Fat-Shaming May Curb Obesity?
Replies
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Well, one of the arguments was that public shaming of smokers worked to get people to quit smoking.
Some people are genetically predisposed to obesity. Medical issues. Hormonal problems. No one is predisposed to smoking.
Not that that is an excuse to be obese, but it's also very easy for a slender person to make this assumption.
People are predisposed to addictive behaviors. Some more than others. Binge eating is an addictive behavior. Binge eating and smoking are both dangerous behaviors that have a heavy addiction component. Both are unhealthy; both cannot be reversed by shaming. The only thing you do when you shame someone or insult them is make their convictions stronger. You make the half-pack-a-day smoker into a pack-a-day one...you make the 300-pound binge eater into a 400-pound one.
But let's be serious: putting food in your mouth is a controllable behavior. Just like putting a cigarette into your mouth is. Whether you become addicted is somewhat a matter of genetics. Whether you chose to change is a matter of motivation. Binge eaters, smokers, drug abusers, alcoholics and gamblers are not so different.
And in my case, I have insulin resistance. I was always hungry, as in stomach growling in pain levels of hunger, no matter how much I ate. Doctors just assumed I had no control. Finally, a doctor listened to me, did a blood test, confirmed it, treated it, and I'm losing weight now.
So yeah, I'm not a special snowflake; I'm just saying that in my case, it wasn't JUST lack of willpower or self-control. So it was doubly frustrating. I wanted to stop eating so badly, but every time I'd try to go two hours without food, I was dizzy from hunger.
You don't know anyone until you've been there, and even then, everybody is different. Stop putting a blanket over everyone and using one label.0 -
Agreed 100%. These cheap nutritionally deficient processed foods have additives in them that are highly addictive, making you crave more of it when you eat them. Unfortunately there's no quick fix to this problem, as there are several factors involved. All we can do is educate ourselves on good nutrition, stick to it, and get off the couch in the meantime.0
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Where the hell have they been? Obese people have been shamed, taunted, and bullied for years.0
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Cubbies, that's wonderful news. I'm glad to hear you found a solution and something that worked for you. I bet you feel great!0
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Well, the FDA certainly hasn't. My doctor still tries to tell me that 55% of my diet should be carbs, including corn and wheat. And frankly, it costs far more to eat an actually healthy diet due to the insanity of how we subsidize food in this country .... which is based on the FDA's damn food pyramid, among other things. That and the corn lobby is ridiculously powerful. On top of that, wheat and corn and sugar (not sugar alcohols, but sucrose and fructose) are addictive. And every single thing you buy in the store that is packaged contains those things. Beyond that, you get massive cravings due to insulin and glucose and how it works in your body.So, you think if people were told to eat more fiber, switch processed grains and sugar for whole grains, vegetables and fruit, and to eat more healthy fats and lean protein that would solve the problem.
But, of course, you already knew all that, right?0 -
Many people seem to be talking as though there are only two alternative - coddling or shaming. This is a false dichotomy.
I agree that we should not coddle. But that doesn't mean we should shame.
"It's ok to be fat" needs to be replaced with "You aren't less of a person because you are fat, but it impacts your health, and it impacts the bottom line of the country as a whole. You need to lose that weight, and we're here to help you do it."
Unfortunately, as with most things, true solutions don't fit catchprases.0 -
Cubbies, that's awesome that you got it figured out. It is likely that most obese people are insulin resistant. Not only do we get hungry every couple of hours, but we crave the foods that contribute to insulin resistance, obesity, blood sugar spikes and crashes, etc. It is a horrific addiction that people who've never experienced it cannot understand. Shaming makes you depressed and unhappy, which contributes to the addictive behavior.And in my case, I have insulin resistance. I was always hungry, as in stomach growling in pain levels of hunger, no matter how much I ate.
Side note, the increase of clinical obesity in this country coincides with the rise of the idea that salt and fat and beef/pork/etc is bad for you and wheat and corn are good for you. You can map the lines on a chart and see it clear as day. just saying.0 -
I don't think we need to shame people but I do think we need to quit making excuses for obesity being accepted as the norm. Stop adjusting sizes so the overweight can feel good about themselves, making allowances on public transport, ***** footing around the word fat by using chubby, fluffy, etc, making adjustments to the work place to accommodate the obese.
There's the odd special snowflake out there who has some genuine medical problem that causes a weight issue but for the 99% it's a matter of getting your head in the game. Pretending it's alright is not helping.
Edit: Seriously? Another word for cat is deserving of censorship? SMH
I'm fine with not vanity sizing. A number is a number. But stop making allowances on public transport? You mean seats big enough to accomodate people who need a place to sit. Sorry, that's straight up sizism. You're not human enough to deserve a seat if your *kitten* is a certain size? **** that ****. People are people. We need to treat each other with a basic level of respect and dignity regardless of physical appearance.
Okay, I'm really not trying to be rude when I say this, so I will say it as nicely as I can-- while I agree that it's sad and humiliating that my ex-girlfriend had to pay for two seats on her airline flight (because she weighs nearly 400 pounds), the fact is that if we are TOO accommodating, no one will have motivation to improve their health. And the cold, hard truth is that if you can't fit in a seat designed for one normal-sized person you are probably at an unhealthy weight. When I couldn't ride Raging Bull three years ago with my friends because I couldn't get the bar down far enough, it was embarrassing and I wanted to cry, but I didn't consider the ride to be "sizeist" because I didn't fit on it.
It's true that there are some people who are overweight and truly cannot do anything about it because of medical conditions, and that breaks my heart, but MOST people can lose part of that excess weight if they are committed to doing so. It's not "sizism" to not make seats designed for size 30+ butts. It's being hopeful that we will never NEED seats that are size 30+ on a broad scale, that that becomes the new "norm" for the world. See the difference? I am NOT advocating body shaming and disagree with the OP that it can be helpful, but there is quite a large grey area between body shaming and encouraging people to remain at their unhealthy weights by making it easy for them to continue their daily lives at said weight.
+1 and this is coming from a person who just moved from morbidly obese to merely obese after a year of hard work. I agree that we are becoming TOO accomodating. There is no reason that everyone as a whole should have to "pay" because people feel that they should be given special treatment simply because they are obese, and yes, we are having to pay when people are given an extra seat for free on the airline or public transport or they start putting fewer seats on the transports because the seats are bigger. Fewer paid for fares + higher fuel costs = higher fares for all. Saying NO, we won't change the size of our seats on the airplane or the bus or the roller coaster or NO we won't give you extra room for free is not the same as bullying people. Obese people don't deserve to be bullied or treated poorly, but they also do not deserve special treatment simply because they are obese. I would LOVE to have more leg room on an airplane because I'm tall with super long legs...I don't get a free seat in first class simply because of this fact, and my height is something I CAN'T control.0 -
I don't think obesity should be as acceptable as it is right now, but, at the same time, being shamed could do a lot more harm than good to a lot of people.0
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Well, the FDA certainly hasn't. My doctor still tries to tell me that 55% of my diet should be carbs, including corn and wheat. And frankly, it costs far more to eat an actually healthy diet due to the insanity of how we subsidize food in this country .... which is based on the FDA's damn food pyramid, among other things. That and the corn lobby is ridiculously powerful. On top of that, wheat and corn and sugar (not sugar alcohols, but sucrose and fructose) are addictive. And every single thing you buy in the store that is packaged contains those things. Beyond that, you get massive cravings due to insulin and glucose and how it works in your body.So, you think if people were told to eat more fiber, switch processed grains and sugar for whole grains, vegetables and fruit, and to eat more healthy fats and lean protein that would solve the problem.
But, of course, you already knew all that, right?
I knew some of it. Though I do not agree that it's more expensive to eat healthy. Unless a person is eating nothing but pasta, it is quite easy to switch from processed prepackaged foods to more natural foods without spending more.
I have no idea what your doctor tries to tell you. And I'm not really sure what the FDA recommends. But I don't believe anyone in today's society would believe that a recommendation for getting 55% of your calories from carbs would mean you are being told to eat processed foods or sugar. People eat these things because they like them and they are convenient.0 -
I don't think we need to shame people but I do think we need to quit making excuses for obesity being accepted as the norm. Stop adjusting sizes so the overweight can feel good about themselves, making allowances on public transport, ***** footing around the word fat by using chubby, fluffy, etc, making adjustments to the work place to accommodate the obese.
There's the odd special snowflake out there who has some genuine medical problem that causes a weight issue but for the 99% it's a matter of getting your head in the game. Pretending it's alright is not helping.
Edit: Seriously? Another word for cat is deserving of censorship? SMH
I'm fine with not vanity sizing. A number is a number. But stop making allowances on public transport? You mean seats big enough to accomodate people who need a place to sit. Sorry, that's straight up sizism. You're not human enough to deserve a seat if your *kitten* is a certain size? **** that ****. People are people. We need to treat each other with a basic level of respect and dignity regardless of physical appearance.
Okay, I'm really not trying to be rude when I say this, so I will say it as nicely as I can-- while I agree that it's sad and humiliating that my ex-girlfriend had to pay for two seats on her airline flight (because she weighs nearly 400 pounds), the fact is that if we are TOO accommodating, no one will have motivation to improve their health. And the cold, hard truth is that if you can't fit in a seat designed for one normal-sized person you are probably at an unhealthy weight. When I couldn't ride Raging Bull three years ago with my friends because I couldn't get the bar down far enough, it was embarrassing and I wanted to cry, but I didn't consider the ride to be "sizeist" because I didn't fit on it.
It's true that there are some people who are overweight and truly cannot do anything about it because of medical conditions, and that breaks my heart, but MOST people can lose part of that excess weight if they are committed to doing so. It's not "sizism" to not make seats designed for size 30+ butts. It's being hopeful that we will never NEED seats that are size 30+ on a broad scale, that that becomes the new "norm" for the world. See the difference? I am NOT advocating body shaming and disagree with the OP that it can be helpful, but there is quite a large grey area between body shaming and encouraging people to remain at their unhealthy weights by making it easy for them to continue their daily lives at said weight.
+1 and this is coming from a person who just moved from morbidly obese to merely obese after a year of hard work. I agree that we are becoming TOO accomodating. There is no reason that everyone as a whole should have to "pay" because people feel that they should be given special treatment simply because they are obese, and yes, we are having to pay when people are given an extra seat for free on the airline or public transport or they start putting fewer seats on the transports because the seats are bigger. Fewer paid for fares + higher fuel costs = higher fares for all. Saying NO, we won't change the size of our seats on the airplane or the bus or the roller coaster or NO we won't give you extra room for free is not the same as bullying people. Obese people don't deserve to be bullied or treated poorly, but they also do not deserve special treatment simply because they are obese. I would LOVE to have more leg room on an airplane because I'm tall with super long legs...I don't get a free seat in first class simply because of this fact, and my height is something I CAN'T control.
Agree!!! Shaming and bullying won't work, but being overly accomodating won't either. Obesity should not be acceptable, but it's not acceptable to use shame as a tool either.0 -
I would LOVE to have more leg room on an airplane because I'm tall with super long legs...I don't get a free seat in first class simply because of this fact, and my height is something I CAN'T control.
I want to know what airline you're flying that gives free first class tickets to obese people...... OR free seats in coach for that matter. All the airlines I have seen always charge for the extra seat unless the plane is NOT full. Then you get to pay half price for the extra seat.
That said, I was *THRILLED* to fly for the first time over Christmas and NOT have to ask for a seat belt extender.
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Cubbies, that's awesome that you got it figured out. It is likely that most obese people are insulin resistant. Not only do we get hungry every couple of hours, but we crave the foods that contribute to insulin resistance, obesity, blood sugar spikes and crashes, etc. It is a horrific addiction that people who've never experienced it cannot understand. Shaming makes you depressed and unhappy, which contributes to the addictive behavior.And in my case, I have insulin resistance. I was always hungry, as in stomach growling in pain levels of hunger, no matter how much I ate.
Side note, the increase of clinical obesity in this country coincides with the rise of the idea that salt and fat and beef/pork/etc is bad for you and wheat and corn are good for you. You can map the lines on a chart and see it clear as day. just saying.
I don't know that I agree that most obese people are probably insulin resistant, and if they are, then I don't agree that it caused the obesity. We (the obese and not obese) tend to crave junk when we put junk in. Poor eating habits and a habit of eating for reasons other than hunger tends to lead to obesity. Eating highly processed junk foods with no real staying power can cause you to feel hungry often, which means you eat more than you need to, which can lead to weight gain as well as insulin control issues.
As for the side note, the rise of clinical obesity in this country coincides with many things, but the coincidence does not mean it caused it. I honestly think that the rise of entitlement and the decline of personal responsibility has coincided greatly with the rise of obesity and the economic problems in America, but most people don't want to hear that.0 -
Scientist used to think the world was flat and that top loader videos were great what the **** do they know
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Well, clearly all the "just eat less processed food, get a calorie deficit and run a little" thinking of the mainstream is NOT working. Do you think that a crack addict just needs to cut back a little on the crack, too?0
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Well, clearly all the "just eat less processed food, get a calorie deficit and run a little" thinking of the mainstream is NOT working. Do you think that a crack addict just needs to cut back a little on the crack, too?
What does the first sentence have to do with the second? Outside of disease, if you create a calorie deficit you will lose fat whether or not you give up processed food or run. Exercise and eating more natural foods may help you get the deficit, but it is the calorie deficit that really matters.0 -
Did you know that people who are overweight are more likely to live longer than those underweight?
Cite, please. I doubt very much that you have any idea what you are taking about.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20090625/study-overweight-people-live-longer
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090623133523.htm
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/questions/ask-the-expert-does-being-overweight-really-decrease-mortality-no/
THANK YOU! I'm much more likely to listen to what someone with a real medical degree from harvard has to say than garbage written by some hack on webmd.0 -
http://todayhealth.today.com/_news/2013/01/24/16664866-fat-shaming-may-curb-obesity-bioethicist-says?lite
Found this interesting little article.
A bioethicist thinks that since being nice to obese people isn't helping, maybe a bit of shaming might do the trick. (That's a very concise summary, though)
Thoughts?
(and if anyone can tell me how to make that a link, I would really appreciate it!)
I think America is beyond shaming or coddling anything to change what we have been stereotyped for. We already have the problem where we hate ourselves, we don't need destruction of self esteem to get us there. A massive portion of the population is on some sort of brain-chemical altering drug. So if we want to shame people they have to be on watch and aren't allowed to take anti-depressants. Because that's probably worse than obesity and super easy to get...
So if anything is done on a broad scale like condoning fat-shaming it should be done with a little more planning to avoid all the fallout from every other possibility that rises up. Probably best to let people continue to make their own bad choices. No one solution can accommodate everyone. Natural selection will literally have to work it's process in order to see a major change in what is considered to be undesired social behavior in America.Well, clearly all the "just eat less processed food, get a calorie deficit and run a little" thinking of the mainstream is NOT working. Do you think that a crack addict just needs to cut back a little on the crack, too?
Yes, if they didn't do so much crack it might not be so bad, the body can recover can't it?. But I'm pretty sure crack does not work that way and you don't have a choice.
Totally a troll-thought. Unrelated. Lol.0 -
Hell yes. better than handing them a cookie and a gold star! It's high time to quit coddling people. It is NOT OKAY to be obese. it is NOT OKAY to be 100# and trying to lose another 15#.
Holding their hand obviously isnt working, time to crack the whip.
But it isn't okay to stomp all over them and make them feel more like crap. There is a difference between motivating and bullying/shaming them.
Telling someone to stop make excuses and just do it is - this is motivating.
Telling someone they are worthless or disgusting and if they want to fit in they need to lose weight - that's shaming and not something I know I'd respond to.
Where in that article did anyone suggest using the words "disgusting" or "worthless"? Did you even read the entire article, or do you just need a refresher class on reading comprehension? Nobody said to attack overweight people. Put your skull down Hamlet, stop being so dramatic.0 -
“libertarian paternalism.” That seemingly oxymoronic phrase refers to policies that make an explicit effort “not to burden those who want to exercise their freedom,” but nonetheless try to “infuence choices that will make choosers better off, as judged by themselves.”[15] Such policies aim at “self-consciously attempting to move people in directions that will make their lives better. They nudge.” Removing trays in cafeterias reduces the amount of food people will eat, effectively making it more troublesome to get the food, but not denying it to them. Putting the fruit at eye level and the fatty foods on the bottom shelves makes a difference as well. Mayor Bloomberg's effort to reduce beverage cup size counts as a nudge tactic also.
None of the social pressure tactics will directly change the conditions of poverty that make so many people susceptible to obesity, or will necessarily induce the food and beverage industries to change their deleterious ways. But they can change the background pressures—creating a potent force for public opinion, making it easier to use government to bring forth necessary regulations and prohibitions, shaming delinquent industries, and leaning on the public to take the problem more seriously.
The need is for a bottom-up approach to create and sustain a truly effective antiobesity campaign that matches the necessary top-down structural efforts. One obvious target would be the large number of people who are unaware that they are overweight. They need, to use an old phrase, a shock of recognition. Only a carefully calibrated effort of public social pressure is likely to awaken them to the reality of their condition. They have been lulled into oblivious-ness about their problem because they look no different from many others around them. They need to be leaned upon, nudged, and—when politically feasible—helped by regulations to understand that they are potentially in trouble. They should not want to be that way, nor should others.
What I am suggesting—empow-ering the victims, not blaming them, and that individual responsibility is necessary—has its risks. But if the individual and public health impact of being overweight and obese is dangerous, then it is hard to imagine any kind of strong and effective efforts that will not meet resistance. The failure of efforts to date to make much difference suggest that a change of strategy is necessary.
Okay, I read the original paper that inspired the article posted. What I quoted above is what stood out to me. The original author was not about saying "You're fat and stupid and lazy" or making fun of fat people, he was simply arguing that people need to be nudged and made aware of the reality of their situations and empowered to change. I don't know how many people I've known who have been shocked and outraged to find out they were clinically obese because that can't be right - they are just a little "pudgy" or have "a few extra pounds", etc. I also don't know how many overweight/obese people I know who say "I just can't lose weight no matter how hard I try." Well, talking about obesity and educating people can help change this. We cannot be ignorant of our reality if we ever hope to change.
ETA: What's wrong with making it more burdensome to be obese than not? If this lesson was learned earlier in life and in the weight gain process, people would probably be more cognizant of their situation and reality. I can honestly say that it was easier for me to keep gaining weight when Old Navy and other stores started having sizes higher than 20 available. Fifteen years ago, I said I'd never let myself get so big that Old Navy's clothes didn't fit...guess what? I didn't but their clothes got bigger and so did I. No, that's not an excuse and I'm not blaming anyone, but I really didn't "wake up" until I was in the biggest size at most stores and realized I had no shopping options left.0 -
“libertarian paternalism.” That seemingly oxymoronic phrase refers to policies that make an explicit effort “not to burden those who want to exercise their freedom,” but nonetheless try to “infuence choices that will make choosers better off, as judged by themselves.”[15] Such policies aim at “self-consciously attempting to move people in directions that will make their lives better. They nudge.” Removing trays in cafeterias reduces the amount of food people will eat, effectively making it more troublesome to get the food, but not denying it to them. Putting the fruit at eye level and the fatty foods on the bottom shelves makes a difference as well. Mayor Bloomberg's effort to reduce beverage cup size counts as a nudge tactic also.
None of the social pressure tactics will directly change the conditions of poverty that make so many people susceptible to obesity, or will necessarily induce the food and beverage industries to change their deleterious ways. But they can change the background pressures—creating a potent force for public opinion, making it easier to use government to bring forth necessary regulations and prohibitions, shaming delinquent industries, and leaning on the public to take the problem more seriously.
The need is for a bottom-up approach to create and sustain a truly effective antiobesity campaign that matches the necessary top-down structural efforts. One obvious target would be the large number of people who are unaware that they are overweight. They need, to use an old phrase, a shock of recognition. Only a carefully calibrated effort of public social pressure is likely to awaken them to the reality of their condition. They have been lulled into oblivious-ness about their problem because they look no different from many others around them. They need to be leaned upon, nudged, and—when politically feasible—helped by regulations to understand that they are potentially in trouble. They should not want to be that way, nor should others.
What I am suggesting—empow-ering the victims, not blaming them, and that individual responsibility is necessary—has its risks. But if the individual and public health impact of being overweight and obese is dangerous, then it is hard to imagine any kind of strong and effective efforts that will not meet resistance. The failure of efforts to date to make much difference suggest that a change of strategy is necessary.
Okay, I read the original paper that inspired the article posted. What I quoted above is what stood out to me. The original author was not about saying "You're fat and stupid and lazy" or making fun of fat people, he was simply arguing that people need to be nudged and made aware of the reality of their situations and empowered to change. I don't know how many people I've known who have been shocked and outraged to find out they were clinically obese because that can't be right - they are just a little "pudgy" or have "a few extra pounds", etc. I also don't know how many overweight/obese people I know who say "I just can't lose weight no matter how hard I try." Well, talking about obesity and educating people can help change this. We cannot be ignorant of our reality if we ever hope to change.
ETA: What's wrong with making it more burdensome to be obese than not? If this lesson was learned earlier in life and in the weight gain process, people would probably be more cognizant of their situation and reality. I can honestly say that it was easier for me to keep gaining weight when Old Navy and other stores started having sizes higher than 20 available. Fifteen years ago, I said I'd never let myself get so big that Old Navy's clothes didn't fit...guess what? I didn't but their clothes got bigger and so did I. No, that's not an excuse and I'm not blaming anyone, but I really didn't "wake up" until I was in the biggest size at most stores and realized I had no shopping options left.
I'll confess to not having read the initial article, and taking the 'news' report at face value. From this quote at least (I still haven't read the whole thing) it sounds like he's in line with a lot of people here. Don't go out of your way to be nasty, but don't enable the behavior and don't coddle.
Put me in the camp of people who were shocked when they found out they were obese. I really, really wasn't that big by the standards around me, but at 220 pounds and 5'11, my BMI was 30.7. I think there is a dangerous skewing of perception in the Western world, the average has swung so far up the scale that we are looking at overweight people and thinking them normal. Obese is merely overweight in the perception of many (myself included until last year). It's not until someone is morbidly obese that we really think to apply the term 'obese'.0 -
More sidewalks and bike lanes really do curb obesity. But then again, it is easier to blame the victim (or at least cheaper).0
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yes! because everytime someone picked on my weight, made me feel like **** really made want to lose weight and not kill myself:grumble:0
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Well, clearly all the "just eat less processed food, get a calorie deficit and run a little" thinking of the mainstream is NOT working. Do you think that a crack addict just needs to cut back a little on the crack, too?
The message to just eat less processed food is lost in the marketing barrage that the prepared food industry launches at people every day. It's not that the message isn't correct, it is simply not getting through. If you ask most people, they'll tell you that breakfast cereal is healthy and if the label says "Low fat," "All Natural," or "low calorie" that food must be good for you.0 -
More sidewalks and bike lanes really do curb obesity. But then again, it is easier to blame the victim (or at least cheaper).
<Edited for the overly literal "I assume everyone but me is a moron" brigade>
Hmmmm, it's also easier to portray oneself as a victim than to take positive action. Don't get me wrong, there's a massive cultural problem at play here. And food and modern business practices are a terrible mix. Many people have been suckered in by food advertising, and have taken claims at face value.
But when you are kid, and you put your hand on a hot stove, or a sharp knife, you learn pretty damn quick that it's bad for you and you stop going back to the stove. Sure, fattening food has an immediate positive feedback, not negative, but the negative feedback exists - your gut - and sooner or later you need to learn to stop going back for seconds.
Victim
"Here, look at this style of eating, it's convenient and tastes great. I promise it's not bad for you." <shows high calorie density, low nutrition food, splashed with labels proclaiming fat free, sugar free, fortified, etc...>
"Oh ok. Hey you're right, this is great, and really convenient, allowing me to spend less time in the kitchen." <Eats badly for years and gets obese>
"You *kitten*! You never told me it would make me like this. I'm never eating like this again." <Stops eating crap, loses weight>
Really not a victim
"Here, look at this style of eating, it's convenient and tastes great. I promise it's not bad for you." <shows high calorie density, low nutrition food, splashed with labels proclaiming fat free, sugar free, fortified, etc...>
"Oh ok. Hey you're right, this is great, and really convenient, allowing me to spend less time in the kitchen." <eats badly for years and gets obese>
"You *kitten*! You never told me it would make me like this. Hand me another piece of pie." <Continues to eat badly. Dies>0 -
Really not a victim
"Here, eat this, it tastes great. I promise it's not bad for you."
"Oh ok. Hey you're right, this is great." <eats badly for years and gets obese>
"You *kitten*! You never told me it would make me like this. Hand me another piece of pie." <Continues to eat badly. Dies>
Overeating makes you fat, not some individual food0 -
How about more nutritional education in our schools, so children grow up learning that food is for feeding their bodies not thier moods.
Negative reinforcement does not work. I see the appeal though. It is the easy way to deal with a problem. It is much harder to be empathetic, a good listener and truely encouraging.
Let's not be lazy. Sincere interest in people is worth the effort.0 -
Really not a victim
"Here, eat this, it tastes great. I promise it's not bad for you."
"Oh ok. Hey you're right, this is great." <eats badly for years and gets obese>
"You *kitten*! You never told me it would make me like this. Hand me another piece of pie." <Continues to eat badly. Dies>
Overeating makes you fat, not some individual food
Way to completely and utterly miss the point.0 -
Oh for *kitten*'s sake.
What drivel.0 -
hah! Thanks, that was funny. And makes the point I'm trying to get at. Many (probably most) obese people are dealing with an addiction to starchy carbs.Yes, if they didn't do so much crack it might not be so bad, the body can recover can't it?. But I'm pretty sure crack does not work that way and you don't have a choice.
Totally a troll-thought. Unrelated. Lol.
And to the OP who keeps suggesting that all you need is a cal deficit and some cardio, here's a really quick primer on how insulin, carbs and fat actually work in your body. Body turns the carbs into glucose immediately, converts the fats into tri-glycerides and immediately deposits them in fat cells to use later. When your glucose drops, your body decides its hungry and demands energy. It begins producing insulin, anticipating the carbs you are going to put in your body and the need to process the glucose and store the fat. As you eat, it produces more insulin. Your blood sugar spikes, you feel good and full. The fat is stored as tri-glycerides, very difficult to get back out of your fat cells and use later on. Your blood sugar crashes as the glucose is burned up. Your body realizes your brain may be deprived of energy, signals hunger, cycle starts again.
Over time, your body becomes resistant to insulin. It takes more insulin to achieve the same thing as described above. Your glucose spike/crash happens faster because your body has to produce more and more insulin to achieve the same metabolic outcome. More and more fat is stored as tri-glycerides. This happens even as you are eating at a deficit. The only solution is to reduce the carbs/sugars. Since almost all packaged food available in the store is processed with sugars, this just makes the situation worse.
Low fat foods are made tasty by adding .... sugar and carbs. What do doctors advise us to eat to lose weight? The very foods that will cause our glucose spike and crash.
This is very similar to the way that cocaine works in the brain and causes addiction. A crack addict cannot simply cut back on the crack a little and get better. Nor can an obese, insulin resistant person simply cut back on the food a little and get better.
Start here for the evidence: http://www.garytaubes.com/0
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