Attitudes of people with different levels of fitness and wei

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  • caramel1920
    caramel1920 Posts: 271
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    When I was bigger, I was desperate for anything to blame but myself. I felt guilty about what I'd done to my once athletic beautiful figure. It look I ate my former self.

    The people who are most successful on here are the ones who take ownership of what they've done to themselves and move forward it to correct it. Those that blame their medical problems or metabolism for their body size/weight often end up back after a few months having regained much of their weight or quit. They are also the ones prone to the fad diets that wreak havoc on their bodies long-term.

    Exactly! I am fat! I have no qualms about saying it! I did this to myself, I have a tumor on my thyroid and when I discovered this I unfortunately hoped this was the reason for weight! (Sick right) But turns out, the tumor is benign and has had no effect on my thyroid function! So I had to come to the harsh reality that I am fat because I stopped working out and overate. Now that I'm eating better/less and working out my body is changing and I love it!

    It trips me out when I refer to myself as fat and people say "no you're not" and I'm like yes I am, but I won't be forever! They're trying to make me feel better, but trying to coddle me won't make me healthy. Keep it real with me!:wink:
  • Stace5
    Stace5 Posts: 70 Member
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    When I was bigger, I was desperate for anything to blame but myself. I felt guilty about what I'd done to my once athletic beautiful figure. It look I ate my former self.

    The people who are most successful on here are the ones who take ownership of what they've done to themselves and move forward it to correct it. Those that blame their medical problems or metabolism for their body size/weight often end up back after a few months having regained much of their weight or quit. They are also the ones prone to the fad diets that wreak havoc on their bodies long-term.

    Exactly! I am fat! I have no qualms about saying it! I did this to myself, I have a tumor on my thyroid and when I discovered this I unfortunately hoped this was the reason for weight! (Sick right) But turns out, the tumor is benign and has had no effect on my thyroid function! So I had to come to the harsh reality that I am fat because I stopped working out and overate. Now that I'm eating better/less and working out my body is changing and I love it!

    It trips me out when I refer to myself as fat and people say "no you're not" and I'm like yes I am, but I won't be forever! They're trying to make me feel better, but trying to coddle me won't make me healthy. Keep it real with me!:wink:

    LOVE your attitude :)
  • galegetsthin
    galegetsthin Posts: 1,352 Member
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    Genetics? Just because your whole family consumes 5000 calories a day and doesn't move off the sofa doesn't mean your fat is genetic, it means it's environmental.

    Love that! I always say that their is no such thing as being fat because of genes! It's because everyone in the family overeats

    Unless you INHERITED a metabolic syndrome....... THERE is such a thing...... just not fat because they are fat.
  • imaginaryplaces
    imaginaryplaces Posts: 123 Member
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    I really don't know that it's so much an issue of denial. I think there are a lot of us that start to feel hopeless, particularly if you're trying really hard to lose, and either plateau for an extended period of time, or like me, have been working hard, cutting calories and not losing anything. Yes, yes, I know that it's all a process and each individual has to figure out the correct balance of calories in and out to have success. But the constant roadblocks can really set a person back. It's not an excuse, it's a fact.

    I exercise 6 days a week now. When I'm out in my neighborhood walking, it's almost a daily occurrence of people shouting things out of their cars at me. I've heard "go home fattie", "fat a**" and the most popular "Moooo". So believe me, it's not denial that I'm fat, or denial that I need to do the work to have positive results. Sometimes we just need some hope and kindness, instead of judgment for ruining our bodies in the first place.

    Very well said. Especially the last line.
  • grinch031
    grinch031 Posts: 1,679
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    Why can't both you AND grinch be right? Yes, the individual needs to take control. But we also need to make drastic changes as a society. We can't expect that obese individuals are all going to lose weight on their own, and ALL of us are going to pay the consequences through higher health care rates and later medicare/disability etc.

    I really don't care if grinch turns out to be right. He wants a solution that eliminates obesity for everyone. That's a nice dream, and I hope it is realized someday. For now, all I can do is work on my own problems, and maybe someday provide some positive influence for my family and the people around me.

    Society as a whole is mainly influenced by a bunch of rabid idiots at each other's throats, each believing they have the best intentions. I'm not going to put my trust in that.

    No what I want is a solution that eliminates obesity for more than 5% of the population.
  • saturnine15
    saturnine15 Posts: 140
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    When I was bigger, I was desperate for anything to blame but myself. I felt guilty about what I'd done to my once athletic beautiful figure. It look I ate my former self.

    The people who are most successful on here are the ones who take ownership of what they've done to themselves and move forward it to correct it. Those that blame their medical problems or metabolism for their body size/weight often end up back after a few months having regained much of their weight or quit. They are also the ones prone to the fad diets that wreak havoc on their bodies long-term.

    Exactly! I am fat! I have no qualms about saying it! I did this to myself, I have a tumor on my thyroid and when I discovered this I unfortunately hoped this was the reason for weight! (Sick right) But turns out, the tumor is benign and has had no effect on my thyroid function! So I had to come to the harsh reality that I am fat because I stopped working out and overate. Now that I'm eating better/less and working out my body is changing and I love it!

    It trips me out when I refer to myself as fat and people say "no you're not" and I'm like yes I am, but I won't be forever! They're trying to make me feel better, but trying to coddle me won't make me healthy. Keep it real with me!:wink:

    Yes! People do that all the time. I am guilty of it myself. I am usually less apt to say anything derogatory about my weight around my larger friends. Hmm...maybe this is the societal issue that is being argued here...maybe?
  • chrishgt4
    chrishgt4 Posts: 1,222 Member
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    Are you effing kidding me?!?!?!?! You, sir, are a giant bottle of massengil!!!!!! You actually believe that I fail at life because I am not some triathelete? Or "unf**kable"? That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of!!!! I was fat.......... not because I was a "slob who just want to sit around and b!tch while mindlessly pushing a$$bread down my throat".

    You know what is worse than fat people. Arrogant, narrow minded jerks! I would rather be around 30 "fat slobs" than one of you.

    to be fair - the article was aimed at people who blame anything but themselves for how they are. Since you are clearly well out of anybody's version of fat, and well in the category of 'hot' you needn't take any offence from the article.

    Also that wolf is frikkin funny as hell
  • caramel1920
    caramel1920 Posts: 271
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    Thanks Stace5! Love your attitude as well!:happy:
  • chrishgt4
    chrishgt4 Posts: 1,222 Member
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    The problem with that is it brings about the victim culture which I believe is one of the issues surrounding a lot of the problems we experience in society today.

    We are blaming our surroundings for being too tempting but there are plenty of people who live in these same surroundings we overcome the temptation, or just aren't tempted at all.

    It is the individual who has issues if they don't live a healthy lifestyle so it is up to the individual to resolve it, whether that is with the help of others or on their own.

    To say that there needs to be cultural changes is correct, but these need to be changes of mindset by individuals, there is nothing governments or health agencies can do other than put the information out there.

    We need to take control of our own lives and not expect someone else to come along and fix it for us.

    Why can't both you AND grinch be right? Yes, the individual needs to take control. But we also need to make drastic changes as a society. We can't expect that obese individuals are all going to lose weight on their own, and ALL of us are going to pay the consequences through higher health care rates and later medicare/disability etc.

    To be honest I think we are both agreeing - I just think that as long as there is demand for all the tempting things that are bad for us, they will remain. The only way to make them go away is for people to reject them.

    The biggest difference between us is that you still blame the individual, I think it has gone way beyond blaming the individual. I can't blame the individual for a problem that the majority of my country's population has (ie. overweight or obesity), because I know that the battle to maintain weight loss can be so difficult. I find trying to manipulate calories alone without eating a cleaner diet is like being on Day-1 of quitting smoking for the rest of your life.

    I think whilst I do blame the individual, the fact is that no matter who is at fault it falls on the individual to fix themselves as no one is going to help.

    It doesn't matter what should or shouldn't happen, what matters is what will and won't happen. And since general society won't be offering any help the individual needs to accept responsibility for themselves.

    If I'm walking down the road, sure other motorists should see me and avoid me, but I can avoid the whole thing by walking on the pavement (sidewalk). Even if the pavement is bumpy and uncomfortable to walk on and it's too crowded on there. It's about picking the best option.
  • iuangina
    iuangina Posts: 691 Member
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    I got fat for two reasons. 1. I ate too many calories each day; 2. I stopped working out.

    I was on fertility drugs, have thyroid issues, PCOS, etc., etc.....These are all excuses. There's no magic trick to losing weight. If there was, no one would be fat.
  • frugalmomsrock
    frugalmomsrock Posts: 1,123
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    I'm fat. I know I'm fat. That's why I'm here. What I get upset about is the "big boned" comment. No. You aren't big boned. If you do that stupid hand around your wrist test... and then lose weight, you'll see what a joke it is. When I was fatter, I could not touch my middle finger and thumb around my wrist. I was "big boned." Now, after losing 60+ pounds (I began losing before I started mfp), I magically am no longer big boned. My mom tried the, "I'm larger boned than you are," BS on me recently... she's insane. She's even shorter than I am and I've seen pictures from when she was in high school and thin. She's fooling herself, just like half (or more) of the rest the country of "big boned" people.... :tongue:
  • SaketoKim
    SaketoKim Posts: 254 Member
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    I find this post kind of rude. Excuses or not we have all been there and some are still on the journey. Denial, metabolisms, age gender and hereditary does factor as well. What comes easy to you is not so easy to others... but since our feet are all pointed in the same direction as long as we all get to the same destination at some point, I don't mind the gripes and excuses or the word fat. Instead of pointing out what you see going on, starting pointing in at how you can changer yourself to help inspire those around you.
  • macpatti
    macpatti Posts: 4,280 Member
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    I have a genuine observation and wonder if people agree with me and what their opinion is. I am not meaning to be in any way offensive.
    I find that when someone says, "I am not meaning to be offensive" usually means they realize what they're about to say or type is offensive. Your claim that "fitter" or "correct weight" people have a more no nonsense attitude vs. overweight people being in denial is offensive because it generalizes people. I know plenty of fit individuals who are in denial and I know plenty of overweight people who are real with themselves and don't blame their weight on other issues.
  • Mission2Me
    Mission2Me Posts: 208 Member
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    I was a super skinny child until around the second grade and then for no reason I started to balloon. No change in diet, no change in exercise. I was a very active child. I lived in the country all we did was run around outside all day. always on the move. I even started walking and running at the track with my mom. nothing worked. I wasnt over eating then. eventually I noticed my hunger cravings were worse than they were before. I continued to gain weight slowly and surely until I got in high school and decided ok I am old enough to take this into my own hands. running at the part barely eating anything at all. damn near starving myself and didnt lose a pound. eventually I gave up. Now after doing tons of research and doctors appointments I have a low thyroid problem and have other health issues. I have started noticing that my body doesnt like wheat or dairy! and for the last year while i was a vegetarian I was still gaining weight. Probably due to the fact that I was doing whole wheat this and whole wheat that.......long story shorter....it has taken a lot of research on my part to figure out what was hindering my weight loss. I have had doctors tell me how many calories to eat and be done. did that...no real difference at all. telling me to eat 1200 calories didnt work at all. so I believe that different people are coming from different places. not all fat people stuff their face all the time. and I realize I am the most hungry if I end up eating even a little bit more carbs than usual. sometimes it takes a while to figure it out and I love this site because of some of the people I have met and been introduced to sooo many new things that have helped me when I was sitting still on the scales and couldnt understand why. because you got skinny doesnt give you a right to be an *kitten* to anyone. how about being supportive and encouraging. if you been there then you should know what it is like and how hard it can be. I have no tolerance for BS. that is you using your new found weight loss as the same kind of crutch you accuse fat people of using. get over yourself. one day you could be sitting back on the other side of the fence trying to make nice with the same people you are talking bad about. people kill me. I make no excuses except the fact that no one knew to suggest anything else to an overweight child except exercise. and when it didnt work no one said ****. not even my exercise crazed mother...instead she just started talking about how I needed to lose weight. unless you have the smoking gun in your hand that will cure everyone's weight loss no matter what, I suggest you get off your high horse (if you sit still too long you might get fat right??). go do what you want with your body and let other people do what they do with theirs.



    P.S. I have had the depo provera shot in high school as well. That did even more damage to my weight and other things. no change but that. If we were all cookie cutter inside then there would not be a need for different types of medicine for the same thing or different side effects for different people...
  • grinch031
    grinch031 Posts: 1,679
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    The problem with that is it brings about the victim culture which I believe is one of the issues surrounding a lot of the problems we experience in society today.

    We are blaming our surroundings for being too tempting but there are plenty of people who live in these same surroundings we overcome the temptation, or just aren't tempted at all.

    It is the individual who has issues if they don't live a healthy lifestyle so it is up to the individual to resolve it, whether that is with the help of others or on their own.

    To say that there needs to be cultural changes is correct, but these need to be changes of mindset by individuals, there is nothing governments or health agencies can do other than put the information out there.

    We need to take control of our own lives and not expect someone else to come along and fix it for us.

    Why can't both you AND grinch be right? Yes, the individual needs to take control. But we also need to make drastic changes as a society. We can't expect that obese individuals are all going to lose weight on their own, and ALL of us are going to pay the consequences through higher health care rates and later medicare/disability etc.

    To be honest I think we are both agreeing - I just think that as long as there is demand for all the tempting things that are bad for us, they will remain. The only way to make them go away is for people to reject them.

    The biggest difference between us is that you still blame the individual, I think it has gone way beyond blaming the individual. I can't blame the individual for a problem that the majority of my country's population has (ie. overweight or obesity), because I know that the battle to maintain weight loss can be so difficult. I find trying to manipulate calories alone without eating a cleaner diet is like being on Day-1 of quitting smoking for the rest of your life.

    I think whilst I do blame the individual, the fact is that no matter who is at fault it falls on the individual to fix themselves as no one is going to help.

    It doesn't matter what should or shouldn't happen, what matters is what will and won't happen. And since general society won't be offering any help the individual needs to accept responsibility for themselves.

    I disagree that general society won't help. I really think general society doesn't understand the problem, or there isn't enough consensus about what the problem is or how it should be solved. I think 'eat less, move more' is doing everyone a disservice. People are confused. One minute people say, "eat healthy foods", the next minute they say "all that matters is calories". Those are conflicting ideas. Personally I don't believe that calories are the right approach to weight loss, because I think they will take care of themselves if people are willing to give up (or severely cutback) the highly rewarding foods that tend to be overeaten. Many will disagree and say calories are the answer and that moderation is key, but I have found that personally moderation is impossible when it comes to the physiological drive to overeat that I and many others face.
  • BigDaddyBRC
    BigDaddyBRC Posts: 2,395 Member
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    I find this post kind of rude. Excuses or not we have all been there and some are still on the journey. Denial, metabolisms, age gender and hereditary does factor as well. What comes easy to you is not so easy to others... but since our feet are all pointed in the same direction as long as we all get to the same destination at some point, I don't mind the gripes and excuses or the word fat. Instead of pointing out what you see going on, starting pointing in at how you can changer yourself to help inspire those around you.

    Well put!
  • Marla64
    Marla64 Posts: 23,120 Member
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    A few months after joining MFP (as you can see, I've been around a while) I participated in a thread where the OP whined that people were nicer to her now that she's thinner than they were when she was (gasp!) Fat.

    She got enough people whining with her when I decided to speak up and simply ask what's the problem? If people are being nice to you for any reason, what's your beef?

    Conversation ensued and I simply stated the point that we all need to stop whining and making excuses. If you have a metabolic disorder, were abused as a child, thyroid condition, yada yada-- who cares? Most of us are here because we wanted to stop being fat. Yes, fat-- fat, fat, fat-- it's not an easy word to hear directed at you. But if it's true, why get so offended?

    If you want to stop being fat, work at it. Oh my-- you'd have thought I told people they were ugly and their mama never loved 'em.

    A little disclaimer-- I came here weighing 211 pounds in July '08. Through diet and exercise, by August '09 I was down to 164. I was eating 1200-1400 calories faithfully, and training for a half marathon. Long story short, through the long-term deprivation of adequate nutrition (13 months where I was not eating back my exercise calories, hoping to get to my goal of 160) my body began to rebel. Slowly and steadily, despite my 1200-1400 calorie base, my body turned everything to fat-- and the weight began to creep.

    By June of 2011 I was back up to 206-- still counting and logging my calories faithfully, and steady exercise. THAT, my friends is a metabolic disorder. And yes, I'm fat again. It hurts. It's horrible. I worked so hard to get it off, and poof-- it was back on despite my best efforts.

    I'm working through it with the aid of T3 hormone-- keeping my calories to a sustainable level-- 1600-2000 or so-- my current weight is 193.5. Slowly and surely I'll get it back off.

    My attitude about fitness today is what it always was-- it doesn't matter why I'm fat. I still have the responsibility to work my butt off in hopes of getting, well, my butt off!

    no excuses.
  • dinosnopro
    dinosnopro Posts: 2,179 Member
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    Genetics? Just because your whole family consumes 5000 calories a day and doesn't move off the sofa doesn't mean your fat is genetic, it means it's environmental.

    Love that! I always say that their is no such thing as being fat because of genes! It's because everyone in the family overeats

    Unless you INHERITED a metabolic syndrome....... THERE is such a thing...... just not fat because they are fat.



    then when you find out this is the case, change your lifestyle to fit you genetic predisposition.
  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
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    Well, I'm fat both because I ate more then I should and because I developed hypothyroidism and didn't know it (I'm also not American). :) I don't know what kind of metabolism I have but I'm guessing because of my medical condition that it's maybe not good.

    Regardless. I'm fat because I love food... and I don't know many people who would actually say otherwise.

    Now, losing the weight is where it gets difficult. Some of us can cut back calories, increase exercise and STILL not lose. THAT is metabolism and has nothing to do with denial (unless they are cheating on the cutting back of calories).

    Either way, welcome to the forums?
  • grinch031
    grinch031 Posts: 1,679
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    I got fat for two reasons. 1. I ate too many calories each day; 2. I stopped working out.

    I was on fertility drugs, have thyroid issues, PCOS, etc., etc.....These are all excuses. There's no magic trick to losing weight. If there was, no one would be fat.

    If Person A eats whatever they want in whatever quantity they want and stays thin, and you gained weight because you ate too many calories, does that mean you're a person of lesser character than Person A? Are you weak-willed compared to Person A? Do you deserve to be scrutinized for something that comes automatic to Person A but requires a ton of effort for you?