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I think many people consider weight to equate with healthy/wellness, which is sometimes, but not always, the case. If cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, cardio CRP, creatinine numbers are all within normal ranges, then that tells the story better than weight in many cases.
An anorexic person may be thin but can have lousy numbers, and a somewhat overweight person can test to be healthy.
On the other hand, packing more than 20 extra pounds puts an extra burden on joints, especially knees and that's not a good thing to do to your body.
It comes down to enough exercise, fiber, lots of fruits & vegetables, lots of fresh water, avoiding trans-fats and keeping alcohol within reasonable bounds.
If you're carrying a few extra pounds and your numbers test fine, I'd feel kind of smug, actually. That's a wonderful achievement, by the way, that weight loss. You must feel proud of yourself!
The OP lost 450 pounds. That is something to be very proud of. People make assumptions based on appearance, and don't know the "whole story" behind a person. Shame on them.
If any of you people have ever seen old Jackie Chan/Bruce Lee kung fu movies with the overweight, chubby Asian guys doing backflips, you'd realize that your concept of weight and health is narrow.
People who judge on appearance don't discriminate-- a person who looks sloppy will be assumed to be a slob. Someone who dress to the nines will be assumed to be high maintenance. Someone who is heavy is assumed to be lazy just as someone who is thin is assumed to be disciplined. A girl who dresses scantily will be assumed to be loose and a girl who dresses super conservative is assumed to be uptight. I could go on for days about all of the assumptions that narrow minded people make when they judge others. I think you need to just accept that there are going to be people who make judgements regardless. Be proud of what you have done for YOU to make yourself healthier and work to mentally healthy by not concerning yourself with negative people. It is not easy to do but very freeing once it is mastered.There is no changing a narrow mind except your own. You dropped all of that weight, this should be a cake walk in comparision! WTG!
I have twenty pounds of fat to lose myself, so you are an inspiration to a lot of us.
A question: how tall are you? If you are over 6' tall, 200 lbs. sounds like it could be a pretty healthy weight.
However, no offense, but it does sound like you are exaggerating. There are not many 100 lb. adults in the United States, whether it's in Denver or anywhere else.
Also, I would caution against using Louisiana as an indicator of what a reasonable standard is for what a person should weigh or look like.
Louisiana is one of the four fattest states in the fattest nation in the world, while CO is the "slimmest" at least by US standards:
edit: even when I did weigh 20 lbs. less, I would still be considered fat in certain parts of the world, such as say Japan.
Quote:
Originally Posted by slysly4
Im a 30yo male living in Denver but im originally from New Orleans, when i was 24 i weighed 650 pounds i lost 450 pounds the old fashioned way and i feel good about myself and im happy. But it really bothers me that here in Denver if you are not 100 pounds then you are automatically considered unhealthy. My blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels are all perfect and even better than some of the thin vegans i work with at Whole Foods. But it makes me feel bad when people here just assume your unhealthy if your not 100 lbs. Back in New Orleans and where i went to college i was considered healthy and a nice built football build. I want to know whats the difference? It seems West Coast and Mountain states considers healthy to equal thin atomatically and Southern and East Coast States considers the whole person when using the word healthy. Im not saying everyone is this way it just seems like the majority is.
Food, Inc. is a highly sanitized version of the story of food production in the US. Also, it only discusses the toxicity of food, rather than our water supply, air, household products, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by treedonkey
You just finished watching Food, Inc. didn't you?
Speaking of knowing what's really going on, don't believe everything you see on TV or read in a sensationalized book.
It doesnt matter if a state is considered the fattest its how a person treats another person solely based on how much weight they are carrying. Why is it anyone business how big you are? Just because colo is a thin state doesnt mean it has a pass to look down on overweight people. Because poor state with low income people dont have much choice but to buy cheap unhealthy food because it doesnt have the income like colo.
Op says people assume overweight people are unhealthy, nobody is lookin down on them.. Unfortunately overweight person is most likely to be less healthy than a thin person. I have never heard of a person who carries extra 20 pounds of fat to be perfectly healthy..
Actually i am all my vitals and blood work are fine, i have no health issues. Like i said in my earlier post my dad was healthier than me and perfect health and died of cancer and had a cholesterol problem. So now you know of a person, me, with an extra 20 lbs thats in perfect health. We you can squat 700-800 lbs and leg press 2000 pounds and teach step aerobics and kickboxing and dont be out of breathe like half my class and people half my weight. Then maybe what you say will have some validity. Everyone is not built the same not every overweight person have health issues. Just like me being a black guy doesnt mean im lazy or a criminal, this is from a black guy that's went to grad school and got a masters with a 4.0 grade point average with a great job at whole foods and now in du law.
It sounds like you are fine with yourself but want OTHER people to change. That's not going to happen. Continue to feel good about yourself and others will treat you well.
However, there will always be a few who look down on people who are heavier. So what? You can't waste your time worrying about that.
Having said that, I believe you are continuing to make excuses. When I switched from a high fat eating pattern to a lower fat, healthier eating pattern with a lot of organics, I actually saved a lot of money because I was no longer going out to fast food restaurants and prepping my own tastier, healthier food on my own.
Focus on the positive: you lost 450 lbs! Are you kidding me?!? Plus, given your level of physical activity, you'll likely be losing even more weight. Man, you're gonna Terrell Owens' physique pretty soon!
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