someone IS prioritizing their health and isn't being successful then they are innefectual for some reason and at that point one kind of does have to be critical of them. Being critical isn't the same thing as being mean. At somepoint you need to say to them, hey...you are *kitten* something up...lets look into it and try to figure out what it is.

    I see it quite a bit differently.

    If someone is struggling with diet adherence, you need to address a variety of factors many of which have nothing to do with character flaws.

    It has to do with dietary methodology, food environment, stress management, and of course obvious things like food selection habits and making adjustments or manipulations to calorie and macronutrient intake.

    Now I will say that there probably are many cases where it's some sort of emotional issue or character defect but I tend to think that it's about matching a sustainable methodology to the individual.

    In my own life, I'm not sure that's so.

    There was a period of time when I was reluctantly going to my trainer, not otherwise exercising, and eating badly and gaining weight (this was when I first started regaining). She knew what was up, but didn't know what to do, so just kept encouraging me and added in more cardio to our sessions (I'd been doing cardio on my own up to that point). She probably asked some questions, which I brushed off. I eventually quit (made easier by her moving away). I don't think my issue was character flaw, but I also don't think it was diet methodology, etc. I think I was not motivated/willing to make fitness a priority due to other things in my life. I don't think changing what I was eating (as some in the other thread seemed to think was the answer) would have mattered, in terms of if I just ate fewer carbs I wouldn't overeat, if I cut out sweets I wouldn't overeat (which presumes the motivation/determination to follow through on that anyway). I think it was -- and usually is -- an absence of caring. In saying this, I am NOT saying that the person who doesn't care is a bad person, and I am also more trying to think this through than making an argument. When I care, really care, I will make any approach work, although some will obviously be more feasible or pleasant to me than others and some are more likely to be a long-term, easy habit eventually.

    Yeah, maybe it was an emotional issue (in part, probably), but I think it's really easy for people to just feel like they don't want to even without that, that it's too much. This is actually something I worry about, since how do I know it won't happen again. So many people seem certain that they found the right way of eating so it will never be hard again, and although I don't find how I eat difficult, I don't share that certainty, don't see how it's possible.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    I guess I have a question. We don't know in any case, but let's say that a poster who says "how do I manage to eat less, I keep meaning to but I cannot" is a Margaret? What's the right response? I'd say ask specific questions about what she is struggling with -- IMO, too often people jump in and say "this is what I did, you should do this" and so often that's something like "go low carb" which might be a good answer, but we lack information to say it is -- and then try to give suggestions. She may say "no, I can't, no, I can't" in which case I personally will assume she's not ready yet but that maybe she has some things to think about and will wish her well and also say if she's not ready to make certain changes, that's okay. I don't see what else we could do or why that would be cruel or non-empathetic.

    I try to ask questions to get to the root of the issue by asking questions--what are your height and weight? How long have you been trying to lose weight? Is there a specific problem that you are having with losing weight? I really try to tailor my answers to the poster rather than throwing out generic advice. I might advise one person to simply eat a little bit less today than she did yesterday (2 eggs instead of 3, etc.) and not worry about logging calories. I might suggest that another person should measure to the gram.

    Do I ever get to the point where I decide that I've helped all I can? Absolutely. It's not terribly difficult to see when a poster is resistant to trying anything. There are definitely some posters like that. But I would say that 95% are willing to put forth some effort.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    ahoy_m8 wrote: »
    kgeyser wrote: »
    First, I wanted to say thank you for the excellent post.

    Much of what you say reminds me of my experience with my older daughter. She is on the autism spectrum, albeit high functioning. Many people don't even realize it unless they spend a lot of time around her, which leads to a bunch of false beliefs about her and her character, as well as our parenting skills, which is always amusing.

    She doesn't get a choice with autism, but she does get choices as to what she can do to deal with it. We are fortunate to have access to resources that can help, but she still struggles. She's not stupid. She's not lazy. She works harder than most neurotypical kids in her class, because even after a full day of school she then heads into hours of therapy just to get where they are. She is just as capable as every other child in that class and is just as able to be successful at anything she tries. But the road for her to get there is usually a lot longer and a lot more difficult. Once she has it down, she's good to go, but figuring out how to help her get there is a challenge for her, and us, and her therapists.

    I often think about her when I am reading someone's posts here on the forums. I can't get mad at my daughter when she struggles, and I don't blame her when she feels like something is overwhelming or it's all just too much. I just focus on what can be accomplished, even it's something as minuscule as finally getting a pencil from a drawer after 2 hours of tantrums. So I try not to dismiss the struggles of others, even if the solution seems really easy to me, and just remember that results are not always an indicator of the level of effort.

    Poignant and deeply relevant analogy. Life isn't fair and some people have a higher hill to climb. That doesn't mean they can't. Many do. Nor does it mean those born on top can't fail. Many of those do, too. It does mean assumptions or condemnation based on appearance can be misguided (trying for a nicer word than ignorant.)

    Also, remember you don't know how hard anyone has had it. Maybe one of those people you condemn here for being misguided or ignorant have had far more struggles and difficulty than you realize. One of my issues is that some find it helpful to default to a logical approach (like Aaron, and I relate to that in many areas of life) and others who find it helpful to rant on the forums or to ask questions before even trying to figure stuff out (whereas I don't think I ever asked a question on the boards since it's contrary to what feels right to me). There seems to be a bias that if you put it all out there and talk about how you can't or find it hard, well, you must need sympathy and will be easily hurt with a blunt comment, whereas someone who is more reserved, well, that person must have it easy and can't be hurt and abuse aimed his or her way is deserved and easily taken.

    One of my defense mechanisms when I was fat was to pretend I did not care what others thought of me and did not mind being fat and didn't wish to lose weight. I kept this up while losing (not letting on that I was trying to diet). People who noticed I lost a lot assumed it was really easy for me and that the whole experience was, including being fat. That's not so -- I just find it a weakness to let on to weakness more than I should, at least among a lot of people.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    I guess I have a question. We don't know in any case, but let's say that a poster who says "how do I manage to eat less, I keep meaning to but I cannot" is a Margaret? What's the right response? I'd say ask specific questions about what she is struggling with -- IMO, too often people jump in and say "this is what I did, you should do this" and so often that's something like "go low carb" which might be a good answer, but we lack information to say it is -- and then try to give suggestions. She may say "no, I can't, no, I can't" in which case I personally will assume she's not ready yet but that maybe she has some things to think about and will wish her well and also say if she's not ready to make certain changes, that's okay. I don't see what else we could do or why that would be cruel or non-empathetic.

    I try to ask questions to get to the root of the issue by asking questions--what are your height and weight? How long have you been trying to lose weight? Is there a specific problem that you are having with losing weight? I really try to tailor my answers to the poster rather than throwing out generic advice. I might advise one person to simply eat a little bit less today than she did yesterday (2 eggs instead of 3, etc.) and not worry about logging calories. I might suggest that another person should measure to the gram.

    Do I ever get to the point where I decide that I've helped all I can? Absolutely. It's not terribly difficult to see when a poster is resistant to trying anything. There are definitely some posters like that. But I would say that 95% are willing to put forth some effort.

    Yeah, I pretty much agree with all this, although 95% seems a bit higher than I'd say and I admit to avoiding some of the threads where I think the OP is trolling or looks like she isn't really interested in help or it's a topic that I know is not one I'm patient with (I won't eat vegetables is one I can't help with, as I don't get it and have a blindspot with pickiness--it bugs me--but of course that's my issue, which is why I stay away). I actually do find that where the OP is really struggling, is more like a Margaret and less "I have 10 lbs to lose by tomorrow, will this fad diet work?" that people tend to be pretty helpful and patient. Maybe you have a different impression, but I think this is a pretty good place for those people. I just do think that ultimately outsiders can't do too much -- the person is the one who must be there or not. But something positive may come out of it no matter what.)
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    SideSteel wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    SideSteel wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    SideSteel wrote: »
    Simply Amazing Post. My old trainer used to say to me if "fat women" cared as much about their bodies as they do about their false nails and manicures, they wouldn't be fat any longer. I informed him that having their nails done - whether you like fake nails or not - was something that they could control. And it made them feel good.

    This post really was fabulous - thank-you so much! - Big Hug from Toronto!

    They can also control their weight, if they bothered to try. Your point made no sense.

    so if they try, they will succeed?

    Do you truly believe this?

    I believe if anyone prioritizes their health, puts in the time to calorically restrict and exercise then they can lose weight, gain strength and become a healthier version of themselves yes. I don't believe in the special snowflake who can accurately calorie restrict and exercise hard and still not gain strength or lose weight. This isn't a negative viewpoint, its an optimistic one.

    What I DON'T do is think that someone who has prioritized something other than their health is automatically wrong. Some people have other things in their life they may deem more important and that is their call.

    Correct me if I'm wrong but you are ALSO inherently assuming the ability to adhere to the caloric restriction?

    If the person isn't flawed then yes, if they are flawed then they need to address that. Like I said once you say someone IS prioritizing their health and isn't being successful then they are innefectual for some reason and at that point one kind of does have to be critical of them. Being critical isn't the same thing as being mean. At somepoint you need to say to them, hey...you are *kitten* something up...lets look into it and try to figure out what it is.

    I see it quite a bit differently.

    If someone is struggling with diet adherence, you need to address a variety of factors many of which have nothing to do with character flaws.

    It has to do with dietary methodology, food environment, stress management, and of course obvious things like food selection habits and making adjustments or manipulations to calorie and macronutrient intake.

    Now I will say that there probably are many cases where it's some sort of emotional issue or character defect but I tend to think that it's about matching a sustainable methodology to the individual.

    In my own life, I'm not sure that's so.

    There was a period of time when I was reluctantly going to my trainer, not otherwise exercising, and eating badly and gaining weight (this was when I first started regaining). She knew what was up, but didn't know what to do, so just kept encouraging me and added in more cardio to our sessions (I'd been doing cardio on my own up to that point). She probably asked some questions, which I brushed off. I eventually quit (made easier by her moving away). I don't think my issue was character flaw, but I also don't think it was diet methodology, etc. I think I was not motivated/willing to make fitness a priority due to other things in my life. I don't think changing what I was eating (as some in the other thread seemed to think was the answer) would have mattered, in terms of if I just ate fewer carbs I wouldn't overeat, if I cut out sweets I wouldn't overeat (which presumes the motivation/determination to follow through on that anyway). I think it was -- and usually is -- an absence of caring. In saying this, I am NOT saying that the person who doesn't care is a bad person, and I am also more trying to think this through than making an argument. When I care, really care, I will make any approach work, although some will obviously be more feasible or pleasant to me than others and some are more likely to be a long-term, easy habit eventually.

    Yeah, maybe it was an emotional issue (in part, probably), but I think it's really easy for people to just feel like they don't want to even without that, that it's too much. This is actually something I worry about, since how do I know it won't happen again. So many people seem certain that they found the right way of eating so it will never be hard again, and although I don't find how I eat difficult, I don't share that certainty, don't see how it's possible.

    I don't doubt that some people experience this to some degree.

    Someone can go through phases of not caring and for some people it's true that the thing they need is to care more.

    And there are limited tools you can use to facilitate or nurture that in a client to help move them along -- in many cases it's quite tough from a coaching standpoint.

    But I also think in many cases people assume the issue is lack of caring enough when that's not the case.

    I'd also add that I'm a firm believer that methodology can effect motivation, and that there are things that you can do to attempt to keep progress moving along during periods where motivation is lower.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Hmm, interestingly, here is a post I could have written, back in the day:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10473411/i-cant-seem-to-win-i-lose-motivation-so-fast#latest

    And this person got a ton of good and IMO non-judgmental advice.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    edited October 2016
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    johunt615 wrote: »
    except someone in here called their family land whales.

    i saw the term "ultra-fatties" on a thread earlier today too and cringed. le sigh.

    It was uber-fatties, and I said both of them.

    #dealwiddit
    Oh god, you actually made me do that.

    Seriously, you'd have to eat around my family to understand. Going to holiday functions is like watching cattle at a trough, only the cattle are commenting at you for being "too skinny", whilst still cursing their own genetics, and still completely missing the screwiness of the entire situation.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    johunt615 wrote: »
    except someone in here called their family land whales.

    i saw the term "ultra-fatties" on a thread earlier today too and cringed. le sigh.

    It was uber-fatties, and I said both of them.

    #dealwiddit
    Oh god, you actually made me do that.

    Seriously, you'd have to eat around my family to understand. Going to holiday functions is like watching cattle at a trough, only the cattle are commenting at you for being "too skinny", whilst still cursing their own genetics, and still completely missing the screwiness of the entire situation.

    The terms you use are plain and simple being honest, and being honest with your self! I could have used the words curvy or big boned or any other BS to make myself feel better. But the honest, realistic thing was i was FAT, there aint no getting around that fact.
  • Gianfranco_R
    Gianfranco_R Posts: 1,297 Member
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    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    SideSteel wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    SideSteel wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    SideSteel wrote: »
    Simply Amazing Post. My old trainer used to say to me if "fat women" cared as much about their bodies as they do about their false nails and manicures, they wouldn't be fat any longer. I informed him that having their nails done - whether you like fake nails or not - was something that they could control. And it made them feel good.

    This post really was fabulous - thank-you so much! - Big Hug from Toronto!

    They can also control their weight, if they bothered to try. Your point made no sense.

    so if they try, they will succeed?

    Do you truly believe this?

    I believe if anyone prioritizes their health, puts in the time to calorically restrict and exercise then they can lose weight, gain strength and become a healthier version of themselves yes. I don't believe in the special snowflake who can accurately calorie restrict and exercise hard and still not gain strength or lose weight. This isn't a negative viewpoint, its an optimistic one.

    What I DON'T do is think that someone who has prioritized something other than their health is automatically wrong. Some people have other things in their life they may deem more important and that is their call.

    Correct me if I'm wrong but you are ALSO inherently assuming the ability to adhere to the caloric restriction?

    If the person isn't flawed then yes, if they are flawed then they need to address that. Like I said once you say someone IS prioritizing their health and isn't being successful then they are innefectual for some reason and at that point one kind of does have to be critical of them. Being critical isn't the same thing as being mean. At somepoint you need to say to them, hey...you are *kitten* something up...lets look into it and try to figure out what it is.

    I see it quite a bit differently.

    If someone is struggling with diet adherence, you need to address a variety of factors many of which have nothing to do with character flaws.

    It has to do with dietary methodology, food environment, stress management, and of course obvious things like food selection habits and making adjustments or manipulations to calorie and macronutrient intake.

    Now I will say that there probably are many cases where it's some sort of emotional issue or character defect but I tend to think that it's about matching a sustainable methodology to the individual.

    And I know that some people will think that I am just being overly sensitive and that's fine especially with what I'm about to say here:

    You seem to be assuming that it is a character flaw if someone cannot adhere, and I think that's another oversimplification that asserts that the person must just be incompetent.

    I actually never said charecter flaw and I never said incompetent, I said inneffectual. Someone can be inneffectual because they are applying the wrong method. Someone might be inneffectual at moving a heavy object because they haven't been introduced to the concept of a dolly or a lever. That just means they are ignorant of the appropriate approach. Is ignorance a character flaw? I suppose thats debatable but I wouldn't consider it such, its a flaw though that does need to be addressed.

    Perhaps "inneffectual" education? :smile:

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited October 2016
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    johunt615 wrote: »
    Calling yourself these things maybe honest, but calling your family members these things?

    I respectfully request this poster (who has made some very insightful posts as well) to think about the person/family member, they are not their body weight, they are not the what they eat, there is a lot more to them then appearance. Calling and describing humans this way saddens me greatly let alone your family. Honest is one thing but you could choose softer ways to be honest. Perhaps you can even be thankful that their appearance or way they eat inspires you to continue to work on your physical form?

    It would crush me to come on here and see my son said these things about me or anyone else (if your number after your name is your birthdate I have a son your age). Often times people feel bad enough about themselves and have no idea how to dig themselves out of a hole. There is so much misinformation out there and almost zero information on how to maintain weight. Some just give up.

    Anyways just what I think, otherwise I will deal with it:).

    While this is valid for you and your sensibilities it is not valid for everyone. It would not have crushed me, it may have made me laugh or have pissed me off, it might have made me think and look at myself, it may even have been the trigger for me to effect change in my life.

    I think your last line is appropriate, that is just the way you think. Different families have different sensibilities as do different cultures and countries. All concepts are valid in discussion and I think @Gallowmere1984 use of words is too, within his own context .

    There are words, and attitudes, that friends who are from other cultures use that rankle with me, I would probably have, and have had, the same reaction to yours here so I'm not having a go..I'm just continuing the discussion in recognising there is an interpretative dissonance that comes from this being an international site.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    Understood Sue. Totally respect a lot of your posts as well as Gallows.

    Doesn't stop me from hoping people see people for more than their outward appearance regardless of culture and hoping people use less hurtful terms to describe folks, especially on a weight loss thread.

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited October 2016
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    Off topic for this thread, as I don't think it has anything to do with the Margaret/Chad comparison or how people get fat, but I do consider certain types and levels of ignorance to be a character flaw, as I think people choose to be that ignorant and about some things that's just not a responsible choice. I think we are often too quick as a society to just assume people can't help it when they can and the assumption should be that people are not completely and ridiculous ignorant (as I think that would make it more necessary to not choose to be ignorant, basically serve as an expectation and encouragement to be more knowledgeable and competent).
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    Simply Amazing Post. My old trainer used to say to me if "fat women" cared as much about their bodies as they do about their false nails and manicures, they wouldn't be fat any longer. I informed him that having their nails done - whether you like fake nails or not - was something that they could control. And it made them feel good.

    This post really was fabulous - thank-you so much! - Big Hug from Toronto!

    They can also control their weight, if they bothered to try. Your point made no sense.
    It was a point that made a lot of sense, it just missed the mark a little bit, and that little bit is important.
    I think the ability to manage weight depends on whether the person believes that their food intake - and subsequently their weight - is something they can control, and that their food choices makes them feel good.