I am feeling “fat”, and I know exactly what I need to do to fix it. Eat less junk (not necessarily less *food*, just less junk), and be more active. But knowing what needs to be done and doing it are two entirely different things. Fortunately (?), I’ve stabilized for the moment at around 190 pounds. But I fear waking up one day and realizing I need a crane to get out of bed.
I was bouncing around Youtube today and came across this video. It expresses more or less how I feel:
“I’m fat cause I eat, then I go to sleep”
[tags]fat, middle-aged, geek, common sense[/tags]
Sorry, Kelly, I nabbed this…. because it more or less hits it bang on. 🙂
Nab away 🙂 It is actually one of a whole series of videos on Youtube based on the same (more or less) premise. I thought this was the best of the bunch, but you may prefer one of the others.
People in general look for someone other than themselves to blame, but it seems to me in recent times that placing blame has become an epidemic. A child is fat? Blame the existence of fattening food. Someone goes on a killing spree? Blame video games. Hot coffee causes burns? Blame the restaurant for making it hot.
The truth is pretty obvious: for the vast majority of people carrying extra pounds, the choice (or “fault”) is their own. There is no magic to losing weight: eat less empty calories and be more active. Some folks are blessed with a metabolism that allows them to get away with poor behavior. I *used* to be so blessed, but not so much any more.
Important clarification: I also think society spends far too much time focusing on “thinness”. I care more about happiness- if a person is carrying extra pounds and can do all the things they want, and enjoys life- that’s how things should be. I’ll admit to being grossed out by people who are morbidly obese: 500 pounds or some such. I can’t imagine wanting to be that way any more than wanting to be an 88 pound 5’9″ skeleton wearing a $9,000 dress. Finding a personal balance is important.
But if someone isn’t happy with their weight and wants to change themselves, the answer is pretty obvious. This video basically says “Yeah, I’m fat, and its obvious why”. It doesn’t really glorify obesity, it just reminds the viewer of common sense.
And its kinda funny, too. Especially the “I’m fat ’cause I eat, and then I go to sleep” part- that is almost exactly my life. I have lunch, and the first thing I want to do is have a nap. Go me!
While I admit that a larger person does not bother me in the least I DO have a problem when the clothing aspect gets thrown in. What a thinner person can wear is not the same as what a larger person can wear. I have an issue with larger people squeezing themselves into something meant for someone my size and they end up rippling and rolling through every seam and square inch of stretchy fabric.
While I encourage being comfortable with you body doing things like that makes ME uncomfortable with your body. If I look longer than a glance I am staring and said obese person becomes offended and yet you dress in clothes, that on a thinner person, would be attractive and are, by nature, designed to draw the eye to the body beneath. If your first reaction is hostility or obnoxious behavior perhaps you need to look at yourself as to WHY you are reacting in that manner to someone looking at you. You dressed that way, after all. In this case was sauce if for gander is not really for the goose too (in a manner of speaking).
And here I thought when people stared at me in my speedo it was because I was soooooo sexy! LOL
On the serious side, I think there is a bit more to the “obesity epidemic” than lazy gluttony. A lot of the products we use and food we eat contains hormones and hormone analogues that are doing seriously weird stuff to our systems. And good healthy food is not cheap … it should be, perhaps even if we have to tax “junk” food to subsidize “good eats.”
But on the whole, yeah. No one made me fat. Unfortunately I like bad food, I have an “efficient” metabolism, and I like sedentary pursuits like reading. I really would have to think seriously before I took a desk job because I know that if I didn’t have fairly physical jobs over the last 17 years instead of 250lbs I would be one of those guys on TV being taken out of their house on a forklift.
Its one of the reasons why I look at a pedestrian, non car based lifestyle. I will NEVER be a jogger, and exercise simply for the sake of exercise I find painfully boring. But I am quite willing to walk if I am going someplace.
Oh well, in a couple of weeks I will arrive to confound Kelly more with steaks and junk food in one hand, and dragging him out from behind the computer desk in the other.
My main consolation is that now he’s 190 we will look less like a broomstick and a weather ballon 😉
My physique is best described as the “pregnant toothpick” look: Chris at least carries his weight with some dignity 🙂
In truth, Chris, I wouldn’t call you “fat”. Certainly not in the last five or six years or so- I think you’ve gotten more active and hit a good balance. Your comments about work that keeps you active is well taken. For myself, really, it wouldn’t take much: if I walked a mile or two (20-30 minutes) every day and cut back just a bit on the junk, I’d likely lose a few pounds.
As for hormones in food…I suppose there is some of that, and certainly much of the food we buy today is laced with additives more for convenience than for health. But there is no question in my mind that when I eat a giant bag of ripple chips and creamy dip, it ain’t the additives making me fat 🙂
About that healthier food being more expensive. The markets in Calgary here are much better than Edmonton especially right now, for at least trying to get less contaminated food. Vancouver was the same for fresh food, generally with the Valley all about the food was good and not worth your kidneys.
“Health food” (the prepackaged kind anyway) is likely to have just as much unnecessary stuff as the normal BAD stuff. So really to only way to go about it is learn to cook, and use as fresh as ingredients as possible.
After all that I am a little worried my genes are going to kick in and get me in the end no matter how much I get chased around the field.