Life in the Large Lane

OPR does make a few good points. Sure you’re content and healthy now, but did you know that every extra 10 pounds you carry around is the equivalent of 40 pounds of pressure on your joints? Let’s say you’re about 75 pounds over weight. That’s an extra 300 pounds of pressure on your joints every single day. Your knees/hips are only going to take that for so long. You may be happy and jolly now, but it might be a different story when you’re hobbling around with a cane, waiting 18 months for knee replacement surgery.

‘Your husband must be thrilled’ – what a cunty remark, asshole. There are plenty of men out there that look for what’s inside a person, not outside. You are a shallow, nasty twat.

‘A woman who used to work in the same office as me used to eat lemons whole, the same way you would eat an orange. Know what i’m sayin’? ;)’ – This statement makes absolutely NO sense but considering its origin, it’s understandable.

“‘Your husband must be thrilled’ – what a cunty remark, asshole. There are plenty of men out there that look for what’s inside a person, not outside. You are a shallow, nasty twat.”Or maybe I was referrring to how her being overweight could be concerning to her husband because of the multitude of health problems that being overweight is assosciated with. I don’t think that the OP realises how selfish her “I don’t give a fuck if i’m fat and eat junk food all day” attitude actually is when it comes to her husband and children who might like to have her around for a while. The whole potential idea of “heavy duty sling machine to put her in her wheelchair” does sound like it could be fun though… as long as it has an optional attachment to put a slice of cheesecake on. ;)Cheers,

I think smoking is deplorable, as well as being obese as a result of poor lifestyle choices.

But Lily – for the most part, the men marrying these chubby aren’t fit, athletic, handsome men. Most of the time they’re overweight too.

No I’m not, and I didn’t mean for it to sound as shallow as it probably did. I realize that not everyone looks like they just stepped out of the pages of In Style. But I know a ton of fit, reasonably attractive or at least average looking people, who have partners of equal attractiveness. All I meant what someone who is overweight and perhaps doesn’t value their appearance and/or health that much is going to be attracted to someone with similar habits/values.

Nothing wrong with curvier figures, I’m all for it. I just find it hard to understand how some people overindulge themselves to the point of morbid obesity when the world is so full of starvation.

fat people and smokers pay taxes right? so dont they deserve the right to fuck up their bodies just like the rest of us with our various devices. jogging is not good for you…delude yourself all you want runners…but it is hell on the joints. weightlifting to excess is not good…also hard on joints and tendons. alchohol seems to have escaped the wrath of special interest groups unlike smoking…but it is also a terrible vice. so if our governments are really concerned about the drain on our healthcare system by smokers and “fat” people…why dont they just stop selling cigarettes, big macs and eatmore bars? ill tell you why. tax dollars. who pays more tax then smokers and heavy eaters? they all drive cars, and pay income tax…plus they pay 12 bucks for a pack of cigarettes and 10 bucks for an upsized whopper combo. seems to me its a net positive for the government. otherwise cigs would have been gone along time ago as would mega sized fries. now i dont know the stats on it…so dont go ripping my theory apart cause i havent provided them. just think about it logically.

Those who say fat people are a drain on the health care system really don’t realise that, fat people have a REALLY hard time getting decent health care to begin with. It’s quite common for fat people to go to the doctor and have problems brushed aside and given the whole “it’s because you’re fat” answer. I have a friend who was diagnosed with diabetes at age 19. She was overweight so her health care providers figured she had type two. WRONG. She had type one and got very sick because she was put on oral medications, NOT insulin. i know it’s not the case all the time, but I’d venture to say getting health care is a lot easier when you’re not overweight. Not EVERY ailment obese people have is due to their size.

I think she brings up a good point, that she won’t live as long, but ultimately it’s flawed. Why someone would CHOOSE to be fat as opposed to skinny is simple – they can’t help it. Someone who is fat and is unable to control eating is like an addict. They exhibit the same behaviours as an alcoholic or junkie. Maybe the OP is young and still able to withstand the pressures of carrying extra weight, but that will change quickly, and will have her no doubt geting advised to “drop a few” by her GP in a few years. But my guess is that she won’t be able to stop eating – and before 55 when you say you wil die of a heart attack you will be plagued with all sorts of health problems. It won’t be nice, OP, no one WANTS to die – and if your marriage is so happy, then why wouldn’t you drop a few lbs and squeeze extra years out of your life? Why would you put your family through the pain of seeing you quickly die, just so you can try and convince yourself that being fat is ok?The “strain on healthcare” argument to being fat, a smoker, a heavy drinker and being generally reckless with one’s health is deeply flawed and fallacious anyway. People who bring that up haven’t thought it entirely through.

Bahawhawhawhaw – you go girl! My 94 year old mother is 200 pounds at five foot fuck all – she outlived three doctors who told her she’d be dead by the time she turned 60. Mind you, they have to use a heavy duty sling machine at the nursing home to put her in her wheelchair but what the hey, she’s happy and still enjoys life.

Holly, there is every reason in the world to be overweight. I was overweight once, I lost over 100lbs, its still a struggle because I put on lbs quickly, so it takes constant monitoring. But once you’ve lost it safely then the feeling is great, its amazing. Walking and running and sports, not getting out of breath doing everyday things, amazing. All I did was learn how much calories and fat I was eating, then cut it by one quarter. Then I started walking, then walking and running, then running and weights – by the time I was able to run straight for 45 minutes I could take part in fun sports and activities – and it made it less like work. I learned to like sweat and a little uncomfortablility. Sure I went to bed feeling hungry sometimes, but it is well worth it; not just for my health but for my quality of life.

I have nothing against overweight people who are attempting a lifestyle change, as I have had several family members struggle with weight. They are aware of the negative affects that being overweight has on their lives, and are working to change their bodies/lifestyles. I realize this can take a while and I mean those people no disrepect.That said, actually feeling “proud” that you’re fat is basically akin to being “proud” of being stupid. Except its worse because not only are you fat, you are fucking stupid.

Everyone who comes on here and says “I have nothing against fat people but…” are liars. You ALL have something against fat people — fuck FAT people generally have something against fat people.The fact that y’all seem to have an opinion on fat people, when most of you may not even be fat yourself is ridiculous. Mind your own fucking business. There’s enough food to go around and you still get health care, and ffs you don’t even have to shop in the same clothing stores because fat clothes generally only get sold in fat stores so really, stfu and let people eat themselves into oblivion. I mean, it’s not like YOU have to live with the heart disease, diabetes, rashes, and all the other ailments fat people are prone to getting so why do you care? And what makes YOU so special that fat people should have to seek YOUR approval? Most fat people I know don’t give a fiddler’s fuck what some random thin person thinks of them.

Hey Jammie! Where’ve you been?I disagree. I don’t think the OP is “proud” of being fat any more than someone might be “proud” of being left handed. She just is. I think she’s calling the fat-haters out for what they are: moralizing, finger wagging, judgemental pricks who need to mind their own business. I don’t buy the concern for her health, or the concern for her loved ones should she die. I also don’t buy the outrage that fatties suck up more than their share of heath care dollars. I think that is nothing but a rationalization. I say that in part because some of the same people who have commented to that effect have defended the rights of smokers in other threads. Please note that I’m not hating on smokers. What I’m saying is that if the concern for the health care budget was genuine, people would be equally outraged by smoking. And they’re not.Our society puts an outrageously, unrealistically high value on physical attractiveness. It’s almost religious. And the failure to strive for the holy grail of physical attractiveness is a sort of blasphemy against prevailing cultural ideals. Fat is not attractive. And since the remedy for being fat is so “easy”, being fat is seen as a serious moral failing. That is the real reason why fatties are so hated, and why it’s socially acceptable to hate them. If the OP does decide to lose weight, it will be for her own reasons, and not because of the scorn and derision of a shallow, image obsessed society. Good for her.

Hey Miranda – Been layin’ low. LTWWB hasn’t been doing it for me like it did back in the Spring / Summer. There are all these new “regulars” to figure out and most of the old fun ones I “knew” are gone…In any case, I don’t agree with anything you’re saying really. There are too many busybodies. But I don’t believe people who broadcast about how happy they are with their weight. I think the act of broadcasting the idea is self-defeating because it tells us that it IS more of an issue for them than they will admit.I also get frustrated with the larger people who try to make it sound like everyone else is the problem – thin girls are “skinny, anorexic, skanky bitches” and that sort of thing. Insulting everyone else won’t make their own pain go away.Finally, I think normalization of fat is in itself a problem – perceptions influenced by the appearance of the majority are very powerful. It’s gotten to where someone of a healthy (low) weight who would have been considered normal 30 years ago, is now actually seen by most of us as being frighteningly (or whimpilly) skinny. The trend just continues hand in hand with portion sizes, and it is unhealthy by any definition.So I guess my issue is not so much with larger *individuals*, but with the powerful social movement trying to make us all believe that fat is “good”. (And no I don’t mean literally “good” but you should get my point here…)I should also add that I am a 5’9, 195 pound male who is muscular but also has plenty of padding and a hip-waist ratio that falls outside of the healthy range. I’m kind of beefy-fat I guess. Point being, I’m not coming from any defensive stance as a slim person.

Oh, Jammie! How I’ve missed our rational discussions! Now where the hell is Miles?I don’t think we’re in disagreement about anything, except maybe the OP’s motivations. The thing I get frustrated with is the way some people revile the overweight, as if they’ve done something morally repugnant by getting fat. Of course it’s unhealthy. Of course it’s better to maintain a healthy weight. But millions of people regularly do things that are bad for them, without being subjected to the kind of open loathing that obese people endure. Smokers are a close second, but smokers are pretty militant about their right to smoke in spite of the health risks. However, when fat people, like the OP, get militant about their right to overeat in spite of the health risks, they’re met with even more derision. In fact, take your own statements about the OP’s motivation for writing this bitch, and replace the word “weight” with the words “smoking habit”, and you’ll see what I mean.I guess what I’m trying to do is prod people into examining their own assumptions. Why does someone react with disgust to the sight of an obese person? I don’t believe it’s because they care about that stranger’s health. I don’t believe it’s because they care about the happiness of that stranger’s loved ones. I don’t believe it’s because they are outraged at the strain on the health care system. Some people will try to make it a moral issue, making the argument that since fat people are obviously greedy and gluttonous and lacking in self control, we are justified in looking down on them. However, there are a lot of people who are “metablolically gifted”, as someone put it. We all know one or two of them; people who can eat anything they want, in ridiculous quantities, and yet they don’t become overweight. And it’s not because they are particularly active. They’re just lucky. So if you see one of these “metabolically gifted” people sitting down to a heaping plate of food at the all-you-can-eat buffet, you may look at him and say, “holy shit!”. But you don’t react with disgust. However, put that same plate of food in front of a fat person, and your reaction changes. So my argument is that it’s not the behavior of overeating that is morally repugnant. It’s the fat itself. People are repulsed by obesity because it is not asthetically pleasing. Period. I wish people would stop rationalizing and admit that it’s a shallow, ugly, knee jerk reaction with its roots in our culture’s obsession with physical beauty.

Hey look, it’s Jammie!I must admit, I didn’t read any comments, I’m responding to the OP: I think you’re full of it when you say you don’t care what people think. One thing that’s worse than fattie-hate is this over the top “I’m fat and I’m beautiful” crap. Blech. Fat isn’t beautiful. It’s fat.PS Guys don’t want a woman with “meat on her bones”. They want a woman with big tits and a nice ass.

Nice rebuttal, Jammie. I am on board with you about the evolutionary hardwiring. However, why don’t we react with the same visceral disgust to people who are just plain ugly? Or who are disabled, or evolutionarily sub-par in some other way? I think the fat-hate is a combination of the hardwired response you describe, and the mostly unconcious belief that people who don’t at least try to conform to the accepted standard of physical beauty are somehow “bad”. After all, ugly people can’t do much about their condition, short of plastic surgery. But fat people can, theoretically, fix themselves. In any case, it’s a knee jerk reaction with no rational justification. Not wanting to have sex with someone is not a valid reason to treat them like shit.Hi Qwerty!

The “hard-wired” theory to finding people attractive is absolute bollocks. Repeat after me: Attractiveness is a LEARNED behaviour relative to cultural norms. The ancient Persians and Arabs found obese women very attractive, so much. The Classical view of the perfect woman would be a size 12 or 14 by todays standards. I would argue that the woman best suited for child-bearing would be the one that had more calories stored, to provide for her health and the health of her child. What scientists *think* is hardwired is our propensity to overeat when we can – the whole “feast and famine” theory to human behaviour: that much of our behaviours revolves around a natural desire to store calories for times of shortages. Problem is that we haven’t any food shortages in this country, so everyone just keeps getting fatter.So to recap – Beauty = Learned Behaviour, Overeating = Natural Behaviour

One does not have to be a shallow person to lay eyes on a meter-wide ass and feel disgust and embarrassment for the bearer of such an ass. We should feel sorry for the fat people… their drug of choice (food) is a required part of living so there’s no “goin’ cold turkey” to get the unhealthy eating behavior under control. Imagine telling the crack head they MUST get high on crack at least once a day to survive… they’d NEVER kick the habit because addiction is a all or nothing thing.Eating disorders are an uphill battle no matter how fucking happy you think you are. If you take a piece of shit, roll it up into a nice tight ball, shine it up and top it with icing… it’s still a piece of shit.You’re fooling yourself OP in a sad effort to support your food addiction, a most powerful addiction. Just because your husband is loads larger than you and CAN’T complain without being a hypocrite doesn’t mean your weight is attractive to anybody, anywhere. Obesity is an outward reflection of “inner health”.Wanna lose weight? Your pie-hole is going to suffer. Period. What they don’t tell you in any of these diet programs is that if you eat less, like A LOT less, (A) you will NOT die of hunger and (B) your stomach will shrink so you CAN’T eat so dam much. But, hey, you enjoy that cheesecake anyway. That and the very large blinders you must mount on your fat face each and every day.

To everyone responding negatively to the original post – get over yourselves and took a look in your own closet. You are all hiding a vice. Difference is that hers is visible so you take a shot at it to make yourself feel better.

Optimus Prime Rib – you’re absolutely right, overeating is natural behavior. And so is over-reacting, as I suggested below.But I’d argue with your contention that a revulsion toward grotesquely off-norm bodies is learned. If anything I’d say your love of the Rubanesque is learned. Societal convention DOES influence perception, as I argued below, but I’d argue much harder that the societal convention in the case of “big is beautiful” is fighting an uphill battle against our “programmed” reactions. It could win; nurture can over-ride nature to a certain extent. Besides, I am not talking about size 12s here; as I understand it a size 12 on an average height woman would correspond to roughly a size 30 waist (correct me if I’m wrong, women’s sizing is baffling)? Not huge. I’m talking about the knock-kneed, mouth-breathing, grunting, panting, rippling, jiggling, lumpy and frumpy, sweaty, greasy, warty, fetid, rotting, gaseous, belching roly-poly obese, who are constantly trying to make the rest of us feel like there is something wrong with *US* for not celebrating their bountiful bootays.

Jammie, I have to confess that I have been creeping you on LLWWB. I watch that sidebar for something worth responding to 😉 There has been so little of that lately…Anyway. It’s OK to be repulsed by obesity. It’s OK to go “ewwww” inside your head. But it’s NOT ok to treat the obese like shit because you think they’re icky. These are people. Human beings. I haven’t been a Christian since childhood, but I seem to remember something about casting the first stone. And as for Kay, I find her response outrageous. Didn’t she rant at length on here about how she and other smokers have every right to kill themselves in whatever way they see fit, because it’s a free country, and if you don’t like it move upwind? There is no difference between choosing to be a smoker and choosing to be overweight. Absolutely none. What. So. Ever. Both groups choose to indulge in a behavior that they know is unhealthy, that is very likely to kill them, and that is repugnant to most other people, because they enjoy it, it is legal, and goddamit, it’s a free country. So Kay needs to STFU about the fat people. Seriously.

P.S. Qwerty and Floyd only made brief appearances, but maybe if Miles shows up he will set us all straight with a perfect middle-ground response and then we can all trot off happily and make daisy chains together. Errrr…the literal, flower kind of daisy chain…really…seriously…that’s what I meant…like in the 60s with the age of Aquarius and the long braids and such…you know? Teach the World to Sing, Buy the World a Coke™ and all that?

It’s not vanity sizing. MM was a 36 D, 25, 38. Which meant with the D that her chest would have measured 40 something across the largest. 40, 25, 38 would be a size 14 in modern sizing.

Oh. My. God. Gang’s all here. Miranda, Jammie, floyd…and QWERTY!!!!…i thought you’d gone forever. >sniff< >tears of joy<.Oh yeah...I should stay on topic too.....Fat people are people too, so treat them that way. Unless you usually treat people like jerks, then piss off and leave them alone. Not the most "perfect middle ground" response I've ever typed, Jammie, but I'm excited for daisy chains and didn't have the time to read through the entire thread.

So Miranda thinks Kay (me) should STFU about fat people whereas Jammie appreciates the truth and has finally fallen for me. *grin*Miranda, the OP is the one glorifying her sweaty rolls and bragging about stuffing her happy fat face with cheesecake… and is SO proud of this fact that she advertises it. This is a fuck-you-skinny-people-bitch and I happen to be one of the rare and loathed healthy sized, as in TIGHT, asses in this town. How is the OP’s bitch good thing when it’s a bad thing for me (or anybody) to respond with the obese-is-bad commentary? This is LLTWWB after all.It’s true, not so long ago, human beings thought the wider the hips the better for breeding. To some extent that’s true however the wee people grew up a short time ago and actually learned from their MISTAKES. We now know obesity is NOT a healthy thing and doesn’t necessarily lead to healthy birth weights nor improve the mortality rate of infants just as we now know not to package our food in tin, drink and drive, make baby-bottle nipples from cheesecloth… etc.The world grew up and admitted obesity is a problem. Why is your growth stunted, OP, Miranda, anybody who protects their addiction to food? Too fat (in denial) or too old to learn something new? Which is it?Also, Jammie said, “Note however, that kay did acknowledge the ‘addiction’ side of obesity and said that some folks simply can’t help it. So there’s some enlightenment there somewhere, no?”Jammie, please don’t confuse “addiction” with “valid reason” or “valid excuse” for vile behavior. I do not believe because you’re addicted to something that you “just can’t help yourself”. That’s pathetic. You certainly can help yourself (and do often) but one must admit there’s a problem first. The happy-rolling-in-cheesecake OP is simply happy-rolling-in-denial. You’ll notice not once does she refer to herself as healthy, beautiful, feminine… none of those things… just fat and happy.

Also, I never said obesity is not a problem, and I never said that it is healthy to be overweight. I don’t actually think the OP said that either. She did acknowledge that she might very well die of obesity related problems. What she did say, and what I agree with, is that it’s nobody’s business but her own.

Um… Elmers. If the rest of your body fits a size 14 then you are a size 14, no matter how small your waist is. It’s just the way it works. Unless you are buying a belt or a corset…

Well, my great aunt Bella was a hundred pounds overweight, and smoked a pipe every day of her adult life until she died peacefully in her sleep at 96. So you just never know, do you?

Didn’t catch your last post before I hit submit, Miranda. Let me say, you’re absolutely right these things happen – smokin’ obese people living long and rich lives. This is exactly my point. It matters what you think. It matter why you do something that makes it good or bad for you.

OKI am going to break this down for everyone here->People are going to be overweight, people are going to be underweight. If someone is chubby or whatnot you cant sit there and call them lazy/unhealthy etc.Its people like you guys on the fourm that make people feel like shit me myself I am in no shape or fourm skinny and I am not morbid obese I go to my doctor and I am told I am healthy, I work out on a daily basis and I barely eat junk food only once a week and I am still heavyier. You people make people feel like shit about themselves for what they are. No matter how much you bitch and complain about “how fat people are ugly” “uncool” “lazy” they deserve to have respect like yourselves.NO it may not be healthyNO it may not be pleasing to your eyeYES they are peopleYES they deserve respect from peopleYES they can be beautiful

You can rationalize until christ comes again, Kay. You’re still a hypocrit. You’re slamming this woman six ways from sunday for doing the exact same thing you do yourself, but with a different substance. That is the very definition of hypocrisy. Unless, of course you’ve quit smoking. In that case I recant.

Just because you can (apparently) “choose” your feelings, doesn’t mean you’re not an asshole. You can choose not to be a rancid pap smear, but you don’t, so why should she choose to not feel hurt by your harsh, unfair, and ignorant judgments?

Jane you are an idiot. Jane you are an idiot. Jane you are an idiot.Is that often enough for you believe it yet?

Well okay then… Jane you are an idiot… times a googol…