I can be silent no more.

[Vraille Darkfang]

After having gone to the Buffet & Wal-Mart, I can keep quiet no longer.

LANDWHALE HOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

We be hunting the Great, White Land Whale; and Thar she blows!

And thar He Blows!

And Thar!

And Thar!

Thar be a whole Pod of them!

Quick! Line the Harpoon up towards the Dessert Isle!

When some Anthropomorphized Walrus sits across from us at Golden Corral (overlapping the chair on 3 of 4 sides, stomach half-hiding knee caps) & bitches (Very, very) loudly about how it isn't their fault they are fat (in this case the whole low metabolism line).....

Maybe, just maybe, they are right. Their low metabolism is the reason for their obesity. In our town, a local girl has a condition where her body can only metabolize 3-4 Tablespoons of Glucose a day; the rest gets converted to fat. She has to starve herself & force her body to convert the fat back into energy. Of course, when she begins to eat, her body just tries that much harder to convert as much sugar as possible to fat. Thus a vicious cycle is born.

However. might I suggest that, while, you may indeed possess a slow metabolism; the Second Cheesecake (not slice, entire pie) may be a much larger key than you give it credit. The 3 bowls of Ice Cream (with Sprinkles) ain't helping. Nor were the 5 trips for Fried Chicken.

When the Doctor use the term Morbidly Obese he doesn't mean the fat is in danger of dying & just dropping right off. He means, that statistically, your girth will MURDER you.

If Daily Caloric Expenditure x 8 is another way of saying "Lunch" Metabolism is waaaay down on the list.

I live in the Rural Mid-west. Every year I see more and more of these Land-Whales. I see them at the Restaurants, I see them at the Grocery Store, I see them at the gym..... Wait, strike that last one.

Simple facts is. I see what you eat. I see what you buy to eat. I see what you buy your kids to eat. As well as Drink (Mountain Dew, while the Drug of Choice for Many Gamers; ain't low-calorie). What I don't see, is you getting off your couch and walking around outside. Having seen the evidence, I feel safe in my contention that, for the vast majority, you are fat, becasue you eat too much, what you do eat is poorly chosen, and an utter lack of physical activity merely compounds 1 and 2.

Every Day, I see obese (not fat; I mean walking Walrusi; 300-500+ lbs overweight). I see kids 2' tall by 2' wide. I see the choices you make. They are very poor choices.

CHOICES. As in CHOOSE. You can choose. I am not claiming it is easy. I know. The last time I went to the Doctor, I was border-line overweight. It is not easy to change your lifestyle. Unless you drop dead of a heart attack. Stops things like Breathing.

Too many people don't want to take responsibility. There is no Magic Pill (despite what the Ads say).

Calories Out > Calories In. That is how you lose weight. It is a pretty simple Formula.

Exercise, Age, & Genetics (OK, even Medicine) can help with the first. Good Common Sense & a little Research, can help with the second.

I know that some of the people I see have real medical conditions. Most don't.

My wife's Favorite Aunt is starting to Push 400 lbs. She gets winded walking more than 100' or so. She. She just doesn't want to change. And one day (probably sooner than later) I'll be heading to a funeral where the Pall-bearers need assistance from a Hydraulic Cart.

In the end. Even if they don't care about themselves; there are others who do. And they are hurt just as much as the Morbidly Obese 800 lb guy broke a reinforced table.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'm going to hunt you down and sit on you until you understand the pain of what it means to be big boned.

At 5' 7" 250lbs, I'm fat & I know it. I am also actually big boned- an MD determined that (at my fittest) my 0% body fat weight was still 15lbs over the "obese" rating on the Height & Weight charts.

But there are a lot of factors that go into causing obesity. Slow metabolism is one- a hypothyroid condition like my mom's can be hellish- it took them decades to determine the proper meds for her to take.

A build like mine doesn't contribute to obesity, but makes it harder for you to determine your healthy weight. And even so, the extra mass is still a factor in heart disease, even if that extra mass is bone and muscle.

Other factors include eating disorders (its not just anorexia and bulemia). Studies have shown that people with a weight problem are more likely to clean their plates than those who are fit or underweight...even when the amount of food is well beyond what would be comfortable to consume. That is why the American trend towards larger portions and even all-you-can-eat buffets is so devastating. When I go to a holiday buffet, it is actually an effort for me to just eat normal amounts of food.

Severe depression also contributes to the party. You'd be surprised how many people who are depressed wind up spending time raiding the 'fridge in their house, downing prodigous amounts of high-calorie foods.

Americans are more sedentary than ever before. More and more, your job involves you sitting in one place all day...and more and more, so does your free time if you like video games or message boards.

The American love affair with soft-drinks is also a killer. When I was a freshman in college, I was 5'4" and 250lbs- much rounder than I am today because I wasn't just shorter, but also less muscular. My beverege of choice was soft-drinks. When I did a little math, I realized I was taking in about an extra 3000 calories a day in sodas alone. I gave them up cold turkey.

Another hidden factor for me, at least, was a hidden case of sodium-dependent hypertension. I take in salty food, I drink- just like everyone else. In my case, though, I retain much more water than others because my body holds onto more salt. When I was finally diagnosed, I was almost 285lbs, and my BP was 215/201. That is NOT a typo. Proper diuretic meds made me into a human firehose, and I lost 20lbs of water weight in 2 weeks.

All of these factors, and others besides, can add up to a kind of snowball effect. Once rolling downhill, they can be damn difficult to stop.

 

[Crothian]

It's almost as bad as people ranting about pointless things on message boards

 

[Joker]

I actually thought it was pretty funny. And it's hardly pointless. Venting is good for the soul. Well, your soul, not the ones you are venting about.

In fact, if I may take this opportunity to vent myself:

I just got fired from work, which in and of itself isn't terrible as I have another job aswel. It's just the fact that my boss neglected to tell me that I wasn't gonna be rostered in anymore that ticked me off.

It took 3 weeks, 3 phonecalls and 4 visits to the workplace to finally find out that I had been fired.

Rant over. Please continue.

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

But there are a lot of factors that go into causing obesity. Slow metabolism is one- a hypothyroid condition like my mom's can be hellish- it took them decades to determine the proper meds for her to take.

Severe depression also contributes to the party. You'd be surprised how many people who are depressed wind up spending time raiding the 'fridge in their house, downing prodigous amounts of high-calorie foods.

Americans are more sedentary than ever before. More and more, your job involves you sitting in one place all day...and more and more, so does your free time if you like video games or message boards.

I've got all those same factors as well.

Obesity is a medical Condtion. The factors that go into to in are myriad. I know several people whose obeisty is casued by various medical factors.

I know a lot more people whose obesity is caused by their own sloth.

I'm just tired of hearing people complain about how THEIR obesity is caused ENTIRELY by outside factors beyond thier control. When, in fact, they are making no effort to control what is within their power.

If you take command of your diet & exercise. AND then you still going no where. Fine.

I realize that any obese person I see on the street may be due to a medical conditon. Their own laziness, or a combination of the two. I'm even willing to accept that even some of those gorging themseves silly at the Buffet are in the middle of a rare occurance and who spend most of their time trying to managet their weight.

I have nothing against those who suffer from true, real medical conditions (especially those living with undiagnosed problems).

But....

Don't hide behind these people. If you are unwilling to change your eating habits & activity level, don't hide try to lump yourself in with those with real problems.

My dad is overweight. Obese. Probablly close to morbidly so. The last time he came to visit made me wonder how many more times I'm going to get to see him. His weight is harming his quality of life pretty bad. He has no medical condition (Actually he now has Obesity Related Arthritis and High Blood Pressure). He's had about every test there is. He just refuses to chage his diet.

Our family can't change him. He won't be around as long as he could be. That is about as simple as it is.

I will try not to look at any INDIVIDUAL obese person and think "Lazy fool, put the Pie Down"

I have no way of determining on an individual basis the cause of a person's obesity.

On the Aggregate however, the widening girth of the average American ain't due to medical conditions; its due to bad diets & sedentary lifestyles.

Part of this rant is to rid myself of that way of thought. That every obese person I look at is a lazy bum, who'll only get off the couch if the remote is missing or the Pizza Guy is there.

I know that while that might be the Whole Story, it is far from the Individual to Individual story.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Well, then...

Some of the best things you can do are:

1) Drop the sodas- at least, the non-diet ones- completely from your diet.

2) Minimize the number of snacks you keep in the house. I don't bring ice-cream- one of my major demons- into the house. I only eat it when I'm out. Instead of spending a few bucks on a big tub of Blue Bell and some Hersheys, I spend the same amount on a scoop of whatever the restaraunt has...and I can't go back for seconds as easily.

Snacking is OK. Uncontrolled snacking isn't.

3) Learn how to cook. You'll master portion control, alter the proportions of good vs bad foods you eat, and learn a valuable (and some say sexy) skill. Better yet, you'll save money.

4) Read nutrition information- even in restaraunts, if you can.

5) Minimize the number of fast food you eat, and modify your selections when you do eat it. My favorite pizza was a Pepperoni. Now I almost exclusively eat Mushroom & Onion. The simple act of dropping the American cheese from a burger can cut the sodium in half, since it contributes @ 400mg to the sandwich. Subbing Swiss is almost as good- it only has 15mg.

6) Minimize alcohol intake, and when you do drink, make sure its a good drink for your particular health concerns. Alcohol is HIGH in calories, but the other stuff in your drinks are just as important. Beer is low in sodium but high in calories, while a single Bloody Mary may have as much as 800mg of sodium- 53x the amount in a beer, but only a fraction of the calories. Things like Piña Coladas, OTOH, are high in sugars.

Some of this will be tough. You may find it costs you a lot of money at first. When my BP was diagnosed, I cleaned out the family pantry and took out EVERYTHING that was high in sodium. $1000's of food got donated to shelters. And I have had to radically re-work dozens of recipes.

There are certain eateries I haven't visited in 3 years...and some friends with whom I simply can't go out to dinner on a regular basis.

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

1) Drop the sodas- at least, the non-diet ones- completely from your diet.

3) Learn how to cook. You'll master portion control, alter the proportions of good vs bad foods you eat, and learn a valuable (and some say sexy) skill. Better yet, you'll save money.

5) Minimize the number of fast food you eat, and modify your selections when you do eat it. My favorite pizza was a Pepperoni.

1) Already done it. I only drink Diet Pepsi Jazz or Diet Dr. Pepper (the only diets I can Stomach. If it's on sale I'll grab a Diet Rite. But the biggest thing is I mainly drink tea. I bought a $20 Eletric Kettle from Wal-Mart a Japanese Cast Iron Tea Kettle from Enjoying Tea.com (I can't recommend them enough. They always have one pot on sale & 30 bucks cheaper than anything I can get around here. I then got a wide selection of loose-leaf teas, varius Blacks, Greens, and Caffiene Free Roobios. High quality tea = no sugar needed. (Check out Alton Brown's Good Eats Tea Episode or Douglas Adam's Essay in his last book.

3) Yep. Learning to cook yourself enables youto eat much better, much healthier, and much cheaper than going out. Last weekend I perfect French Onion Soup. I'm also pretty good with the Asian Stir Fry. And the Crab Legs (Look up Alton Brown's reciepe involving the microwave at Food Network; it works like a charm).

5) I've cut out almost ALL fast food. It was really easy too. I simply married a woman allergic to Corn. Yep. Corn. As in High Fructose Corn Syrup. Corn Syrup. Corn Starch. Modified Food Starch. Dextrose. Fructose. Vitamin C. Powedered Sugar (Corn Starch to avoid caking), and a list about 300 items long. The Corn industy has been very good about putting their product into just about every processed food we eat (around 90% of processed foods). In fact, me & my wife only can go to about a dozen restaurants around where we live; all of which cook from scratch.

As for Pepperoni, have you Tried Turkey Pepperoni? On a pizza, it tastes nearly the same. Our store even carries a low-sodium version. I've also tried Veggie Pepperoni. The box said "Tastes Just like Pepperoni" They must have taste-tested with people lacking Tongues and Olfactory senses. Stay away from the Veggie Pepperoni.

As for my Dad, I think Mt Dew Code Red will be the death of him. At least he's having trouble finding it now.

My wife and I are more than willing to pay a little more & take some time, training, and invest in some good cooking equipment. If you look at the bottom line at the end of the year. Our initial investment in Culinary Equipment has already been returned twice over in what we use to spend going out to eat.

PS. Don't invite Gamers over for Home-Made Lasagna, unless you wish to see what a model of a Dust-Bunny vs a Dirt Devil looks like.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I simply married a woman allergic to Corn.

I have the same allergy. Fortunately, its not so severe as to prevent me from eating Mexican food. I also have an allergy to Chocolate- also not too severe. I still enjoy the occasional Toblerone, though it lasts me a week instead of a few minutes.

However, I can't eat both corn and chocolate within 24 hours of each other without getting quite ill.

Still- it could have been worse. Soy and Peanuts are just as omnipresent, and they both tend to be more severe than corn allergies. I've got a buddy who is so sensitive to peanuts, he gets sick from a few Jelly Belly jelly beans (peanuts are use to thicken them).

As for Pepperoni, have you Tried Turkey Pepperoni? On a pizza, it tastes nearly the same. Our store even carries a low-sodium version.

My general take on substitutes is that if I'm going to be bad, I'm going to be bad. I'll eat pepperoni pizzas a couple of times a year- usually in the Spring or Summer when I've been doing something good for me, like helping someone move or playing a sport. When you're dehydrated, packing on a few extra pounds of water isn't the worst thing in the world, and I may even need the extra salt.

My biggest challenge has been changing recipes when cooking at home. There was a Creole chef (whose name escapes me) who was the challenger on Iron Chef America recently, who won against Mario Batali (sp?) in the Andouille Sausage battle. As the judges were tasting his creations, he quipped that he didn't know veggies could be cooked without bacon until he was an adult. Creole/Cajun cuisine (esp. veggies) use a LOT of ham and bacon as seasoning.

So when it came to altering old family recipes for greens, eggplant, red beans and gumbo, it was a real challenge.

The best 3 discoveries on that front have been:

1) Cooking and marinating with dry wines (good enough to drink- "Cooking wines" are little more than wine-flavored salt water) or certain beers, or using white vinegar marinades go a long way towards making up for the flavor of salt. Bonuses- when you actually cook with them, the alcohol burns off, keeping those calories out of your system, and your meats come out juicy and tender.

2) Lemon juice is another good salt substitute, esp. fresh. However, you can also find powdered citric acid (the substance which gives lemon juice its tang) in some groceries. CAUTION- use it sparingly! Its powerful stuff.

3) Beef or Pork Ribs, cut into short pieces (and smoked or pot fried in a little salt-free butter or olive oil) are ideal substitutes for ham or bacon in many recipes.

As you learn to cook, you'll learn to taste ingredients in other people's products, which will help you figure out new stuff for yourself.

I had some shrimp at Razoos a few years ago, and their Cherry-mustard sauce was merely OK...until I jazzed it up with some Tabasco. But Tabasco is cayenne pepper, salt and white vinegar...and more salt.

I got home, cooked up some fresh cherries (after removing the pits, of course) with some yellow mustard, some mustard powder, vinegar, peppers (cayenne, black, jalapeño, and serrano) and some other ingredients and got a concoction that was zero fat, low sodium, and tasted like a traditional Texas BBQ sauce. We tried it on beef, pork and chicken- all of which all disappeared quite quickly.

 

[Marchen]

Go vegan!

Anyway. So back in my highschool days/first to second year of college, I was a pretty heavy guy. At my heaviest I was probably around 270lbs or so, although I am very tall (6'5") so I carried it alright. I did eventually decide that my unhealthy lifestyle was absolutley no good for me, and I completely changed my diet and exercise habits. I lost weight. A lot. At my lowest I was down to around 160lbs.

I'm still way into nutrition and healthy-clean living, but I've evened out at a decent 180lbs. I'm working on easing into a vegan lifestyle. It appeals to me greatly.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'd go vegan, but I don't like the meat selections on that diet.