You'll notice that some of the people agreeing with her say things like "when I was a size 6"... hah! Some of us have never seen a single digit, seriously.
I think what she's saying is true for a certain type of person, but she did make a serious error by (presumably?) forgetting folks whose health suffer because of their weight. From what I read (which was not all of it, admittedly) I'm not sure she's saying that a person whose weight is detrimental to their health should accept it and love it, she just plain didn't factor them in. Which is a good indicator, I think, of her definition of "fat".
If the message she's sendig is to love your body, that should include loving it enough to make it healthy.
I didn't read the comments, but yeah, I haven't been a size 6 since I was six, LOL! Seriously, I think when I moved from girls' sizes to junior sizes, I was already well above an adult size 5/6. I think I started out at least a 12.
And yeah, it really sounds like her definition of "fat" is like twenty or thirty pounds overweight, tops. Which is fine -- if that's the audience she wants to address then that's cool, but she should've said so, instead of just the general "Hey, all you fat women!" approach. [sigh]
If the message she's sendig is to love your body, that should include loving it enough to make it healthy.
I can see that this is one of those issues that a lot of people are going to go crazy on, so I'll jump in with my two cents worth. :P
I'm the tiniest of my friends. Literally. I'm super, super short (5'2) and weigh (the last time I checked, which was ages ago) well under what I'm supposed to. All of my friends are definitely NOT thin people. They're all size 12, 14, 16 AUS, and god DAMN but I wish I was too.
I think the thing that pisses me most off about this Kate person's rant is that all 'fat' people are in this funk where being my size will get them the perfect boyfriend/job/lifestyle, and i hate to say but I do see a lot of that with my mates, which is sucky. And I do believe they think that they'd be happier if they were my size. A few of my friends would be healthier for sure, but definitely not happier, and it's always annoyed me that people think that thin people are the ones who have perfect lifestyles. So far, I haven't met a guy or a girl who likes the skin and bones look, but it seems to me in a general way, a lot of my
( ... )
I agree that she has a good point, for a certain group of people, at a certain level of overweight, who have certain other emotional issues. If she actually meant to address just this particular group, she did a pretty sloppy job of it because it comes across like she's talking to all fat women who don't already love and accept their fat or whatever. :/
You're right, though, that just being thin isn't going to make someone happy. I mean, if you're depressed because you're fat, with whatever issues that entails, and don't have any other problems getting you down and you aren't actually depressive, then losing weight probably will cheer you up. Other than that, though, then yeah, thinning down will probably just make you a depressed thin person instead of a depressed fat person.
So far, I haven't met a guy or a girl who likes the skin and bones look, but it seems to me in a general way, a lot of my friends want that look.I read an article ages ago, about a study done on that. They had a drawing of a series of female figures, just
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I went through a whole period where I thought the be all and end all of my bad moods was because I'm too thin. Because they DON'T stock clothes in my size (either that, or I show up too late, which I doubt), and they certainly don't make them for short thin people, much like your problem as well. It's yet another thing we need here in Aus, a national dress size standard. I can go into one store, and not fit into a size 10 because my boobs are too hoog, yet other stores...size 4?! WTF?! And it's stuff like that that screws people up over their weight (I'm not too sure what it's like in the States).
And I agree with the not liking her generalisation of the 'fat'. because there are certainly all kinds of people out there, and everyone has a different mentality. I think she definitely needs to acknowledge which 'group' she's writing to next time. :P
Hmmm... she uses the terms "obese" and "obesity" in here, so even if she isn't specifically aiming at severely overweight people, she certainly appears to be including them. From the comments I get the idea that the folks reading this tend to be really quite over weight, not just a dress size or two larger than they'd like
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That's what I thought too, when I first read it, but I'm trying to be open to possible misinterpretation on my part, or carelessness of expression on hers. [nod/shrug] It's quite possible she was deliberately addressing people who are as overweight as I am, as well as the people who just want to take off a size or two. But if so then we're back to the ratcheted-up level of annoying, 'cause yeah, it's kind of hard to be all happily accepting and serenely joyous when you can't even put on your own socks without serious respiratory distress. :P
I understand your anger and concern. My best friend's mother has been extremely overweight since she was about 30; she's 70 now. The effect of her excess weight on her life and health are as great as if she had lost both her legs. This may sound like I'm making it up, but it's real: my friend had to construct a hoist to get her out of her bed. Seeing her struggle to do simple, daily tasks (I've known her since I was a toddler) has impressed upon me the terrible toll obesity can take. A couple of years ago, she fell while getting out of her car, and it took the help of two people thirty minutes to get her standing again. Now, she can't even walk to her car; her joints are destroyed.
Exactly. [nodnod] It can be really horrible when you "surrender" to it and just let it go, and I have no problem believing you about your friend's mother. It's not just a matter of wearing a bikini or whatver; I have serious mobility issues now and it could get a lot worse if I let it.
(Since I saw you in May I hurt my knee. I figured I'd stay off it and let it heal, and only walked when I absolutely had to, but seven days later I'd gained ten pounds. That obviously wasn't going to work, and I've been fighting to find the borderline between walking too much and re-injuring it, and not walking enough and gaining weight -- which just puts more pressure on my bad knee. Now, four months later, I'm just starting to get to the point where I can walk about as much in a day as I could before the injury. It still hurts, though, and I still have a limp. But once your mobility's restricted, it becomes that much more difficult to lose weight. I'm trying very hard not to "surrender" to the downward spiral. :/ )
nbsterling -- you're very welcome to comment here, especially when you're agreeing with me. ;)
And that's an excellent point I hadn't thought of. You're right in that her article would've made just as much sense when aimed at pretty much any personal alteration people might want. In fact, it would've made more sense with some of them; I've never known a woman whose health was negatively impacted because her breasts were too small, for example. Maybe she just aimed at the wrong audience. [wry smile]
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I think what she's saying is true for a certain type of person, but she did make a serious error by (presumably?) forgetting folks whose health suffer because of their weight. From what I read (which was not all of it, admittedly) I'm not sure she's saying that a person whose weight is detrimental to their health should accept it and love it, she just plain didn't factor them in. Which is a good indicator, I think, of her definition of "fat".
If the message she's sendig is to love your body, that should include loving it enough to make it healthy.
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And yeah, it really sounds like her definition of "fat" is like twenty or thirty pounds overweight, tops. Which is fine -- if that's the audience she wants to address then that's cool, but she should've said so, instead of just the general "Hey, all you fat women!" approach. [sigh]
If the message she's sendig is to love your body, that should include loving it enough to make it healthy.
Exactly. [nodnod]
Angie
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I'm the tiniest of my friends. Literally. I'm super, super short (5'2) and weigh (the last time I checked, which was ages ago) well under what I'm supposed to. All of my friends are definitely NOT thin people. They're all size 12, 14, 16 AUS, and god DAMN but I wish I was too.
I think the thing that pisses me most off about this Kate person's rant is that all 'fat' people are in this funk where being my size will get them the perfect boyfriend/job/lifestyle, and i hate to say but I do see a lot of that with my mates, which is sucky. And I do believe they think that they'd be happier if they were my size. A few of my friends would be healthier for sure, but definitely not happier, and it's always annoyed me that people think that thin people are the ones who have perfect lifestyles. So far, I haven't met a guy or a girl who likes the skin and bones look, but it seems to me in a general way, a lot of my ( ... )
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You're right, though, that just being thin isn't going to make someone happy. I mean, if you're depressed because you're fat, with whatever issues that entails, and don't have any other problems getting you down and you aren't actually depressive, then losing weight probably will cheer you up. Other than that, though, then yeah, thinning down will probably just make you a depressed thin person instead of a depressed fat person.
So far, I haven't met a guy or a girl who likes the skin and bones look, but it seems to me in a general way, a lot of my friends want that look.I read an article ages ago, about a study done on that. They had a drawing of a series of female figures, just ( ... )
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I went through a whole period where I thought the be all and end all of my bad moods was because I'm too thin. Because they DON'T stock clothes in my size (either that, or I show up too late, which I doubt), and they certainly don't make them for short thin people, much like your problem as well. It's yet another thing we need here in Aus, a national dress size standard. I can go into one store, and not fit into a size 10 because my boobs are too hoog, yet other stores...size 4?! WTF?! And it's stuff like that that screws people up over their weight (I'm not too sure what it's like in the States).
And I agree with the not liking her generalisation of the 'fat'. because there are certainly all kinds of people out there, and everyone has a different mentality. I think she definitely needs to acknowledge which 'group' she's writing to next time. :P
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Angie
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(Since I saw you in May I hurt my knee. I figured I'd stay off it and let it heal, and only walked when I absolutely had to, but seven days later I'd gained ten pounds. That obviously wasn't going to work, and I've been fighting to find the borderline between walking too much and re-injuring it, and not walking enough and gaining weight -- which just puts more pressure on my bad knee. Now, four months later, I'm just starting to get to the point where I can walk about as much in a day as I could before the injury. It still hurts, though, and I still have a limp. But once your mobility's restricted, it becomes that much more difficult to lose weight. I'm trying very hard not to "surrender" to the downward spiral. :/ )
Angie
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And that's an excellent point I hadn't thought of. You're right in that her article would've made just as much sense when aimed at pretty much any personal alteration people might want. In fact, it would've made more sense with some of them; I've never known a woman whose health was negatively impacted because her breasts were too small, for example. Maybe she just aimed at the wrong audience. [wry smile]
Angie
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