Insulting the Overweight

Hypothroidism is also a factor, of which i have and several of my relatives have and neighbors too.

Try Truvia in place of sugar in your tea. Also, everybody must eat breakfast.

Everybody must eat breakfast? Is that the law?

you consume fewer calories at lunch if you eat breakfast. so since the poster did consider that weight loss might be helpful (not necessary, but helpful), I pointed out that the poster could make two very simple improvements in the diet - stop consuming sugar and start eating breakfast.

High protein breakfast, e.g. eggs, is best.

Must. Have. Sugar. In. My. Tea. (and sometimes milk)

And half and half in my espresso.

I'm a coffee/tea nut.

I'm not going to deny myself every pleasure in life. I already deny myself what I crave. The sugar is under 100 calories per day. I don't know what the half and half is. That's probably what is killing me.

I would not worry about Half-and-Half or milk. It is just more protein and fat, and not an issue.

I figure the half and half is two to three tablespoons.

Fat is fat. I understand that. The rest of my diet is fairly healthy.

My point was that fat is not something to worry about.

But hamster, lunch is the most important meal of the day, it is when we need the calories to stay active. If you eat breakfast there is no guarantees you eat less at lunch. And lunch should be your main meal anyway.

Research has shown that people who eat breakfast consumer fewer calories at lunch. But sure, you still need to eat lunch and not skip any meals.

Thanks for the advice, ham-bam.

My birthday's coming up (I miss being young) and I plan to buy myself some Godiva chocolates. After those are gone, I plan to try to let go of all the sugary junk I consume. I'll still eat fruit, but the candy, cookies, cakes and all of that will go. Not 100%, not forever. I'll start out avoiding it totally if I can, but after that, maybe I'll have a couple pieces of candy or a slice of cake at rare special events and stuff, but that's all.

I'm on a bunch of meds known for weight-gaining side effects. I'm on Anafranil, Xanax (generic--alprazolam ER), Risperdal (generic--risperidone), and Celexa (generic--citalopram XBR). I also suffer from hypothyroidism, so I'm on Levothryoxine. I'm told my thyroid is now normal.

I am over weight, I am not lazy, sometimes I over eat ... I dont go to hospitals and expect people to lift me if i can get up. I dont expect special attention. I do expect to be treated like I am human. I think people react worse to me being a mental patient than me being overweight, but the public dont know im mental and is easy to tell im over weight, so I guess I get insulted on my weight more than my mental illness.

I have been on meds that increase weight .. its hard to lose weight on them..

sucks

Maybe diet and being overweight is not a psych issue. It causes psych problems though. This thread was started by someone who has gained weight due to their meds. I know of several people who will not take the psych meds they need because they do not want to gain weight. That is a psych issue. The fear of being overweight and/or the reaction of people when someone is overweight causes eating disorders. This illness is treated behaviourly by psych professionals. Overweight people get depressed about their weight - a psych issue. People have become suicidal - also a psych issue. So, this discussion may not be so inappropriate.

If someone started a thread saying their mother was sick and they were depressed I doubt anyone would respond that their mother was healthy and they were not going to aplogize for that. Also, they would not tell the person to just cheer up and things would be alright. These type of replies are not supportive or helpful which is what people look for from others on this forum. Venus's responses to the overweight thread were of the same simplistic nature that minimized the problem and negatetd the feelings presented. Rather than continue to be offended and feel as if my situation was being trivialized I chose to ask her not to respond. Any of us who have been in therapy have been told to set limits. I set limits.

I have new onset COPD from being a heavy smoker for many years in my youth. I need inhalers. I also have a neurological condition that is either MS or polymyositis. I have weakness and stiffness in my legs and walk with a cane. I would need these items regardless of my weight. Yet I know people who assume I am short of breath and walk with a cane because of my weight. I get little or no consideration of my condition when people expect me to do things. This shows the predjudice of our society against fat people. We deal with it everywhere, everyday. Can't this forum be a place where we can come to get away from that treatment?

I take meds that have made me gain weight as well. Before I took them I was slender. Now, 13 years later, I'm fat. I'm 5'1" and I weigh ~210 lb. I'm only 14 pounds lighter than my dad, who is 6'3". I am constantly bombarded with comments from family about losing weight. My own mother told me that I look like a sumo wrestler when I walk sometimes. She used to call me flabby *ss, but I told her to stop, even though it was a joke, I didn't like it. She weighs a little less than me. My whole family has suffered from obesity. My dad used to weigh over 400 pounds. He has lost an incredible amount of weight. My aunt has lost over 50 pounds. But we're still fat. So why am I being harangued for it? Sure I'd like to lose some weight for my health, but it wasn't something I was obsessed with until people started saying stuff. I have a fallen arch, plantar fascitis and tendinitis in my one foot, which makes it painful to walk, much less exercise. I'm embarrassed to go to the gym at my apartment complex. So my T and I are coming up with some exercises that I can do at home. He's also giving me a diet plan aimed at easing depression and losing weight. He's coming up with stress relief techniques for me and meditations for me. Maybe that will help, because my self confidence has taken a nose dive. I feel like a gross fat pig. My employee ID card makes me look like I go from chin to double chin to chest. It looks like I have no neck. At least my mom was nice enough to say that it didn't look that bad. But I've overheard so many people dissing fat people. Sometimes it really isn't our fault. Sure I like to eat, but I don't eat that much. I just need help changing some of the things I choose to eat. I would think something was ok and it would end up not being ok to eat. Personally, I can't stand myself. I hate looking in the mirror. I used to punch myself in the stomach because I hated myself so much. I don't do that now, but I still hate myself. I'm going to a prayer meeting tonight and I'm going to ask that they pray for this for me. Lord knows I can use all the prayers I can get. And I might get to see him tonight, and he likes me for who I am, not what I look like.

I like being a bit chubby personally.... it means that I am happy!!!! I tend to loose weight when I am sad/confused... and I do love cooking...

And don't trust people who are super duper thin... here it means you are on crack...

Yeah being skinny sure as hell isn't all its cut out to be either...I am sure its not uncommon people wonder what hard drugs I must be on to be so skinny well its not drugs its that I've always more or less been that way and I have PTSD which constantly uses up most my energy/calories and interferes with my ability to eat enough.

Perhaps assuming the worst based on ones physical characteristics isn't such a good thing. But it happens regardless of being skinny or not.

I always assume that very skinny people are so skinny genetically.

Nah, skinny isn't always so cool either. Friend of mine is super skinny. She is overall tall with very long and fine limbs, so not meant to carry a lot of weight. I've seen her eat quite normally, she doesn't undereat anyway. But people are pointing and talking behind her back, and she dares not go to the pharmacy for laxatives because they will refuse to sell it thinking that it is a part of anorexia which it isn't. And worst of all, as a skinny person you are not allowed to get mad at people for them saying mean things, then you are told to be thankful you are skinny!

Sigh.

Interesting, maybe some people are just naturally smaller, maybe some of them are struggling with an eating disoreder, maybe some of them are very into fitness and health, possibly they have a health condition like cancer or a malabsorption problem.. hyperthyroidism etc.. Sad to assume they are all on crack and can't be trusted. And if they are on crack, well something probably happened to help get them there.

The pendulum on acceptance swings both ways. A thread about insults on the overweight people doesn't seem like the place to insult the opposite. Both have feelings. If you are confident with your own weight then why judge others.

Some people are really concerned about their health. Being overweight or obese carries signifigant health risks. That is undeniable and is not a psych issue. Some people maybe, but a lot of people ..no.

Many people who do not take their meds because they don't want to gain weight are dealing with a psych issue. They are dealing with judgmental societal attitudes which, in turn, negatively influence their medical decisions.

People who denigrate the obese are doing more harm than good. Not that they (the abusers and finger-pointers) give a damn.

I replied to that because people who do not want to take meds because of weight gain is not always a psych issue. Which is how that statement sounds. There are real reasons for not wanting to gain weight that have nothing to do with being mentally ill.

I have dealt with an anorexia since I was five. Most of my family is overweight, I know what it is like to not be understood and to struggle with weight issues. I have never insulted people for being overweight, it bothers me a great deal to witness it. But it also bothers me in reverse and neither is acceptable, and I hope that you feel that way as well.

No, it is not a psych issue. It is a completely valid issue. About 6 months ago, I polled the members of the bipolar forum on what medications side effects were the worst for them.

The "winner": weight gain. More than 50% of respondents chose weight gain as the worst.

"Runner-up": cognitive side effects.

Besides the fact that being obese carries significant health risks (it is not as clear that being overweight does; actually, overweight people tend to outlive both obese and normal weight people), it also creates a problem with attractiveness and thus mating opportunities, in other words, socialization. Socialization is just as important for mental health as everything else, if not more.

Yes hamster I saw 2 studies that said that. As far as that goes mortality and morbidity are not the same thing. Those studies seemed to shy away from the morbidity problem.