Month: December 2010

[continued from previous post]

Did I say I was done?

I did?

Did you believe it?

The Linebacker: Your entitled to your opionion….once again “excluding medical conditions” and I said ‘commonly’ associated not It was the only cause…Ive seen plenty of obese people and their obese because there freaking lazy and eat to much..I was one of them

And I was just so mad at that point.

I wanted to hurt somebody.

I stopped and closed my eyes and felt the blood pulsing in my ears.

And just over the throbbing, I could hear a little voice from inside my head. What did it say? I listened closer, and I heard it. It said:

You’re the asshole here.

That’s right. I was the asshole in this situation. I was berating TL for “making people wrong”. Really? What exactly was I doing? Arguing a point, after making sure nobody could hear anything I said because I called them all idiots.

So I emailed TL privately and used my big-girl words: I wasn’t trying to alienate you with my comments. As someone who hits the charts at the obese level, and someone who has an eating disorder, I just felt demeaned by your post.

You have every right to be proud of the progress that you’ve made.

He emailed back immediately: Amy please know that I wasnt in any way trying to be evil! I promise you Im not like that and please forgive me if I appeared that way!! I wasnt in any way talking about people like you Amy who work damn hard and take a stand in their life!! Amy I def wasnt talking about anyone who has a disorder as well I take that seriously I promise!!! I just meant lazy people…..do u want me to take the message down Amy? I promise I will if u want me to I dont want to offend someone who works as hard as you

That was sweet. Now I felt bad.

Me: No worries, TL. Sometimes I speak without taking the requisite ten deep breaths to calm myself down and realize I might be overreacting.

TL: Never apologize for speaking your mind Amy you have the right to your opinion no matter If I or anyone else agrees with it! and Im deleting the post because my goal of the post wasnt for any one to fell less than appreciated! and honestly I shouldnt have posted that anyway!

Turns out The Linebacker is a really nice dude.

So to recap for our heroine: judgmental…check, preachy…check, temper tantrum…whoa, Nelly!, and Big Life Lesson…learned.

Here it is, in case you didn’t catch it: Every so often, I need to stop and ask myself, who’s the asshole? Chances are the answer will be, I am.

I’m the asshole.

(I still don’t think TL and I are going to be besties.)

[The End]

…to manage people’s expectations.

Sorry, I didn’t realize that putting “to be continued” at the end of a post would make people all twitchy for the next installment.

Now I’ve got everybody thinking that the defensive line of TL’s college team is going to bash down my door, bare-fisted, and pummel me on the floor of my kitchen, while an illiterate grad student stands by and shouts, “Beecomn to obesed!”

Alas, I remain un-pummeled. Relax. It’s not that exciting.

(Part 4 is posted; part 5 will be tonight or tomorrow morning.)

[continued from previous post]

And yet, I couldn’t.

Listen, here it is: I’m obese because I have an eating disorder. I have since I was seven.

It’s not anorexia, clearly. It’s not bulimia. Some people call it compulsive overeating, or binge-eating disorder. I’ve heard it called generalized eating disorder. I call it food addiction.

I started out (when I was a little kid, going through some difficult shit) overeating, eating mindlessly, eating to calm feelings, to prevent feelings.

When I spent that year in Italy at age 18, and everybody over there kept telling me how fat I was, it got way worse. (What a surprise.) I started sneaking food, hiding food, just like an alcoholic might hide her alcohol, a heroin addict might conceal his stash. I began to binge-eat. Ate until I was sick. Never threw up, never used laxatives.

Just let myself hurt. Yelled at myself. Called myself names. Isolated myself.

For years.

And for years, I’ve been working on it. I don’t binge anymore. I didn’t even eat to discomfort at Thanksgiving dinner a couple weeks ago. Occasionally, I’ll let myself get too full. Probably about as often as the next guy.

But I still eat when I’m not hungry. I still eat to calm feelings, to prevent feelings. Even positive ones. They all scare me.

My nervous system has developed an automatic response to emotions. I don’t even have to feel them yet and my disordered brain sends up a flare and directs me toward food.

Quick, it says.

Danger, it says.

You’re about to be uncomfortable.

Fix it.

And this whole eating disorder business has made me terribly uncomfortable with my body. I’ll be in bed with a boyfriend, and my robe will slip open, and I’ll think, “Ick!” at the very same moment he’s saying, “Hey….” I’ll turn around and face the dressing room door when trying on clothes, just so I don’t have to look at this vessel I carry all my organs around in.

Anyway. (Jesus, this has gone on for a while, hasn’t it?) I felt the need to respond to TL’s last comment. It’s pretty clear in hindsight that his original status update touched a very tender nerve, one that gets touched all the time. Whenever I find myself pulling cabinets open, knowing my body is not asking for food. Whenever I see women’s magazines effusing about how to drop 10 pounds in two weeks!…how to make your body bikini-ready by summer!…how to get rid of cellulite! When I see totally average-looking women modeling for Lane Bryant. When a dude’s online dating profile says “No fatties”.

But I couldn’t see that then. I was just angry and raw.

Me: Ever heard of a compulsive eating disorder? It’s real. It’s not affected by willpower. It’s not solved by tough love. It’s an addiction, a psychological condition, that needs treatment. So, no, it’s not very simple.

And I’ll reiterate that calling people lazy is just a way to make yourself right and other people wrong. It doesn’t actually help solve the problem.

OK, I’m done.

[continued]

[continued from previous post]

Where were we? Ah, yes! I was disclosing, much to your surprise, that I have some difficulty biting my tongue. What did I call those people? Of course! Ignoramuses.

Let’s tune back in, shall we?

Apparently, female commenter #1 thought I was making light of the conversation.

Female commenter #1 responds: This is a serious issue, more more ppls are beecomn to obesed. N the reality is we know how hard it is to drop weight. N maybe ppl that are obesed can really go to the gym n work out, or walk for a longtime. We […] don’t need to focus on the ppl that r obesed instead we need to prevent it. I did a paper n grad school about child obesity n the numers were crazy. I am seeing way too many children over weight bc they don’t eat the proper food n they don’t exercise. Instead they spend hours playing video games n hours on a computer. Then they are sitting down majority of the time they r in school. Obeses is a high risk factor n is killing our ppl day after day. This topic keep on comn up but until we do something about it, it will just be another topic :(…. Ppl that struggle with obesity deal with depression n low self esteem, which can lead to suicide. So this is def a serious issue. GOOD POST [name redacted]….

You’ll be astounded, dear readers, to learn that I felt the need to respond. I wanted to inquire about which graduate school admitted a person who wrote like that, but I did not. I kept to the topic. (Do you feel that? Yes, that’s smug superiority oozing out of your screen.)

Me: Absolutely, obesity is a serious issue. But simplifying the cause to laziness is…well, lazy. And certainly not helpful. And while we’re at it, prejudiced and hurtful and, what’s the word I’m looking for? Oh, yes: ignorant.

Obesity has many causes. Read about ’em. Here’s a starter article for you:
http://www.downtoearth.org/health/nutrition/obesity-america

The next guy had a little different take.

Male commenter #3: [initial redacted] Money. while i agree that obesity is a problem, linking it to lazyness isn’t completely accurate. i don’t think the problem is lazyness, its motivation. i’m lazy, but i’m motivated to lose weight & be an overall better athelete & father. …obesity as a term is overrated anyway. back in Jan 2010 when i was @ 305,i was obese class III, now i’m class I @ 235. punch your info into that crap formula and see where you end up but be prepared for a shock. i have to get to 210 so i can be considered “overweight.” i anticipate hitting that weight on my bday. I really don’t consider myself obese, but if the numbers say so, then i guess i am. after taking [Brutus]‘s nutrition class back in Sept, i have a whole different outlook on ppl’s health. think about how many ppl you know that weigh 150lb, look like they’re @ the peak of fitness but are taking 30 pills per day just so they don’t have a heart attack, high blood pressure/sugar…. and look at all the tubs of fat like me, my brother & some of the other big dudes @ [CrossFit] that look like crap but can literally pull their own weight. whenever i see a bid guy/girl now, i stop and think about how i used to be in their shoes & wonder if i still would be in their shoes if i didn’t have the motivation i have today. c u saturday, we’re going to crush it!!!

Then The Linebacker weighed in. (OH MY GOD, NO PUN INTENDED. I’M SERIOUS. BUT NOW I CAN’T MAKE MYSELF CHANGE IT. HAHAHAHA.)

TL: I totally agree Big [Male commenter #3] I was considered Class 111 obese in Jan when I was 326 It rocked my world! I was saying that its “commonly” associated with laziness and [Male commenter #3] Im talking about the type of lazy that includes not working out and overeating(and then going to eat KFC and wondering why their still obese)….no one who crossfits or works out falls into this category!!

And I wanted to wash my hands of the whole situation at this point because really?, nobody was listening to what I had to say.

I wanted to.

I really wanted to.

And yet….

[continued]

[continued from previous post]

So one day last week, I notice TL’s status update and comments are as follows.

Obesity is not a disease….its a condition commonly associated with laziness

Female commenter #1: AGREE

Male commenter #1: So true Big [TL]. I can’t feel sorry for fat people unless they have some kind of gland condition or something.

Male commenter #2: Laziness and overeating. Don’t forget overeating, [TL]. [Pretty sure, this comment was made by this guy.]

Female commenter #2: I agree too. It just seems really socially irresponsible to let yourself get to that point. Not talking about a few extra pounds here, like from having kids or something, but real obesity.

Let’s stop there for a second, and—ahem—digest.

OK, first off, Male commenter #1, the one who is incapable of “feel[ing] sorry for fat people unless they have some kind of gland condition”…how the hell would he know who does and who doesn’t? Does he stop fat people on the street and go, “Hey, listen, I was just wondering whether to feel sorry for you or judgmental of you. So could you tell me if you have a gland condition?”

And, actually, Male #2 (who I’m going to infer was begotten to two skinny parents, who were begotten themselves to four skinny grandparents, and who has probably never felt the urge to overeat in his life) was the closest to being right on this. Broken down to its most elemental, obesity is almost always a result of overeating. There are lots of reasons people eat more calories that their bodies need:

• being marketed ridiculous portion sizes
• high-calorie crap-food being cheaper than good-for-you-food
• having a disordered relationship with food
• it tasting really damn good
• it being a holiday
• having a hard day at work
• etc.

But basically, the vast majority of obese people don’t get obese because of “gland conditions”; they get obese by eating too much.

Now, according to the Body Mass Index calculator, I am obese. (According to my dad, I’m a vision of Baroque loveliness. Potato-potahto.) I’m not quite 5’2″, and last time I went to the doctor I weighed 176 lbs. That gives me a BMI of 32.4. Over 30 is obese, thus I am obese. I am obese because I consume more calories than are required by my body. (More on this subject later.)

But I’m not fucking lazy. I get up and go to work every damn day. I keep my house in, well, decent condition. I go to the gym and lift heavy objects over ma head. I walk my dogs to the dog park. I go hiking.

So anyway, I try—I don’t know this dude, or his friends—I try, but I just…can’t…keep…my mouth…shut.

Me: Wow. Sorry, but this is some of the most ignorant shit I’ve read in a long time.

Probably could’ve been a bit more diplomatic. Whatevs.

[continued]

This is a tale in five acts, in which our heroine is judgmental and preachy, has a temper tantrum, and learns a Big Life Lesson.

This dude from the gym—let’s call him The Linebacker, TL for short—friended me on Facebook maybe three weeks ago. Not sure why. We’d never really spoken. (And no, he wasn’t trying to get in my pants; he got engaged last weekend.)

Anyway, I accepted the friend request, and when I looked at his profile, I realized how very little we had in common:

• religion: Christian
• political beliefs: conservative
• bio: stuff like If Im not progressing than im regressing. Thats why ill NEVER stop working hard. I can rest when I die.
• He attended Duke (not really Duke, but someplace like Duke) on a full football scholarship.

So:

• I’ve got nothing against Christians, but I’m not one.
• I’ve got nothing against conservat—that’s a big, fat lie, coming out my mouth right now. I’ll admit I do feel some malice towards conservatives.
• I generally don’t have much conversational rapport with people who use phrases like “fired up” on a regular basis.
• We all know what an expert I am on football.

Put them all together, well, I just didn’t see us chillin on a Friday night.

(I sound like a judgmental doo-doo head, which I am, but that’s not my point. Right now anyway. He seemed like a good enough dude. I just didn’t think we were going to be besties.)

[continued]