Why Do We Hate Being Fat So Much?
Replies
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I don't hate being "fat" I just hate knowing that I'm not healthy because my bmi. I wish to b thick and built with a low body fat percentage. Never skinny0
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This has been on my mind this morning. I've hated being fat since around the 6th grade. I wasn't bullied, made fun of in any great way at all, and wasn't fat shamed at home. Yet the realization that I was "fat" hurt and upset me. I didn't like the look of my doughy body compared to the lean boys around me. It set off a battle with my adipose tissue that continues to this day.
Why does nearly everyone seem to hate being fat (or hate others being fat) so much? Is it socialized? Inate? Do we hate the look of it, the feel of it? Is it more about what other people think? I've thought before that I do believe I'd lose weight even if I was the only person left on earth.
What do you think it is?
its unhealthy0 -
Love it! I got more fabric for the same money when I bought clothes, took up more space on the bus, everyone expected me to eat all the pies. I could sit my dinner plate on my belly and watch TV. I had great boobs. Everyone else got to feel superior . So many joys. I liked being a chubster.Yeah I think most of it is just social. There are cultures where being overweight is enviable but that's not really the western ideal right now. Honestly the most attractive thing is normally the thing that the smallest portion of the population has and others can not easily get so fitness, wealth, large physical endowments, intellect...
We want want we do not have but might be able to get.
Personally I love being fat. I get to eat whatever I want and don't have to get up and move all the time unless I run out of soda. When I am trim I am always doing stuff and it's a huge distraction from surfing the net and reading / writing. Every few years I like to drop weight though just to mix things up a bit.0 -
I think it basically comes down to people don't think fat people have any self control therefore they eat like gluttons and put themselves where they are. It may be partially true, but we are all programmed to love carbs and our diet being pushed all around us on commercials and store shelves are creating a population that eats what it considers normal. A paradigm shift is needed in how people view food in order to enable themselves to control their body compostion.
%100 agree. Food is for fuel, and it's great if it's tasty, too, but too many of us developed the mindset that food is a way to stimulate the pleasure centers in the brain, without regard for the nutritional value of it or whether or not we needed the calories. With the exception of serious athletes, who among us ever goes, "Uh oh! I'm so low on calories, but I've already exceeded my vitamin and mineral needs, what I could really use is some empty calories in the form of cookies!"
I've been on 20% carbs in my macros for 3 months now. So when I do eat a processed sugar treat like Angel food cake with my organic fruit it's like crack. You can realize just how sweet something is when you don't eat sweets. The general population is numb this this and eat heavily processed sugars and carbs for that serotonin rush without even knowing it.
Yep, even though I'm high carb vegan, I do intermittent fasting and I'm keto-adapted from a lot of time doing low carb in the past, so I actually stay in ketosis most of the time and go in and out of it easily. I bet if I ate a huge slice of chocolate cake right now I'd bounce off the walls. Which, to paraphrase Dr. Lustig, would be good, because it would mean I was burning off the calories. But if I eat cake every time I just want the pleasure of eating cake, I sit there in my chair like a lump, I don't want to move, I feel sad and grouchy and I just want more cake. Some foods are just not good for me. Not saying it happens to everybody, but eating for pleasure does a serious number on my health.
See, I'm exactly the opposite, 99% of the time I'll take one bite out of that cake, go blech too sweet and that'll be it. I'm not big on rice, french fries or any of that stuff, I NEVER eat any form of chips except maybe tortilla chips, and that's only if I'm at a tex-mex place and then it's just a vehicle for shoving green salsa down my gullet. I would just eat the salsa with a spoon if it was socially acceptable and I just leave the rice on my plate, don't even touch it. So I just don't understand this concept that somehow we're all being secretly addicted to processed carbs, if anything, I'm addicted to fats and proteins. Now my HUSBAND, he's strait up Irish potato boy....
I don't know, I just always find it a little silly when people try to blame one part of the equation for the final outcome. I can promise you it wasn't sweets that caused me to pack on extra pounds.
My diet is 80% protein and fats and I'm the leanest I've ever been in the last two decades. I'm approaching 10% bf. It's pretty easy to pinpoint exactly when sugar related diseases started in human history. Macros are very important in a diet especially if you are an athlete. Problems arise when you have high carb and high fat. i.e. Southern cooking where they fry everything with a wrap of carbs. But frying something like green beans in oil without a batter is pretty harmless. If I had to choose the biggest culprit in the modern diet it would certainly be carbs. Most meals in a restaurant or fast food consists of over a 80 to 130 carbs PER meal. Times that by 3 or 4 and add all the deserts and drinks in there and the average overweight person takes in 500+ carbs a day at probably 60% to 70% of their intake.0 -
Why do I hate being fat?
Because when my hip aches, it's a constant reminder that I need to get pressure off it fast.
Because when I look at my mother sitting in her chair, recovering from her hip reconstruction and still overweight, I am reminded that that is exactly where I'm headed if I don't do something about.
Because when I'm on the ice and my coach yells, "More height!" I know that I can't - I don't have the leg muscle to propel nearly 100kg into the air any higher than I already do.
Because when I land a jump in the slightest skew-iff way, the pain that shoots through my ankle, knee and hip reminds me that I'm in a fair way to get injured.
Because I want that Axel, and I've never seen a 100kg skater do an Axel.
Because I want to be able to finish my 1 minute 40 sec technical program without being dead - if I can't do that, how am I supposed to upgrade to 2:10 in the future?
Because I want to be healthy, because I want to live long and be happy. Because I want to tramp all over the world and take selfies in ridiculous places and not be feeling ridiculous. Because the next time I meet one of my sporting idols, I want to look at the picture with pride, not shame.0 -
My brother weighed about 300, played golf, tennis and led a pretty active life claiming his doctor said his blood pressure and cholesterol level were good..He died of a heart attack sitting on the edge of his bed one morning when he was in his 60's....I'm 78 and will continue to avoid excess weight and eat healthy for the rest of my life.0
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Why do I hate being fat?
Because when my hip aches, it's a constant reminder that I need to get pressure off it fast.
Because when I look at my mother sitting in her chair, recovering from her hip reconstruction and still overweight, I am reminded that that is exactly where I'm headed if I don't do something about.
Because when I'm on the ice and my coach yells, "More height!" I know that I can't - I don't have the leg muscle to propel nearly 100kg into the air any higher than I already do.
Because when I land a jump in the slightest skew-iff way, the pain that shoots through my ankle, knee and hip reminds me that I'm in a fair way to get injured.
Because I want that Axel, and I've never seen a 100kg skater do an Axel.
Because I want to be able to finish my 1 minute 40 sec technical program without being dead - if I can't do that, how am I supposed to upgrade to 2:10 in the future?
Because I want to be healthy, because I want to live long and be happy. Because I want to tramp all over the world and take selfies in ridiculous places and not be feeling ridiculous. Because the next time I meet one of my sporting idols, I want to look at the picture with pride, not shame.
This was very powerful.0 -
there are statues and paintings covering hundreds of years featuring women considered to be beautiful who have bellies and thighs that these days would be considered fat, but at those times and in those cultures were considered beautiful and feminine. this question reminded me of this article i read a couple months ago about a woman who in 1912 was considered "perfect", and she weighed 171 pounds.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/26/perfect-woman-1912_n_2365529.html
She was a perfect pear shape by measurements. Then again, if, as it was reported, she really did have a figure similar to the Venus de Milo, she also had a six pack. She probably really did have more muscle than most of us do now. Maybe it shows that fit was the old skinny as much as that voluptuous was prized more than it is today.
By the way, these body models from the ancient greek and "de milo" times were not really the norm for the time. Being a naked model was not a high profession. These models were probably workers and had farming backgrounds or were slaves or courtesans in a time when having a suntan was a show of the common worker and the elite did nothing all day but live large and have pale skin to show they did not do outdoor work. I will assume that the proviliged persons from that time were sloppy as well.
We don't live in the dark ages anymore (well, you'd think we don't) where being fat is a show of wealth and good health. Lets stay in this century, shall we?
The quoted article on the 'perfect woman' doesn't quite go back that far. It's from 1912. The young woman was compared to the de milo. I stated that, if she was comparable, she did indeed have more muscle tone than most of us have today.
If you kind of squint your eyes and look at representations of the female body across cultures and times, you'll get an impression of a prototypical ideal that is about 20-25% body fat and pretty strong. There are cultural standards and there are human standards. A healthy human woman is in that 25% body fat range and can do a fair amount of work. That seems to be the lynch pin that cultural standards swing around.
It's not just cultural standards. Before advances in medicine, people that carried a little extra fat were better able to survive a serious accident or illness. Today, we have modern medicine and that's why we can also afford to be thinner.
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I hated being fat because I didn't feel good or look good. I avoided cameras and missed out on things because I just felt bad about myself.
I was never fat until after my last daughter was born. I guess I got lazy and eat and didn't move much.
I can't believe how much better I look and feel after losing almost 40lbs. It's a different life.
Also, people treat me better. Terrible to say but they do.0 -
Incidentally, people in 3rd world countries want to be slim just like us first worlders. As an example, it's uncommon to find a slim middle aged person in the Philippines.0
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Incidentally, people in 3rd world countries want to be slim just like us first worlders. As an example, it's uncommon to find a slim middle aged person in the Philippines.
Because of us and the rest of the international community that is true. So says the US Army:
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/uploadedFiles/moynihan/dst/curtis5.pdf
The Obesity Epidemic in the Pacific Islands
M i c h a e l C u r t i s
United States Department of Army
Some of the highest levels of obesity in the world are found in the island populations of Oceania. Rates of obesity as high as 75% have been reported in Nauru, Samoa, American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Tonga and French Polynesia. The factors for this epidemic of obesity are a dramatic decrease in physical activity and a dependence on a Western diet. The traditional foods of the islands such as fresh fish, meat and local fruits and vegetables have been replaced by rice, sugar, flour, canned meats, canned fruits and vegetables, soft drinks and beer. The total population of the 21 island nations, territories and commonwealths in the Oceania area is just under 2 million. In a world of 6.3 billion, it is difficult for countries as small as Nauru (pop. 10,000) to compete for health care aid. Such invisibility is just one of the significant barriers that these tiny nations face as they struggle to survive in the new millennium. Progress in the health care sector is hindered by general under funding, concentration in urban areas and on end-stage diseases, and by a dearth of adequately trained personnel, especially in health services planning, management and administration. Policies are necessary to encourage a movement away from Western
foods to a traditional diet low in fat and calories.
The whole thing is worth a read. Of course the proposed solution is weaksauce, since the author admits no help from outside will be coming, and how will the people of these communities change their economic status in order to afford their own traditional foods again?0 -
Even during a time when Western culture appreciated a little junk in the trunk in women, it was rare for people to find obesity attractive. It has a lot to do with shape. We've evolved to find the hourglass shape the most attractive, since that particular shape is associated with youth and fertility. It's difficult to get an hourglass when you are morbidly obese. It's actually pretty difficult to have an hourglass when you're too thin, too.
I look at the men around me and the kinds of women they tend to go after, and it's not stick-thin women. They seem to prefer women with a nice hourglass or near-hourglass shape. Marilyn Monroe is the more modern ideal of this. (I hate when overweight women insist on calling themselves "curvy." Maybe they are, maybe they aren't. But being "curvy" doesn't have much to do with body fat.) Having a little extra weight in the boobs and thighs, with a thin middle, is a sign that a) you are not already pregnant b) you are healthy enough to support a growing fetus and give birth to it and c) you are young enough to get pregnant, since women tend to pack on belly fat during middle age.
As for men, from en evo psych perspective, the alpha males were the ones who could fight off invaders and bring in the hunt. It's tough to do that when you're squishy around the middle. Extra fat is also a sign of aging for men, which is associated with less virility.
It makes sense that we would still be primed to look for signs of fertility even when we're not consciously looking to procreate.0 -
Because at 50 it doesn't feel so good!0
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Because society sees being "thin" or "skinny" or "fit" as sexy. If being "fat" or "overweight" was seen by society as sexy, then we would have alot less skinny, thin, healthy, fit people in this world & less people judging others by their looks.
Why do I hate being fat....well there are many factors. My main reasons are I hate the way I look, whether it's fat or skinny, but I hate myself less when I'm skinny. Im insecure, but I worry less about my husband leaving me for someone else when Im skinny. Me wanting to be skinny has nothing to do with me wanting to be healthy. I love food and the truth is if I was old & single I would more than likely be fat or overweight. I want to be skinny cause society says I'm suppose to be & it hurts less when my husband looks at other woman.0 -
I hate being fat because I don't feel attractive, so I will work hard to fix it.0
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I hated being fat because I didn't feel good or look good. I avoided cameras and missed out on things because I just felt bad about myself.
I was never fat until after my last daughter was born. I guess I got lazy and eat and didn't move much.
I can't believe how much better I look and feel after losing almost 40lbs. It's a different life.
Also, people treat me better. Terrible to say but they do.
You treat you better too.0 -
Yeah I think most of it is just social. There are cultures where being overweight is enviable but that's not really the western ideal right now. Honestly the most attractive thing is normally the thing that the smallest portion of the population has and others can not easily get so fitness, wealth, large physical endowments, intellect...
We want want we do not have but might be able to get.
Personally I love being fat. I get to eat whatever I want and don't have to get up and move all the time unless I run out of soda. When I am trim I am always doing stuff and it's a huge distraction from surfing the net and reading / writing. Every few years I like to drop weight though just to mix things up a bit.
If you love being fat, why are you losing weight? Me thinks you are not being very honest here.....0 -
I want to not be exhausted after spending time playing with my daughter.
I want to wear nice clothes and feel comfortable in them.
I want to wear the bowtie my wife got me for my first father's day and not feel like it's choking me.
I want to go on longer walks with my dog and feel great afterwards.
I want to tie my shoes and not feel my stomach get in the way.
I want my body to look proportional so I don't feel like I have to hide myself when a camera's pointing at me.0 -
I didn't like being fat because I felt horrible and no clothing suited me. Now I am thinner and I feel great and I look good in clothes.0
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Well, for me it is because I see being overweight as unhealthy and reduces my attractiveness potential, my confidence, makes clothes harder to find, and makes intimacy more difficult and uncomfortable at times.0
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I was thin all my life until around 45.
I've put on about 50-60lbs.
I hate it because it's unhealthy, I'm judged for it.
Not as attractive so to speak.
I believe it is a big factor in why I'm still single.
It just sucks!!!0 -
For guys it makes our "stuff" look smaller.0
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Well... The truth is that being fat is awesome! You can eat whatever you want, as much as you want, and never have to worry about doing any physical activity if you don't want to. I mean come on, who wouldn't love to sit and watch tv/play video games/whatever all day long with a 12 pack of your favorite soda, a bag of your favorite candy, and a whole pizza! I think it would be fantastic for the 30-40 years i would live.
Unfortunately, my family doesn't love that idea and i have to be responsible and have a job and live long for my family and yada yada yada. But man... Pizza.......0 -
^^This post is bollocks and full of excuses. "Naturally fat" what is that? And thin people have "restrictive eating disorders"? Are you serious? Is eating only what you need to maintain your body now an eating disorder? Please...We shouldn't hate it. It's only because such a high percentage of people are "naturally fat" that everyone has the desire to be something they're not. Thin people are seen as having more self-control when in reality... they're either naturally that skinny or they have a restrictive eating disorder or they are health nuts who spend all of their time obsessing over their bodies and what to eat
I think many people forget that your weight is not a measure of your self worth. Being a good husband, wife, daughter, sister, brother, friend etc. . is a better measure of who you are as a person.
Or what you do for others ... which people who spend most of their time obsessing over what they eat or look like don't do.
Being overly critical of what you eat often takes general enjoyment out of life.
You think you'll be "so happy" once your thin.
But in reality its the "grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" thought and the feelings of insecurity will persist through weight loss as there is really a deeper problem within that can only be corrected by self love and acceptance.
A lot of people need to ask themselves if they want to spend the rest of their lives obsessing over their weights and fighting their natural body weight through self starvation, over-exercise,etc ... And your body weight is SOMEWHAT genetic as its likely your body "shape" resembles one or both of your parents.
But anyway, there are tons of healthy overweight people in the world. If your losing weight for health reasons, good for you. But if its to be thin, to be accepted by others, to be accepted by yourself etc ... then your looking at a bigger issue of self-esteem.
Check these out:
http://180degreehealth.com/addiction-fetish-health-nutrition/
http://www.youreatopia.com/blog/2012/12/4/women-and-men-of-substance.html/
I hated the feeling of having a fat gut, it felt disgusting. I also didn't work out and was weak and pathetic. I personally, and this is my prerogative, find fat to be highly unattractive and as such didn't feel it was fair on my gf for me to be fat.0 -
Yeah I think most of it is just social. There are cultures where being overweight is enviable but that's not really the western ideal right now. Honestly the most attractive thing is normally the thing that the smallest portion of the population has and others can not easily get so fitness, wealth, large physical endowments, intellect...
We want want we do not have but might be able to get.
Personally I love being fat. I get to eat whatever I want and don't have to get up and move all the time unless I run out of soda. When I am trim I am always doing stuff and it's a huge distraction from surfing the net and reading / writing. Every few years I like to drop weight though just to mix things up a bit.
I think his answer was a bit tongue in cheek
- but even so, one can try to lose weight for whatever reasons and still acknowledge there were some good things about being over weight.
I feel the cold more now that I have lost weight, so being cold tolerant was a good thing about being over weight, having more cleavage was a good thing about it too :happy: - and I was sad that some of my clothes that I liked no longer fit me and had to be discarded.
Yes I am glad I lost weight and I am glad I am now in healthy weight range - but I didn't hate it before and in fact it had some advantages.
Note - that is just my personal experience of going from over weight to healthy weight - I realise somebody who goes from morbidly obese to healthy weight might feel differently.
If you love being fat, why are you losing weight? Me thinks you are not being very honest here.....0 -
^^This post is bollocks and full of excuses. "Naturally fat" what is that? And thin people have "restrictive eating disorders"? Are you serious? Is eating only what you need to maintain your body now an eating disorder? Please...We shouldn't hate it. It's only because such a high percentage of people are "naturally fat" that everyone has the desire to be something they're not. Thin people are seen as having more self-control when in reality... they're either naturally that skinny or they have a restrictive eating disorder or they are health nuts who spend all of their time obsessing over their bodies and what to eat
I think many people forget that your weight is not a measure of your self worth. Being a good husband, wife, daughter, sister, brother, friend etc. . is a better measure of who you are as a person.
Or what you do for others ... which people who spend most of their time obsessing over what they eat or look like don't do.
Being overly critical of what you eat often takes general enjoyment out of life.
You think you'll be "so happy" once your thin.
But in reality its the "grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" thought and the feelings of insecurity will persist through weight loss as there is really a deeper problem within that can only be corrected by self love and acceptance.
A lot of people need to ask themselves if they want to spend the rest of their lives obsessing over their weights and fighting their natural body weight through self starvation, over-exercise,etc ... And your body weight is SOMEWHAT genetic as its likely your body "shape" resembles one or both of your parents.
But anyway, there are tons of healthy overweight people in the world. If your losing weight for health reasons, good for you. But if its to be thin, to be accepted by others, to be accepted by yourself etc ... then your looking at a bigger issue of self-esteem.
Check these out:
http://180degreehealth.com/addiction-fetish-health-nutrition/
http://www.youreatopia.com/blog/2012/12/4/women-and-men-of-substance.html/
I hated the feeling of having a fat gut, it felt disgusting. I also didn't work out and was weak and pathetic. I personally, and this is my prerogative, find fat to be highly unattractive and as such didn't feel it was fair on my gf for me to be fat.
Actually I think his post has some good points - and he did put naturally fat in inverted commas - it is not to be taken as a literal term.
It is true though that body shape is at least partly genetic and I agree with him that our self worth should not be tied to our weight.
You might find fat disgusting - but it doesn't mean everyone else needs to be thin.
I personally am not even trying to be thin - I am happy to be in healthy weight range and that's all I want.0 -
It paints a picture of those who are not fat as having mental health issues and not actually working for what they want which in so many cases is just wrong. The subtext I read is abdicating personal responsibility which I find abhorrent. The idea that you have to starve your self and "over exercise" is just not true. It also reads like those who do watch what they eat and exercise somehow don't enjoy the food they eat or are shallow for even caring about such things. Thin people can be good husbands and wives etc. and the whole idea of healthy obese people is just not true. They could be healthier. Being fat is not optimal for health.
^^This post is bollocks and full of excuses. "Naturally fat" what is that? And thin people have "restrictive eating disorders"? Are you serious? Is eating only what you need to maintain your body now an eating disorder? Please...We shouldn't hate it. It's only because such a high percentage of people are "naturally fat" that everyone has the desire to be something they're not. Thin people are seen as having more self-control when in reality... they're either naturally that skinny or they have a restrictive eating disorder or they are health nuts who spend all of their time obsessing over their bodies and what to eat
I think many people forget that your weight is not a measure of your self worth. Being a good husband, wife, daughter, sister, brother, friend etc. . is a better measure of who you are as a person.
Or what you do for others ... which people who spend most of their time obsessing over what they eat or look like don't do.
Being overly critical of what you eat often takes general enjoyment out of life.
You think you'll be "so happy" once your thin.
But in reality its the "grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" thought and the feelings of insecurity will persist through weight loss as there is really a deeper problem within that can only be corrected by self love and acceptance.
A lot of people need to ask themselves if they want to spend the rest of their lives obsessing over their weights and fighting their natural body weight through self starvation, over-exercise,etc ... And your body weight is SOMEWHAT genetic as its likely your body "shape" resembles one or both of your parents.
But anyway, there are tons of healthy overweight people in the world. If your losing weight for health reasons, good for you. But if its to be thin, to be accepted by others, to be accepted by yourself etc ... then your looking at a bigger issue of self-esteem.
Check these out:
http://180degreehealth.com/addiction-fetish-health-nutrition/
http://www.youreatopia.com/blog/2012/12/4/women-and-men-of-substance.html/
I hated the feeling of having a fat gut, it felt disgusting. I also didn't work out and was weak and pathetic. I personally, and this is my prerogative, find fat to be highly unattractive and as such didn't feel it was fair on my gf for me to be fat.
Actually I think his post has some good points - and he did put naturally fat in inverted commas - it is not to be taken as a literal term.
It is true though that body shape is at least partly genetic and I agree with him that our self worth should not be tied to our weight.
You might find fat disgusting - but it doesn't mean everyone else needs to be thin.
I personally am not even trying to be thin - I am happy to be in healthy weight range and that's all I want.
I never said everyone needs to be thin, people can do whatever the hell they like but in saying so they also need to be prepared for what it brings them be it ill health, discomfort or an early death. People shouldn't make personal choices and then expect special treatment. Also, if I find fat gross I shouldn't be admonished for saying so (not that you did), everyone has their own personal thoughts on what is physically attractive be it tall or blond or whatever and nobody has the right to tell them it is wrong.
I don't want to be "thin" either I want to be strong, lean, fit and muscular. I want my body to last as long as possible.0 -
I guess for some people it's a society issue.
Not for me. I like my lean, fit body when I'm naked in my bed.
And that doesn't mean I don't have value beyond that. Who I am is so much more than that.0
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