Comments on: Those Fat People are Delusional. Or Not.

By: Demiah

Demiah — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:43:28 +0000

@ Teilua:
I agree that yo-yo dieting can be damaging to one’s body. I have a friend that has lost 30 lbs. in 30 days, but he’s gained it back 30 days later! I’m not in the medical field, but this can’t be safe to one’s kidneys, heart, and muscular system.

Although his example is an extreme case, NOT dieting to prevent yo-yo dieting isn’t the answer either.

By: Teilua

Teilua — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:01:52 +0000

Also, I believe that constantly losing and gaining weight in the battle of the bulge damages your body in the long run. In my unscientific opinion, this is what I believe may have contributed to the singer, Luther Vandross’s death. There should be a LOT more studies about yo-yo dieting and its affects.

By: Demiah

Demiah — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:47:20 +0000

Thanks for “keeping it real” on both sides of the fat chart! I’m a big guy and active, and I’m tired of lying to myself and accepting the fantasy that everything is OK as long as I’m “fit and active”. I loved the article – I hope you responded to the NYTimes article as well.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:05:51 +0000

I like this article but you seem to be mixing up a few things. 1. What people think, say, or believe about “fat people” and health (which includes a lot of lies, pseudo-science, and hatred), and 2. What you should do with YOUR life (which is your business and your business alone! and I love that you share here!).

I don’t know what science your read, because I think it has been pretty much proven that A. diets don’t really work – people can be naturally fat or naturally thin and it’s hard (but not impossible) to deviate from body setpoint and B. “health” cannot be measured by weight alone. Also… many studies have shown that people who carry extra weight are more healthy – by some markers – than people who are thin (see link below). So… it depends on the study you’re reading. But keep in mind our culture has a very healthy (har har) hatred and bigotry towards fat people so… any study is often bolstered by myths people like to carry and perpetrate (I just got mansplained the “calories in – activity = weight” b.s. for many minutes last night by a friend who’s fat but hates even fatter people MORE, ugh) and that really makes it for unpleasant, erroneous, and harmful reading.

Have you read this post? I would love to know what you think.

If you are concerned about your own health you can look into your own health – blood pressure, getting in tune with how your body feels, learning to eat intuitively. You can mess about with “health” but you don’t have to say you know you have MORE risk factors just because you’re fat. Sorry to say, you could get hit by a bus (unlikely – liklihood of dying by an accident is 4%) or succumb to breast cancer (less unlikely). My father was a very slim, muscular, long distance runner (he took up running at age 45 and did well at it0. He died long before his “time” – from colo-rectal cancer. How could he have forstalled this “risk factor” and avoided this death? I notice he spent his life being praised for being “healthy” when I can tell you he was naturally thin and ate basically meat and potatoes. He was thin before he ever took up regular physical activity. He was fortunate to be thin, if “fortunate” means he wasn’t regularly discriminated against.

I’m sorry for writing an EPIC post but believe me, I could write even more – it’s a subject I’m so interested in.

By: Diane

Diane — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 01:30:48 +0000

I’m going to keep beating away at this one…you really, truly, honestly should write a book. You have a gift. Thanks for sharing it with all of us.
I love visiting your blog. Keep up the good fight!