Why Do We Hate Being Fat So Much?

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!"

Anybody on a bulk.

Hell, I'm cutting on 2400 to 2600 calories, I do this already.

I put that in the realm of athletes, really. The rest of us define bulk as what happens when we're pudgy in a thick sweater.

I get that, but I haven't considered myself an "athlete" for years. I do consider myself someone who needs to be able to do real physical labor for their career, so I have muscle. My students *especially the males for some reason* always flip when they see me pushing a full 5 gallon bucket over my head with one arm (40-50 pounds), I was doing that BEFORE I ever started actually doing any form of lifting, that was just part of my job. Even when I added fat, I was *always* strong, I think the biggest issue (at least for me) really has more to do with feeling physically capable. So I've never been shy about eating, because I really do eat to fuel myself. If I'm going diving all day, I need to eat dammit, doesn't matter if I'm overweight already, I need that fuel!

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 grew up with thin people around me (almost unreal it seems I am the only chubby person throughout my entire school years). Wanting to be thin has been something in my head since I was a little girl and it's still nagging me now. I don't want to be an "outlier" but in reality I am different than my thin friends. This has created a monster of self hatred inside me and I can't get rid of it.

I do think societies views are changing, at least here in the south. At my daughter's high school, she is considered abnormal because she is slim and muscular. Kids who would never think of making fun of overweight kids will make comments to her about being anorexic, etc. She competes in judo and jiu jitsu and eats a LOT. Her school is at LEAST 50% overweight. I worry that overweight is becoming so common that it is being seen as normal.

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!"

Anybody on a bulk.

Hell, I'm cutting on 2400 to 2600 calories, I do this already.

I put that in the realm of athletes, really. The rest of us define bulk as what happens when we're pudgy in a thick sweater.

I get that, but I haven't considered myself an "athlete" for years. I do consider myself someone who needs to be able to do real physical labor for their career, so I have muscle. My students *especially the males for some reason* always flip when they see me pushing a full 5 gallon bucket over my head with one arm (40-50 pounds), I was doing that BEFORE I ever started actually doing any form of lifting, that was just part of my job. Even when I added fat, I was *always* strong, I think the biggest issue (at least for me) really has more to do with feeling physically capable. So I've never been shy about eating, because I really do eat to fuel myself. If I'm going diving all day, I need to eat dammit, doesn't matter if I'm overweight already, I need that fuel!

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.

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.

I'd say your excellent taste in food is the exception to the rule. And it doesn't require a secret conspiracy. The food companies are going to make the foods we buy the most of and that cost the least to make. Really can't blame them for doing the first one, it's like saying don't give the customer what she wants. But we could change subsidies so that corn and sugar are more expensive and vegetables and fruits are cheaper.

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/

Oh my! Such extremes! This is not true.

You can be mindful of health and fitness without being obsessed or restrictive. And you can be slim and fit and be a person of value and substance in many other ways.