The thick white girl

DH we can agree that beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. I would disagree that it is a good or healthy thing to delude oneself from reality in search of self esteem, the truth will set you free. We can also agree that from a preference standpoint, what looks good to someone else has NO bearing whatsoever on anybody else, so live and let live. Where I would disagree, is that the lifestyle and body choices that others make DO have an impact on others, a big one (pardon the pun). There are numerous studies that show the very real costs of the overweight/obesity epidemic in N. America running into the billions and swamping our medical professions. This has a impact on us all, and future generations as well, so it is not as easy as saying it is ok for someone to lie to themselves when their actions affect all of us.

 

I suppose I should clarify then. You're right that the girl who is 5'8 and 130lbs won't hesitate to put it out there. DH was refering to the fact that oftentimes when there are two women of roughly the same stature, the lighter one may look heavier just because of the way the weight is carried. For myself, I'm 5'7 and weigh a little more than 150lbs but no-one would ever guess that by looking at me. Because of my own female vanity, I would not want to just post my stats for fear of the mental picture it would give others. I'm just being honest. I exercise and take care of myself because I wouldn't be comfortable being considered "big". For the girls who are, and are happy with themselves and to the men who love them that way, more power to them. There is someone for everyone, regardless of preference.

 

Thanks a lot for explaining the stone thing! I had no idea. Mucho appreciated.

 

I love rainbows!!

I don't think anyone's weight has an impact on all of society. There are many, many health issues that cause people to be overweight and obese, and many times it has been shown that the cause of the obesity is the illness and not always the other way around.

As to weight being completely miss-leading, I absolutely agree. I am 5' tall, wear a size 14, and most people think I weigh about 30% less than I really do. I have dense bones and a lot of leg muscle.

The woman who's photo was posted in this thread, could weigh as little as 140 lbs, or as much as 300 lbs, I believe is she is about 5'3" and is shaped like she is, chances are she weighs about 175, because she has very little leg muscle, but if she were 5'3" and her legs were bigger and her stomach much smaller she could easily wear a size 14 or 16 and weigh up to 250 lbs. But then again if she is about 5' 9" and that shape she may weigh 250 anyway.

 

I dunno, Tink, I'm thinking she's far more than that. I've seen people that size, and we're talking usually closer to 250-300lbs on a 5'2-3 lady who would probably be in a size 3 if all the excess fat were gone. I've also seen people closer to 400lbs.






I do think obesity is a problem...but I don't see how it's -my- problem if everyone else is obscenely obese. I did not tell the lady in the picture to eat McDonald's every day. Nor did I force my ex roommate, who was easily 380lbs, to gorge herself on potato chips, pizza, pretty much any deep fried meat, etc every night. Some obesity can be caused by medical problems, this is true, but the vast majority of people that size did it to their damn selves.

I am also not responsible for the numerous fast food chains distributing quick, easy, and cheap food. I'm not responsible for the millions of Americans who choose to opt for cheap, easy food because they're too busy with everything else to cook, either. I am responsible for myself. My ex roommate's weight only impacted me positively...she always had extra Doritos I could munch on, and when she gave me her old shirts I could sew together a skirt and shirt combo out of them. Now, when she dies of a heart attack when she's 40, I'll miss her, but there's not a damn thing I can do about someone else's eating habits...and there's certainly nothing I can do about a whole nation's.

I care about people, but if someone allows themselves to eat themselves to death, or get addicted to hard ass drugs, I have little pity for them. If I have the oppourtunity to help someone in either situation that actually wants to fix the problem then I'd certainly help them as much as I can, but they do have some responsibility for their actions.

Really, if the nation turns into a bunch of fat asses and junkies, I'll just move somewhere else. Or just keep on worrying about myself and let other people live their lives as they choose, since it really ain't my problem.

 

I'd stay in the country.

At that point DH, we'd be on the cover of every fitness magazine as the examples of "hard and fit" bodies..LOL!

 

Girls,

Lets all go to the gym!!! =)))

 

why would I hate on someone who has a slower metabolism than me

 

If the majority of people in a society are obese, then it is everyone's issue. Why you ask? Because those people are at higher risk for heart disease, strokes, diabetes, the list goes on. Those people will be going to hospitals having heart attacks, strokes, etc. Their insurance companies will be forced to dish out tens of thousands of dollars for hospital stays, tests, surgeries, procedures, etc PER OBESE PERSON.

So, how will that affect you and me? Simple. The insurance companies turn around and raise their premiums to recoup their payouts. Whomever you get your insurance through (your employer, etc) will have increased rates who will in turn pass those rates onto everyone.

As it is, my company raised our ER copay to $100 because too many people were using ERs for stupid things. So, now, if I really need to go to the ER, I have to dish out $100, at least. Yay people.

 

I understand the argument, I also had my co-pay raised to $500.00 for an ER visit.

But the issue is that this argument assumes that the propaganda we have been fed is true, "that Obese People are at higher risk" of the above issues, when in reality there is a lot of research out there that says that maybe, the cause of the obesity, are those health issues.

For instance: diabetics will gain weight, persons with heart problems many times gain weight due to a number of issues, including the lack of exercise. Stroke can happen because of stress, and high blood pressure, which can be caused in women who are menopausal, and women at that stage in life also tend to gain weight due to the hormone changes. A lack of estrogen can cause spasaming of the cardiac artery which can also cause heart attack.

So weight gain and stroke and heart attack are linked, but not necessarily in the way that we have been taught.

 

I see what you are saying here, but I think we are getting into a "chicken or the egg" type scenario. Could you agree, that regardless of which came first, weight gain or health issues, being overweight/obese, may not only be symptomatic, but certainly compounds said health issues. I think the medical community as a whole is pretty uniform (with sound scientific research) on this issue and it is not just propaganda against larger folks. What is clear, is that healthy eating and exercise habits can in fact significantly reduce (not eliminate) the chance of having health issues in the first place and certainly reduces the chance of being overweight/obese, which is good for all of us in terms of keeping insurance costs, health-care costs, taxes, lower which is good for all of us, especially in this troubled economy. So yes how others live their lives does in fact affect everyone's wallet. For example, here in AZ we do not require a helmet to be worn when riding a motorcycle, thus there are more fatalities and catastrophic head injuries here than other states, thus we all pay a lot higher rates for insurance, and this trickles down to increased medical costs and eventually taxes as well, this is just one example of many that shows how the irresponsible choices of others affect all of us.

 

WW + weight = message board poison

 

So true.

:smt042

 

First you ask me to agree that it is the chicken or egg issue here, then you go on to perpetuate the idea that being over weight is somehow the result of irresponsible choices.

I am going to tell a personal story here. I had trouble with weight issues most of my life, I was careful with what I ate, I exercised to the point of exhaustion. I stayed a steady size 12 most of my life, I grew a lot of leg muscle, and continued to try my best to "lose weight". I also had a lot of health problems that were never resolved. I had trouble digesting proteins, I would black out when I ran or exercised vigorously. So I had a very difficult time doing a work out, but I would force myself to get through them. I had chest pain often, but no diagnosed heart problems. At one point a Cardiologist checked me out and said he "knew" something was drastically wrong due to the results of the stress test, but after another month of testing told me I was "one of those people, that gets sick when they exercise" so I needed to lose weight or I would "end up with a heart problem" bare in mind he did not tell me how I was to "lose weight" if I got sick when I exercised. (So you see, I do think we are fed a bunch of "propaganda" and the medical community is NOT very well informed.)

Then I had 4 kids. I gained weight due to hormone issues during each pregnancy. I found it very, difficult to lose that weight. At one point when the youngest was 5 years old. I joined the local health club and worked out for 2 hours per day hard, 4 to 5 days a week, while my kids were in school, I did this for 6 months, and watched what I ate, I cut out all sugars, soda pop, and most fats, I did not count exact calories, but I know it could not have been more than 1500 per day because off and on I would count them. I averaged 1000 to 1200 daily. After 6 months I had lost 1 pound, and did not feel any better.

So I stopped, I did not gain any more weight when I stopped. I knew my own body and I knew I had a metabolism issue, and that it was somehow related to hormones, as I only gained weight during puberty, and pregnancy. But the Doctors said there could be no such correlation, and that my thyroid was "normal" so it could not be metabolism. So I continued for another 12 years to battle the weight unsuccessfully, and my health continued to decline. Then again when my hormones began to fluctuate in my late 30's I again began to gain weight and to have a lot more of the above symptoms.

To make a very long story short, I did finally discover my answer. I found that my hormones had caused weight gain, and that my dieting had only aggravated my slow metabolism and that I needed to breathe better in order lose weight. (NOT EXERCISE as that had injured my muscles causing fibro-myalgia, since I was not getting sufficient oxygen to the muscles while working them out.)

Once I discovered all that, and that the hormones were also causing my chest pain. I discovered how to lose weight. (No Doctor helped me figure this out -I had to do my own research.) I have since lost over 60 pounds just in the last year, doing deep breathing excersies. I do walk some, but I did that before and it did not help me lose weight. I was at risk for a heart attack, not due to my weight, but due the hormones that caused me to get spasming in my cardiac arteries, when the doctors did an angiogram on me they said my arteries were "clean as a whistle", I credit that to the healthy diet I had followed my entire life. Yet many, many a smaller person has very high plaque build up in their arteries.

So I do not swallow the argument that that weight is a direct result of calories eaten and a lack of calories burned. That is a fable. The medical community does not understand the weight problem and cannot resolve it with their current theory.

I was never irresponsible with my health, yet I have been overweight my whole life.

 

Sorry, I have given my last argument on this thread. LOL!! We can close it now.

 

Tink - I'm not a doctor...I just occasionally play one on the internet.

Might I suggest, if you haven't already, seeing an endocrinologist - preferably a reproductive endocrinologist and having a thorough work up (with ultrasound monitoring) for Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. There are also some excellent Metobolic Specialists out there now. Both will do workups unlike any other physician will do.

As far as comments on the medical community...unfortunately there has not been enough research and emphasis in the area of hormonal and metabolic issues. A good deal of good medical care is getting to the right professional at the right time. They can only do the best they have with what they have to work with at any given time. Of course, that doesn't make it any less frustrating for the patient.

 

Well I agree that there is a lot of research, but most PCP's do not have it nor do they correlate all the specialists that a person sees. The biggest cause of death in the elderly is over medication. There is a huge disparity in the way our medical professionals deal with people, we have to be responsible for our own health care, and researching things on our own. To take what we are told "hook-in-and-sinker" is foolish.

I have resolved my health issues and no longer have the above problems, and I am now losing weight successfully, just lost another 10 this month. I just don't like hearing blanket statements about overweight people as if they have irresponsible behavior that is "effecting" everyone else.

So I told my story, I didn't ask for advice. I research things for myself. Thank you though I know it came from a good heart.

 

I am very glad that you found the answers you needed to find for your health issues, and kudos to you for doing it on your own. I did not say that "ALL" instances of people being overweight/obese was the sole and direct result of over-consumption and lack of exercise, there will always be legitimate medical challenges that can affect a persons weight. However even though I have not done a personal survey, but I would be willing to bet that you are in the minority with your personal health history, and that for a majority of those with weight issues personal life choices are indeed the cause or at the very least exacerbating factors. You call this propaganda, I call it common sense backed up by numerous medical studies (start with the CDC). It seems we must agree to disagree on this point. What cannot be disputed, and the only point I have been trying to make all along, is that there is an overweight/obese EPIDEMIC going on right now that is costing us all billions and this is a crucial problem that we must address as a nation and making excuses for those who ARE making irresponsible choices is not going to help anyone.

 

I didnt read all the posts too many pages and i am lazy:smt120

anyway why does it matter why always talks about weight if someone is healthy and can move and do everything and feel good in their skin then what does it matter
and what someone may see as thick other will see it different

 

We have already seen the future..and it is rolly-polly.

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