Yes, judging others is bad and I myself am not perfect (just nearly).

These ladies who lunch are always sneering and talking about others, so I looked at them through their own critical eyes.
The result wasn't good.

I haven't worked in an obesity clinic, but have worked in a department for respiratory illnesses in a well-known hospital in Bern. And I would also think it is good advice for the patients suffering from lung disease, that they should stop smoking -no matter what other psychological or physiological factors are involved.

So you'll know that some do (quit) but others don't...

I would also argue that food addiction (if you'll permit me to call it that) is not the same beast as cigarette addiction...

Just to go back on topic (of your OP), I didn't find the pictures nauseating in anyway. But then I like to think I have an open approach to food (and no, I'm not talking about my mouth ).

It seems to me that you feel the need to judge others to make you feel better than them...

Don't forget the cool-factor!

Not sure if I am better than them, Nil, but I am certainly doing my body less harm.They were struggling to walk under their own weight.

As for judging others, well I didn't judge the poster trying to find a new home for their pet recently. Many others on here did.

Does it perhaps depend on what you are judging?

I think addictions where you don't cause health problems or heartache for others are a bit less "sinful" than others. The person who exercises compulsively or the compulsive over-eater may cost the health system something, but they aren't causing real harm. For the other things, well... I have a choice of whether I will have that slice of pizza but I don't have the choice of being intoxicated with smoke / hit by a drunk driver / randomly attacked by someone on a bad trip.

Like Carlos said, I know ALL about nutrition and yet I can't seem to manage to stop comfort eating when I'm stressed. Occasionally I'll go on mad bouts of weight loss and exercise but I have slowly but surely come to realise that I am basically a food addict about 8 months of the year, an anorexic for the rest of the time and unhappy with my weight 100% of the time.

And the very, VERY crucial thing with food is - you can't just go cold turkey, you have to have a little bit of your drug every single day. Try telling an alcoholic they can have just one drink but keep the rest of the bottle handy. Other the hardcore smoker that he can have one cigarette but must keep the rest of the packet in his pocket.

Sorry, what was the question?

You seriously seem to believe that what you said is better than coming straight out and calling someone a whale?

Or, do you mean to imply that the bolded bit was supposed to be understood as something other than "whale"?


Since you seem to be clueless, I'll tell you what it is for me, how it started, where it is now and what happened in between.

When I was about 12, something happened to me that was extremely troubling. Up until this point, I'd always been active - I learned how to swim well enough by age 10 that I could go to the pool without having to have a parent there to supervise. I spent nearly every day swimming, including riding a bicycle there and back. I also took horseback riding lessons and went riding any time I could get a friend to go along. We lived in the desert of California and also would tend to go running around and horsing around out in the desert, catching lizards and trying not to catch scorpions.

So, being athletically active, I was fit. I wasn't thin, I was a bit stockier than some of the other "girly girls" my age but well within healthy range.

Then, this thing happened and I stopped going out as much. My circle of friends changed because some believed that what happened was my fault. I started to feel bad enough about myself that I covered my body more. This meant no more pool. To "hide myself" even more, I started eating stuff that made me happy... chips, individual cream pies, cookies. My father gave me a hard time about how much I was eating, telling me I should exercise more - especially a move that would push me away from the dinner table sooner. So, I started hiding what I was eating. Buying it myself and eating it where no one could see what and how much I ate.

Because of the thing that happened, I had to see some lawyers and tell my story. My father stopped talking to me so much when he found out what happened, you see, my parents had to be there when the lawyer questioned me. I'd been "daddy's girl" before this ever happened. I had been active, played baseball and basketball with he and my brother. He didn't know how to act toward me anymore. Getting heavier and less active at the same time didn't help. I really didn't eat much more than I did before, except for the secret tasty stuff, I just was less active so my body stored all those calories that I used to burn, anticipating me going back to burning them. That's what our bodies do.

Also because of what happened, we couldn't leave the country (in case I had to go to court) so although my father had had opportunity to be transferred to Spain or Italy, now we had to move to a small town in Texas, where "no one" ever went anywhere, but they did have a reserve station there... so there we went. No friends now, hard to make friends because they all knew each other since kindergarten. (A bit like here actually. ) Less active even than before. I was 13 and weighed about 175lbs.

Finally, a new place to live after a couple years there, we moved to Hawaii when I was going on 15. Some of my old friends from Cali were there (we were back on a huge base again after all) so it made it a bit easier to settle in. My parents got us all bicycles for Christmas that year and my friends showed us (my brother and I) the way to the beaches that were right on base as well as how to get to the pool. I went back to my old ways of cycling to the pool or beach, spending all day every day I could swimming or cycling. I lost some weight and kept to about 150lbs'ish through activity. Not thin, athletically fit in a stocky way because my shoulders and legs were (still are ) very muscular.


Of course, lots of stuff happened between then and now. Even now though, my habit when upset is to reach for something sweet and rich. I know myself, I know I'm happier with more exercise - I also know people though, and know that even when I am the very happiest with my weight and appearance, many look at me and would call me fat. Perception is for size 4 to be attractive - size 12 not so much.

Someone calling me a whale? That doesn't help me watch what I'm eating. It does make me want to hit them and since I know that's not acceptable, I reach for a brownie.

Maybe I should take up kickboxing.

__________________
The Joys of Opticianry

I'm just fat because I drink too much beer and eat too many chips.

Oink!

Love ya, DB!!

At 9:10 pm tonight, Monday 20.06.2011, on SF1 television is the programme PULS.
Tonight's programme includes "How dangerous is it to eat mouldy foods?"

http://www.puls.sf.tv/

.

Each of us is different. I've always been a normal size (even very skinny as a teen). Years ago, due to a neurological problem I had to take a lot of cortisone. It wiped me out. I ballooned past recognition, putting on many many kilos. It was awful. I didn't eat (or sleep either).
The weight lasted approx 10 years. The comments, the snide remarks were just
One day I decided to diet and exercize and I lost 35 kg in 18 months.

Today I will not eat fatty foods, I'll go for a walk instead of eating when I crave sugar, I try not to eat at night. I weigh myself 2x a day and monitor my food intake based on 200gr one way or the other. I dissociate food constantly (main rule: no carbs with protein.... ever). I get bouts of exercise where I'll work out every single day for a few months and then stop.
It makes people completely nuts around me, but I so much prefer to cook for others or serve others than to sit down to a meal.

Not sure if this extreme is healthy at all.
I am still totally incapable of seeing myself in the mirror and will reach for a very large size automatically in a shop.
Me too, like Kittster mentioned, I'm shy about eating in public due to past unkind comments.

It's just human nature, obesity is not easily accepted in society and people are quite open about it.

..... and most people will naturally believe that a heavy set person gained weight from food and not from sickness or medication.

__________________
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"Il mondo è fatto a scale, chi le scende e chi le sale"

I do not make remarks to people or monitor what most people eat.

These women were extreme. And they were obviously endangering their health.
It got me thinking about obesity today - and I mean whale-sized obesity, just to differentiate from a few extra kilos here and there. Even more than a few.
I would say they were morbidly obese, walking with aids at little more than 50 years old.

Going back to the connection with fast food consumption and away from the personal :

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15639678

You cannot just equate size with obesity. Many skinny models are technically obese as they can have a very high body fat percentage despite being underweight. Whose health is more at risk, the outwardly or inwardly obese person? Who is easier to judge?

Leni, I think you have a valid point.
Unfortunately it's such an emotional subject for those who suffer from obesity (suffer is the right word) and those who feel that they are that way because they perhaps lack control.

Emotions always come first. Our emotions define us. If we're touched, we're ready to speak of personal matters to express/evacute the feelings and make some sense of whatever it is.

From a medical/scientific point of view it's a fact that obesity will cause serious health issues.

To be heard, and for a subject to be debated without people getting upset, it has got to be void of personal opinion and emotion.

__________________
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"Il mondo è fatto a scale, chi le scende e chi le sale"

That's a good point - people never talk about the visceral fat. Even relatively thin people can have fat around their organs which can lead to the same kind of problems (diabetes, cancer, heart disease) as the people with more obvious signs of being overweight.

Compared to where?

However, I don't understand the obsession with eating out.

On the other hand, I'm a very good cook, and generally don't go out to eat except when I must (business), or because they cook better then I do, and that's not cheap in ANY country.

Tom

Thanks Sky, you are right.

And Sandgrounder - I did mention diabetes, stroke and heart disease. I have known one or two young people who have had strokes and was alarmed to see a rise in the numbers of young people this is happening to. It is associated with lifestyle choices - smoking, bad diet, etc.
Interestingly enough, blood pressure and cholesterol rates have dropped in the last few years:

http://cardiobrief.org/2011/02/03/la...d-cholesterol/

This is true, but you also can't disregard general statements and average profiles based on outliers and extreme cases.

If you collected the largest (size) people from a decent numbered group, and compared them in obesity to the smallest (size) set of people, I am not certain, but I think you will see a definte trend of the larger group being not as healthy as the smaller group in this respect.

I guess that would depend upon how you measure health. For me it is not just about the weight on the scale or the size of the waist. How much exercise does one take, alcohol consumption, smoking etc they all contribute to a persons overall health. A skinny obese model who never exercises & lives on Red Bull & fags would certainly be less healthy than an overweight person who does not smoke & is an avid hill walker. This is really not a black & white argument as there are many factors to take into account.