About Obesity.....

<rant>

This is probably going to be an unpopular opinion, but quite frankly I don't give a shit.  I do believe that being obese is a choice.   If you've been reading my posts for the past year then you should be aware that I've struggled with my weight for over 40 years.   Yes, you read that correctly 40 maybe 45 years, so I think I have perspective here.  I got fat because I ate a lot of junk.   Candy, soda, other sweet fattening foods.   You don't think so?   Let me break it down, I would, and DID, eat 1/2 a large pizza or more, drink 2 liter bottles of soda, eat candy bars, fried wings etc...   I can guess why,   I was unhappy about moving, my parents divorce, unpopular with girls etc.....    It doesn't matter.   Some people use drugs or alcohol to feel better about themselves, I used food and as such I ate like a pig and I looked like one.  

Long story short, I've lost weight and gained it back at least five, or maybe six times.  I've weighed well over 300 pounds, had type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, arthritis, joint issues and back pain.

What I can't abide is this nonsense now about "body shaming" and how weight loss works.   If you're fat, you're fat.   Period.  I'm willing to bet most people who are fat are there because they overeat and dont exercise.   No, NOT ALL, but most.  Sure there are people who have medical conditions, but that's a small portion of society.   Humans haven't always been obese, it's a relatively recent change and I believe that our society pushes this on us, and specifically American society.   Fast food is utter garbage and will make you fat.   Most restaurants serve portions that are equivalent to an entire days worth of calories.  We spend all day sitting at our desks, watch television all night, drive everywhere and eat processed food and yet I'm supposed to believe people don't choose to be fat?   And if you think I haven't been made fun of for being fat guess again.   I've been called every name under the sun, and then some.  I asked four, YES FOUR girls to my senior prom and all of them said no, so I know all about feeling humiliated.  I was too proud or ashamed to go solo, so I missed my prom.  Yes it sucked, I cried about it, and it hurt more than I can remember.  So don't tell me being called fat hurts your feelings.   Of course it does.  Grow up.  Life is hard, it frequently sucks, people are mean.   Stop asking society to accomodate you, stop asking society to make excuses for you.  Take responsibility for yourself.

Look, I really don't care what people do, as long as it doesn't directly affect me or my family.   If you want to overeat, do so.  I love food too.  I really do.  It's part of why I wanted to start the food truck, but I had to accept that I can't eat giant portions and be healthy.   That is a fact.  We went on our cruise and I remember seeing someone one morning who was grossly overweight, and this person had 2 full plates of food for breakfast.   Piled high with food.  Maybe two days of calores in one sitting.   I'm sorry, that is a choice.   I too made a choice, I got up a little earlier, went to the gym and did a little exercise and then had some huevos rancheros.  Is the difference clear?    Thanksgiving was last week here in the US.   We went to two thanksgiving dinners, and I ate at both of them, yet I didn't eat until I felt sick like I used to, and I even exercised in the morning.

Listen, I'm not saying what I did will work for everyone, but I refuse to believe that people can't take responsibility for their LIFE DECISIONS, and change them, and it won't work for MOST people.   Everything in life that's meaningful takes time and effort.   I say this all the time, it's easy to get fat.   Eat what you want, don't exercise and see what happens.  However, if you want to lose weight, without drugs which I think is only a short term fix, and keep it off you need to address the reason you're overweight.  I had a friend ask me how I lost weight, and my answer was "a lot of hard work" and that's it.   I do my best to stay accountable to myself and stay disciplined.  It's ok to splurge, eat some dessert, have an extra helping of stuffing or sweet potatoes, but you can't let that snowball back into bad habits, and remember that you still have to burn off those calories at some point, just like if you spend extra money on fun stuff, you still have to sacrifice somewhere else...

</rant>