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I'm within the obese range (I weigh 200lbs) and I disagree with the fat acceptance movement!
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No one on the face of this planet should have to defend their existence. No one. What you think of them..doesn't matter. No one has to apologize for existing. Just because you don't agree with how they live their life, and just because you don't think they look very good..does not mean they need to disappear. People have so little regard for human life its disgusting. Someone who weighs 500 pounds is still a person with thoughts and feelings. They still very much have a heartbeat and NEWFLASH!!! Your life is no more meaningful or important than theirs because of the size of your jeans. We're all equal creatures. People have to stop letting stupid *kitten* get in the way of what makes a person a person. Race, religion, nationality..now weight? What's next? Some of you need to take a good hard look at yourself and you should be ashamed. The lack of empathy is psychotic.29
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ShayCarver89 wrote: »No one on the face of this planet should have to defend their existence. No one. What you think of them..doesn't matter. No one has to apologize for existing. Just because you don't agree with how they live their life, and just because you don't think they look very good..does not mean they need to disappear. People have so little regard for human life its disgusting. Someone who weighs 500 pounds is still a person with thoughts and feelings. They still very much have a heartbeat and NEWFLASH!!! Your life is no more meaningful or important than theirs because of the size of your jeans. We're all equal creatures. People have to stop letting stupid *kitten* get in the way of what makes a person a person. Race, religion, nationality..now weight? What's next? Some of you need to take a good hard look at yourself and you should be ashamed. The lack of empathy is psychotic.
Can you say that a little louder for the people in the back? Perfectly said!7 -
ShayCarver89 wrote: »dragon_girl26 wrote: »ShayCarver89 wrote: »People smoke - *nothing*
People drink alcohol - *nothing*
People eat like crap - *nothing*
People do drugs - *nothing*
Fat person *breathes - Everyone "Watch your health."
Ex-smoker here, this is deeply false.
People say *kitten* to you as a smoker, as an alcoholic, as a drug user.
Hell, Elon Musk, a wildly successful man once publicly smoked pot in a legal state and caught *kitten* about it.
There's really plenty of judgment for everybody.
Seriously, if you're catching *kitten* for being fat, know that you'll probably catch *kitten* for something else if you lose weight so don't let that be a factor in anything.
Plus, isnt it also the case that health insurance premiums go up if you're a smoker? That hardly seems like the "nothing" the other commenter claims.
No one said anything to me when I smoked. In fact I got extra breaks at work for it. At 22 I was told I looked cool for it. No one says anything at all to me about the amount of alcohol I consume. In fact they think its kind of cool and they're impressed by it even tho alcoholism runs in my family and I've almost died of poisoning a half a dozen times. When I was using heroin no one gave a *kitten*, I actually was complimented a lot on how thin I was...it was honestly from forgetting to eat and puking so much.
And the thing is too, my smoking hurt other people. Strangers walking past me, my kids. My alcohol consumption could of killed me and left my children motherless, so could of my heroin use. But me being fat only hurts me. I'm the only one that would have to deal with diabetes and whatever else *kitten* would come from it. You could argue that my death would hurt my kids but we're talking about things like I would be the one dealing with having a hard time walking up stairs. The worst thing a fat person is to you is an eyesore. Everyone just needs to get over themselves.
This may have been your personal experience but there's a show that ran for 20 seasons about people intervening on loved ones who drink too much or use too many drugs. There are people whose profession is helping hold these interventions.
So we all know with absolute certainty that it happens a good bit and people are interested in this act of intervening on drug and alcohol abusers, interested enough to keep the show on air for 20 years.
Is there a 20 season long show about fat shaming? Where people tune in to watch an obese person get fat shamed and it's the only point of the show. Build up to a fat shaming followed by a big, dramatic, organized fat shaming session?
Not a weight loss show where the contestants themselves are the ones who want the weight loss. A show where obese people are just being obese then their family gather to tell them to lose weight or move out of my house and never call me again. That's two different things.
If nobody ever said anything to you about your smoking or, Jesus Christ, heroin use maybe your environment was so toxic and rueful that nobody really cared about anything you did and maybe that had a large amount to do with why you made such heartwrenching choices in the first place,14 -
ShayCarver89 wrote: »People smoke - *nothing*
People drink alcohol - *nothing*
People eat like crap - *nothing*
People do drugs - *nothing*
Fat person *breathes - Everyone "Watch your health."
This couldn't be more wrong with an electrified wronging machine.
Smoking is banned or at least frowned upon pretty much anywhere to one extent or another. In Australia you can't smoke anywhere indoors at all and now they have little designated smoking areas outside where people have to stand. Not to mention that there are health warnings plastered everywhere including the cigarette packets themselves and 'Quit' advertisements everywhere.
No one says anything about drinking alcohol unless it's become alcoholism then it becomes an issue.
No one says anything about 'eating like crap' unless it leads to obesity and then it becomes an issue.
LOL! Yeah, no one says anything about drugs. If that's the case get high and go announce it to your employer and watch how much *nothing* happens to you
I too have a bit of a problem with 'fat acceptance' or has become more the case 'fat celebration'. I think I draw the line at 'fat tolerance' in that I'm not going to attack someone for being overweight but don't expect me to tell you that it's OK or worse that it's a good thing.
I see overeating and being severely overweight as the equal and opposite of undereating and being underweight. I certainly wouldn't look at a severely underweight person and be telling them to 'forget the haters' and that they're perfect just the way they are.14 -
ShayCarver89 wrote: »dragon_girl26 wrote: »ShayCarver89 wrote: »People smoke - *nothing*
People drink alcohol - *nothing*
People eat like crap - *nothing*
People do drugs - *nothing*
Fat person *breathes - Everyone "Watch your health."
Ex-smoker here, this is deeply false.
People say *kitten* to you as a smoker, as an alcoholic, as a drug user.
Hell, Elon Musk, a wildly successful man once publicly smoked pot in a legal state and caught *kitten* about it.
There's really plenty of judgment for everybody.
Seriously, if you're catching *kitten* for being fat, know that you'll probably catch *kitten* for something else if you lose weight so don't let that be a factor in anything.
Plus, isnt it also the case that health insurance premiums go up if you're a smoker? That hardly seems like the "nothing" the other commenter claims.
No one said anything to me when I smoked. In fact I got extra breaks at work for it. At 22 I was told I looked cool for it. No one says anything at all to me about the amount of alcohol I consume. In fact they think its kind of cool and they're impressed by it even tho alcoholism runs in my family and I've almost died of poisoning a half a dozen times. When I was using heroin no one gave a *kitten*, I actually was complimented a lot on how thin I was...it was honestly from forgetting to eat and puking so much.
And the thing is too, my smoking hurt other people. Strangers walking past me, my kids. My alcohol consumption could of killed me and left my children motherless, so could of my heroin use. But me being fat only hurts me. I'm the only one that would have to deal with diabetes and whatever else *kitten* would come from it. You could argue that my death would hurt my kids but we're talking about things like I would be the one dealing with having a hard time walking up stairs. The worst thing a fat person is to you is an eyesore. Everyone just needs to get over themselves.
Honestly, it sounds like your environment ranged from "this reminds me of some college aged kids I know" to exceedingly toxic. Never mind that not everyone 22 and under thinks binge drinking and the like is a good thing nor smoking.
I mean I've definitely been in a number of spaces that are very pro smoking marijuana. I live in a state where it's legal and I'm honestly kind of shocked at how openly people discus it in a positive light (and how much crap that one will get when they express opposing views). It's mind boggling honestly and can be alienating at times - I say this as someone who doesn't use drugs and doesn't enjoy being inebriated.
Despite that, I think that much of your list of "people do nothing" isn't especially accurate in much of the US if not North America as a whole. There are plenty of social and legal repercussions for smoking, drinking, and using drugs (see drug laws in various places New York being a good one or, if we want to go outside of the US - the Philippines).8 -
Eh, nvm.3
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ShayCarver89 wrote: »
No one said anything to me when I smoked. In fact I got extra breaks at work for it. At 22 I was told I looked cool for it. No one says anything at all to me about the amount of alcohol I consume. In fact they think its kind of cool and they're impressed by it even tho alcoholism runs in my family and I've almost died of poisoning a half a dozen times. When I was using heroin no one gave a *kitten*, I actually was complimented a lot on how thin I was...it was honestly from forgetting to eat and puking so much.
And the thing is too, my smoking hurt other people. Strangers walking past me, my kids. My alcohol consumption could of killed me and left my children motherless, so could of my heroin use. But me being fat only hurts me. I'm the only one that would have to deal with diabetes and whatever else *kitten* would come from it. You could argue that my death would hurt my kids but we're talking about things like I would be the one dealing with having a hard time walking up stairs. The worst thing a fat person is to you is an eyesore. Everyone just needs to get over themselves.
I truly am sorry for the lack of concern others had/have for your well being in those respects, however this is purely anecdotal. Where there is someone who doesn’t catch any grief for the things you mentioned, there are plenty more that do. A lot of this is dependent on the people you associate yourself with as well. I do believe you understate the impact that being overweight can have on others. Just like with alcohol/drug consumption, your children will learn from your habits and could very well wind up motherless if, heaven forbid, medical issues stemming from being overweight result in premature death. Sure only you will know what it’s like to have diabetes and have a hard time walking up the stairs, but the same can be said for lung cancer or cirrhosis of the liver from smoking and heavy alcohol consumption. Only you personally know what it feels like, but the impact doesn’t stop there.
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I agree to a point, BUT, it is a personal choice for a lot if they want to go down the path of fat acceptance etc.
The main thing is personal choice, you have decided to do something about your weight because it affects you, while Tess has decided to whatever she wants to do.
Will it affect her later in life? I don't know as i am not a doctor.
You should worry about you and ignore the rest.
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To those wanting to debate body positivity/"Healthy at Every Size"(HAES)/fat acceptance, may I suggest that there's a wonderful sandbox to play in called the 'Debate: Health and Fitness' part of the forum?
Here's the perfect thread over there:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10376680/fat-acceptance-movement
It would be good etiquette to read the entire 73 pages (or so) of the ongoing debate before diving in . . . since, y'know, the ground may've already been covered. Maybe 8 times.
Just a thought.
(Yeah, this thread started in the "wrong" place; it happens. That could change, but why start anew, even over there?)
Aaaaaannnnndddd . . . we're now moved to the debate section. My crystal ball is strong! (I'm not the one who flagged it to move, BTW. ). Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket?
The other thread has already dragged the topic back and forth through the mud, all the way across a couple of continents, really. :drinker:2 -
I had a woman boss who was short and considered overweight. She did triathlons every year. I have to think that even tho she was overweight she was still a fit individual, moreso than many people who may be thin and aren’t doing triathlons. Don’t know about the fat can’t ve fit thing. I have positive feelings for the fat acceptance movement in the fact that I can see women like me now on tv commercials and they aren’t the funny fat girl but just one of the beautiful women in the commercial. That makes me feel better about myself in a way. I might be fat but maybe I can still be beautiful to more people than my mom. That is a nice very feeling. I still want to lose weight to be healthy because I am not a fat fit person.4
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Fat can be fit. Fat is an aesthetic thing. Fit is about exercise and athletics. When I was fat I could outwalk, outrun, out climb stairs many sedentary thin people. My tests were fine. Didn't mean obesity wasn't dangerous.
Obesity is a risk factor for health issues, even if you are really active. It is better than being obese and not active at all, and is better than being thin and inactive and a smoker or some such, no one is saying different. But even if you have no issues you are likely going to be better off (and will reduce your risk factors) if you get out of the obesity range, all else equal.
I don't think the same is really true with just being a little overweight. There's some debated analyses about that, but personally (aside from vanity, where I think I look best around 21 BMI), if I struggled to stay at 24 BMI but comfortably could maintain at 26 BMI, I'd likely choose the latter, and not have any health concerns, since stress is also a health issue. At that point I do think things like exercise and lifestyle and genetics trump all else.
If one feels like they aren't ready or able to lose weight, there are still positive changes they can make, and being active and eating a good diet are certainly among them. When I first lost weight (years ago) I decided I'd be healthy even if I remained fat, and I think that was a good attitude (although of course fixing my diet and exercise led to weight loss as it happened, but since I wasn't convinced it would the focus on "health at any size" (not a thing then, at least not that I knew of) was a good thing).3
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