A Fat Rant
amy March 23rd, 2007
Here’s an interesting video that was posted on YouTube earlier this month:
Things I agree with:
- I definitely agree that people make too big of a deal about their weight. It’s just a number, it doesn’t make you any fatter or thinner than you are. I’ve posted my weight before, but I’ll post it again now: 243.
- Not only do most stores not carry plus sizes, but the ones that do (aside from stores that specialize in plus sizes) always have a tiny plus size section in comparison to their “regular” sizes. Plus sized clothes also always seem to be ridiculously expensive compared to “regular” sizes.
- You shouldn’t use fat as an excuse for not living your life to the fullest. I’ve been guilty of this in the past and still am to some degree. In the past I have taken more care in my appearance during my thin stages, getting my hair cut and eyebrows waxed consistently, buying cute rather than just utilitarian clothing, and wearing makeup. These days my hair is a mess and my uniform is jeans and a solid colored t-shirt, with the occasional plain skirt thrown in.
- People who judge and ridicule other people based on their weight obviously have their own self esteem issues, otherwise they wouldn’t need to put other people down to make themselves feel better.
Something I don’t agree with:
- She dismisses the ability to lose weight and maintain the loss too easily. She casually mentions one study from the International Journal of Obesity which found that 95% of people who lost 75 pounds or more on a diet gained all of the weight they had lost back in 3 years. The problem is that there is no mention of how the people lost the weight, if it was a single diet, a combination of diets, etc. I know most research says that people are likely to gain weight back, but that 95% seems extreme. Three years after my 98 pound loss I’ve managed to maintain a 30 pound loss, and that is with having consciously binged for almost a year while pregnant. I’m sure more than 5% of people out there have managed to do a better job of maintaining their weight loss than I have. Also, most nutritionists these days are saying that you shouldn’t diet to lose weight anyway, so what about the possibility of weight loss through gradual behavioral changes? I’d like to think there is still hope for that. Genetics plays a role, but only a partial one; it’s still about calories in, calories out. Someone can be predisposed to carrying some extra pounds, but it you eat healthy food (without going hungry) and exercise you won’t stay morbidly obese because of genetics.
