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I strongly believe that in many parts of America being overweight is no longer a stigma it once was. It seems like in many rural communities basically everyone is overweight so no one seems to even care. Because your family, friends and neighbors are all overweight, why even bother to diet.
I know many people who are overweight and really do not do anything about it because they are not criticized about it, because the peer pressure about being thin is gone, so they just keep getting fat.
The only people who care about their weight anymore are people who are upper class, or whose job success is based on their appearance. On the other hand, the average working class American no longer really cares if they are overweight. Agree or disagree?
Disagree!
I am overweight, it happened when I was in my 30s and I HATE IT!!! Nevertheless, having spent 33 years as a naturally thin person (I was able to eat whatever I wanted and never gained weight) made this dieting very, very hard. And even when I do exercise and eat right, I lose a couple of pounds and my metabolism is all messed up and I cannot get down to a normal weight.
>> I know many people who are overweight and really do not do anything
>> about it because they are not criticized about it, because the peer
>> pressure about being thin is gone, so they just keep getting fat.
Your statement is so UNTRUE! Many of my friends are also overweight . . . we are treated differently because of it. We feel sluggish and try and try to get our weight normal. It's not easy for everyone. The upper crust, as you call them can afford the over-priced gyms, personal trainers [on a daily basis] and decent, well-made food that is healthy. What do they offer us lower and middle-income people? From welfare cheese and making the most fattening foods the lower-priced, we can't win!!! Fruits and vegetables (at least the produce, fresh kind) are the MOST EXPENSIVE in the store.
People also treat us differently, they are more rude, call us lazy or think of us as lower class. There is a lot of peer pressure, yet, they do not make it easy! If we could get hired and health insurance covered weight loss programs [some of them do not], at least, they'd be helping us.
When a small carton of blueberries is $4.00 for one cup, it's crazy!!! And I am not exaggerating. But, a box of macaroni and cheese [which feeds a family] is only $1.50!!! How can we lose weight on our income?
Of course, we can forego the gym by walking and such and hopefully can motivate ourselves to do it reguarly. Still, the rich or upper class have the advatage to have a personal trainer, or have their healthy food delivered or made for them by a top-notch personal chef! And if we live in a cold place [i.e. the East Coast] where apartments are too small to work out in and the snow comes down -- it is much more difficult to walk during certain seasons when we don't have the advantage of affording a heated gym to go to.
Aside from the fact, there may more of us overweight people in the U.S. We still do not get hired as easily, even by fat bosses. They want the "staff" to be beautiful people, more toned people . . . thus, we have higher unemployment due to our "looks".
It is not lack of criticism that keeps us fat! In fact, quite the opposite. The more people put us down and call us names, the more DEPRESSED we become and we give up trying to please them or ourselves as it becomes TOO HARD.
You were only 40 pounds overweight . . . try to be 100 pounds overweight. It was hard for you . . . harder the more you have to lose. There are times when you don't lose even one pound for weeks and weeks and weeks -- it's called a plateau -- you can starve yourself and you still don't lose weight. After three months of nothing but losing one pound, no pounds or even gaining a pound . . . you give up!!! It seems impossible. And if you have some creep calling you lazy or saying there's no "peer pressure" . . . geez, watch t.v. sometimes! I am the same age as the actresses on 'Desperate Housewives' . . .all skinny!!! I am also an actress! I die everyday the weight doesn't fall off of me . . .and I starve myself for weeks!!! Nothing changes, except I'm hungry and irritable and still fat.
Encourage us and be proud of each and every little step we take. No criticizing . . .it's just makes one defensive. We are not all lazy. Nor do we just "accept it" -- we are just living the best we can with what we have.
ive always thought mainers had a different weight and girth chart,,we seem to be a bit larger,,thought it was the cold climate/body mass warmth theory.
i have to agree,,,with what others have said we live a sedentary lifestyle,,,,if we compared what our grandfathers/grandmothers (and thier parents) did every day, we'd be astounded..(especially before electricity)
Well when I lived in Chicago I weighed 130 lbs. since I moved to S.Florida I have gained 32 lbs. a big 162 bs. I think its the pastelitos (guava pasteries) and Im getting older too. Could also be I was healthier back than and went to the gym, wasn't married. The medication Im on could be a BIG factor. It been almost seven years since I moved here...time changes everything. I would like to get to my healthy weight again.
I sincerely doubt there is a single overweight person who would choose to be overweight if there was other options that were easy.
Basically, I hate being overweight, have been for many years, but my weight has been pretty steady for about 10 years. Along those 10 years, I have known so many people wo are my sizw who have made tremendous efforts to loose, only to gain it back, over and over again in some instances. I find this very discouraging. It doesn't make me say, "I'll never diet", but it sure makes me think about what possible long term results I might have.
Then on the other hand, I look at my 82 yr old Dad's diabetic feet, and if that doesn't make you want to become a health freak, then nothing does.
He has suffered so much with heart disease and diabetes that it should jolt me into action.
My excuses....there are many...it is so hard to just commit to something. And of course, people as overweight as me are all having bariatric surgery. I'm pretty sure I'll never resort to that.
One thing I do hate is when people think they have the right to judge me because I am overweight. I don't smoke, drink, or take drugs. I shouldn't have to justify what I eat to anyone or how I got this way, or how much excercise I do or don't do. I don't harp at anyone when they buy a pack of cigarettes.
It's a battel, and I still don't know how I will come to terms with it, but every time Dad is in the hospital...I revisist the thought.
ilovepa, I just read your post. I feel your pain,. I am not overweight, but my husband and most of the children and grandchildren are. Some of them handle it very well. They accept the fact that they are big beautiful people and go on. One granddaughter is very obese and is in therapy now, being fifteen, she is teased and ridiculed constantlly at school, by the other kids. She has been in every weight program going. Sadly,the more depressed she gets over her weight, the more she eats, the more weight she gains, and the more antidepressents the dr. puts her on. She has been approved for bariatic surgery this summer. We didn't want to go that route,but are convinced that we may lose her if we don't. All of our research tells us that teens have quicker recovery time than adults and less complications are very low. I think some people can't help themselves with being fat, I have read that genetics plays into it. I never judge a person by how much they weigh, and I hate the narrow minded people who make fun of them. My son ,who is grown, married with children, was on the Adkins diet for years. He weighed 370 lbs, when he had the stomach bypass last April. He now weighs 185 pounds, exercises daily, plays with the kids and is so happy and well adjusted.
This thread has been hijacked by people penting about weight loss troubles. My question had to do with so many people gaining weight because of the lack of peer pressure against being fat in many communities.
(I believe 99% of people can be slim and trim if they really try. Some just have to try harder due to family influences and age)
blue62....I do find that it definitely is genetics. My 15 yr old daughter is about 20 lbs overweight. She eats nothing. She took a very sknniy friend on vacation with us for one week last summer, and that skinny kid ate 4 times what my daughter ate. Her friend was amazed at how little she ate and we were amazed at how much her friend ate.
Every now and then I look on the net about bariatric surgery, but of course the net is full of horror stories about any illness or surgery. I did know someone who had it, she was just about my size, but as she lost her weight, she transformed into a different person, by the time the year was up, she was going to night clubs with young girls 1/2 her age, wearing mini skirts while leaving her hubby home with the kids. She then asked for a divorce on Chirstmas Eve, just a few days after he wrote the check to pay for her last semester in college. She left him and the kids. She lost all her friends. It's been a few years, but she has married and divorced 2 times already and had a few live in's in between.
I don't want my life to change, just my weight!
I fear setbacks in my health brough on by elective surgery. I have to be healthy to take care of my family as well as my aged parents who need me. It is a double edged sword....
It's good to know that your family has had a success story. I'm sure your granddaughter will be fine, good for her that an end is in sight. I do not agree with someone with very real problems being put on antidepressants. She is feeling very real feeling. Antidepressants are for people who cannot find happiness when it is right there in front of them. She is living a very difficult life. Kids can be so cruel.
Good luck to her and your son! Thanks for sharing your story.
Dingler, so sorry to hijack your thread!! If you read page 2 of just about 80% of the threads in this forum, they all change a little differently as each poster posts. Nothing personal.
This thread has been hijacked by people penting about weight loss troubles. My question had to do with so many people gaining weight because of the lack of peer pressure against being fat in many communities.
(I believe 99% of people can be slim and trim if they really try. Some just have to try harder due to family influences and age)
The OP was asking about general thoughts- in America.
Dingler- have you ever seen Emme?- the plus-sized model; I think she was on Oprah a few times- promoting plus sized catalogues.
IMO there are no easy answers- but any dr will tell you- being 60-80 lbs overweight causes atherosclerosis, heart attack, stroke and innumerable other problems.
I agree with Momark and others regarding food- In Europe they walk alot, eat small meals, and dont eat McDonalds/Hardees whatever.
MY SIL has 2 kids in their teens. They both weigh over 250. IMO it isnt just genetics (she is petite, as is the father) it is lifestyle, laziness and bad habits.
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good OP-
