The article and your comment reminded me of a conversation I had a while back. A group of five were talking about health and diet and the changes we have made since we were in our early twenties. Vitamin supplements, iron pills, fiber, etc. Then the topic of "gained weight" was breached. There is no reason to bring up specific points made for the three of us overweight except for this. The general feeling was that if you are heavy, as a person, you are only at 90% of your potential, value, however else you want to term it. So if I drop weight a sudden shift will occur and I will be 10% smarter? 10% better at taking photographs? 10% being a better husband? Son? Employee at my job? If I weigh 185, it will not make me a better person. My own primary reason for weight loss is because I became diabetic a couple of years ago, and to not drop dead of a heart attack and widow Shawn at 50.
...and i like the way you put it... though sadly, I think for overweight women the standard more like if you're fat you will only ever reach 65% of your potential, since weight and beauty and worth for women are so intertwined. I for one can't stand the fact that you see "average" guys all over tv commercials, potbellies, hairy backs and all, and yet you never see a woman on TV who weighs over 140 lbs unless she's playing a dyke, or a woman who's endeavoring to get pregnant and have a baby sans partner.
And don't get me started on how intelligence can devalue a woman. I was at a restaurant the other day and the guy at the next table was talking about some girl he dated, who was "really great, but she went to MIT, and she's way to smart for me to really date her long term..." It took all my energy to not march over to his table and dump my soup in his lap. Thankfully for him i was on crutches and couldn't have hobbled over there anyway. :-P
"There is not a single animal in the animal kingdom that will walk a mile to search for food when food is available right in front of it because it's the "healthful" thing to do, and yet we beat ourselves up when we can't manage to do that without struggle
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my point is not that we should just give up and give into our instincts because it's convenient. It's that we shouldn't be surprised that it's a difficult choice to make, because it is one that we're making against our instincts. And ultimately, just because someone makes that choice doesn't mean that they're inherently a better person; The choice to eat or not to eat in and of itself is neutral
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And don't get me started on how intelligence can devalue a woman. I was at a restaurant the other day and the guy at the next table was talking about some girl he dated, who was "really great, but she went to MIT, and she's way to smart for me to really date her long term..." It took all my energy to not march over to his table and dump my soup in his lap. Thankfully for him i was on crutches and couldn't have hobbled over there anyway. :-P
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