Should All Obese People Lose Weight?

[Nuiloa]

I understand where you are coming from, but must demur on the way you phrase it. Public seats fit me fine, yet that doesn't make me anorexic, nor a fashion model. Anorexia is a serious mental disorder, and it is wrong to compare anyone who isn't anorexic, to someone who is suffering from it. It also doesn't mean I have no sympathy for big people who feel squished!

Let's just agree that the paying public deserves a variety of seating to accommodate our diverse human sizes and builds.

Amethyst

You're right - eating disorders come in all sizes. Anorexics should not be picked on any more than those of us who are girth-illy challenged.

But I stand by my belief that the designers of airplane seats all graduated from the Marquis de Sade School of Medieval Torture and Dysfunctional Ergonomics

 

[freebird5825]

You look marvelous freebird

Well thank you.
I feel comfy in my own skin. My best weight is 170, making that middle pudge go down to just a slight bump in the scenery. At 183, I just have to suck it in more.
I like being a larger framed woman. If I gain more than 5 lbs, like I did last winter, it distributes over a larger area.
When the men stop looking, then I know I'm in trouble.

 

[bbbamI]

When the men stop looking, then I know I'm in trouble.

Oh...there's NO WAY the men will stop looking! You got it goin' on girl!

 

[Purron]

Well thank you.
I feel comfy in my own skin. My best weight is 170, making that middle pudge go down to just a slight bump in the scenery. At 183, I just have to suck it in more.
I like being a larger framed woman. If I gain more than 5 lbs, like I did last winter, it distributes over a larger area.
When the men stop looking, then I know I'm in trouble.

Freebird, you are a beautiful woman. When I was freakin' about facing my former coworkers at the company picnic you gave me the best advice. Basically, hold my head up, dress well, smile and exude confidence. It worked baby. Love you.

 

[freebird5825]

Oh...there's NO WAY the men will stop looking! You got it goin' on girl!

Freebird, you are a beautiful woman. When I was freakin' about facing my former coworkers at the company picnic you gave me the best advice. Basically, hold my head up, dress well, smile and exude confidence. It worked baby. Love you.

Can I please "keep" you two?

In all seriousness, no matter what you weigh (within reason) or how you look, it is the confidence you carry with you and what's in your heart that makes a person beautiful.
Thin people and heavy people can be ugly, all over the planet.

If too much weight is negatively affecting your health, it is only the person looking back in the mirror, when you are brushing your teeth, who needs to make changes. Nobody else can do it for you.

BTW, the standard charts show me as overweight. Big Bronx cheer!

 

[Ronstar]

... I can easily swim 2 miles a day and don't even breathe hard. ...

Now that's impressive!

 

[Glo]

I've been on a weight- loss quest since January and have lost 40 pounds with 25 more to go. In January, my doctor lectured me about having a 40-percent chance of stroking out within the next 10 years, that if i lost 10 percent of my body weight mt arthritis would feel better, and he could take me off some blood-pressure meds so I'd have more energy. Well I go to see him tomorrow and can't wait to hear what he says when I tell him my arthritis is a lot worse and my BP readings haven't changed at all. I'm certainly happy to have lost weight and people tell me I look great, but it hasn't effected my health that much.

 

[HFWR]

I've been on a weight- loss quest since January and have lost 40 pounds with 25 more to go. In January, my doctor lectured me about having a 40-percent chance of stroking out within the next 10 years, that if i lost 10 percent of my body weight mt arthritis would feel better, and he could take me off some blood-pressure meds so I'd have more energy. Well I go to see him tomorrow and can't wait to hear what he says when I tell him my arthritis is a lot worse and my BP readings haven't changed at all. I'm certainly happy to have lost weight and people tell me I look great, but it hasn't effected my health that much.

I'm not a doctor...

Some in the paleo/primal community recommend reducing or eliminating grains, legumes, and vegetable oils, one reason being inflammatory properties of the aforementioned foods. Since arthritis involves inflammation in the joints, perhaps reducing/eliminating these foods would help.

I repeat, though, I'm not a doctor...

 

[flyfishnevada]

I've been on a weight- loss quest since January and have lost 40 pounds with 25 more to go. In January, my doctor lectured me about having a 40-percent chance of stroking out within the next 10 years, that if i lost 10 percent of my body weight mt arthritis would feel better, and he could take me off some blood-pressure meds so I'd have more energy. Well I go to see him tomorrow and can't wait to hear what he says when I tell him my arthritis is a lot worse and my BP readings haven't changed at all. I'm certainly happy to have lost weight and people tell me I look great, but it hasn't effected my health that much.

Whether you are health or not, losing weight has other benefits and is worth doing if you can manage it for it's own sake. I won't defend staying overweight if you can otherwise help it. I only argue that it isn't necessarily a death sentence.

I too, got worse when i lost weight. I have always had back issues, but regular walking kept the muscles toned and kept the pain at bay most fo the time. Since I lost 50 or 60 lbs it has gotten worse. Walking no longer keeps it at bay. I finally went to a chiropractor to help me sort it out. She agreed that it is possible losing the weight may have changed things structurally and that might be the reason. Of course, there was a lot of mights and maybes in there. I mean, if you've been overweight for a long period your body gets used to it, adjusted to the weight and when you lose it, it has to compensate. That could cause a worsening of some conditions as I believe it did with me. Still, I'm glad I lost the weight.

 

[Nuiloa]

Now that's impressive!

I didn't say I went fast

 

[Nemo2]

I'm extremely fit (I run 15 miles per week

I dunno.....in my 30s I used to run 70 miles a week, (10 miles a day, every day), and, comparatively speaking, (I used to compare myself to those who were waaay better), I didn't consider myself 'extremely fit'.

All relative, I guess.

 

[TN_INVEST]

I dunno.....in my 30s I used to run 70 miles a week, (10 miles a day, every day), and, comparatively speaking, (I used to compare myself to those who were waaay better), I didn't consider myself 'extremely fit'.

All relative, I guess.

That should be against the law, because heaven knows your knees are trashed and you will be a huge burden on our health system. I say we outlaw jogging. Let's get more laws on the books and hire more government folks to police this (provided more government employees continue to study the issue and report to the other government employees about their findings and then the third group of government employees decide how to protect you/us).

Keep the government out of my health habits (FWIW, I'm no health nut, but I would not be considered fat or obese by anybody's standards).

Regarding the "policing" of this sort of stuff. I sorta think it's our job as citizens to "regulate" acceptable behavior. That's why I'm not overly politically correct. Fat people are fat. Stupid people are stupid. Losers are losers.

 

[Mulligan]

As I have gotten older, I have learned to be less judgmental. Although I must confess, I still hold a grudge against a few of the fat ones in walmart who get on the power carts and send me flying into the cereal boxes on the shelf, because they think they own the road and know no rules of civility in the aisle way ! I stay thin and fit more for self vanity reasons than health though. If my GF ever kicks me to the curb, I need to be in shape to compete for the next! Seriously though, as I have gotten older and understand the meaning of aches and pains, I want to protect my joints by keeping all the weight off. I always want to be mobile and active. I know many people have had them, but I absolutely fear joint replacement and don't want to ever have anything cut on or replaced. Hopefully keeping the weight off will avoid this.

 

[TromboneAl]

As I have gotten older, I have learned to be less judgmental.

How have you done this? I'm serious, because I would like to learn this. Was it a conscious thing, or did it just happen?

--------------------

I'm not judgmental about obese people, however, since I see them as victims of poor dietary advice.

 

[GregLee]

Hopefully keeping the weight off will avoid this.

I doubt very much that this is a good strategy. Physical therapy including resistance exercises is sometimes recommended as an alternative to knee surgery. Personally, I run about 18 miles a week (on grass and sand), do squats and lunges, and at 69, my knees are just fine.

 

[Mulligan]

How have you done this? I'm serious, because I would like to learn this. Was it a conscious thing, or did it just happen?

--------------------

I'm not judgmental about obese people, however, since I see them as victims of poor dietary advice.

Al, Oh I used to be real bad! I can still crack a good joke too in the privacy of my friends. Ive kind of turned into a libertarian in my middle age years. If you want to smoke, drink, or eat yourself to death its your body. I've just accepted people are going to be the way they want to be and you can't change them no matter what. Some have health misfortune, some are lazy, a lot of people are incredibly stupid, some don't give a damn about their health either. I'm so used to being around it I don't think anything of it, except for those who hop in the motorized scooters at Walmart and try to run me over! I do have a bias that some have mentioned about health care costs driven up by this epidemic. But I am largely around it with a very low premium, HD HSA, so I am saving money by being healthy and paying myself instead of the insurance companies who have to pay for the self inflicted maladies (keep in mind I am not referring to people who have unforeseen illnesses strike them for no fault of their own).

 

[haha]

How have you done this? I'm serious, because I would like to learn this. Was it a conscious thing, or did it just happen?

--------------------

I'm not judgmental about obese people, however, since I see them as victims of poor dietary advice.

One really good way is to realize that if one is judgmental, others wil perceive him as a jerk. Worse yet, if he is male and getting on in years, they will perceive him as an out-of-it old bigot.

Awareness that he world is passing you buy works like a charm. Though there are those who just say great, the world sucks anyway.

Ha

 

[Mulligan]

I doubt very much that this is a good strategy. Physical therapy including resistance exercises is sometimes recommended as an alternative to knee surgery. Personally, I run about 18 miles a week (on grass and sand), do squats and lunges, and at 69, my knees are just fine.

I didn't mean to imply running is harmful to your knees if you have sound knees. I've got arthritis in my family and some have had knee replacement surgery. I used to be a runner but my knees are starting to ache from it. I've taken up walking hilly terrain and elliptical machine work. My knees feel so much better. Adding body fat weight that is not needed would do them no good I believe.

 

[Mulligan]

How have you done this? I'm serious, because I would like to learn this. Was it a conscious thing, or did it just happen?

--------------------

I'm not judgmental about obese people, however, since I see them as victims of poor dietary advice.

Al, I'm getting senile, as I forgot the most important thought in my thinking. When I was younger, I would drink beer, eat potato chips, anything with grease be skinny as they come and make fun of fat people. I guess I thought they just sat around and ate barrels of junk food by the couch. As I gotten older I realize there is a significant segment of the population that struggle with weight and eat less than I do. Although I do exercise religiously, and eat healthy as best I can. I am here eating pringles while I type this. My fortunate health and weight ( 6"1, 163lbs) I now understand is more being a "gene lottery winner" as opposed to my superior healthy lifestyle, so I really shouldn't judge others who did not share in my lottery fortune.

 

[Nemo2]

I didn't mean to imply running is harmful to your knees if you have sound knees. I've got arthritis in my family and some have had knee replacement surgery. I used to be a runner but my knees are starting to ache from it. I've taken up walking hilly terrain and elliptical machine work. My knees feel so much better. Adding body fat weight that is not needed would do them no good I believe.

I have bone-on-bone osteoarthritis in both knees, (no cartilage), I used to run with tensor bandages, and managed a marathon in Jiddah, Saudi, at age 41.....tapered off from there....had arthroscopy on both knees at age 56...2 orthopedic surgeons have said that "Sooner or later" I'll require knee replacements, but that it's better to make it "later".

Right now we have an elliptical trainer which gets a lot of use.

Both my lady and I like to exercise, and we feel better for it.....we can't indulge in (as) many food/drink items as we could when we were younger, but one learns to enjoy & appreciate the things that one can eat with (virtual) impunity.

Although.....as the T-shirt says:

Eat Properly
Exercise Regularly
Die Anyway

 

[Amethyst]

That reminds me - what is the protocol for seating? In the doctor's waiting room last week, I sat in an extra-wide chair (about 1.5 times the width of the other chairs). There were 2 such chairs. A very petite Asian couple (man and woman) occupied the other. If an obese patient entered the waiting room, should one rise and give them one's seat?

Amethyst

You're right - eating disorders come in all sizes. Anorexics should not be picked on any more than those of us who are girth-illy challenged.

But I stand by my belief that the designers of airplane seats all graduated from the Marquis de Sade School of Medieval Torture and Dysfunctional Ergonomics

 

[ziggy29]

Words like "all" and "always", like "none" or "never," commonly turn a general truth into a specific falsehood.