If you took a fat person & made them thin....

[BikeSwimLaugh]

For discussion.....

I think a lot of overweight people feel they are separated by a gap of some sort. If they were to suddenly to wake-up in the morning and found themselves thin (12% body-fat, fit, in good shape)....they'd feel like they could maintain it and not put the weight back on. They just can't get from where they are to where they want to be.

Again, just for discussion....anyone have any thoughts on this notion?

I'd like to think that each fat person CAN be that fit person in their mind, if they visualize their goal then they in fact are that thin & fit person....so if they could maintain that fit state, then they'd arrive at it eventually. Makes sense, no?

The thing I surmize is that once you are "there", it's easier to stay there and be there. A thin person can exercise and maintain themselves more comfortably. Also, heavy people have swollen abdominal fat cells that inhibit the insulin process (insulin resistant)...so they're bodies produce more insulin, crash the sugar-level and perpetuate a hungry state. Hench, heavy people have bodies that are conducive towards being over-weight, whereas thin people have bodies and metabolism that lean towards...well, being lean. So, fat people are fat because they're fat.

It reminds me of boogie-boarding at the beach: if you catch the wave it's all easy-riding on the way in...but if you miss the wave, you have to work super-hard (almost against current) to catch-up. I think that's how it is for many overweight people, they feel if they were fit they could maintain it, but getting there is an insurmountable journey in which the odds are stacked against them......

 

[Hoss]

Is is a slippery slope? Yup. But very few start at the bottom.

 

[Leigh P]

While I don't agree with some of your science there I do agree that anyone can be whatever they want to be. Visualizing our goal is important to winning the battle.

 

[[Focus]]

I'd rather earn it than have it given to me, but I do think there is some truth in what you say.

I'd agree that your science makes little sense, but I think your analogy is fairly apt. Most of my friends started out fit/thin and/or are genetic freaks. Keeping up with (and often one-upping) their excesses is a large part of what got me where I am today, I think; none of them are any worse for the wear. I like to occasionally remind them of it and point out that I hate them.

I also think a whole lot of people choose to be dumb, lazy and unwilling to bleed for what they want and then write it off with a dismissive 'its not fair'. If I had to venture a guess, I'd say that the percentage of "fat persons" able to maintain a fit body magically given to them likely corresponds directly with the number of "fat persons" able to permanently lose a large amount of extra fat by means of a successful lifestyle change.

 

[BikeSwimLaugh]

I'd say that the percentage of "fat persons" able to maintain a fit body magically given to them likely corresponds directly with the number of "fat persons" able to permanently lose a large amount of extra fat by means of a successful lifestyle change.

Very well put!

I dunno....I think I spent too many years figuring, anticipating and planning to eventually lose the weight and for once in my life be in good form. It was always something I meant to do, intended to do and imagined I'd do.....I even had clothes that were too tight but I held onto them figuring I'd be wearing them one day.

When I hit 42 I realized losing weight and not being heavy was (evidently) little more then something I'd perpetually put on the back-burner. Then it all hit me in a moment of lucid realization: I was mid-life, I had no pictures of me (all destroyed or deleted), I regularly made reference to my heaviness with jovial comments and all I had was the thought that one day I'd get serious and lose the weight. The thought that I could change was my salvation...but I had to come to terms with the fact that I hadn't.

Then it hit me, a doctor wanted to put me on drugs...and we're not talking about anti-biotics or something you take for a couple weeks and then your done....these were blood-pressure & cholesterol medication that you take for the rest of your life; and hope they have no side-effects! Now when you travel, you have to take your "pills"....in my mind, it was a significant turning-point in my chronological standing: WELCOME TO OLD-AGE.

Anyways...I've more then fallen off the topic...or have I? I guess I spend a lot of time reflecting on things and figured it would be fun & interesting to see what other people felt. As per this topic, I feel like I've made the transitional jump from heavy to fit...now that I'm on the other side I can't help but feel like there was a barrier or gap that seemed insurmountable to break through and get beyond. I always thought that if I could get there I'd be able to maintain it....but getting there was the problem.

Well, all I can say is that it's a long & hard journey...and while the end (or the other side) may be so far away that it may SEEM insurmountable....it isn't. Hard work, determination and steadfast desire are the fuels that can get you there. Go figure.

 

[Dallen]

I think everyone is unique. Being "fat" is not really being "wrong." I think a lot of what we see today portray fat people as being negative, selfish, lonely, etc. When you watch movies and TV shows typically fat people are either portrayed as funny people, or as an evil villain. I'm disgusted at the fact that we live in a world where we can't accept our own body images and those of others.

In my own personal opinion, I think a lot of what people fail to realize is that being fat is not wrong in any way. Can you die from being fat? Yes, but you will eventually die from something. I find it illogical to tell a person who is fat that they should lose weight just because they might die.

I also think the "thin" concept is a ridiculous concept. When I walk into the supermarket, I get mad. I'm mad at the fact that nearly every single thing I pick up has something about weight on it. It's ridiculous. And they don't talk about "healthy lifestyles" instead they say, "You must lose weight. You must be thin. If you're not, you're 'bad' and you're going to die because you're too fat."

I think everyone should first accept who they are. I think people should ask themselves what they want to be able to do, and adjust their body accordingly to accept those challenges. If all you want to do is walk from your car to work, then so be it. If you want to run 10 miles, then the only way you're going to run 10 miles is to run 10 miles; adjust yourself to meet those demands.