Being an American girl who has become overweight, lemme just make a few points:
-I was not always fat...I used to be quite skinny; I took it for granted, not realizing how pretty I was. I think it took me about 4 years to fully get over the healthy level for my age, or at least to realize that I had a problem.
-Yes, lack of exercise and poor eating choices as well as side effects from depression medication are three reasons as for my excess poundage.
-One doesn't just become "obese" overnight...for me, it was a slow painful process of self-hatred and addictive cycles.
-To clarify the previous bullet point (I just don't want to make coherent paragraphs cuz it's late) My roommate in college showed me how comforting food can be; it can be used to celebrate, dull pain, etc. Some young people discover alcohol, some discover drugs, some discover sex...I discovered food. Yes, food can be like a drug and like any addiction, it is very very hard to quit.
-I agree with my brother when he says that everyone is addicted to something, whether it be food, drink, drugs, video gaming, shopping, etc. You just have to try to substitute bad addictions for good ones (i.e. read more instead of being glued to a computer screen all day or get addicted to walking as opposed to food)
-It's a cycle, like Fat Bastard says in the second Austin Powers movie "I eat because I'm unhappy, and I'm unhappy because I eat" stupid character, funny movie, but true statement.
-It's easy to point at obese people and laugh, but you gotta remember that most of those people don't want to be like that; it's like laughing at someone who smokes and saying how they'll get lung cancer..they might know the consequences, but they'll keep doing it until they make the effort to quit.
-That effort is hard...I am trying to eat better, I've joined different weight loss groups and I'm going to Curves.
-No, I don't ***** about my weight all the time...it's a problem I'd rather NOT bring up in conversation.
-I HATE being the "typical fat American" god, that's so derogatory- there's enough to be ashamed of my country, I don't need this.
-One last edit (man, I need to go to bed) eating healthy is hard when you're lower middle class. According to the weekly ads for Dierbergs, a package of Pizza Rolls are $1.00 each, as opposed to the freshly made quiche from the deli which is $8.99. Organic/health food is expensive, and yes American portion sizes are well over the healthy limit.
-My excess pounds have made me miserable. I feel ugly, weak, ashamed, and hopeless. It doesn't feel like I'll ever be able to lose it. Once you get past a certain point, it takes a lot more drastic life style changes in order to lose it. Since my grandmother's death, I haven't been able to go to Curves lately, but I'm getting back into the swing of things and got reweighed and measured. I damn near cried. I hate, HATE shopping for clothes. My libido is shot because I don't feel sexy (when I get out of the shower, I avoid looking in the mirror at all costs).
Bottom line: Being overweight sucks and seeing posts similar to "no fat chicks" or "fat people are just lazy" (there are lazy skinny people too, you know) doesn't make me feel any better. I'm not trying to chastise any one particular post, just kind of letting people know what it's like.
