Silence better part of brother's keeper.
December 21, 2011 3:25 PM Subscribe
'Tell loved ones they are overweight this Christmas'. 'Christmas may be a time of indulging for many, but health experts believe it is the perfect time to tell a loved one they are overweight. The National Obesity Forum and International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk said it was important to be upfront because of the health risks.'
'But a poll by the groups suggests too many people shy away from the issue.
The survey of more than 2,000 people found 42% of 18 to 24-year-olds would not tell a loved one they should lose weight because of a fear they would hurt the other person's feelings.
For those aged 25 to 44 it was just over a third, while for older people it was about one in four.
Men find it hardest to tell their partners, while women were more worried about bringing up the issue with a friend.'
'But a poll by the groups suggests too many people shy away from the issue.
The survey of more than 2,000 people found 42% of 18 to 24-year-olds would not tell a loved one they should lose weight because of a fear they would hurt the other person's feelings.
For those aged 25 to 44 it was just over a third, while for older people it was about one in four.
Men find it hardest to tell their partners, while women were more worried about bringing up the issue with a friend.'
This post was deleted for the following reason: We wanted to give this thread a little time to sort of find itself but that is not happening. The BBC article is almost indistinguishable from trolling and this thread isn't going much better. -- jessamyn
So have they done any research that shows that "telling a loved one they're overweight" is a useful intervention, or are they just pulling that out of their ass?
posted by craichead at 3:29 PM on December 21, 2011 [24 favorites]
posted by craichead at 3:29 PM on December 21, 2011 [24 favorites]
Besides being rude, is there any scientific proof that this method actually even works?
posted by melissam at 3:29 PM on December 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by melissam at 3:29 PM on December 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
Tell me again, when is the best time to be an insensitive ass??
Framing it this way is stupid.
posted by carsonb at 3:30 PM on December 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
Framing it this way is stupid.
posted by carsonb at 3:30 PM on December 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
Most people save up their best douche-ocity for the holiday season so this should fit right in.
posted by Foam Pants at 3:31 PM on December 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Foam Pants at 3:31 PM on December 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
That would totally ruin my Christmas, too.
posted by theredpen at 3:31 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by theredpen at 3:31 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Christmas may be a time of indulging for many, but health experts believe it is the perfect time to tell a loved one they are overweight
It seems like the worst time in the world. There's a lot of social bonds and rituals associated with food, for good or ill. Trying to "take" that someone around a holiday of social bonds and rituals sounds like trying to take food from a dog.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:31 PM on December 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
It seems like the worst time in the world. There's a lot of social bonds and rituals associated with food, for good or ill. Trying to "take" that someone around a holiday of social bonds and rituals sounds like trying to take food from a dog.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:31 PM on December 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
Oh, I hope someone tells me I'm overweight this Christmas. (Although I might no longer be their "loved one" after they hear my response.)
posted by Crabby Appleton at 3:32 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by Crabby Appleton at 3:32 PM on December 21, 2011
God, holiday time is challenging enough with this assholery to add to it.
posted by pinky at 3:33 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by pinky at 3:33 PM on December 21, 2011
Metafilter: Tell me again, when is the best time to be an insensitive ass??
posted by Danf at 3:34 PM on December 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
Santa, sit down... Mrs. Claus and the elves - well, we're all a little concerned about you....
posted by dubold at 3:35 PM on December 21, 2011 [7 favorites]
posted by dubold at 3:35 PM on December 21, 2011 [7 favorites]
Apparently I will be taking it upon myself to inform certain of my loved ones they are tactless assholes this Christmas.
posted by milk white peacock at 3:36 PM on December 21, 2011 [6 favorites]
posted by milk white peacock at 3:36 PM on December 21, 2011 [6 favorites]
I can't tell you how offensive I find this to be. I know many dear family members who are overweight (ALL of my in-laws to start) and they all know. Everyone has been on some diet or another with mixed results.
So what would be the result of telling them "Oh by the way you are overweight and it is dangerous and I love you and want you to get healthy."? Uncomfortable silence, maybe tears. Guilt at eating cookies and other Christmas treats. Anger. Tension. Just everything you don't need at a family celebration.
The best way I know how to help family is to be supportive. To praise them when they have success. To commiserate. To offer suggestions--only when asked!
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:37 PM on December 21, 2011 [16 favorites]
So what would be the result of telling them "Oh by the way you are overweight and it is dangerous and I love you and want you to get healthy."? Uncomfortable silence, maybe tears. Guilt at eating cookies and other Christmas treats. Anger. Tension. Just everything you don't need at a family celebration.
The best way I know how to help family is to be supportive. To praise them when they have success. To commiserate. To offer suggestions--only when asked!
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:37 PM on December 21, 2011 [16 favorites]
That's so ironic...I totally had "Someone tell me I'm fat" on my wish list!
posted by xingcat at 3:39 PM on December 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by xingcat at 3:39 PM on December 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
Tell your loved ones who tell you that you are overweight that they are insufferable assholes, and get the hell out of my house, you jack ass.
posted by crunchland at 3:39 PM on December 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by crunchland at 3:39 PM on December 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
"Honey, you know that I love you... so instead of a store bought gift... I thought, well I'll just say it... Honey, my gift to you this year is to tell you ... well, you are overweight." :)
posted by R. Mutt at 3:39 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by R. Mutt at 3:39 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
"Right, because no fat people know they're fat already or anything."
"You're just... You're incredibly obese, Bill."
Bill's jaw drops. "That's why my pants don't fit! I just thought it was cheap foreign zippers. So many wasted years! Oh my god, why didn't somebody tell me this before!"
Yes Christmas, the most emotionally charged time of the year, when friends and family are forced to live in close proximity and are legally required to be jolly, that's the perfect time to enumerate some else's faults.
posted by Kevin Street at 3:39 PM on December 21, 2011 [8 favorites]
"You're just... You're incredibly obese, Bill."
Bill's jaw drops. "That's why my pants don't fit! I just thought it was cheap foreign zippers. So many wasted years! Oh my god, why didn't somebody tell me this before!"
Yes Christmas, the most emotionally charged time of the year, when friends and family are forced to live in close proximity and are legally required to be jolly, that's the perfect time to enumerate some else's faults.
posted by Kevin Street at 3:39 PM on December 21, 2011 [8 favorites]
Better idea: how about inviting family members to take a walk/bike ride/hike/ski trip? Enjoyable cardiovascular activity that tightens family bonds and imparts heart health without offending, insulting, or needlessly focusing on negative stereotypes!
posted by Existential Dread at 3:41 PM on December 21, 2011 [6 favorites]
posted by Existential Dread at 3:41 PM on December 21, 2011 [6 favorites]
Oh, EVERY holiday is "the perfect time to tell Erika she is overweight," according to some of my relatives. Why restrict it to Christmas?
Any family get-together can be made that much more grating and awkward by pointedly asking a fatty if they want "MORE SALAD" or "have any plans to lose weight soon."
Gosh I love the holidays.
posted by ErikaB at 3:42 PM on December 21, 2011 [5 favorites]
Any family get-together can be made that much more grating and awkward by pointedly asking a fatty if they want "MORE SALAD" or "have any plans to lose weight soon."
Gosh I love the holidays.
posted by ErikaB at 3:42 PM on December 21, 2011 [5 favorites]
1. Don't be an asshole and tell people that they are fat.
2. Diets don't work.
3. Who are these completly clueless so called experts? What's their agenda? What are they trying to sell?
posted by Foci for Analysis at 3:42 PM on December 21, 2011
2. Diets don't work.
3. Who are these completly clueless so called experts? What's their agenda? What are they trying to sell?
posted by Foci for Analysis at 3:42 PM on December 21, 2011
Men find it hardest to tell their partners, while women were more worried about bringing up the issue with a friend.'
This is satirical right? Hard is an understatement. I can't begin to imagine how that conversation would go. "Do these make me look fat?" "weelll. Yeah. And so does everything else"
An awesome PSA for this would be a riff on those car commercials, where a upwardly mobile guy gives his wife a Lexus all wrapped in a cute oversized bow.
In the commercial he brings his wife out, covering her eyes, just knowing she is getting a Lexus. She openes her eyes and sees nothing, he says "honey , you are fat. Now start running"
posted by Ad hominem at 3:42 PM on December 21, 2011 [5 favorites]
This is satirical right? Hard is an understatement. I can't begin to imagine how that conversation would go. "Do these make me look fat?" "weelll. Yeah. And so does everything else"
An awesome PSA for this would be a riff on those car commercials, where a upwardly mobile guy gives his wife a Lexus all wrapped in a cute oversized bow.
In the commercial he brings his wife out, covering her eyes, just knowing she is getting a Lexus. She openes her eyes and sees nothing, he says "honey , you are fat. Now start running"
posted by Ad hominem at 3:42 PM on December 21, 2011 [5 favorites]
Hm. That's really odd - the direct quotations don't actually say anything about Christmas and there are no press releases at either site that correspond to a special Christmas "nag your loved ones" effort.
posted by gingerest at 3:43 PM on December 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by gingerest at 3:43 PM on December 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
Tell me this, and I'll tell you to get the hell out of my house.
posted by tyllwin at 3:44 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by tyllwin at 3:44 PM on December 21, 2011
Hm. That's really odd - the direct quotations don't actually say anything about Christmas and there are no press releases at either site that correspond to a special Christmas "nag your loved ones" effort. --- So much for the idea that BBC News was reliable.
posted by crunchland at 3:46 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by crunchland at 3:46 PM on December 21, 2011
LONDON, Dec. 26: "After a record number of Christmas suicides, the National Obesity Forum has withdrawn their recommendation that people bring up obesity with their loved ones over the holiday ..."
posted by brina at 3:46 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by brina at 3:46 PM on December 21, 2011
You know what I realized?
There's obviously been some confusion about which holiday we're talking about here. These links are all really about Festivus!
posted by carsonb at 3:46 PM on December 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
There's obviously been some confusion about which holiday we're talking about here. These links are all really about Festivus!
posted by carsonb at 3:46 PM on December 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
Christmas suicides, brina? Christmas murders, more like.
Or as I like to call it, "Every Family Get-Together Ever."
posted by ErikaB at 3:48 PM on December 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
Or as I like to call it, "Every Family Get-Together Ever."
posted by ErikaB at 3:48 PM on December 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
I think it's clear that the overall rate of obesity in the US has led to widespread social acceptance. There are many obese people who are doing far more damage to their bodies and overall well-being than drug abusers, and if this was a reminder to do an intervention with your drug abusing relatives, I think the thread would be going very differently
The level of obesity in America, which is without precedent in human history or among any other country today, is by far our largest, most preventible/correctable health epidemic
The head in sand denialism in this thread is not helping
posted by crayz at 3:50 PM on December 21, 2011 [8 favorites]
The level of obesity in America, which is without precedent in human history or among any other country today, is by far our largest, most preventible/correctable health epidemic
The head in sand denialism in this thread is not helping
posted by crayz at 3:50 PM on December 21, 2011 [8 favorites]
Ha, my boyfiend's current nicknames for me are Plumpy and Land Whale. He also likes to make the Land Whale noise when I'm eating. Does anyone want to borrow him for Christmas?
posted by Wantok at 3:50 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by Wantok at 3:50 PM on December 21, 2011
Is this the body-type equivalent of a rich white person telling a poor black child that they just need to do well in school?
posted by brundlefly at 3:52 PM on December 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by brundlefly at 3:52 PM on December 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
crayz ok cool i wonder if there are underlying societal or environmental factors encouraging people to lead sedentary lives, eat lots of empty calories, something like that
tip of the tongue really im trying to think about it
posted by beefetish at 3:54 PM on December 21, 2011
tip of the tongue really im trying to think about it
posted by beefetish at 3:54 PM on December 21, 2011
There are many obese people who are doing far more damage to their bodies and overall well-being than drug abusers, and if this was a reminder to do an intervention with your drug abusing relatives, I think the thread would be going very differentlyI'm pretty sure that there's more to "doing an intervention" than cornering your brother over Christmas dinner and saying "hey, you probably don't realize this, but you're a big meth-head." I don't think you're supposed to do freelance interventions based on reading a couple of sentences in a news article.
posted by craichead at 3:54 PM on December 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
To be fair, it does sound like an excellent way to ensure that your loved ones will avoid seeing you as much as they possibly can.
posted by kyrademon at 3:55 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by kyrademon at 3:55 PM on December 21, 2011
FAT PEOPLE KNOW THEY ARE FAT. JESUS.
posted by edheil at 3:56 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by edheil at 3:56 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
pts, thanks for your concern but a. I'm about 5kg overweight and b. I think he is funny
posted by Wantok at 3:56 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Wantok at 3:56 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Here is the only content I see in this post as to what experts are saying about holiday behavior:
[W]ith families and friends getting together up and down the country over the festive period, the experts believe there is an opportunity that should not be missed.
. . .
Prof David Haslam, chair of the National Obesity Forum, said: "Suggesting to someone that they should consider losing a few pounds may not be a comfortable conversation to have.
"But if someone close to you has a large waistline then as long as you do it sensitively, discussing it with them now could help them avoid critical health risks later down the line and could even save their life."
Dr Jean Pierre Despres, scientific director of the International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk, agreed.
"Start by encouraging someone close to you to make simple lifestyle changes such as becoming more active, making small alterations to their eating habits and replacing sugary drinks with water."
Aside from the utter tactlessness of telling someone to change their lifestyle or "discussing" with them their large waistline, I concur with other commenters that I see no evidence this would do anything more than ( understandably) tick them off.
Is there any evidence that raising these topics has any good effect? If so, I'd assume the approach one would take wouldn't be the rude one suggested here.
posted by bearwife at 3:56 PM on December 21, 2011
[W]ith families and friends getting together up and down the country over the festive period, the experts believe there is an opportunity that should not be missed.
. . .
Prof David Haslam, chair of the National Obesity Forum, said: "Suggesting to someone that they should consider losing a few pounds may not be a comfortable conversation to have.
"But if someone close to you has a large waistline then as long as you do it sensitively, discussing it with them now could help them avoid critical health risks later down the line and could even save their life."
Dr Jean Pierre Despres, scientific director of the International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk, agreed.
"Start by encouraging someone close to you to make simple lifestyle changes such as becoming more active, making small alterations to their eating habits and replacing sugary drinks with water."
Aside from the utter tactlessness of telling someone to change their lifestyle or "discussing" with them their large waistline, I concur with other commenters that I see no evidence this would do anything more than ( understandably) tick them off.
Is there any evidence that raising these topics has any good effect? If so, I'd assume the approach one would take wouldn't be the rude one suggested here.
posted by bearwife at 3:56 PM on December 21, 2011
wow Wantok, your boyfriend sounds like an emotionally abusive jerk.
posted by slappy_pinchbottom at 3:57 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by slappy_pinchbottom at 3:57 PM on December 21, 2011
Guys, it's really ok. I'm an Australian and this kind of banter is both expected and understood in our culture.
posted by Wantok at 4:00 PM on December 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by Wantok at 4:00 PM on December 21, 2011 [4 favorites]
Is there also a suggestion to offer nothing but healthy, low-calorie Christmas food, or is this like inviting your friend to a bar on St. Patrick's Day to tell them they are an alcoholic?
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 4:00 PM on December 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 4:00 PM on December 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
Gah. Don't tell me I'm fat. I fucking know I'm fat. You start pointing it out to me at Christmas, and I have one less person coming around for the holidays.. or ever.
posted by Malice at 4:01 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by Malice at 4:01 PM on December 21, 2011
I started doing meth to lose weight, now you want me to stop doing meth? Make up your mind people.
posted by Ad hominem at 4:02 PM on December 21, 2011 [9 favorites]
posted by Ad hominem at 4:02 PM on December 21, 2011 [9 favorites]
I am shocked, SHOCKED, that VikingSword would post such a thing! --- So you say we're being trolled?
posted by crunchland at 4:03 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by crunchland at 4:03 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
This Christmas, be nice to people and mind your own beeswax.
I can't imagine ever telling someone they are overweight. That's so weird to do. Why would you? They probably already know it.
posted by anniecat at 4:04 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I can't imagine ever telling someone they are overweight. That's so weird to do. Why would you? They probably already know it.
posted by anniecat at 4:04 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
How about an annual `my body is not your business´ holiday instead?
posted by Space Kitty at 4:07 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by Space Kitty at 4:07 PM on December 21, 2011
Good King Wenceslas looked out
on the feast of Stephen,
He saw his cousin looked round about,
so this... helpful... article he was retrievin'.
Brightly shown the moon that night,
though the "simple lifestyle change" "encouragements" were cruel,
At least the king was convinced he'd done right,
as his cousin ignored the King's condescending spew of bull****.
posted by argonauta at 4:07 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
on the feast of Stephen,
He saw his cousin looked round about,
so this... helpful... article he was retrievin'.
Brightly shown the moon that night,
though the "simple lifestyle change" "encouragements" were cruel,
At least the king was convinced he'd done right,
as his cousin ignored the King's condescending spew of bull****.
posted by argonauta at 4:07 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
wow Wantok, your boyfriend sounds like an emotionally abusive jerk.
posted by slappy_pinchbottom
Eponi-busive?
posted by 445supermag at 4:09 PM on December 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by slappy_pinchbottom
Eponi-busive?
posted by 445supermag at 4:09 PM on December 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
I'm sure that the BBC will receive a ton of page views for this little bit of manufactured controversy.
posted by malocchio at 4:09 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by malocchio at 4:09 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Most overweight people are aware of their size. They are reminded every morning when they get up and try to figure out what they're going to wear to try to minimize the appearance of being overweight, since a large part of society still defines attractiveness through size. They don't need to be reminded of it by loved ones. They need support, encouragement, and love (and even that isn't enough sometimes). Not judgement, or disdain, or gentle suggestions to "go easy on the cookies, dear". In fact, for a lot of overweight people, it could trigger emotional eating habits.
Not disagreeing that obesity is a serious health issue, but maybe a better way of addressing this over the holidays (and any other time) is more education/advertisements on how to make healthier meals for your family, rather than adding more strife to an often stress-filled time of year.
posted by meowf at 4:10 PM on December 21, 2011
Not disagreeing that obesity is a serious health issue, but maybe a better way of addressing this over the holidays (and any other time) is more education/advertisements on how to make healthier meals for your family, rather than adding more strife to an often stress-filled time of year.
posted by meowf at 4:10 PM on December 21, 2011
Christmas: the perfect time to tell your family members "No shit, Sherlock"!
Christmas: the perfect time to overlook your own faults, and pick at everyone else's!
Christmas: the perfect time to make family gatherings as unpleasant as possible!
Christmas: the perfect time to DTMFA!
Seriously, this is the funniest article I have read in a long time! Who would have thought the BBC would stoop to such trolling?
posted by ErikaB at 4:11 PM on December 21, 2011
Christmas: the perfect time to overlook your own faults, and pick at everyone else's!
Christmas: the perfect time to make family gatherings as unpleasant as possible!
Christmas: the perfect time to DTMFA!
Seriously, this is the funniest article I have read in a long time! Who would have thought the BBC would stoop to such trolling?
posted by ErikaB at 4:11 PM on December 21, 2011
I am shocked, SHOCKED, that VikingSword would post such a thing! --- So you say we're being trolled?
By Brandon Blatcher. For the record, here are my previous 5 FPPs in sequence:
1)Comparing airlines' Airbus A380s.
2)Jacques Delors: Euro would still be strong if it had been built to my plan.
3)Kodak's long fade to black.
4)Submarine escape: A WWII survival tale.
5)Study shows medical marijuana laws reduce traffic deaths.
Fits right in with the rest of the horrible trolling.
posted by VikingSword at 4:11 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
By Brandon Blatcher. For the record, here are my previous 5 FPPs in sequence:
1)Comparing airlines' Airbus A380s.
2)Jacques Delors: Euro would still be strong if it had been built to my plan.
3)Kodak's long fade to black.
4)Submarine escape: A WWII survival tale.
5)Study shows medical marijuana laws reduce traffic deaths.
Fits right in with the rest of the horrible trolling.
posted by VikingSword at 4:11 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
"This Christmas, tell someone you care they're a fat hog!"
posted by ErikaB at 4:12 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by ErikaB at 4:12 PM on December 21, 2011
My first reaction to this was the same as most in the thread. It reminded me of when I was a smoker and some "helpful" stranger would tell me that smoking was bad for me. "Thanks for the news flash, asshole."
Then I realized that the final straw that got me to try quitting again (and finally succeed) was a friend's child asking me if I knew that smoking was bad for me. It really did take another person reminding me that I should not go along with the status quo and that I should keep trying to fight instead of giving in. I couldn't be mad at a child for being concerned about me, and so I couldn't be defensive or dismissive like I would have been if anyone else had tried that on me.
So, even though fat people probably know they are fat, ignoring the issue and giving loved ones a pass in order to not be rude could really end up hurting someone in the long run. Maybe people need reminders that everything is not OK just because everyone is afraid to talk about it.
Of course, Christmas seems like about the worst time to have that kind of talk...
posted by dhalgren at 4:12 PM on December 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
Then I realized that the final straw that got me to try quitting again (and finally succeed) was a friend's child asking me if I knew that smoking was bad for me. It really did take another person reminding me that I should not go along with the status quo and that I should keep trying to fight instead of giving in. I couldn't be mad at a child for being concerned about me, and so I couldn't be defensive or dismissive like I would have been if anyone else had tried that on me.
So, even though fat people probably know they are fat, ignoring the issue and giving loved ones a pass in order to not be rude could really end up hurting someone in the long run. Maybe people need reminders that everything is not OK just because everyone is afraid to talk about it.
Of course, Christmas seems like about the worst time to have that kind of talk...
posted by dhalgren at 4:12 PM on December 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
There is another part of this site for discussions of trolling.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 4:13 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 4:13 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
this kind of banter is both expected and understood in our culture
In Japan I experienced kind of a similar thing; if someone said "I am a little bit fat" it was a statement of fact, they looked at you funny when you do the whole "no, no, don't be silly, you're not fat!" thing. People did not seem to find it particularly rude when someone described them as "a little bit fat", too--even right to their face. They may have been masking hurt feelings, but so often I was thinking to myself "I can't believe I just heard that." Oh and my Australian coworker used to describe herself as "a chubber". So yeah, it's fair to keep in mind that not everyone is quite so sensitive about this sort of thing, but if you plan on doing something like this you might be an asshole.
posted by Hoopo at 4:13 PM on December 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
In Japan I experienced kind of a similar thing; if someone said "I am a little bit fat" it was a statement of fact, they looked at you funny when you do the whole "no, no, don't be silly, you're not fat!" thing. People did not seem to find it particularly rude when someone described them as "a little bit fat", too--even right to their face. They may have been masking hurt feelings, but so often I was thinking to myself "I can't believe I just heard that." Oh and my Australian coworker used to describe herself as "a chubber". So yeah, it's fair to keep in mind that not everyone is quite so sensitive about this sort of thing, but if you plan on doing something like this you might be an asshole.
posted by Hoopo at 4:13 PM on December 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
On the First Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,
An affront to my dignity;
On The Second Day of Christmas, my ex-love got from me,
Two Saxon words,
And an affront to their di-i-iiignity...
posted by Abiezer at 4:14 PM on December 21, 2011 [6 favorites]
An affront to my dignity;
On The Second Day of Christmas, my ex-love got from me,
Two Saxon words,
And an affront to their di-i-iiignity...
posted by Abiezer at 4:14 PM on December 21, 2011 [6 favorites]
1. To be fair, New Year's is a good time to make resolutions for self-improvement in the coming year.
2. And, to be fair, New Year's is a good time to dump the insensitive clod that brings this issue up at this time of the year.
posted by SPrintF at 4:15 PM on December 21, 2011
2. And, to be fair, New Year's is a good time to dump the insensitive clod that brings this issue up at this time of the year.
posted by SPrintF at 4:15 PM on December 21, 2011
I'm giving bathroom scales to everyone in my family this year. I'll let them draw their own conclusions.
posted by found missing at 4:17 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by found missing at 4:17 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
As an overweight person myself, let me tell you a story:
I've been overweight most of my life. Christmas break, my junior year of college. Having driven the 300 miles back home, I arrive at my parents house. I walk in the door. My father, also overweight, says "looks like you haven't cut down on the junk food." I could barely spit out "Merry Christmas and fuck you, too" before I left for a friend's house trying to decide whether or not I was about to drive back to my house at college and skip family xmas.
Anyone who suggests telling fat people that they are fat is more than likely a self-righteous piece of shit.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 4:18 PM on December 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
I've been overweight most of my life. Christmas break, my junior year of college. Having driven the 300 miles back home, I arrive at my parents house. I walk in the door. My father, also overweight, says "looks like you haven't cut down on the junk food." I could barely spit out "Merry Christmas and fuck you, too" before I left for a friend's house trying to decide whether or not I was about to drive back to my house at college and skip family xmas.
Anyone who suggests telling fat people that they are fat is more than likely a self-righteous piece of shit.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 4:18 PM on December 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
Metafilter: Tell me again, when is the best time to be an insensitive ass??
it depends who died.
posted by mannequito at 4:20 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
it depends who died.
posted by mannequito at 4:20 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
An awesome PSA for this
That's hilarious Ad hominem. This is your waist...This is your waist on a diet.
I'm also imagining some lovely greeting cards. Wishing you Peace, Joy, and a thinner body. Happy Slimming Holidays! Wishing you a Low-Calorie Christmas and a Water-Only New Year!
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:25 PM on December 21, 2011
That's hilarious Ad hominem. This is your waist...This is your waist on a diet.
I'm also imagining some lovely greeting cards. Wishing you Peace, Joy, and a thinner body. Happy Slimming Holidays! Wishing you a Low-Calorie Christmas and a Water-Only New Year!
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 4:25 PM on December 21, 2011
someecards.com could surely handle this in a most tactful manner.
posted by heyho at 4:28 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by heyho at 4:28 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Something to bear in mind... science has recently created a drug that starves fat cells of nutrients, shrinking or killing them outright. It's only been tested on monkeys, but the weightloss results are dramatic.
How does the weightloss work? Well, the obese monkeys deliberately eat less...
So, clearly this is either a magic willpower pill, or appetite and obesity are not as closely coupled to conscious decisions as the shame-fatty-shame crowd would have us believe. Medicine needs to stop looking at obesity as a preventable disease and get serious about finding a cause and cure that doesn't focus on the too-many-twinkies hypothesis.
posted by Slap*Happy at 4:30 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
How does the weightloss work? Well, the obese monkeys deliberately eat less...
So, clearly this is either a magic willpower pill, or appetite and obesity are not as closely coupled to conscious decisions as the shame-fatty-shame crowd would have us believe. Medicine needs to stop looking at obesity as a preventable disease and get serious about finding a cause and cure that doesn't focus on the too-many-twinkies hypothesis.
posted by Slap*Happy at 4:30 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
If I'm hearing you right, all I have to do to lose weight is eat some monkeys.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 4:31 PM on December 21, 2011 [6 favorites]
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 4:31 PM on December 21, 2011 [6 favorites]
Dare I ask what a land whale is, and what noise it makes?
A land whale is a whale, but not of the sea. Of the land.
The land whale says, "Bru! I'm beached! Beached as!"
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 4:33 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
A land whale is a whale, but not of the sea. Of the land.
The land whale says, "Bru! I'm beached! Beached as!"
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 4:33 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Personally I wouldn't be that upset. I've put on close to 10 pounds since the end of November, that's pretty freaking fast. Between studying for an exam after work instead of going to the gym, my birthday, and various Christmas parties it's been beer and big meals pretty consistently for almost a full month. And damned if it isn't kind of awesome to stuff your face and get loaded all the time, and it's really tempting to just roll with it. It feels like I don't have time or energy with all this stuff going on, and the shopping, to cook sensible meals and get 40 minutes of exercise in. I could see it being worthwhile for someone to point out that it's possible to make the time. Probably more for themselves to have expressed their concerns though, because I already know I need to stop eating like this and yeah I've noticed too.
posted by Hoopo at 4:35 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by Hoopo at 4:35 PM on December 21, 2011
So, clearly this is either a magic willpower pill, or appetite and obesity are not as closely coupled to conscious decisions as the shame-fatty-shame crowd would have us believe
Yeah I will bet money the smug engineer "energy in,energy out" model people always trot out is so simplistic as to be harmful. There is no question that there is a much more complex mechanism at work here. There is no way to explain sone of the people I know that work out every day and eat nothing but organic greens that never lose a pound.
posted by Ad hominem at 4:36 PM on December 21, 2011
Yeah I will bet money the smug engineer "energy in,energy out" model people always trot out is so simplistic as to be harmful. There is no question that there is a much more complex mechanism at work here. There is no way to explain sone of the people I know that work out every day and eat nothing but organic greens that never lose a pound.
posted by Ad hominem at 4:36 PM on December 21, 2011
If I'm hearing you right, all I have to do to lose weight is eat some monkeys.
Not Chunky Monkey though, that's a D+.
posted by Gary at 4:37 PM on December 21, 2011
Not Chunky Monkey though, that's a D+.
posted by Gary at 4:37 PM on December 21, 2011
(I just want to be clear - I'm not accusing anyone but BBC of trolling.)
posted by gingerest at 4:38 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by gingerest at 4:38 PM on December 21, 2011
Bah humbug. Xmas isn't the time to do this. Unless you're a parent to a child there's no appropriate time to do this.
That said, I think the majority of fat people in the US middle class and above have no one but themselves to blame. It's bad, bad bad for your health. People in general (again, talking middle class and above) in the US drive everywhere and sit on their asses all day and night. The get fat, have trouble sleeping, are depressed, etc.
Guess what... Some of all of those things have affected me and everyone I've ever known. The difference is some people do something about it and some don't.
Yes, there's some small minority with specific health issues causing obesity. But in a Metafilter thread, everyone with an SUV uses it to haul an entire neighborhood of children and a load of bauxite through unpaved roads in the winter, every second person on AskMetafilter has ADHD and all the fat people are that way "...their whole lives..." as if that means you're stuck that way.
Merry Christmas!
posted by jeff-o-matic at 4:40 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
That said, I think the majority of fat people in the US middle class and above have no one but themselves to blame. It's bad, bad bad for your health. People in general (again, talking middle class and above) in the US drive everywhere and sit on their asses all day and night. The get fat, have trouble sleeping, are depressed, etc.
Guess what... Some of all of those things have affected me and everyone I've ever known. The difference is some people do something about it and some don't.
Yes, there's some small minority with specific health issues causing obesity. But in a Metafilter thread, everyone with an SUV uses it to haul an entire neighborhood of children and a load of bauxite through unpaved roads in the winter, every second person on AskMetafilter has ADHD and all the fat people are that way "...their whole lives..." as if that means you're stuck that way.
Merry Christmas!
posted by jeff-o-matic at 4:40 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Last year I tried to do two public health fairs around Christmas and no one came. No, literally, no one came. I'm doubtful the experts are right that this time of the year to tell people to lose weight.
posted by fuq at 4:42 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by fuq at 4:42 PM on December 21, 2011
Last year I tried to do two public health fairs around Christmas and no one came. No, literally, no one came.
Could you elaborate? What kind of health fairs, centered around what? Where were they held - somewhere very accessible to the general public? Was it well publicized to the demographics addressed?
posted by VikingSword at 4:44 PM on December 21, 2011
Could you elaborate? What kind of health fairs, centered around what? Where were they held - somewhere very accessible to the general public? Was it well publicized to the demographics addressed?
posted by VikingSword at 4:44 PM on December 21, 2011
sone of the people I know that work out every day and eat nothing but organic greens that never lose a pound.
Here's the deal... I bet they're cheating on the diet in inobvious ways, or offsetting their workout with inactivity in other parts of their life. Only careful catalogging of everything that passes your lips and an exhaustive inventory of all your physical activity will help... and the kind of discipline that requires just isn't there in most humans, and will fought against, tooth and nail, by your metabolism.
posted by Slap*Happy at 4:45 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Here's the deal... I bet they're cheating on the diet in inobvious ways, or offsetting their workout with inactivity in other parts of their life. Only careful catalogging of everything that passes your lips and an exhaustive inventory of all your physical activity will help... and the kind of discipline that requires just isn't there in most humans, and will fought against, tooth and nail, by your metabolism.
posted by Slap*Happy at 4:45 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
What's a public health fair? Is there cotton candy and corn dogs?
posted by Hoopo at 4:45 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by Hoopo at 4:45 PM on December 21, 2011
'Tell loved ones they are overweight this Christmas'.
Why the hell not. Gatherings of dysfunctional families aren't nearly annoying enough.
posted by jonmc at 4:48 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Why the hell not. Gatherings of dysfunctional families aren't nearly annoying enough.
posted by jonmc at 4:48 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Medicine needs to stop looking at obesity as a preventable disease and get serious about finding a cause and cure that doesn't focus on the too-many-twinkies hypothesis.
I'm sorry, I may have hit my head when I fell out of the chair, but did you just really write that? Better living through chemistry?
How about better living through better living?
Here, let me see if the analogy holds.
"Medicine needs to stop looking at alcoholismobesity as a preventable disease and get serious about finding a cause and cure that doesn't focus on the too-many-beerstwinkies hypothesis."
Nope, it doesn't!
I wonder what would happen if you could only look at unhealthy, hard-living, low-income Americans and could take the Twinkies out of the equation. Where would I go to do this?
Here, let's look at the Hell's Angels, circa 1965. Here's a group of people that didn't give a rat's ass about what they put into their bodies. Clearly, you'd see the same levels of obes...
Oh no, wait. You don't. Imagine! Hell's Angels from 50 years ago actually look healthier than Hell's Angels today.
It really is the KFC Double Downs and fast-food-eating-is-normal culture. Doesn't make a fat guy a bad guy. But why anyone doesn't get this rather simple formula is amazing to me.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:49 PM on December 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
I'm sorry, I may have hit my head when I fell out of the chair, but did you just really write that? Better living through chemistry?
How about better living through better living?
Here, let me see if the analogy holds.
"Medicine needs to stop looking at alcoholism
Nope, it doesn't!
I wonder what would happen if you could only look at unhealthy, hard-living, low-income Americans and could take the Twinkies out of the equation. Where would I go to do this?
Here, let's look at the Hell's Angels, circa 1965. Here's a group of people that didn't give a rat's ass about what they put into their bodies. Clearly, you'd see the same levels of obes...
Oh no, wait. You don't. Imagine! Hell's Angels from 50 years ago actually look healthier than Hell's Angels today.
It really is the KFC Double Downs and fast-food-eating-is-normal culture. Doesn't make a fat guy a bad guy. But why anyone doesn't get this rather simple formula is amazing to me.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:49 PM on December 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
I'm giving bathroom scales to everyone in my family this year. I'll let them draw their own conclusions.
posted by found missing
Future-prediction-sterical?
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 4:52 PM on December 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by found missing
Future-prediction-sterical?
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 4:52 PM on December 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
Right. One photo essay about a group of Hell's Angels proves a point. First of all they're all pretty young in those shots. Maybe they hated fat people and wouldn't let 'em join? Plus they probably puked up as much beer and junk food that they ate and were high on uppers and cigarettes almost all the time.
Riding a motorcycle is sedentary, but not like an office job and a night on the couch, then bed, then car, then office chair, etc...
posted by jeff-o-matic at 4:53 PM on December 21, 2011
Riding a motorcycle is sedentary, but not like an office job and a night on the couch, then bed, then car, then office chair, etc...
posted by jeff-o-matic at 4:53 PM on December 21, 2011
Weird, this quote in the BBC link:
Perhaps NOF has some new pull-quotes available for publications, and different papers decided to fit them into differently focused articles.
posted by filthy light thief at 4:54 PM on December 21, 2011
Prof David Haslam, chair of the National Obesity Forum, said: "Suggesting to someone that they should consider losing a few pounds may not be a comfortable conversation to have.is found in a very similar form on a Daily Mail article about men being too polite to tell women to lose weight, also out today.
"But if someone close to you has a large waistline then as long as you do it sensitively, discussing it with them now could help them avoid critical health risks later down the line and could even save their life."
Perhaps NOF has some new pull-quotes available for publications, and different papers decided to fit them into differently focused articles.
posted by filthy light thief at 4:54 PM on December 21, 2011
Medicine needs to stop looking at obesity as a preventable disease and get serious about finding a cause and cure that doesn't focus on the too-many-twinkies hypothesis.
You do realize this is not a world wide epidemic, right? This is a cultural problem, in our culture, with our twinkies. Jesus, you'd think being fat was like having AIDS.
posted by Roman Graves at 4:55 PM on December 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
You do realize this is not a world wide epidemic, right? This is a cultural problem, in our culture, with our twinkies. Jesus, you'd think being fat was like having AIDS.
posted by Roman Graves at 4:55 PM on December 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
I've thought about this long and hard and my philosophy is this: No matter what you do, somebody is going to have a problem, so just do whatever the hell you want and tell those who don't like it kiss your ass.
posted by jonmc at 4:57 PM on December 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by jonmc at 4:57 PM on December 21, 2011 [2 favorites]
Here, let's look at the Hell's Angels...
"You know, those extra pounds are not really healthy. Here, have some crank."
posted by 445supermag at 4:57 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
"You know, those extra pounds are not really healthy. Here, have some crank."
posted by 445supermag at 4:57 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Here's the deal... I bet they're cheating on the diet in inobvious ways, or offsetting their workout with inactivity in other parts of their life
Yeah, I would think so too. But the person I am thinking of sees a nutritionist and also a psychologist specializing in eating disorders. She keeps a careful journal of everything she eats.This isn't the thread for it but she certainly eats better and is more active than anyone else I know.
I realize she may be in the minority, but there were overweight people even before twinkies and office jobs were there not?
posted by Ad hominem at 4:58 PM on December 21, 2011
Yeah, I would think so too. But the person I am thinking of sees a nutritionist and also a psychologist specializing in eating disorders. She keeps a careful journal of everything she eats.This isn't the thread for it but she certainly eats better and is more active than anyone else I know.
I realize she may be in the minority, but there were overweight people even before twinkies and office jobs were there not?
posted by Ad hominem at 4:58 PM on December 21, 2011
Oh no, wait. You don't. Imagine! Hell's Angels from 50 years ago actually look healthier than Hell's Angels today.
Your hypothesis is self-defeating - Hells Angels would eat, drink and smoke whatever the hell they wanted, and they're still healthier looking than people who do care about their appearance today. Are you seriously suggesting that Hells Angels were deliberately living a better lifestyle than an overweight housewife of today?
Look, I know that considering the brain as part of an interconnected biological system with inputs and influences that are beyond our conscious will to affect is tough to accept. This lack of acceptance is getting in the way of the treatment of addiction, mental illness and obesity.
What the hell do you think willpower is? What do you think a decision is? It's an electro-chemical reaction in your brain, not magic. It can be affected by things beyond your control. The obesity drug experiment I referred to has proven this pretty well.
Lifestyle is being dictated by something other than choice. Scary, but undeniable.
posted by Slap*Happy at 5:00 PM on December 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
Your hypothesis is self-defeating - Hells Angels would eat, drink and smoke whatever the hell they wanted, and they're still healthier looking than people who do care about their appearance today. Are you seriously suggesting that Hells Angels were deliberately living a better lifestyle than an overweight housewife of today?
Look, I know that considering the brain as part of an interconnected biological system with inputs and influences that are beyond our conscious will to affect is tough to accept. This lack of acceptance is getting in the way of the treatment of addiction, mental illness and obesity.
What the hell do you think willpower is? What do you think a decision is? It's an electro-chemical reaction in your brain, not magic. It can be affected by things beyond your control. The obesity drug experiment I referred to has proven this pretty well.
Lifestyle is being dictated by something other than choice. Scary, but undeniable.
posted by Slap*Happy at 5:00 PM on December 21, 2011 [3 favorites]
You guys realize these opinions on Hells Angels circa 1965 are based on ONE PHOTO ESSAY, right?
posted by jeff-o-matic at 5:02 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by jeff-o-matic at 5:02 PM on December 21, 2011
Well, my path to competitive ultramarathoning began on Christmas Day in 2011, when I got up from the table to get my fourth snowball cookie and my mom said, "Whoa there, pugsley."
posted by 4ster at 5:03 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by 4ster at 5:03 PM on December 21, 2011
Are you seriously suggesting that Hells Angels were deliberately living a better lifestyle than an overweight housewife of today?
At an HA's website, I saw a gravestone of a fallen Angel and it read "I loved the life I lived, I lived the life I loved."
FWIW.
posted by jonmc at 5:04 PM on December 21, 2011
At an HA's website, I saw a gravestone of a fallen Angel and it read "I loved the life I lived, I lived the life I loved."
FWIW.
posted by jonmc at 5:04 PM on December 21, 2011
Yeah, I would think so too. But the person I am thinking of...
How long have they been at it? A month? Three months? Check back a year from now. Then you'll know.
Look, there are people with legitimate hormonal and medical issues. But this is like peanut allergies. If you've really got it, it's a big deal. Life-threatening.
But it's not everyone. It's not "most." It barely qualifies as "some." And it's not world-wide, or people in Africa would be dropping like flies because of Plumpy'nut.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:04 PM on December 21, 2011
How long have they been at it? A month? Three months? Check back a year from now. Then you'll know.
Look, there are people with legitimate hormonal and medical issues. But this is like peanut allergies. If you've really got it, it's a big deal. Life-threatening.
But it's not everyone. It's not "most." It barely qualifies as "some." And it's not world-wide, or people in Africa would be dropping like flies because of Plumpy'nut.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:04 PM on December 21, 2011
I'm supposed to tell a Hell's Angel he's fat??
posted by found missing at 5:05 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by found missing at 5:05 PM on December 21, 2011
Are you seriously suggesting that Hells Angels were deliberately living a better lifestyle than an overweight housewife of today?
When it comes to eating fat ... yes.
But you've missed the point (it's OK, it's a MeFi staple). The Hell's Angels of 50 years ago were skinnier than the Hell's Angels of today. What changed? It sure as hell wasn't clean living or even culture. It was food and exercise.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:06 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
When it comes to eating fat ... yes.
But you've missed the point (it's OK, it's a MeFi staple). The Hell's Angels of 50 years ago were skinnier than the Hell's Angels of today. What changed? It sure as hell wasn't clean living or even culture. It was food and exercise.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:06 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
WTF? Again, these comments about the Hells Angels are based on one single photo essay! This is truly bizarre.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 5:09 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by jeff-o-matic at 5:09 PM on December 21, 2011
On behalf of everybody on your side of the argument, Cool Papa Bell—all of us who do indeed recognize that obesity is linked to lifestyle choices—could you please do us a favor and switch sides?
Seriously, though. If this Hell's Angels tangent is a gag, it's a funny one. But it isn't, is it.
posted by red clover at 5:10 PM on December 21, 2011
Seriously, though. If this Hell's Angels tangent is a gag, it's a funny one. But it isn't, is it.
posted by red clover at 5:10 PM on December 21, 2011
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=thin+hell%27s+angel&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=zoPyTpSqA4qdgwfuruC0Ag&biw=1593&bih=993&sei=0YPyTpS_DYGpgweJttGSAg#um=1&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=0YPyTvW7Eofogge4mZySAg&ved=0CD4QBSgA&q=thin+hells+angel&spell=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=a26b67e68877b0cd&biw=1593&bih=993
Looks like the fatter dudes in the modern photos are the older ones. I'm happy I could contribute to science here.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 5:12 PM on December 21, 2011
Looks like the fatter dudes in the modern photos are the older ones. I'm happy I could contribute to science here.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 5:12 PM on December 21, 2011
What the hell do you think willpower is? What do you think a decision is? It's an electro-chemical reaction in your brain, not magic. It can be affected by things beyond your control. The obesity drug experiment I referred to has proven this pretty well.This is the thing that weirds me out about this discussion. Once upon a time, I was bulimic. When I was bulimic, I felt compelled to binge. Now, I'm not bulimic. I feel no compulsion to binge, and actually I would have a really hard time forcing myself to eat the quantities of food that I ate when I was bulimic. Food moralizers would say that I have more willpower now, but that's actually not true at all. I have no willpower, or at least I never consciously exercise it with regards to food. I just have no desire to eat past the point of satiety. Whatever has changed about me, it's not moral. I don't know if it's psychological or physiological or what, but it has nothing to do with willpower. It has to do with my desires, not with my ability to resist them.
(When I was anorexic, I consciously resisted my desires. But I am 100% positive that I would be happier and healthier being morbidly obese than being the person I was when I was anorexic.)
posted by craichead at 5:13 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Also, FWIW, I was a skinny guy (though not as skinny as the manorexic hipsters I see roaming the city these days) all my life till I quit smoking two years ago, now I'm well over 200 pounds most of it in the belly. SO they key to staying skinny is smoking.
posted by jonmc at 5:16 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by jonmc at 5:16 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
The Hell's Angels (and other skinny kids of the era, see also Woodstock photos) had grocery and corner stores that were not overflowing with High Fructose Corn Syrup. It's not that they made better choices, its that the choices made available to them were better. In our era, finding, choosing, preparing and eating food that won't make you fat takes a significantly greater amount of time and effort than it did back then.
posted by chaff at 5:32 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by chaff at 5:32 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I just want to know if I should tell people before or after I bring up politics and religion.
And dammit, jonmc. I kind of assumed that, but I've never known for sure. Because I still haven't managed to quit.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 5:37 PM on December 21, 2011
And dammit, jonmc. I kind of assumed that, but I've never known for sure. Because I still haven't managed to quit.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 5:37 PM on December 21, 2011
How long have they been at it? A month? Three months? Check back a year from now. Then you'll know.
Something like 10 years. I don't really want to discuss other peoples medical history and on the Internet and this is purely anecdotal but I can attest that she really did go to the gym twice a day, went from completely sedentary to running half marathons and accurately logged all her food intake and never lost a pound. It was like some sort of medical mystery, in addition to the nutritionist and the psychologist she had consultations with an endocrinologist and every other specialist you can think Of. It was a heartbreaking situation, she was agonizing over eating diabetic candy because she had stopped eating sugar, HFCS and artificial sweeteners. I am not kidding when I say she ate nothing but steamed greens, brown rice and Greek yogurt.
We were together for 13 years and lived together for a lot of that. So I can bear witness to this. Althogh I will grant you it may be some House style one in a million case.
posted by Ad hominem at 5:40 PM on December 21, 2011
Something like 10 years. I don't really want to discuss other peoples medical history and on the Internet and this is purely anecdotal but I can attest that she really did go to the gym twice a day, went from completely sedentary to running half marathons and accurately logged all her food intake and never lost a pound. It was like some sort of medical mystery, in addition to the nutritionist and the psychologist she had consultations with an endocrinologist and every other specialist you can think Of. It was a heartbreaking situation, she was agonizing over eating diabetic candy because she had stopped eating sugar, HFCS and artificial sweeteners. I am not kidding when I say she ate nothing but steamed greens, brown rice and Greek yogurt.
We were together for 13 years and lived together for a lot of that. So I can bear witness to this. Althogh I will grant you it may be some House style one in a million case.
posted by Ad hominem at 5:40 PM on December 21, 2011
Dude, quit. It'll be good for you. and to tell the truth I'm kind of enjoying being a little tubby. A beer gut, comined with some gray in the beard and a deep voice gets people the fuck out of your way really quick.
posted by jonmc at 5:40 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by jonmc at 5:40 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I just want to know if I should tell people before or after I bring up politics and religion.You could avoid this problem by saying something like "I support Rick Perry because he says that God thinks you're really fat."
posted by craichead at 5:40 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Now if only this were also about circumcising and declawing someone you loved, and were written by Sarah Palin...
posted by mccarty.tim at 5:42 PM on December 21, 2011
posted by mccarty.tim at 5:42 PM on December 21, 2011
A beer gut, comined with some gray in the beard and a deep voice gets people the fuck out of your way really quick.
Here's hoping that's doubly true if the person involved is a woman! It'd be nice to feel less murderous on the subway. I'm down to smoking not-every-day, but even I know that it's kind of bullshit that I don't just stop.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 5:49 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
Here's hoping that's doubly true if the person involved is a woman! It'd be nice to feel less murderous on the subway. I'm down to smoking not-every-day, but even I know that it's kind of bullshit that I don't just stop.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 5:49 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
The head in sand denialism in this thread is not helping
posted by crayz
Crayz, I really do think we get it. Many, if not most Americans, including myself, are overweight.
This is just stupid though. Maybe it would be better if we all just got together and instead of telling our loved ones they are overweight, we should send a card to the mega-industrial food corporations telling them to get the fucking high fructose corn syrup out of EVERYTHING! Oh, and a card to the frickin' politicians that voted HFCS ketchup and pizza a vegetable. Way to encourage healthful eating, assholes.
posted by BlueHorse at 5:52 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by crayz
Crayz, I really do think we get it. Many, if not most Americans, including myself, are overweight.
This is just stupid though. Maybe it would be better if we all just got together and instead of telling our loved ones they are overweight, we should send a card to the mega-industrial food corporations telling them to get the fucking high fructose corn syrup out of EVERYTHING! Oh, and a card to the frickin' politicians that voted HFCS ketchup and pizza a vegetable. Way to encourage healthful eating, assholes.
posted by BlueHorse at 5:52 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm not quitting smoking for any reason. I'm up to 2 packs a day now and it is finally working, smoking, along with whiskey, is finally putting some hair in my chest.
posted by Ad hominem at 5:55 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Ad hominem at 5:55 PM on December 21, 2011 [1 favorite]
If you're too shy to say something, you could always just buy your loved one some spiffy new clothes that are two sizes too small.
You know, to match your heart.
posted by straight at 6:05 PM on December 21, 2011 [5 favorites]
You know, to match your heart.
posted by straight at 6:05 PM on December 21, 2011 [5 favorites]
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