Fat (Body) Shaming - Your thoughts?

[Master_Craig]

I've noticed I've started to make a lot of "Your thoughts?" threads, but here's another one that I'd like to bring to the table and share with you all.

I recently read an article this morning about a video on YouTube that's gone viral. Created by vlogger "Nicole Arbour" (never heard of her until this morning), she's released a video under a week ago that's already hit over seven hundred thousand views. The video, titled "Dear Fat People" is a controversial video that has a lot of people online talking. Unsurprisingly, the video's comments and likes/dislikes features have been disabled.

I couldn't even watch half of it, but if you're interested, the video can be found here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXFgNhyP4-A

I'm going to put my point out there straight away. I think this person is a complete and utter moron. This is going to sound harsh of me but after watching this video, my first thoughts of this person is that they're a waste of space. I don't know why she made this video in particular but it's getting a lot of attention, some positive, mostly negative and a lot of people are talking about it. Since she's a "professional" YouTuber, I guess any attention is good attention, controversy is a money maker after all.

As most of you probably know, I used to be overweight myself, reaching about 130 kg (286 Ibs) by the age of 21. At the time, I wasn't happy with my body and I didn't like being overweight. It wasn't because I was "fat", it was because people were always judging and criticizing me, some even bullying. I was picked on a lot in school because I was fat. People in university and at work would give me crap because I was fat. You know, I did work hard in university and I did do a good job in my job, but people assumed I was lazy because I was fat. I still remember a lot of the horrible comments I got because of my body.

- When talking to a family at JB Hi-Fi (Australia's version of Ameirca's Best Buy) about a Nintendo Wii Fit, "You don't use this, do you?" asked one of the customers, before they all had a good chuckle.

- A random person asked me "So are you going to the PJ's party this weekend?" and someone interrupts "Stupid question, just look at him." before once again, their laughter ensued.

- "Look at how much you're sweating!" - a friend of mine would constantly remind me because I used to sweat very easily, to which everyone would look at me with an awkward expression.

Fat shaming is not very nice. It's pretty fucked up.

On the other hand, I've learned personally that "fit shaming" is another thing too. Because I try to train and exercise regularly and maintain a decent diet, I get criticized by friends and other people because of my life style choices, which I feel are bettering myself and my overall health. People don't like it.

In my opinion, body shaming of any sort, whether it's fat shaming, thin shaming, fit shaming, whatever you wanna go with, is completely wrong.

I may sound hypocritical here, but honestly since I've been overweight and since I've lost that weight, I believe that being overweight is not a good thing. It has nothing to do with looks or anything of the sort, it's more the potential health implications. Heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, all of which are completely preventable.

That being said, I believe if people who may be overweight want to lose weight, then the decision is up to them. At the end of the day it's their body and their choice. They shouldn't be forced, nor should they be bullied or shamed into it.

I know sometimes our friends/family will try to talk to us about losing weight. Sometimes they might do it wrong, e.g. "You need to lose weight" but honestly, they do it because they do care about our well being, our health and our future. I remember my parents, particularly my mum would try and sit me down to talk about my weight. Every single time they did it I felt like they were "attacking" me and it always lead me to tears. But I know they were just trying to look out for me. It's a very hard subject to tackle.

If they don't want to, then fine, all that matters is that they're happy about their choice. If they do want to lose weight and get healthier, they need positive encouragement and support from loved ones - family, friends, and any professionals whom may be helping them. I would also suggest that if people want to diet and exercise, they should try and find something (foods and physical activities) that they may enjoy. Getting healthy shouldn't be a negative, difficult experience. Losing weight will be a shitty experience if all you're doing is getting on a treadmill, whilst eating lettuce and drinking only water, to give you a bit of an extreme example.

Losing weight and getting healthy is not "hard" per say, it just requires time, patience and a bit of dedication.

So... what are your thoughts?

 

[Sourdeez]

Why not just let people live how they want to live and die however quickly they want to?

Is that too libertarian for people?


Let people be fat, let gay people get married, let stoners buy legal weed. America could be such a wonderfully free place if we would just let people live how they want to.
SourDeez 2016

 

[Green_Lantern]

I couldn't get very far in the video cause that chick is annoying as hell.

She's a wannabe Jenna Marbles, except that Jenna is actually good.

 

[Master_Craig]

Both of you say good things. Agree completely.

SourDeez 2016.

 

[madster111]

I agree on too many of her points to be overly pissed off at her tone and general retard spasms.
We're living in an age where morons are attempting to glorify the morbidly obese and pretend it's a healthy lifestyle. This video and operation harpoon are the start of the backlash, it won't get any better as times goes on and realistically, nor should it. Diabetes is already a health crisis, letting people believe there's nothing wrong with eating and being unhealthy simply cannot be allowed if we don't want this world to turn to shit.

Putting unnecessary strain on the health system and increasing herd sizes for no real reason will quickly ruin us all, as will crucially a reduced ability to work. This will become absolutely critical as the average life span continues to increase and is already costing the world very badly in terms of pensions, imagine how much worse it will be if everyone retires 10 years earlier because they can't walk anymore?

It's fine to be a little overweight so long as you know it's unhealthy, i mean my fat ass is just about to go to maccas after this so i can only cast dem stones so far, but there comes a point where people who are going to die before they hit 50 start saying we should accept them as they are when we need to stand up and call bullshit.

 

[Optimus-Crime]

Fuck that. Censorship is horrible.

 

[Colin_B]

but there comes a point where people who are going to die before they hit 50 start saying we should accept them as they are when we need to stand up and call bullshit.

I completely agree with this. There's no benefit to anyone to sit there and body shame someone. It doesn't do anyone any favours and it just diminishes the self confidence of others. At the same time, if you're overweight and it's impacting your health, you really should do something about it. Not because of how you look or what we're told the standards of beauty are but so you can be the healthiest you possible. So you can live a long, happy life and not worry about being too winded to chase your kids around or so you won't have knee and joint problems.

I get irritated at times with my mother in laws Dr. because for a while she was complaining about chronic knee pain and a heel spur. The Dr. gave her all these reasons but never once told her that at 5'7 and 265 pounds she should start watching what she eats and try to get exercise in her daily routine. Gee Doc, maybe the weight has something to do with all of that! Of course I don't have an 8 year medical degree so I shouldn't stand on my soap box too long but even if it didn't contribute or cause her health issues, at that height and weight isn't it a Drs responsibility to say "you need to make some changes"? I feel like they're too concerned with offending their patients and having a complaint these days. I'm as liberally politically as as Kirk Cameron is with saying stupid shit but there seems to be no personal accountability any more. And when it comes to someone's health it's downright frustrating.

Having said all that, I don't feel it's right whatsoever to ever make someone feel guilty or bad about how they look. In a relationship we'd call it verbal abuse. Why should it be any different with someone we don't know all that well? Just the other week my mother was visiting and a heavier lady was wearing yoga pants and a tank top of something and my mom said "she shouldn't be leaving the house dressed like that." "Too revealing?" I asked. She informed me it wasn't revealing but because of her weight she shouldn't be wearing that outfit. It was unattractive and she didn't want to see that. That was one of the rare times I was disappointed in my mother. What she was wearing really wasn't impacting our lives. If it made her happy then so be it. If it bothers you just don't look.

 

[Optimus-Crime]

I swear I never gave two thoughts to the fat shaming issue, only to the censorship part, which is far more important imo.

And now she's become a censorship martyr.
I believe you have to be willing to fight for what you believe, like, seriously fight one-on-one.

If some fat person came to her and challenged her to a fight for her beliefs, then what of it?

That's part of the prison population--people who let words get to them. It's also what keeps people in jail and prison. I assaulted the man because he called me a bad name

But I don't know if censoring fixes the problem. To me, it only grants crazies the justification they need to pull off school shootings or other acts of violence, because they feel like they're the victims...but the victim of, what, words?

The more we hide behind a PC culture, the more justice the crazies will believe they're owed for anyone speaking their mind on a fucking YouTube video.

 

[C_nate]

Hello strangers. Decided to drop by to see if this place was still running and I see a thread near and dear to my heart.

First, I just have to say, I tried, but I couldn't make it past 60 seconds of that video. She was just trying waaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy too hard and dear god was it bad. From the bit that I watched, I kinda got where she was going with it anyway.

Just coincidentally, I was having a conversation about this earlier because of a horrendous commercial I saw from that hell hole of a channel TLC for a reality show about a super fat woman and her "fabulous" life or something like that.

It was then I began to realize that along with the sudden rise in "plus size" models that this whole push to make fat acceptance a thing was really starting to become a thing.

It's just really bizarre to me, and I say that as a fat person myself. I gained 30 pounds after my dad passed away and my weight has something I've struggled with off and on pretty much my whole life. I'm at the heaviest I've ever been right now, 6' 2" 325lbs.

Luckily I've never really been picked on or shamed for it over the years because I'm also built a bit like an offensive lineman, but I've never been ashamed of myself or how I look, but the kicker is that it's not something I think is "fabulous" or should be celebrated either.

I'll be the first one to say that being fat in and of itself isn't necessarily unhealthy in terms of being able to be productive. I can do push ups and sit ups and run up the stairs and so on, but I will also be the first to say that being fat is asking for all kinds of health trouble down the road. Right now I'm still quite capable but I'm under no illusions that if I don't do something about my situation that 20 years, hell, maybe even 10 years down the line, I might be in some serious trouble.

So, here's the thing. You should never shame or be shamed for whatever you are. It does nothing, it solves nothing, it just creates negative feelings all the way around. You should be confident in yourself regardless if you are fat or thin or skinny or built. But at the same time, you should not be in denial of your flaws. If you are fat and happy, great be fat and happy, but don't throw it in peoples faces. If you are fit and happy, be fit and happy, but don't throw it in peoples faces.

In closing, have fun, live your life.

 

[UghRochester]

I've always been a wide person, not fat per say, but very wide. So when that girl claims there's no such thing as "big boned," she's full of sh*t. Like C_nate here, I'm built like an offense line man. I come from a family of very large people. Not going to lie I have a belly, most likely due to eating at the place I work at. I'm sure if I quit eating McDonald's, I would lose weight, but it's a free meal for me. The thing is I'm more muscular than anything, since I'm on my feet all night and unload our truck deliveries two times a week. Carrying 40lbs of sugar, 36lb boxes of fries couple times a week with many to store away really helps.

Here's a photo of my oldest brother an me. I'm 6ft and he's like 6ft 10in. My mom (not pictured in the photo) is my height, my grandpap (on my mom's side) is the same height as my oldest brother. So I do believe genetics do make big boned people.

 

[madster111]

I've always been a wide person, not fat per say, but very wide. So when that girl claims there's no such thing as "big boned," she's full of sh*t.

I also agree with this. If i was to get down to a 'healthy' weight i'd be nothing but skin and bones, my dutch+scottish ancestry simply doesn't allow me to weigh under 90kg without looking like a string bean, meanwhile other people my height at 90 look badly overweight.
The way your body is built absolutely has an effect on what weight you should be.

I think a big part of the problem here is the line between fat people and people who are so obese they can no longer do things a normal person should be able to. My grandpa had a gut on him for his entire life, lived into his 90s remaining active (walking around, shopping, etc) and only had to slow down after the 4th heart attack.
You compare that with 25 year olds who can no longer walk the length of a parking lot due entirely to their weight and it's fucking bullshit that they should be applauded for living that life.

 

[UghRochester]

I think a big part of the problem here is the line between fat people and people who are so obese they can no longer do things a normal person should be able to. My grandpa had a gut on him for his entire life, lived into his 90s remaining active (walking around, shopping, etc) and only had to slow down after the 4th heart attack.
You compare that with 25 year olds who can no longer walk the length of a parking lot due entirely to their weight and it's fucking bullshit that they should be applauded for living that life.

The thing is some people may have a disability to prevent them walking from walking and over time caused a tremendous amount of weight problems. Some may have disease like elephantiasis. I agree with C_nate, we shouldn't shame anyone over their weight, because we're likely to make false judgement. We don't know how a person's weight got that way.

I'm going to sound cruel, but I feel so much greater seeing someone way bigger then me in a wheelchair, because I know my life may be possibly better.

 

[MattAY]

C-Nate hit the button. Agree completely.

 

[UrbanMasque]

I'm in favor of every idea and verbal exchange that makes freedom of speech seem like a bad idea..

With that said, I don't find anything she said disagreeable, I just think she could've been more tactful. I've struggled and continue to struggle with my weight and the realization is it's due to my intake. Period. And being on a team you are how different people react to different forms of coaching. Some people will react positively to her since will be offended, that's your right. But she should be allowed to say it. I know what David Duke rants on about ago I stay away from his videos. Simple.

It seems a bit smug coming from someone like her who has probably always been thin and genetics is a huge obstacle to over come, but... All in all I kind of agree with her, I watched the whole thing. It's never nice to bully, but this is marginally ok IMO because it's not directed at anyone, and you have to click to engage it. Why watch it if you know it's going to trigger you.

Be happy with who you are because you made the choice to be this person.

I like this rebuttal from Boogie - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR7LEQYP4rA basically he's saying that big people already know this, but not everyone who hears it is ready or capable of making these adjustments for various reasons so rubbing it in like this isn't tough love its justifying prejudice.

 

[Master_Craig]

Hey guys. Thanks for your input on this thread. I appreciate it and I'm glad to see everyone making their points with respect and dignity.

I agree with most of these points. As I said in my initial post, we should not bully or shame people about their bodies, whether they're overweight, thin or fit, body shaming of any sort is unacceptable. In saying that, we should strive for better health and healthy life styles... not to try and look good and to appeal to society's unrealistic expectations on beauty but so we can live long, healthy and fulfilling lives, enjoying ourselves as much as we can.

I think genetics do play a part in our bodies and how we grow and change over time. My dad's side of the family, all the blokes are shorter, stocky fellas who all have big hands, feet and big/strong legs. I have that too (although I'm not sure where my 6'3 height came from, I think that's my mum's side). While I feel that genetics do play a role in how we are what we are, genetics do not lock us in place to stay like this. I hope I don't sound rude but honestly, I do know a few people who are quite overweight who blame their genetics for their weight gain, yet they happen to eat very bad foods all the time and do no exercise. There's also fit, athletically gifted people who may have "good" genetics but honestly, they didn't grow like that overnight, they do a lot of work too.

I've experienced two sides in body shaming. When I was overweight, I was often criticized, judged and made fun of for being overweight. The amount of times I was insulted for being overweight was ridiculous and of course, it was always by thinner, fit people, always in a hurtful manner. When I lost the weight and got fit, I got criticized and judged for my new life style choices, by thin and overweight people! One lady where I work criticized my diet (as I eat a lot of rice as prescribed to me in my diet for training), telling me that I'm going to become a diabetic. I bit my tongue but honestly, she's got her own problems to worry about - overweight and a heavy smoker. :/

In short - be happy with your body and enjoy yourself. If you're a bit overweight, that's okay! If you're a bit underweight too, hey that's also okay! But in the end, don't just "accept" it and do nothing about it, it doesn't mean you -have- to be inactive and eat unhealthily. You can get healthy at least through some regular exercise and some diet changes, all that matters is that you have healthy elements in your life and that you enjoy it.

 

[Master_Craig]

I thought I'd share with you guys some news and update this thread.

It looks like Nicole Arbour, the woman behind the "Dear Fat People" video, was apparently hired by film maker and director Pat Mills for his upcoming film "Don't Talk To Irene", an anti-bullying film which is about dancing and starring an overweight protagonist.

Shortly after the video's release (and of course since it's clocked over three million views now), Mills says he has fired Arbour from the film, claiming that people like Arbour are the reason he's making this film. Mills went on to say the following,

"'Dear Fat People' is an unfunny and cruel fat-shaming video that guises itself about being about 'health. It's fat-phobic and awful. It went on for over six minutes. I felt like I had been punched in the gut."

Mills also said, "I'm gay. I was bullied a lot as a kid. I am no stranger to ridicule and loneliness."

Arbour however denies having any involvement in the film and was never contacted by Mills at all. She posted on Twitter the following,

"I'm not currently, nor have I been attached to any feature films as of late. #gossip"

Arbour claims one of the reasons she's being so heavily criticized on the video is because she's a woman,

"The reason there's an issue is because I don't 'look' like a traditional comedian," she said on Twitter, "If I were a guy, people would have lol'd n moved on."

I don't think it's because she's a woman or how she looks. The issue is because of how she carried herself and behaved in that video, e.g. like a massive idiot, that and her video was essentially an immature whinge targeted at overweight people. It wasn't helpful, it wasn't educational, it was just being a wanker. To me it feels like she is trying to play a victim, perhaps even sexist card on this one to justify herself and take the pressure off herself. She claims she doesn't regret the video and stands by it, but judging by her justifications and reasons, I think she's probably beginning to realize that maybe the video wasn't such a bright idea to begin with.

 

[intoTheRain]

Given the option no one would choose to be fat. They would take the fit, healthy and lean option every time. So these people do not love their bodies, nor themselves. We just live in a pleasure now, worry about the consequences later society where it's now miraculously becoming something to be proud of to be fat and unhealthy.

Say all you want that this girl is annoying, that may be true. But if you can logically argue anything she said in the video is not true I'll bake you a batch of cookies. Extra sugar and butter to fatten you up so you can die asap.

After all its 2015 and the whole world revolves around YOU now. Don't worry about your kids or loved ones that will have to put you in your early grave at 45 years old before they go to college, get married or what have you.

Thinking it's wrong to try and convince someone to stop being fat with tough love in my opinion is ridiculous. It's no different than drug addiction, self mutilation, alcoholism etc. You eat and eat and dont exercise because that is instant satisfaction despite knowing it is ruining your body. No different than taking drugs because it feels good at the expense of your health. Except being overweight will likely get you killed faster than the three alternatives mentioned above.

And you're not big boned. You're fat. You would be extremely skinny if you got down to a "healthy" bodyfat % because you have no muscle mass.

If you want to be fat and unhealthy by all means, all the power to you. I honestly don't judge. I dont see a fat person and think less of them, honestly. It doesnt even phase me. But drop the excuses. If you want to be fat and proud accept who you are and leave the excuses at the door.


I'm in agreement with urban here. Clearly. Nothing she said was incorrect aside from the manner in which she said it. And I totally agree with her if she was a guy this video would have gotten FAR less flak. Even if she was ugly and had tiny tits it wouldn't have gone nearly as viral.




Craig the only reason there is "fat shaming" is because there is fat acceptance now. People used to accept being fat is bad. If they chose to be fat anyway all the power to them.


These days though when everybody gets a golden star no matter what they do people are stepping up the fight against fat acceptance with fat shaming.

We've all seen the posts on facebook that women post about being proud of their 250 pound "curvy" bodies (I say women because i personallY have never seen a man post something like this bUT that could just be me). That's not right, no more than fat shaming is. Teaching kids that being fat and unhealthy is somehow accepted now and actually praised is disgusting. So how do we fight it?

Fat shaming isn't the answer. But something needs to be done. People cannot be preaching being fat is ok. Why do you think obesity is an epidemic and just getting worse.

I know a girl who is 230+ easy and posts that fat acceptance I'm proud of my curves bullshit on facebook all the time. She has two kids and legit posts photos of them all the time eating out. Eating cake, fries, burgers etc. Her one boy is extremely overweight already. That is child abuse. And that kind of crap is what is making people resort to things like fat shaming. It is frustrating.

I agree it's not the proper way to go about fixing the obesity epidemic but what is?

 

[C_nate]

Thinking it's wrong to try and convince someone to stop being fat with tough love in my opinion is ridiculous. It's no different than drug addiction, self mutilation, alcoholism etc. You eat and eat and dont exercise because that is instant satisfaction despite knowing it is ruining your body. No different than taking drugs because it feels good at the expense of your health. Except being overweight will likely get you killed faster than the three alternatives mentioned above.

The difference is in the approach. Show me the viral video of the annoying girl telling drug addicts, "Hey junkies, you all are full of shit and all your problems are your own fault." Drug and alcohol addiction are treated as a serious problem. People who have problems with food though are obviously just lazy slobs who should just put down the fork. Which is idiotic as telling a smoker that quitting is easy, just stop smoking. Or telling a alcoholic that quitting is easy, just put down the shot glass. Or telling a drug addict that quitting is easy, just put down the needle or prescription bottle.

I stopped smoking 8 years ago and for me was easy compared to my struggle to clean up my diet. My brother has struggled with smoking off and on all these years but recently gave up drinking soda and lost 20 lbs. His struggle with smoking is seen as serious, while my struggle with my diet is seen as just a lack of willpower, even though the compulsion for our respective vices are the same.

I'll bake you a batch of cookies. Extra sugar and butter to fatten you up so you can die asap.

After all its 2015 and the whole world revolves around YOU now. Don't worry about your kids or loved ones that will have to put you in your early grave at 45 years old before they go to college, get married or what have you.

I honestly don't judge.

Coulda fooled me.....

Your whole passive aggressive "Hey, if you want to be a fat fuck and die at 45 before your kids even make it out of school, more power to you. Who am I to judge?" bullshit is exactly the kind of problem that sums up the backlash to this new round of fat acceptance cropping up and all it does is create backlash to the backlash and that creates a never ending loop of negativity.

Tough love might work on some people, but I think it would just put most people of the defensive and you lose them . Educating people on the dangers they may be facing would be more practical, but then again, you can put a picture of a pair of decayed lungs on the side of a pack of cigarettes and people still smoke. You can't save everyone unfortunately because some people aren't interested in being saved.

You have to realize the ones shouting the loudest about how much they love their bodies are the ones that are the most insecure. Like a kid shouting how they aren't afraid of the dark when the lights go out when inside, they are terrified. You should not be angry or frustrated with those people, you should pity them because they are still caught up in their delusion.

You are right that given the choice, I'm pretty sure most fat people would choose not to be. (myself included) But to just chalk it up to people making excuses is narrow minded and short sighted.

We can all do better on this.

 

[intoTheRain]

Thinking it's wrong to try and convince someone to stop being fat with tough love in my opinion is ridiculous. It's no different than drug addiction, self mutilation, alcoholism etc. You eat and eat and dont exercise because that is instant satisfaction despite knowing it is ruining your body. No different than taking drugs because it feels good at the expense of your health. Except being overweight will likely get you killed faster than the three alternatives mentioned above.

The difference is in the approach. Show me the viral video of the annoying girl telling drug addicts, "Hey junkies, you all are full of shit and all your problems are your own fault." Drug and alcohol addiction are treated as a serious problem. People who have problems with food though are obviously just lazy slobs who should just put down the fork. Which is idiotic as telling a smoker that quitting is easy, just stop smoking. Or telling a alcoholic that quitting is easy, just put down the shot glass. Or telling a drug addict that quitting is easy, just put down the needle or prescription bottle.

I stopped smoking 8 years ago and for me was easy compared to my struggle to clean up my diet. My brother has struggled with smoking off and on all these years but recently gave up drinking soda and lost 20 lbs. His struggle with smoking is seen as serious, while my struggle with my diet is seen as just a lack of willpower, even though the compulsion for our respective vices are the same.

I'll bake you a batch of cookies. Extra sugar and butter to fatten you up so you can die asap.

After all its 2015 and the whole world revolves around YOU now. Don't worry about your kids or loved ones that will have to put you in your early grave at 45 years old before they go to college, get married or what have you.

I honestly don't judge.

Coulda fooled me.....

Your whole passive aggressive "Hey, if you want to be a fat fuck and die at 45 before your kids even make it out of school, more power to you. Who am I to judge?" bullshit is exactly the kind of problem that sums up the backlash to this new round of fat acceptance cropping up and all it does is create backlash to the backlash and that creates a never ending loop of negativity.

Tough love might work on some people, but I think it would just put most people of the defensive and you lose them . Educating people on the dangers they may be facing would be more practical, but then again, you can put a picture of a pair of decayed lungs on the side of a pack of cigarettes and people still smoke. You can't save everyone unfortunately because some people aren't interested in being saved.

You have to realize the ones shouting the loudest about how much they love their bodies are the ones that are the most insecure. Like a kid shouting how they aren't afraid of the dark when the lights go out when inside, they are terrified. You should not be angry or frustrated with those people, you should pity them because they are still caught up in their delusion.

You are right that given the choice, I'm pretty sure most fat people would choose not to be. (myself included) But to just chalk it up to people making excuses is narrow minded and short sighted.

We can all do better on this.

People are not being properly educated and that is the problem.

Photos like this that are being posted on Facebook and other social media websites are what is really starting to trigger people and resort to fat shaming. I agree fat shaming is not the proper route, but I understand how some people can overreact and get upset about crap like this being fed to the minds of young kids.

Obesity is a huge problem.

When I said I don't judge I mean when I see an overweight person it doesn't cross my mind. Everyone has problems, and I believe losing weight is extremely hard for some people. But pretending to be PROUD of being overweight is another story. It's dangerous and fat acceptance is simply being pushed to allow fat people who don't have the will power to get healthy to feel good about themselves.


Like I said it's no different than being proud to be an alcoholic, being proud of being a drug addict, or being proud of being anorexic. They are all extremely unhealthy, and stem from unhealthy habits that can be overcome with some support and hard work. Just because overeating is legal doesn't make it any better.


The post I made last night was a drunken cell phone rant. I still stand by most of what I said but likely would have worded it and presented it differently had I written it today.

 

[Sourdeez]

Here is an interesting question I ask my friends and it is not meant to fat shame or anything of ill will.

What would be the weight for you to get to that would make you say "enough is enough, I will exercise a little and start changing my diet"?
(still keeping in mind that weight loss is hard)



For me that weight would be 200 pounds. If the scale ever hit that point I would seriously do something. (I am 5' 11" and do not build muscle)
This number obviously goes higher and lower for other people and that is ok. This is just a poll and some people may even not have a number.