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The Obesity piece on HuffPost

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  • BeePosp
    BeePosp Posts: 3 Member
    cyclone48 wrote: »
    So why is losing weight so hard? I bet I'm like many people on this board - successful in many other areas of my life (career, family). I've overcome health issues (not related to being overweight), money troubles....yet the one area of my life that continues to be a struggle is my weight. Am I too complacent, give up too easily, ready to take the easy way out. I didn't in many other areas of my life. Why this?

    I do feel that there is something that tugs me in the wrong direction when it comes to weight loss. Whether it is a biological drive to take in as many calories as possible or the food industry doing everything it can to keep us eating more and more or something else entirely.

    Don't get me wrong...I take full responsibility for my weight problems and I know that there is no magic pill and that I have to want it and work for it. I just think that if it really was a matter of "more willpower", more people would be successful.

    Something that stuck with me during my fitness journey, is the mindset you choose. With your family you made them a PRIORITY. With your career, you knew it was your JOB to do well, so you get paid. So make taking care of yourself a priority, or think of it as your job. Or both. No excuses, no blaming outside influences, etc. Would you have tried to find an excuse why not feed your baby when she was crying? Of course, not! Would your employer accepted your being in a bad mood as an explanation why you didn't finish a report on time? I assume, not.

    I hope this helps!
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    VUA21 wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    I'll say this much - at least it's consistent with HuffPost's typical garbage level of 'journalism'.

    I'm getting a lot more enjoyment from seeing it torn to pieces on Facebook by the evidence-based health/nutrition community than I did from reading the original article. It gives me a headache when I roll my eyes that much.

    If you're getting skull DOMS from eyerolling, are you making sure to add in the workout? And would that be cardio or strength training?

    Huff post journalism is only slightly less fact based than flat-earth physics.

    LOL ...No more headaches for me. I now will only have "skull DOMS."
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    determined_14 wrote: »
    Anyone talking about this? I looked around the forums but didn’t see it.
    https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/everything-you-know-about-obesity-is-wrong/

    Obviously we as CICO practicers don’t believe in much of this article.
    Is metabolism permanently lowered by obesity?
    Will power isn’t a limitless resource— what should people do who can’t seem to stick to diets?

    I just took a look at it, but as they say - TL:DR
  • UltraRunnerGale
    UltraRunnerGale Posts: 346 Member
    I am a recovering alcoholic; I drink, I die. Food is killing many, but it's not looked at the same way. It is, indeed, a bit different than drinking; I don't drink at all, but we all must eat. It is, indeed, similar to drinking as you have to hit your bottom. The pain must outweigh the pleasure and hard choices must be made. As I tell struggling newcomers to AA, "you don't have to live like this". There is hope!!
  • youngcaseyr
    youngcaseyr Posts: 293 Member
    Evelyn_Gorfram wrote: »
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    They lost me at establishing "fat" as an identity to be protected. So if you lose weight you lose your identity, or are betraying "your people"?
    There's a very similar issue with deaf people who get cochlear implants. Does the existence of this technology mean that "deaf" should no longer be considered an identity meriting protection?

    I see what you're saying here, but when deaf people wear hearing aids or get a cochlear implant they are still deaf when they take their implant off to go to bed or take a shower. However, not all deaf people identify as culturally deaf to begin with, but their identity is ultimately up to them even though other members of that community may have different perceptions of them depending on the choices they make with regard to their deafness.

    When someone who was formerly obese loses weight and is able to maintain a healthy weight, they are no longer obese, though they may still hold on to aspects of that identity like a recovered alcoholic. If other obese people feel that there is a fat "culture" that is associated with one's identity, that's for them to decide, though I don't agree with it being something that needs to be protected. That being said, one's own identity is just that: their identity. Others may have opinions about it, agree or disagree with it, or identify similarly, but I don't think people can "remove" identities from others or decide whether or not that identity is "legitimate."
  • bigbandjohn
    bigbandjohn Posts: 769 Member
    I took a quick skim through it. Seems like the person follows the "Dawn French" philosophy. I agree with the idea "fat shaming" is wrong. It's ok for people to be happy where they are. People have a choice, as did I. When I was heavier, I felt that it was ok to be that way. Now after massive weight loss I realize how wrong I was. There is "fat shaming", and there is "concern for health". Much of what I saw as shaming was concern, and knowing how much healthier I am makes me realize that. I wonder how much of the comments viewed by people as "fat shaming" is really truly someone being concerned for the person's health and they are trying to be caring, because on reflection, that's what most of it was for me.
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