Overeaters are like drug addicts and should not be enabled
http://www.flickr.com/photos/celie/ / CC BY-NC 2.0
This is not an easy post to write.
I struggle with my weight. Eating right and exercising takes effort and I work at it every single day. As President Obama encourages a national conversation about health care, what often gets overlooked is the part we play in our own demise.
Friends and family like to tease, calling me a skinny bitch. They imply that staying thin is easy for those of us who don’t overeat.
It’s not easy. Life isn’t easy. Doing the right thing by our bodies as a way of showing gratitude for life isn’t easy. We do it anyway.
I also hear, from time to time, excuses from people who are losing the battle of the bulge. For example, they tell me they’re not like me. They like food.
Bullshit.
That’s like saying an alcoholic likes the taste of vodka.
I like the taste of vodka. And tequila. And wine.
So I make damn sure I don’t overdo it because then I wouldn’t be able to drink anymore.
Same with food.
Don’t imply that I don’t like to eat.
Nothing tastes better than fresh vegetables and fruit. I don’t need to drown them in cream or sugar or salt or MSG. Dark grainy bread, thick chunks of French or Swiss cheese, spicy marinara sauce…even curly fries make my taste buds come alive…in moderation. Because if I ate too much of them, eventually I’d be cut off.
And that’s no kind of fun.
See, here’s the thing. Morbidly obese people don’t like the taste of food. They eat for other reasons, so let’s not pretend otherwise.
Taco Tammy had an event last night for people who are interested in her Save the Tortillas campaign. And while I admire Tammy and hope her company makes it, I was dismayed at what I saw. Take a look at the pictures from that event.
How can someone look at a pot full of simmering blood and fat and find that appetizing? If you went to a party where everyone showed off STDs, wouldn’t you close your legs? In much the same way, I’d look around the room at the consequences of eating such nauseatingly nasty shit and immediately close my mouth.
When we criticize religion, people often say a person’s faith or belief system is beyond reproach. Let’s not discuss it! Might ruffle a few feathers when we ask a person to *think* instead of *feel.*
Similarly, when we criticize the obesity problem in America and show examples where overeating isn’t just a lifestyle choice, but a public health crisis, people respond with “live and let live.”
Fine. But it’s important to understand that there is nothing appetizing or appealing about a room full of fat people celebrating food. It’s harmful and destructive behavior that destroys lives. Period.
Folks, you should eat an apple instead and go to therapy.
You heard me.
Not easy to say, but as you can see, *easy* has nothing to do with it.
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Catherine Durkin Robinson
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Kate, I feel the same way. I have always been thin. But…if I ate anything that I saw, I wouldn’t be. As a child my metabolism was high. I could eat what I wanted. As an adult, not so much. Just looking at the pan of that fattening cheese in that taco Tammy picture…made me sick.
I just don’t eat that stuff. I will not say I don’t enjoy something sweet now and then, but I don’t eat chips, dips, nachos and cheese, cheese fries etc.
That stuff will kill you, not to mention make you look like a whale. I understand people struggle with their weight, but if they watched what they put in their mouths, they wouldn’t have to. Ok, now everyone beat us up.
It always shocks me when people sit in judgment of others without knowing the first thing about their situations. I found your reference to the photo of overweight people at the event last night to be demeaning, small and just plain mean. The photo includes 3 friends of mine, some of the nicest, sweetest people in the world who wouldn’t say a mean thing about anyone. Folks who are nothing but supportive of others. To embarrass them publicly like, on FB especially, was completely unnecessary and really mean. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Just saying. As a writer, I believe in having to write your truth. Have your opinion if you like but embarrassing people crosses the line, for me.
Wow, I was going to ask if you wanted to grab dinner when I head to Florida in October, but now I’m sorta afraid to. Maybe we should just drink instead?
Wow… I am glad I didn’t attend last night, and opted to workout and eat ice cream. I would have hated to end up in one of those pictures. I think you are off base in this post, but that is what makes you unique.
Society has several views. My publisher and agent have both said don’t lose weight, you are funnier fuller. I think that means fat.
I try not to judge people, but we are all not perfect!
QJ – I would love love love to meet you for dinner. Don’t make me beg!
Begging?!? I had no idea begging was even an option!?! WHAT ELSE HAVEN’T YOU TOLD ME!?!?!?!?!
Okay, we’ll do dinner, but it’ll be sensible, involving lots of greenery…well, at least more greenery than the olives in my martini.
coming up on 6 years clean and sober I am afraid I may of just gone from the spoon to the fork, anything I can eat with that fork,my wife quit feeding lovingly by hand,she is afraid she may lose a finger,food issues are a lot more serious then I thought,wow,I may get the courage to go to a in house meeting at the Victorian here at http://www.soberliving.com
tues nights open OA meeting