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Monday
July 14, 2008

The Skinny on Fat Rationalization by Samantha Steven

When I enter a grocery store I walk through aisles of labels that beckon: "All Natural", "Low Carb", "Organic", "100 Calories", and "Low Fat". Throughout the supermarket, I see several overweight people loading their carts with Splenda, diet coke, cookie-dough nutrition bars, and Atkins diet books. When I... (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (15 messages)

Monday, July 14 - 11:16am

Samantha,

I like your essay because you write well and have obvious values. It was fun to read.

However, I take a different stance on "Franken-Foods" (unnatural, man-made food products) -- as they've sometimes been called. And, while I really dig your commonsense wisdom regarding weight control, I myself prefer a detailed, hyper-scientific approach. That being said, some of your statements about food products, while correct in a commonsense view, were inaccurate statements (though you used them with great rhetorical effect).

Thanks.

Ed

(Edited by Ed Thompson on 7/14, 11:17am)

Monday, July 14 - 12:10pm

Great article!

I did want to make this wisecrack, though:

"Do these jeans make my butt look big?"

Why, no, those jeans are not what make your butt look big ... ;-)

Monday, July 14 - 12:20pm

I won't say that I have ever been obese, but I have definitely never been at what I would call an ideal weight either. I have said for quite a few years that my goal is 10% body fat--Lance Armstrong is 6%.

There are many, many factors involved in what makes a person have lots of body fat or not. I know a woman who gained a lot of fat right after having a hysterectomy. I know another who had a lot of fat because of thyroid problems. It's a safe bet that a great deal of my fat is what they call "stress fat."

We don't know what all of the factors are. There are people who stay in decent shape, eat whatever they want, and never exercise.

I was fortunate to get involved with a gland specialist recently who gave me a bunch of supplements that have been quite helpful. She even solved some problems that I hadn't told her about.

The fat-loss industry is full of scam artists. This is perhaps the biggest problem. These people build up the hopes of oversized people. When these problems aren't solved, the people get even more discouraged and just become resigned.

I personally don't know how much exercise helps or does not help. I do know that when you start exercising, you also start eating a lot more.

What every oversized person needs is someone who guides them along. They need a person who will push them patiently--just hard enough, but not so hard that they get frustrated. They don't need jokes or moral judgments.

I have noticed that fat people do have a tendency to congregate. This way, they can get away from the "persecution" of not-fat people. I don't think this congregation helps them. It probably just encourages them to stay the way they are.

I'm sick to death of hearing about anorexia. I've got four diabetics in my family. That's a whole lot more destructive.

Monday, July 14 - 1:00pm

"Does this dress make me look fat?"

"No, your body makes you look fat, that dress just makes you look stupid."

Monday, July 14 - 4:11pm

No Fat Chicks?

What this diatribe has to do with Objectivism, I don't see. Mayor "I know better for you" Bloomberg of NYC with his smoking and trans-fat ban might endorse it.

"The Splenda container screams "98% natural"; studies show that the other 2% has arsenic. It's a chemical sugar, and as bad as normal sugar is, obviously chemical sugar will be worse."

Obviously! Any science to back this up, or just the same sort of wisdom that you get from environmentalists who assert that nuclear power is obviously going to make you glow in the dark?

Monday, July 14 - 4:35pm

Ted, this article aims to expose the dishonest self-delusions and weasel word evasions related to obesity, a health harm.

I do agree with you and Ed that some of the scientific assertions outside that main theme need revision.

Monday, July 14 - 5:00pm

Monday, July 14 - 5:01pm

Monday, July 14 - 5:04pm

What is a plus-size model?

"Plus-size models are models who are hired to represent the plus-size woman. They generally range in size from a missy 8 all the way up to a size 32W and participate in a variety of modeling jobs including print work, runway shows, and fit or informal modeling."

"Plus-size models have many of the same requirements "straight size" models do. They are usually tall (5'8" to 6'0"), have a beautiful face, great bone structure, clear skin, a gorgeous smile, and a well proportioned body. They often find work from their mid-teens all the way through middle age and work in markets all over the US and around the world."

Monday, July 14 - 5:04pm

The article (by whom?) is written as a criticism of others - how "this kind of person bothers me." This concern with the annoying habits of others is not egoism or a commitment to reason, its a holy-than-thou type of moral supremacy typical of puritanical Christians and the green movement. The fact that someone else overeats or chews gum or listens to music I don't like has nothing to do with my living my life ethically.

Monday, July 14 - 5:12pm

What Ted said.

Tuesday, July 15 - 2:46am

Sigh ...

I like full-figured women. I like thin women. I like a wide range of women.

I have already stated on this site that Eden38DD (do a Google search) is one of my favorite pieces of eye candy.

But even she got a little too hefty recently and lost some weight to get back to something more proportional.

Perhaps I misread the author, but what I took from this article was a critique of self-deception similar to that which I criticized in this post on RoR Fitness some time ago about the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance.

I hope the author can post her own responses here.

As a side note, I have been unfit and I have been fit, and trust me, fit is better. I hope to get back into full swing on the fitness train after completing my graduate degree next year. I am slowly sliding back to the "Before" picture because of time constraints. Chris Baker can read this story to learn how to get to his goal of 10% body fat.

Left -- October 2003 -- 26% Body Fat

Right -- April 2006 -- 10% Body Fat

No whining about "aging" either as the good guy whose videos helped me so much will attest!

(Edited by Luke Setzer on 7/15, 5:27am)

Tuesday, July 15 - 6:18am

As an aside, can we fix the link tied to the author's name for this article?

Right now I get an error.

It looks like the link needs to be:

http://rebirthofreason.com/Articles/Author_249.shtml

or something like that, though that link ought to list this article yet it does not.

(Edited by Luke Setzer on 7/15, 6:19am)

Thursday, July 17 - 4:13am

Beauty comes in all sizes -- a quick googling of, say, "Olivia O'Lovely" or "Chloe Vevrier" would suffice to settle this for all but the most hardened skinny-chasers.

Monday, July 21 - 9:14am

Ted....post #9.....Yes!

Luke,

I like woman of all shpes and sizes too. AND Fit does feel better! I've been fit, unfit, and down-right unfit. Getting more and more fit as the days go on though, and can say that it feels great!