Assbags of the Week - Unhealthy Fat People
I'm not talking about those who are pleasantly plump, a bit on the chubby side, or stocky fellows who "wear it well."
Obviously. Big fan.
I'm not talking about those who genuinely struggle with weight issues, either. Hefty men and women who clean themselves up and put pride in their appearance. Moms and Dads working it one day at a time to get healthy.
More power to them.
I'm talking about those who celebrate their cottage cheese thighs and make it worse by wearing awful clothes, frequenting Cost Cutters instead of a professional and chalking it up to *personal freedom*.
"Hey, I don't care that you have to look at me every day," they shout."I'm perfect just the way I am!"
I'm talking about those who are morbidly obese. Fat asses draining our health care industry. I'm talking about you - breaking your nurse's back as she picks you up when you bust ass on her watch.
I don't believe we all have to be a size 0. Nice try, though. But I'm also not buying into the bullshit that big is beautiful.
Cause it isn't. It's disgusting.
If you don't believe that we are made in God's image, our body is a temple, and we show our gratitude by taking care of ourselves, fine. You don't want to take what all animals do, *eating*, and elevate it to something holy - that's all right with me. To each his own.
Forget God for a moment.
What about your f*cking family?
I mean, seriously, explain this one to me. It doesn't just stop with food either. It's an entire way of life I don't understand. How can you shove vile, disgusting sh*t down your throat, enormous amounts of it, turning your body into a boat, skin to saggy leather, liver into a shrunken prune, lungs into a smokestack and sit around on your thunderthighs when you've got children or a spouse or friends who care about you and need you to live longer than your arteries can handle?
It isn't about you, Tons of Fun. It's about them. You show your love and concern for them, or lack of it, when you let yourself go to pot. Instead of thinking about that third helping and goddamn brownie calling your name, you ought to be thinking about your daughter. She might need your guidance one day and the money you spend recovering from a triple bypass could put your son through grad school.
And I don't know if you've noticed this or not, but America can no longer afford to keep you alive despite yourself. We've got sick babies and bankrupt families who played no part in their own demise.
They come first.
The next time you're in the grocery store or a restaurant and order sh*t from a waiter and tell yourself it's your God-given right to pollute yourself as you see fit, think about your family. And the rest of us who foot your bill in the emergency room.
Show some goddamn respect.
Then order a salad and walk around the block a few times.
posted by kate @ 9:20 AM
24 comments
24 Comments:
Wait, wait, I've got to pop some reduced-fat popcorn so I can watch this.
Anyone up for some "your momma's so fat..." jokes?
Your momma would be up for some, but she's so fat she can only get up for seconds.
From, I think, the Nutty Professor: Your momma so fat she bungee jumped and went straight to Hell.
Yo momma so fat, God tried to use her as a bowling ball.
Snap!
Your mamma's so fat, when she fell down, she rocked herself to sleep trying to get up!
On the fat rant, how about scooters for lard asses? That ticks me off. I'm not sick, I just don't want to walk, it's haaard. You know what's hard? Drop and give me 330!
Hey, Kate, did you intend for this post to become a forum for Yo Momma jokes? Yo momma so fat that when she sit around the house, she REALLY sit AROUND the HOUSE! aw man, I did it too...
Actually, I thought someone would argue with me. Must be right again. Er something.
And your mama's so fat, when it rains, she uses the freeway as a slip 'n slide.
Don't get me started on scooters and the medicare reimbursements. "It's haaard." That made me spit out my soy.
I've never been to this site before, but I have to say this, Kate:
In the very first reading, you've become my new hero. That was awesome. Thanks!
Here, I'll get the ball started and hope Anonymous jumps in at some point, all full of piss and vinegar like a salad dressing made in prison.
Kate, you're wrong. Or at least you're unfairly targeting. Why this sort of anger towards only the obese? What about smokers or drinkers (and you can pry my martini shaker out of my cold, dead fingers)?
Most of the problem lies in how we administer our food, specifically pricing. It's all good and well to say, "Order a salad," but a significant chunk of obesity is occurring in lower-income brackets. Vegetables are expensive and if you have a limited income, it's only to be expected you're going to try and get the highest caloric bang for your buck, even if you're not consciously shopping for calories, per se. People make jokes or shudder in disgust as families use foodstamps to buy things like Doritos or snack cakes, but the fact is higher-calorie, energy-dense foods like cookies, candy, snack foods and pastries actually cost less on a calorie-per-calorie basis than healthier items. Moreover, fresh, healthier foods such as vegetables are more likely to show greater price volatility in relation to inflation. Simply because you can afford lettuce, tomatoes and broccoli this week, doesn't mean you'll be able to afford them next.
The problem is less one of "respect" and more one of a society set up to encourage poor dietary habits. Sure, a certain amount of personal responsibility has to come into it, but if your daily food budget is only $3, your options just tend to be limited to foods that promote obesity.
This all assumes you're not living in a "food desert". Many urban neighborhoods are finding that local markets, particularly those serving lower-income neighborhoods, no longer stock a healthy selection of fresh produce as it is more expensive to stock and less often bought because of its price. So even if you figure out a way to get access to money to buy fresh, nutritious, lower-calorie foods, there's no guarantee that you'll even be able to find those foods.
Finally, once the weight is on, the lower your income level is the harder it is to take it off. Certainly expensive weight loss programs are out of the question, but the strategies low-income individuals may use to try and lose weight are themselves problematic. Incorrect diet pill usage and purging not only fail to actually solve the obesity issue, but give rise to additional health problems. However, because of educational level trends and cultural influence, these are the methods many lower-income individuals use to try and get healthy.
So the problem is manifold. Lack of education, community support (as is so obviously evidenced in your post), equal distribution and affordable food prices all contribute just as much, if not more, than individual laziness, but feel free to reduce a complex societal problem to how it offends you sense of aesthetics, like, say, a bad dye job...
Oh, and just to keep it going, yo momma so fat, the Japanese fishermen decided to start hunting her.
I may not always be right, but I'm never wrong.
:winkwink:
I just didn't get into the reasons why people are morbidly obese. And I've gone after those who smoke and drink too much as well. Just not this time.
Too much of this is wrapped up in blaming others, not taking responsibility, etc. It's a lot cheaper to buy essential ingredients and make your own food than to buy processed shit. My grandparents were dirt poor and yet Nana made and canned most everything they ate. Although many of them were on the hefty side, they still ate healthy, homemade meals. And lived good long lives, most of them, as a result.
And her kids learned how to cook and make food from scratch as well. She did this poor, with six kids, and while working full time as a registered nurse.
So please. I'm not buying the lack of money excuse.
Not only that, dead animals are frightfully expensive. If lack of money is an issue, it's a hell of a lot more economical to go veggie. They do it all over the world. And people live longer and are healthier than Americans as a result.
I'm not buying the cultural, peer pressure excuse either. If I can say no to ads touting crap, teach my kids that our table is an altar and we show our respect for God and ourselves by the healthy yummy choices we make, then it becomes a NONISSUE. They don't even ask for cotton candy anymore. It's not easy, but Jesus Christ, life isn't easy. Get the f*ck used to it and start taking responsibility for yourself instead of living like some kind of tool beholden to the major advertisers.
Or just say, "I'm lazy and ignorant and man these Little Debbies taste like heaven."
At least that's honest. Blaming others is pathetic and weak.
There's always a way. Find it.
And another thing - I would argue diet pills and weight loss programs don't work and unfairly target those with money to waste.
Like my love, a walk around the block doesn't cost a thing.
Habits are hard to break, I know. I grew up going to Catholic mass every Sunday and accepting Christ as my savior. Look at me now. Heeb and all. It can be done.
And although a healthy diet and waistline won't gurantee a long healthy life, rest assured that on my death bed I will not be plagued with guilt over participating in my own demise. If I'm made to leave my children early, I will look at them and know I did my best to stick around as long as possible.
For them.
And then I *will* rest assured.
hilarious!
Hehe, I love a good fight.
It's a lot cheaper to buy essential ingredients and make your own food than to buy processed shit.
No, actually, it's not. And as you yourself point out, this doesn't necessarily lead to weight loss and the nutritional quality of the food is still in doubt. Did your grandparents grow any of that food that they canned and preserved? Did they both work full time jobs? Are you honestly using anecdotal evidence to support a wide-spread generalization?
Furthermore, prices have significantly increased since your grandparent's time. For example, data from 2007 show that the price of bread rose 7.4% last year, eggs rose 29.2% and milk was up 13.1%. Not to take anything away from your grandmother, but you have to acknowledge times were different. Today, limited income puts healthier staples out of the reach of many.
NPR did a story breaking down the average food budget per person per day. Given an average income of $42,000 per household, they figured the average person could afford roughly $1.80 per 1000 calories per day, given the standard 2000 calorie diet. They then looked at what, exactly, that budget would buy. Again, assuming a 2000 calorie a day limit, Oreo cookies would get you there for $1.50. To get the same amount of calories, however, using apples, it would cost you $8-$10 a day. It also showed that prepared foods such as bread, chips and cookies run around $1 per 1000 calories. Fresh fruit, juices and produce, however, cost between $5-$10 per 1000 calories. You're right in that adding meat is more expensive, but even a strict vegetarian diet is out of the reach of most individuals.
So don't "buy" it all you like, but the fact is that many obese, lower-income people who make up a significant chunk of the issue can't buy it even if they wanted to.
I'm not buying the cultural, peer pressure excuse either. If I can say no to ads touting crap, teach my kids that our table is an altar and we show our respect for God and ourselves by the healthy yummy choices we make, then it becomes a NONISSUE.
It's great that your median household income allows you to look at it as a "choice". Congratulations on your middle-class privilege. Of course, would you still feel the same if you couldn't even afford to feed your children one complete meal a day and maintain the integrity of your "altar"? That's the "choice" a lot of parents have to face. Be thankful you don't and lighten up on those that do.
The thing is these aren't "excuses" and it's not about blame. It's about understanding the root causes that leads to poor nutrition and obesity. These are the societal problems and if you willfully ignore them then you can't expect anything to change. You insist on shifting the entire blame to people when that just isn't the case. I love you, Kate, but you're just middle-class, shallowly bitching about a problem you don't have to face because you have personal issues with obesity.
Get over it.
And yo momma so fat when she turns around, they throw her a welcome back party.
You guys are great.
Oh, and, your momma so fat, she needs a boomarang to put on her belt.
I thought I could leave it at that, but apparently not.
Kate and QJ have mined this pretty well. From my own shopping, I have no doubt that fat food is cheaper than healthy food. It also doesn't spoil as easily and is generally pretty easy to store. "Supersize me" chronicled the sales pitch we get to eat more, too. It's not hard to believe that Americans, generally, eat more bad calories than good ones; The greater problem is why so many people (and especially so many poor people) take in so many more calories (bad and good) than they burn in 'Merica.
The internet that offers us a chance to talk to each other so easily in Tampa, Colorado, Illinois and South Carolina also keeps us seated and sedentary. Game Consoles and computers keep all of us, kids and adults, inside instead of outside. I walk to work every day, but I see almost no one else doing that (QJ, almost all of what I'm saying is anecdotal- but I bet I'm right). My parents made me stay outside, just like all of my friends' parents made my friends stay outside. We weren't sitting next to the refrigerator all day taking in calories; we were playing tag or building forts or messing with cars (parents didn't foresee all the consequences of making us stay outside) burning calories. America is fat because we have so many diversions inside the home that we need never go outside at all (along with the nature of "instant gratification" chips and cakes). And QJ is absolutely right about the whole middle-class nature of personal trainers. I don't run much, but I'd bet a dollar against a donut (mmmm, donuts...) that most of the marathoners and ultramarathoners are middleclass or better. As my brother, AndyMan, points out, getting to those races is expensive.
It's also not perceived as very safe outside in a lot of communities. I had a couple of juvenile delinquent clients who were in a gang fight at their school (in Walterboro, SC, population 5,100 or so), and told the judge that they were afraid to walk to the Department of Juvenile Justice to meet with their agent because they'd be ganged again. This may well have been BS, but it played to an existing perception that certain parts of even this nice little community aren't very safe. I'm guessing if they're running in the 'hood, it's from something, not for exercise.
That said, your momma so fat she affects tides.
Not sure who it is, but I will volunteer to be the piss-and-vinegar anonymous one. I just don't understand how a salad dressing made in prison adds to the conversation of healthy foods.
That said, your momma so fat she is the eptiome of adding a new wrinkle to any and all conversations.
Just to clarify - I'm not talking about those who are destitute either. No one's picky, or should be, at a soup kitchen.
However, I'd like to take a look at any household budget and figure out a way to pay for healthy foods over junk.
Seriously, I'm up to the challenge.
Yes, I am middle class. However, there are choices to be made up and down the spectrum. Don't come out of a house that sports one of those satellite dishes and tell me you can't afford vegetables and fruit.
Expensive jewelry, rims, the latest in technology, games, etc. - yet a balanced meal is beyond your means? Give me break.
It's medicine you put in your body every day. That comes first.
Most people I know who struggle with weight issues are doing so based on bad choices and not a bad bank account.
And so those are the ones I'm bitching about.
I would end with a "suck it" but you said you loved me so I'm going to wink instead.
I know. Lucky you.
I recently made fun of this Denver story about parents oblivious to the fatness of their kids:
http://cbs4denver.com/sports/parents.obese.children.2.617366.html
At any rate, as a healthcare worker who takes care of many a sloppy-fat person (with between-the-fold things that you DON'T EEEEVEN WANT TO KNOW ABOUT), I can totally get behind Kate's post.
There is totally a difference between the genetically 'big-boned' person and someone who is just sloppy-ass, slab-swingin', cottage-cheese butt fat.
It's gluttony, it's gross, it's selfish, it's deplorable.
I have little sympathy for the sloppy fat.
Arguments about processed foods being cheaper are bogus because sloppies buy A LOT of processed food which equals what they could've spent on healthy stuff.
Don't even make me break out my college-days diet of soups, beans, tortillas, and ramen-noodles (which ain't so healthy but oh-so-good)!
My argument about sloppies is all about the gluttony - the constant consumption, the giving food to kids every five seconds, the Wal-Mart carts full of NutterButters, the daily fast-food trips..
Kate is torally right. It is all about choice. It is all about personal responsibility.
im back blogging a little more, now that its presidential race season.
This is certainly one area i couldnt agree more with Kate. (there are not many) Personally, I am 6'2", and slowly grew from 175 to 210 over about 6 years, then I had had ENOUGH.
With simply eating smaller portions of the exact same food, walking around the block some, i lost all 35 pounds in 6 months, and have kept it off for 8 more months now.
My wife's mom, well, she is about 320. Her excuse, her hip was never perfect. Well, when she was younger she got depressed, (dont we all) and decided to try to eat her way out of it.
15 years and an additional 180 pounds later, she is sucking off the government teet b/c she can barely move around. She witnessed my losing weight, albeit much less than she needs to lose, and just says, ehh, its just so easy for guys.
Yea, cutting 700 calories a day was easy, RIGHT.
I now still eat that less amount, park at the back end of parking lots (even at walmart), and I even bought a video game system just recently, but specifically bought the Nintendo Wii to move around while playing.
If you work at it, it can be done, even with pasta and meat... in small portions.
Compulsive overeating, like alcoholism or any other addiction, makes peoples appear loathsome. It makes them lie and cheat and kills them in grotesque and public fashions.
Cheap food will plump you up, but only addiction will cause morbid obesity, Addiction is a symptom of mental (or perhaps "spiritual") illness, and the attempt to treat it with surgery or amphetamines is both silly and quintessentially American.
As the nation porks up, you can comfort yourself with the idea that you are among a shrinking pool of attractive, slim people whose relative value is always increasing. Yippeee!
You're so right! Those monsters who dared to become addicted to food because of their emotional problems should have gotten addicted to drugs or alcohol instead. It's much more socially acceptable.
And how dare they not lose weight so you don't have to look at them, you poor, poor thing! Anyone who has never had a weight problem KNOWS that it's just so easy to drop pounds if you just eat right and exercise! That thing about the body adapting and lowering its metabolism so that after a small bit of weight loss, the formerly obese go back to putting on weight no matter how well they eat - that's just the "plateau" myth! How dare those fatties try again and again until - depressed beyond your comprehension that they can't fight mother nature - they just give up. Shame on them for ruining your day!
Deep down inside, these porkers must WANT to be unhealthy, laughed at and ashamed of themselves, or they'd just change... right? I mean, sure, it's not like drugs or alcohol, - the obese can just legally and cheaply buy what they're addicted to at the store. You have to eat to live - but what kind of an excuse is that? It's so EASY to lose weight - that's why there are diet companies and fads and books and clubs that make billions every year, especially from repeat customers!
And you - you poor, poor, girl - have to actually look at them when they cross your field of vision. I feel so, so sorry for you.
Thanks Tony. I am one of those obese people that you may be talking about. I go to the gym 4 times a week, abhor ready made food and eat a balanced diet (albeit too large a quantity). I do not have high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes. I do not drink or smoke or do drugs. And yes I am middle class, so no excuse in your eyes for being overweight. I also allow others to live their life, and do not think that I know how it would feel to walk in their shoes. I have tried diet after diet, reducing quantities, increasing exercise and it does not help. I have a condition called PCOS, which the medical community are still investigating. They believe it is related to insulin resistance and is known to dramatically increase your risk of obesity. And yet, I continue trying to reduce my weight so I don't offend your delicate disposition. As a last step I have now paid for my own weight loss surgery, and taken all the risks it involves just to loose weight. How dare you assume you know me and what I go through on a day to day basis being fat?
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