So a lot of you have probably already seen it, but I wrote a little thingy for Kate Dailey’s awesome blog, The Human Condition, over at Newsweek, where they’re doing an interesting series of articles called The Fat Wars.
I kind of didn’t know what to expect when I wrote it, but, as it turns out, I’ve had a lot of new visitors from Newsweek now, so hi. Good to see you.
(Though, I admit, I’m feeling some stage-fright here.)
For people looking to find out more about me and what I do (and maybe how much I weigh) the relevant links are at the top of this page. You can dig around in the (admittedly somewhat scanty) archives for more of my writing.
Sorry there’s not more — even though I’ve been writing for a long time, this site is new, and I wanted to use mostly-fresh material. There is more to come.
I’d also like to emphasize that, while I do welcome a variety of viewpoints here, I will be moderating the comments for anything beyond the pale.
If you’re having trouble figuring out what this whole “fat acceptance” thing is about, then I’d suggest you start here, and maybe here, just to pick up some of the general concepts.
Also — no polite questions turned away. So, if you’re confused about anything, please ask.
Edited to add: Please also feel free to leave your comments at Newsweek.
Comments
83 responses to “Er, hi there.”
Yes, it was the Newsweek article that caught my attention, which also lead me to your site. I checked a few entries out and I can say I really really dig your no bull shit approach to writing. Now that you’re, like, famous and stuff from Newsweek I ask that you keep talking the way you do (in other words, please keep saying “fuck and shit” to make your points). :)
No worries about that, Jada. And welcome :)
I thought it was a great guest feature. Good luck on managing the increased exposure!
I recently read your article in Newsweek and have mixed feelings about some of your comments and more importantly your overall conclusion.
You are spot-on that people are different shapes and sizes and nothing you do from eating to exercising will change that (perhaps surgery, but that is a whole other issue). My major complaint is the laissez-faire attitude that you seem to have about the state of being overweight. I have admittedly not read enough about the fat acceptance movement, but I am familiar with it. I believe that this movement is perhaps in theory about loving who you are and accepting your body-type, but in reality it gives a person who is lazy and/or as-of-yet unsuccessful in his/her weight-loss, a heart-warming excuse to give up.
I realize this is a rather harsh outlook, but it comes from someone, who for about 12 years of his life, was overweight (6’0 245lbs at one point), and has successfully conquered that challenge. I currently weigh 175lbs and I am happy with my body. Could I lose some more weight? Absolutely. Will I? Perhaps, but I don’t see my current accomplishments as being insufficient or failing. I accomplished this feat through substantial exercise, which I have come to love, and eating sensibly: which to me means eating when I am hungry, no matter the time of day, eating small meals and snacks, and eating food that has flavor, yet minimal amounts of fat and processed sugars. I contend I never once ate a meal I didn’t truly enjoy, yet somehow I managed to lose weight.
You claim you put people at ease by occasionally greeting them with donut in hand, but you are not putting them at ease, you are giving them an out and reinforcing bad eating habits, which is especially dangerous if you are working closely with diabetes patients. Of course losing weight sucks, it really sucks, but when you begin to see the benefits in the mirror, in the closet, and in your ability to accomplish every-day tasks, more than just your physical health improves. It is worth the battle.
If you look at the world around us, fat is not normal. Historically, fat signifies that you are wealthy, because the wealthy of course never needed to labor and were the only people with more money than sense to eat to the point of sickness (unfortunately now anyone with $5 can overeat, which says a whole lot about our country’s supply of common sense). Overweight animals, both pets and pests (i.e. squirrels, birds, etc.) are only overweight because humans enable them to be by overfeeding or allowing access to our excess french-fries when we don’t ensure our trash is in the appropriate place. Being overweight is not natural or healthy… true because of your body type you may have more fat, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you are overweight. Blogs such as yours seem to offer bad advice and actually prove to be a long-winded rant.
Finally, your comment that “there is a strong prejudice in our culture against fat people, resulting in yet another form of appearance-based discrimination─which is morally wrong, and requires a political response,” is simply wrong and infuriating. A) there is no prejudice, it is a natural aversion to that which is unattractive or defective; B) it is not morally wrong, it is not morally right, it is an opinion on appearance; C) a political response would create legal prejudice against those who take care of their bodies and politics is meant to take care of the most basic needs of a country, not to prevent someone from calling you fat. Your natural response is likely that it is not just opinion, but that people actually harm physically or mentally the overweight because of their condition, to which I respond: life is unfair and people make decisions on far more than a person’s weight. Luckily, you do have a choice in the matter and can take steps to lose weight. Additionally, and I am a testament to it, much of this prejudice is in your head. I so often never felt comfortable in my fat self not because other people made me feel that way, but because I would get winded walking two flights of stairs, sweat when I did anything that remotely elevated my heart rate, and had trouble fitting into clothes. This was nothing anyone did to me, but something I did to myself, and I am happy to say that I have addressed and corrected this problem both in my mind and my body.
So-called authorities such as yourself are dangerous and make a living or celebrity by playing to people’s insecurities and obscuring the truth. Weight loss is a simple formula: burn more calories than you intake and you will lose weight. No, you may never look like Heidi Klum or Brad Pitt, but you can feel comfortable being you not by telling yourself you look good or feel great, but by taking steps to improve your health and knowing you have done all that you can; I contend that it is a feeling unlike any other.
John
John, thanks for your lengthy and obviously heartfelt response. I just have three main points to make right now:
1) fat discrimination is real. In fact, there is a whole research centre connected with Yale that studies it:
http://www.yaleruddcenter.org/what_we_do.aspx?id=10
2) donuts are not poison. Diabetic patients, despite popular beliefs, are actually allowed to eat donuts. I also live in Canada, where you could actually be arrested for NOT being in possession of a donut at all times. I enjoy donuts. I am a grown-up. I am allowed to eat what I enjoy, simply because I enjoy it.
3) appearance-based discrimination is wrong. It is morally wrong, and it is hurtful to society as a whole when we marginalize people of diverse backgrounds and abilites who might otherwise contribute, in ways we might never expect, to our society. It is wrong when it targets skin colour, it is wrong when it targets gendered appearance, it is wrong when it targets perceived physical ability, and it is wrong when it targets body size. Bottom line.
I kind of get the impression John doesn’t understand what you mean by discrimination; it sounds as though he’s arguing that people have the right to their opinions about attractiveness (to which I’d say: well, duh), failing to recognize that using those opinions as an excuse to harass someone, not hire a qualified applicant, etc. is another thing entirely and one that happens all too often.
Of course, I may be wrong, and John may be arguing that people have the right to do the above because they find someone physically unattractive, in which case I see little point in trying to explain anything to him. *shrug*
As for John’s very original point about fat acceptance offering “excuses”, I don’t have any statistics, but I do have my own anecdote to offer. I’ve eaten what the mainstream generally calls a healthy (even health-freakish) diet for pretty much my whole life, but always avoided and loathed exercise *until* I learned about the fat acceptance movement. For the first time, exercise wasn’t a punishment, and I realized it actually made me feel good. Now I work out daily, and no, it doesn’t suck at all. I couldn’t focus on doing what was good for my body, what made it strong and energetic, etc., while I was consumed with hatred for it.
But no, my healthy-eating, exercising self still isn’t thin. Maybe slightly more toned, but that’s it. I’m ok with that, even if John and his ilk consider me “defective” (by the way, is it just me or is that a strikingly *creepy* word choice?)
Yeah, “defective” has a nice, creepy, neo-eugenic ring to it.
WOW!
“Weight loss is a simple formula: burn more calories than you intake and you will lose weight.”
Why didn’t I think of that????
John, even the term “overweight” is a misnomer. A healthy weight for one person may be well above or below the natural healthy (setpoint) weight of another person. I am 5’4″ and have weighed 140 lbs – near the top of the BMI range for my height. At that weight I was extremely thin and was eating 1500 calories a day plus 60 minutes of intense cardio (with no weight training) 5-6 days per week. That is not a sustainable diet.
I started eating normally again (please see Michelle’s “What is Normal Eating” post above) became less strict with my cardio (I still run regularly, though), and have added yoga and weight training. Unsurprisingly, I gained weight. Did my blood pressure go up? What about my blood sugar? Nope, both are on the low end of normal. My VO2 levels indicate that my fitness level is excellent. Sure, my cholesterol is borderline, but both my parents (who happen to be thin) are on cholesterol lowering medication, despite regular exercise and healthy eating habits – that’s a pretty strong genetic tendency.
And John, you are mistaken on other significant counts:
1. If you look at the world around us, fat is not normal. Historically, fat signifies that you are wealthy, because the wealthy of course never needed to labor and were the only people with more money than sense to eat to the point of sickness. While there were cultures in which the wealthy did eat to the point of sickness (hence the existence of vomitoriums), fat was never only a sign of eating to the point of sickness, but more often a sign of health (i.e. not starving) and a woman’s ability to bear children. That seems pretty normal to me.
2. there is no prejudice [against fat people], it is a natural aversion to that which is unattractive or defective John, the fact that you don’t find fat people attractive doesn’t mean fat people are universally unattractive. As much as you may want it to be true, your opinions are not fact. Additionally, fat people are not defective, and calling them so is amazingly disrespectful.
3. I realize this is a rather harsh outlook, but it comes from someone, who for about 12 years of his life, was overweight (6′0 245lbs at one point), and has successfully conquered that challenge. I currently weigh 175lbs and I am happy with my body. Well, good for you. But the “I did it, so you can too” argument doesn’t really mean anything because no one else is you. And weight isn’t a challenge to overcome; that attitude puts you in direct conflict with your body, which seems less conducive to health than listening to your body’s signals, and taking care of yourself regardless of whether or not it leads to weightloss.
Finally, you’re going to have to explain this to me: Being overweight is not natural or healthy… true because of your body type you may have more fat, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you are overweight. Whose definition of overweight do you mean? If you admit that people have varying body types, why is it such a stretch to also admit that people who might be defined as overweight or fat by BMI or visual cues are really at a perfectly healthy weight for their body?
it actually doesn’t seem to me that you have mixed feelings at all
I meant this in regard to John’s original comment.
“A) there is no prejudice, it is a natural aversion to that which is unattractive or defective; ”
The ideal has changed over time. I don’t know if the ideal has ever been very big but the ideal body has been getting smaller and smaller. I do think women are more likely to experience prejudice and hateful behaviour because of weight. Overall, the experience of an overweight man is different from that of an overweight woman.
“B) it is not morally wrong, it is not morally right, it is an opinion on appearance;”
Prejudice is always wrong. People are supposed to be hired etc based on ability and such, not assumptions based on stereotypes.
Good points, Lyndsay.
I’d also like to add that if anyone really still believes that prejudice against fat people doesn’t exist, or that discrimination does not result from that prejudice, they should check out not only the Yale Rudd Centre’s research on weight stigma, but also the comments left on the Newsweek article. Many of them are explicitly hateful.
Yes, the comments make me wonder if things can ever change. I know they can. I mean people are starting to use way fewer plastic bags so people can stop thinking all fat people are unhealthy. Of course it doesn’t really help that so many fat people think so poorly of themselves and agree that fat is unhealthy. I don’t blame them for how they feel but I think that if other groups like LGBT people thought they were as terrible as people thought they were, they never would’ve furthered their rights as far as they have.
You know, I think self-hatred is one of the biggest hurdles to any social movement. I think it’s one of the toughest things to overcome.
For sure, LGBTQI people have experienced (and do experience) self-hatred. So do people of colour, women, disabled people…any marginalized group. But yet, those social movements exist and continue (hopefully) to get stronger and gain more ground.
Overcoming self-hatred is hard, but necessary. And if other people have been able to do it, at least enough to get things done, so can fat people.
Most of John’s comment has been responded to adequately… a year ago… but
1) Interesting he would choose Brad Pitt as an example, since Pitt is overweight according to BMI.
2) “Blogs such as yours seem to offer bad advice and actually prove to be a long-winded rant.” Says the person who just posted a long-winded rant.
Hi Michelle,
I got here via the Newsweek article as well. Already familiar with HEAS and The Fat Wars series, one thing that really shocked me in the responses to your article is how everyone’s focus was on the hot button topic over weight issues. Why did no one mention the other pink elephant? Because the question your article led me to was, “How much of yourself are you really expected to have to invest in work?”
One person responded with something like, “I would never choose a doctor who smokes and I wouldn’t choose an overweight nutritionalist.” There’s logic to the statement, yes, but just because someone has a a talent for something and has chosen it as their career field, does it mean they HAVE to practice what they preach? Can’t you have a career in something and aim to be an expert on it without devoting your entire life to its teachings? How much of our personal lives do we owe our professional ones?
In reality, the fact that the doctor smokes doesn’t make him/her a worse doctor. They treat to the best of their abilities, and being a smoker doesn’t change that. The overweight nutritionist can still prescribe you an ideal eating and exercise plan even if he/she doesn’t choose to follow it in their everyday life. Does that make you bad at your job? No. That means your personal life and professional life aren’t mirror images. Which is a HEALTHY thing.
Well, the interesting thing about my profession — and this is a topic of a very common misconception — is that I DON’T have to preach weight loss, or prescribe a weight loss diet. Ever. To anyone.
In fact, many dietitians, even those who may personally BELIEVE in weight loss, never use it as part of their counseling strategy. For one thing, most of them realize that the long-term success rates are dismal. And for another, there are certain diseases/conditions for which weight loss is NEVER an appropriate suggestion, no matter what your personal/political beliefs about weight are.
Dietetics, as a career, is not simply counting calories. It is not just telling people to lose weight. It is a whole lot more than that, and for some practitioners, weight loss counseling never even comes into the picture. Clinical dietetics is treating sick people with food. There are other areas of dietetic practice where weight loss is a major focus, but it is not the major focus of the profession as a whole. In fact, a lot of registered dietitians actively promote HAES — I’m certainly not the first person in this field to do so, nor will I be the last.
And that’s how I can believe in HAES and still practice nutrition faithfully.
Also: just because I’m fat and sometimes eat donuts does not mean I eat poorly, by any stretch of the imagination. People assuming they know what I eat based on my body size, and therefore also assuming that I am hypocrite who doles out advice I, myself, couldn’t take, are actually engaging in appearance-based prejudice. Their thinking is flawed by their bias, and their assumptions are deeply inaccurate, based more on emotion than logic.
I actually eat pretty much the way I suggest other people in my condition (which is to say, physically healthy with no diet-relevant illnesses) eat. Which, by many standards, is actually pretty well, though certainly not “perfect” — I am an intuitive eater, really and truly, and it took years of effort to get to this point.
I am not the food police, and I never set out to be.
I think I offended you, and I didn’t mean to. This is one of the first times I’ve replied to someone’s blog and I guess it came out wrong.
I meant to say this work-life/home-life border has gotten blurred. Internet privacy is another current hot-button topic. Employers Google before interviewing and people are fired for racy/drunken Facebook pictures posted online. It’s not only a weight issue, it’s an issue of the world judging you on outward appearance and deciding whether or not you’re capable of the career you’ve chosen based on that. Privacy settings on Facebook are the equivalent to head-to-toe black clothing for the overweight when it comes to a career.
I work for executives at a semi-conservative Fortune 500. On weekends I wear my normal clothes, which sometimes include bohemian skirts, music festival tees and bandanas. I’ve bumped into VPs out and about town while dressed like this. Some think I should dress up at all times, just in case. I wear heels and blouses to work, but that’s just not my style…
So does having a career nowadays mean you do a job you’re good at or does it mean you devote the entirety of your life to it, including your appearance? That’s the title of your blog in essence: I’m not what you’d expect in my career field (based solely on my physical appearance), but that doesn’t mean I’m not good at what I do.
I also didn’t mean to suggest a nutritionist is just a weight-loss counselor. My friend’s husband has Type 1 diabetes, kidney disease, liver problems, and food allergies. He’s on several medications. Certain foods seem to counteract combinations of the medicines. Without a carefully crafted diet, and his overconcerned nutritionist, he’d be dead. Your job is so much more than is often given credit for.
With thirty on the horizon in a few years, I realized I’ve now spent over two decades of my life fighting the Fat Wars, mostly in my own head. Almost twenty years of memories of scales, ED, fat-free taste-free food, tugging at fitted clothes then hiding in shapeless ones, never sitting with my thighs side-by-side flat on the chair, evaluating my thighs/arms/hips against my boyfriends’, and never feeling quite adequate enough around anyone.
From what I see HEAS is about separating all of that from food. HEAS = eat when you’re hungry, eat mostly healthy food, and remember food is fuel. That way when you eat for other reasons, you know why.
No, no, you didn’t offend me, Bobbie. I just get worked up about this topic, and over the Newsweek commenters in particular. A lot of them were quite nasty, but not you.
You bring up really good points about the separation between personal beliefs/identity and professional life. I have, myself, experienced that split for a number of years, because, while I was gaining experience working as a diet tech, I kept mostly quiet about my beliefs in fat acceptance.
I decided just recently to blow my cover and start writing openly about the fact that I’m a nutrition student, working in nutrition, and that I also believe in fat acceptance. My full name and picture is out there for everyone to see — if my colleagues or superiors see it, I won’t be surprised, and it may inspire some awkward moments.
However, I know that what I’m writing and talking about, and what I believe in, is in no way contradictory to my professional competence. People who are ignorant about the requirements of my profession might ASSUME that my weight and my beliefs disqualify me from practicing nutrition — but my own colleagues, even if they disagree with my opinions, will know that I have done nothing that breaks any of the rules of my profession. As I said, there are quite a LOT of registered dietitians who believe in and practice HAES, and who work as writers and activists. I am definitely not the first. Therefore, my personal beliefs, while they may be unpopular socially, are definitely not at odds with the technical requirements of my profession. And I no longer wish to keep those realms separate — it caused me a lot of strain to do so, and I prefer to live my life openly.
Thank you for your thoughts, and please know that you’re totally welcome here. If I sound pissy, it’s likely just me getting up on a favourite soapbox, or responding to nasty critics from elsewhere. Sorry about that.
I also hope you’re feeling better about eating, food, your body, etc. than you have in the past. It sounds like you have been through some tough struggles for a long, long time.
Thank you for putting yourself out there knowing that some of what you would get back would be ugly. But hey — that’s how we change the world, right? I am working on healthy at every size living not just for myself but for my kids who need me to be a positive (fat) role model. Women (and men) like you who are speaking out and speaking strong make my way easier. Thank you.
Thank you, Dawn.
People react viscerally to symbols. Whether I like it or not, my body is not only “me” — to many people, my body is a symbol of so many things they have baggage with, all of the things they think are wrong with the world and humanity.
Whether I like it or not, some of that baggage is going to be opened up, and some of its contents thrown at me, because I happen to be in this body.
Oh well :)
That’s a really good point. The concept of fat (with all the assumptions and implications) needs some good, old-fashioned deconstruction, methinks.
Michelle, will you be my internet girlfriend? :)
If you’ll buy me an internet drink :)
Well, this is all very interesting…….
I will give a little background before I get started –
1. I have been overweight since day 1…I was probably fat in my mother’s womb, although I can’t confirm this.
2. I have successfully lost a great deal of weight three times in my life – this last time, 152 pounds on Weight Watchers.
3. The weight ALWAYS comes back, no matter what I do.
So, that said….John….I’m glad that exercise and your way of eating is working for you. Like you, I enjoyed exercise a great deal and it had a great effect on my weight loss program this last time. In fact, I exercised so much (running on my treadmill, lifting weights, walking, etc., etc.) that I wore ALL the cartiledge out of both of my knees. Talk about PAIN! I have never experienced anything worse.
Given my age at the time, which was 39, the doctors tried all different sorts of things for a few years before I finally had a double knee replacement about two years ago. They even gave me great advice such as “don’t eat french fries at Hardee’s,” you will lose all this extra weight if you don’t eat food like that. At that point, I hadn’t eaten a french fry in over five years. But, I sure did look like I was eating fries! Which brings up the obvious point that even doctors are prejudice. I’ve not been to the doctor one time where my weight has not been blamed for whatever I went to the doctor for.
Here’s the kicker….I cannot exercise anymore to the level that I was – and the moment I stopped doing it, the weight started piling on – right back to over 300 pounds. In fact, I begged the ortho doctor I had at the time to do something about my knees so that I didn’t gain all the weight back. He didn’t do anything. I had to move to another state before I could get some help.
For me, there is absolutely no way to lose weight or maintain a weight loss without intense physical exercise. And in trying to become an “acceptable” person, I destroyed part of my body and I will never be the same. In fact, if I can’t, by some miracle of God, get this weight down permanently, my knee replacements will fail much sooner than they normally would and I’ll have to have them redone several times in my lifetime.
I have to admit that I still do not accept myself. I still avoid sociation situations to some extent. I have to worry about whether I will fit into a chair in a restaurant or anywhere else I go. I see people giving me looks and whispering to one another. Guess what? I don’t eat any more than they do. They just happen to be blessed enough not to have the genetics I do. I, for one, am tired of fighting against myself. I am blessed to have a wonderful husband that loves me for myself and a great son too. But, it still seems impossible to accept myself for who I am when most other people do not, but I am working on it. I’m also working on making sure that I eat healthily and get some exercise in regularly. I still have days where I overeat or eat the wrong things, but I think “regular” people do the same thing. Can a normal person with a normal weight live the rest of their lives without a slice of pizza or a donut? I doubt it very much.
Thanks Michelle for putting this blog out there. I know you have a lot of opposition – mostly from people who just haven’t been beat down enough and made attempt after attempt after attempt to be “normal” and just can’t make it there or if, by some miracle, they attain some level of normality, they quickly balloon right back to where they were – and then are left with a lot of “skinny” pictures to lament over.
That’s me in a nutshell. Sorry for my disjointed post, but I am tired of people saying if you will just eat “RIGHT” and exercise enough, you will be thin. What a load of crap that is!
Wow. Thank you for your story.
You might be interested in reading the blog First, Do No Harm, if you haven’t already, and/or submitting some of your experiences to them to share.
Acceptance is hard — in some cases, harder than weight loss, because you have almost the whole of society working against your efforts, not applauding and rewarding them. I am so glad your close family, at least, appreciate you as you are. You deserve nothing less.
It sounds like you are doing pretty well by yourself, even though you’ve faced a difficult road up to this point. If you ever just need to feel like you’re surrounded by people who understand, read and participate in the Fatosphere, if you don’t already. It can be amazingly helpful.
You have come a long, long way, whether you give yourself credit for self-acceptance or not. Thank you for commenting and letting other people in on what it’s like.
Hi Michelle,
Just popping in to say “hi” and wondering if the Newsweek thing is what derailed the “How” part of the “What vs How” thing. ;)
Yes, you guessed it. I spent a lot of time writing last week, but none of it was the “How” post. I am working on it in my head, however!
Aaahahaha.
(Srs)
Breathe in, breathe out.
:-D
I’m a-trying. Thanks for the reminder :)
I have not (as of yet) been over to read the news week articles, but am an avid follower of The Fat Nutritionist. Yay! I would like to say how thankful I am that Michelle has put herself out there and continues to write such thoughtful, heartfelt and provocative material all while welcoming the diversity and weirdness that the internet can scrounge up.
While there are a multitude of stories about weight loss just like John’s (pick up any magazine and you can find a handful right there) there are an even larger number of people who have done everything he has done (and more) and are still fat for whatever reason. Myself, I am 5’8 and 338 lbs. I am neither lazy nor apathetic about my weight. In fact, most recently, after dieting down to 260lbs and eating 1,500 calories a day while working out 3-4 days per week I gained almost 80lbs over the last year. Turns out I had a multitude of health problems (celiacs, PCOS & hypothyroidism) that were actually made WORSE by my dieting habits. Despite the fact that I was eating no sugar/flour and only lean protein, fruits and vegetables, I was gaining weight like crazy.
I get tired of the rhetoric that shaming/blaming people who are fat is a natural evolutionary response. By that standard we should be prejudice against ANYTHING that is different from us. This same theory is what bolsters racism, sexism, ageism etc. It’s utter bullshit. I have yet to see proof that my body is somehow an abomination of nature.
And finally, on top of this lengthy response, I have had the privilege of working with Michelle on a professional level. In the 26 years I have been alive, this is the first time that I have felt supported and helped by someone in the medical community. Michelle treated me as a person who had health concerns and not as a fat fat fatty mc fatterson who was too stupid/lazy to put down the baby flavored donuts. And while it is an amazing testament to Michelle’s professional abilities, it is also an incredibly sad commentary on the treatment of obese individuals by medical practitioners.
*hugs Carolyn like crazy*
Good for you Michelle. I read the Newsweek comments which were typical and surprisingly on the mild side. I have seen much worse. What a joke – apparently the high cost of health insurance is due to you because you are fat. But that cannot possibly be because you are Canadian and are not part of the US system. I guess this idea is so popular because it provides a rationale and a scapegoat for the cost of insurance. If only those scapegoats would disappear/go away/conform to my beliefs, everything would be better for us good, hardworking people.
The comments also show what great expertise people seem to have on diet, nutrition and weight loss. It does make me sad that many people who object to HAES consider themselves fat or formerly fat.
From both personal experience and all the research I have read diets don’t work. Could you perhaps address this belief as stated by John above?
Weight loss is a simple formula: burn more calories than you intake and you will lose weight. I believed this until very recently and I had a lot of self hate around the fact that I could not master the ability to simply eat less and exercise more.
I know cal in/cal out is a myth but I would like to know why.
Additional accolades: I am so impressed with the way you handle people who disagree with you. You are an amazing person and writer.
JennyRose, I have been meaning to reply to this comment since I first saw it, but I got sidetracked by the continuing commentary at Newsweek.
I thought perhaps someone else would like to take a stab at it, but since no one has, I’ll briefly address your question re: calories in/calories out.
Naturally, human bodies do not break the first law of thermodynamics (which is often cited by Internet wanks, but hardly ever defined — it’s the Law of Conservation of Energy, stating that energy can be neither created nor destroyed. Anyone care to guess the second law? Hint: entropy.)
That is, human bodies do not annihilate the energy that they consume — they only exchange it (as an open system) with their surrounding environment. The chemical energy we consume as food is converted into lots of things — like kinetic movement, body heat, and “work” (building body tissues, enzymes, hormones, other cool stuff to git’r done in our cells and organs.) Nor do human bodies create energy in and of themselves. We only get energy from our environment, from the lovely organic (carbon- and hydrogen-based, oxygen- and sometimes nitrogen-containing) matter we nom-nom-nom and convert to fuel.
Okay, so we’ve established that we don’t break the first law of thermodynamics. Phew.
But neither are human bodies bomb calorimeters, meaning — we don’t COMBUST OUR FOOD until all of its energy is extracted, leaving a neat little pile of ashes. Instead, we have this AWESOME SHIT called a gastrointestinal tract, where all kinds of complicated magical juju goes down in processing our food into energy, and then incorporating that energy into various tasks, or parts of our body.
Food is mushed up, caressed lovingly by enzymes (think of them as little protein-based pimps who bring together chemical lovers, making the whole mating ritual go MAD CRAZY FAST, even when the weather is awful and the economy sucks), cooked in a pit of hydrochloric acid, mushed up some more, enzymated some more, then squirted with bicarb and herded by the spoonful into the long, twisty, turny crazy mountain-pass road known as your intestines — whose absorptive surfaces, with the aid of even MORE pimpy enzymes, suck as much of the micronutrients and energy and water as they can possibly drink in, package up into containers as necessary, then send out on the great interstate highway known as your bloodstream, to git to the cells where they gotta git.
As awesome as this system is — it ain’t perfect, and it ain’t a bomb calorimeter. There’s waste left over, for one thing, and some of that waste could potentially contain nutrients and energy (especially if there’s anything weirdish going on with your enzymes or GI tract.)
There’s also the matter of your kidneys, which filter your blood and might accidentally throw away some of the useful, energy-containing shit (like protein) that’s travelling all through your bloodstream, before it can get delivered to its destination and used.
And then, not least of all, there’s your liver. OOOOOH, THE LIVER. Where do I even start.
Your liver is like…it’s like…it’s like a big awesome brain-slash-nuclear reactor. In your guts. It does, like — freakin’ EVERYTHING. It makes shit, it converts nutrients to energy, it filters shit, it sends shit out to other organs. It’s crazy.
It might also mess some stuff up, sometimes.
Okay, I’ve gotten way off track here, now, with my little swearword-filled physiology lesson.
Back to the point: what’s with the calories in/calories out deal?
Well, first of all — we’re not 100% perfectly efficient with the energy our food provides. And bodies are weird. They are mysterious. Not everything is known about them yet, except this: they’re all a bit different.
Some people’s bodies might be a bit more efficient at absorbing all those nutrients than others. And, no matter how good you are at handling all that energy, some people’s bodies may have some kind of genetic directive that tells what to do with that energy — more or less muscle, more or less fat (or, more or less fast-twitch or slow-twitch muscle fibres, or more or less brown or white fat.)
But, what I think is the real point is this:
your body is uncomfortable being in negative energy balance
And why wouldn’t it be? In the olden times, this basically meant GUARANTEED DEATH.
So we’ve got safeguards, in the event of this happening, to drive us to eat more, or move less, in order to get back to a comfortable energy surplus. These safeguards are powerful, such that, even people with really severe anorexia nervosa, and all the psychological fear of food that comes with it, often develop these odd symptoms of starvation: hoarding food. Obsessing over cookbooks and recipes. Possibly even bingeing.
So, it is not due to a lack of willpower that most people find being in negative energy balance uncomfortable — our survival mechanism kicks in. It’s powerful stuff, and it has nothing to do with “willpower.”
Additionally, even when you’re managing to maintain a negative energy balance semi-comfortably, and are actively losing weight, you have about zero control over what part of your body cannibalizes itself for energy.
(Yes, that’s what it does.)
The body often preferentially uses muscle as fuel, because apparently the protein can be converted to glucose with less effort and/or fewer waste products. This is bad not because muscle is so OMG HAWWWT to look at, but because, uhm, muscle kind of makes up a lot of your important shit, like your heart. And your organs.
Even fat loss can have some kind of undesirable physical effects. There’s the whole ketosis thing, of course, which can lead to unfavourable pH changes in your blood, causing calcium to leech from your bones (ew), and then your liver can get overload from processing big amounts of newly-liberated fat from storage (which can cause liver damage.)
Wow, that spun wildly out of control. To sum up:
it’s just more complicated than a mechanistic view of energy exchange. There’s lots of opportunity for inefficiencies in handling energy, and lots of reasons why some bodies might naturally DESPISE being in negative energy balance.
I really need to stop talking now.
I’d like to comment on Jenny Rose’s question above. I took a nutrition/health course at college this summer and have a quote from my text book that I think is applicable to your question Jenny Rose:
“… People of the same age, sex, height, and weight can have differences of as much as 1,000 calories a day in resting metabolic rate. This may explain why one person’s gluttony is another persons starvation, even if it results in the same readout on the scale. And whereas people of normal weight average 25 to 35 billion fat cells, obese people can INHERIT a billowing 135 billion. Other factors such as depression, stress, culture, and available foods can also affect a person’s ability to lose weight. It is important to remember that being overweight does not mean that a person is weak-willed or lazy.”
That quote was taken from Health: The Basics by Rebecca J Donatelle .
I would also share these two links:
Junk Food Science
Calories in Calories Out
Also, I agree with Jenny rose about the scape goats. I don’t have health insurance because I can’t afford it – so how is my fat butt causing anyone else monetary loss? I pay for my health care in cash.
Oh, duh, Carolyn responded admirably to JennyRose’s question.
Thanks!
Hi Michelle,
I too am new to your website – via the link to your Newsweek article on Shapely Prose. I have struggled with body image issues since I was a teen (I’m now 36) and only recently have I begun to truly accept that my body as it is (fat) is truly okay. Thanks so much for sharing your writing, it is truly inspiring!
Your newest fan,
Charlene
Thank you, Charlene. That made me smile. I’m glad you’re here!
Michelle, awesome job. Just awesome.
I’m another fat individual who has failed to lose weight and keep it off – in fact, I always end up GAINING more weight when I try to “eat less and exercise more.” The human body is not a monolith, and I tired of people who think it is. What works for you will not necessarily work for somebody else.
Now that I eat what I need and exercise when I feel like it, my weight has been stable. Imagine that. I was absolutely MISERABLE when I was dieting. Nobody wanted to hang around me, because I was so crabby. People prefer me fat and happy – including myself. I am a VERY happy individual, and my weight does NOT hinder my life in ANY respect.
Plus, I would like to state that my rights has a human being are not based on whether men find me sexually attractive or not. I’m talking to you, John. Personal opinion does NOT apply to moral law, PERIOD.
“my rights has a human being are not based on whether men find me sexually attractive or not”
yeah that.
And I don’t want to be nosy – but:
1) I need to correct something in my post – “The human body is not a monolith, and I TIRE of people who think it is.” Didn’t need that “d” at the end of “tire.”
2) John seems to be directing a lot of his own self-hatred at the rest of us. I’ve been very observant with fat acceptance blogs for a long time now, and I’ve seen this pattern of behavior pop up among those who preach their weight-loss stories. There is a lot of criticism towards us, and a lot of praise heaped upon the “victor” by themselves – somehow trying to prove they are now a better person than “us” because they have these new “morals,” such as avoiding red meat and processed food. But it’s a shame that these people seem to end up losing REAL morals, such as treating your fellow men and women with respect and dignity. I’ll take kind fat people (and kind thin people) over narcissistic thin ones any day of the week.
This is a personal question, but you said anything goes, so here we go. I see from your profile that you are a dietician in training, though the disclaimer says you are not registered. Is the registration due soon, or is that some separate program? And why do you call yourself a nutritionist?
I ask because I have become wary of “nutritionists”, since I found out it’s an uncontrolled title in the UK and Australia. Anyone can become just by paying some money over the internet, even Ben Goldacre’s well-known dead cat Hettie. I’m not clear what the situation is in Canada and the US. Could you clarify this, please?
Very good question. And you’re right about the differences in designation between “nutritionist” and “dietitian.” In many areas, the term “nutritionist” is not regulated, and anyone can hang up a shingle as a nutritionist.
So, here’s the thing: I chose “nutritionist” because it’s a more familiar term to most people, and because it suits me while I’m still in training (because I am NOT yet a Registered Dietitian), and also later, when/if I become a Registered Dietitian. (Many RDs choose to refer to themselves as “nutritionists.”)
Also, I do technically work as a “nutrition practitioner” right now, aside from what I do here on my website (it’s a little-known position known as a dietetic technician, which is sort of like a Jr. dietitian in the hospital, working with patients, screening for nutritional risks, etc. It requires an accredited nutrition diploma or degree and, in the US, an internship, exam and registration to practice, but my education and background experience working in nutrition qualified me for the job in Canada, even though I’m still a student on the RD track.)
My university program is the same accredited bachelor’s program that Registered Dietitians are required to take. But, in addition to the bachelor’s degree, I must also complete a one-year internship at a hospital, and then complete a registration exam with the regulating body. If I decide to go that route, I will become a Registered Dietitian in about two years from now. I still have one year of school to complete (because I am doing a minor on top of my degree), and then the one-year internship.
However, I might choose NOT to go that route, because, while I respect dietetics as a profession, I don’t always agree with some of the sponsorships and professional alliances my regulating body (Dietitians of Canada) has struck up with certain companies.
I do think there’s still value in someone with an accredited nutrition degree (like mine) providing nutrition counseling, even if they’re not a Registered Dietitian. This is VERY different, still, from someone with a diploma or certification that they bought from a mail-order school, or even from a non-accredited one- or two-year nutrition program, setting up shop and calling themselves a “nutritionist.”
I am considering possibly doing a Masters degree in Health Sciences (nutrition communications) or Public Health, once I am finished with my bachelor’s, and instead of an internship. I just still haven’t decided yet.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, whenever you’re looking for a professional to help you with anything — whether it’s eating or therapy or whathaveyou — it’s a good idea to take it case-by-case, and examine the indvidual’s credentials to see if they are something you can be comfortable with. If people don’t choose to work with me because I am not an RD, I can respect that. But I would also point out that I have a very similar education to an RD, unlike many people going under the term “nutritionist.”
I still very much move in the dietetics circle, professionally and socially, even if I am not yet (or maybe never will be) an RD, and I’m very familiar with how the profession works and how dietitians practice.
I hope that clears it up for you, but I am totally open to talking about this more if anyone wants.
(Also, Ben Goldacre’s stunt with his cat cracked me up.)
Weight loss is not ‘hard’, if we couldn’t lose weight easily, how would we be able to convert what we eat into energy?
Or survive a time when we have to expend a larger than usual amount of energy without fainting?
I lose weight without thought if I miss breakfast, more if I also miss lunch, this doesn’t cause me the agonies of weight loss dieting, the same holds true with ‘exercise’ to lose weight. It’s ‘hard’, it’s hard to run a few miles, but it’s not hard to dance the night away moving because it is as integral to you as thought is to the mind, without need of ‘persuasion’ from smeckperts.
The obesity crisis is only pretends to be about weight loss and health, suffice to say, it isn’t.
Not everyone experiences weight loss as easy, wriggles.
In the short term, we have glycogen stores (glycogen is the storage form of glucose, which is the main fuel for you brain and your muscles) in our muscles and liver. Using those stores does not necessarily result in noticeable weight loss, especially if a person remains well-hydrated.
In the longer term, not everyone’s body utilizes their fat stores for energy. In fact, the body will sometimes preferentially break down muscle tissue before it will tap into fat tissue for energy. So, if someone is (for instance) insulin resistant (meaning, their MUSCLE cells are insulin resistant) they may continue storing fat (and gaining weight) from the food they eat, even while their muscle cells starve from lack of glucose and begin to break down for fuel.
While I appreicate what (I think) you’re trying to say, your own experience does not necessarily apply to other people.
Wriggles, your commentary makes no sense. The obvious is that what applies to your body may not apply to my body or that of anyone else. If you lose weight easily, that’s about you and only you.
I’m having a harder time, however, making sense of this comment:
I lose weight without thought if I miss breakfast, more if I also miss lunch, this doesn’t cause me the agonies of weight loss dieting
So, you think people should starve themselves in order to lose weight? Because skipping breakfast and lunch (assuming you eat only dinner on those days) is not a reasonable or healthy way to lose weight. Having more fat stores than other people doesn’t mean one can not eat without causing bodily damage to themselves.
I’m talking about the everyday fluctuations in weight that we all experience.
For some people it’s a variance (in a day) typically of about 3-5lbs for some it can be more.
This may not be much, which is presumably why you thought I was talking about large scale weight loss. The point is I was comparing the lack of suffering of that natural fluctuation and comparing it to losing the same amount through dieting and exercise.
People lose weight all the time without intent often as a side effect of a change of circumstances.
I’m saying that it is when calorie manipulation is deliberate that the pain begins.
I think that this pain is not intrinsic to weight loss, but intrinsic to dieting.
What we don’t know is how to combine the ease of indirect weight loss, with the desire to lose weight intentionally.
This is true — some people’s weights do fluctuate quite easily, and weight loss itself is not always painful. Some people can sort of “incidentally” lose weight without losing any quality of life along with it, such as when people start doing fun exercise and eating intuitively. However — it’s important to remember that this doesn’t happen for EVERYONE, consistently, which is what people who push a weight loss agenda would like to believe.
I, frankly, don’t think it’s possible to combine the ease of incidental weight loss with the overt desire to lose weight. Because not everyone WILL lose weight, for one thing, and for another, as soon as weight becomes the goal, the wellness/health goal takes a backseat. It is negated, because (at least according to Sartre, with whom I appear to be having a love affair lately), human consciousness cannot focus on two priorities simultaneously — one must be annihilated, philosophically speaking, or at least subverted in favour of the other.
This is what I believe happens when focus shifts onto intentional weight loss. Weight loss is substituted as a proxy for health, and health itself is subverted.
And proxies are never as reliable as the real thing.
I love this point about health goals being subverted by focus on weight loss – especially an important (and difficult) to remember if intuitive eating and fun exercise *do* result in some weight loss. It’s so easy to make maintaining the weight loss the reason to continue, but that involves a loss of self-esteem, a return of the sense of being at war with one’s body, even a sense of superiority to those who are fatter, while a focus on health (in a holistic, subjective well-being sense) is more nurturing and less judgmental, anyway. (Sorry for rambling…)
Michelle,
Are you saying that some people’s weight stays exactly the same in a day? That is, it doesn’t fall or only rises up and up every single day?
I would be surprised if that’s right.
I, frankly, don’t think it’s possible to combine the ease of incidental weight loss with the overt desire to lose weight.
Yes I know, virtually everyone seems to. Indeed, the so called obesity scientists, insist that it is impossible, (which in and of itself makes it suspect IMHO) but I can’t see why.
If you look at the things that scientists in general don’t feel they can fully rule out, such as the possibility of time travel, I find it genuinely staggering, that the human body can lose weight with ease, through daily fluctuation, and as a side effect of a numerous myraid of other changes. Oh, combine that with the fact that the weight regulatory mechanism is so hugely multifarious and varied, I find it impossible to agree.
It’s one thing to say, I just can’t see how it can be right now; I agree, otherwise I’d be telling you all how and there could never possibly be, can’t agree.
Incidentally, I agree that the moment we consciously look to lose weight, the whole thing becomes unbalanced, but how things go wrong, if you study why, should give us clues into how they could be right.
Some people’s weight might fluctuate due to changes in water and waste matter, etc. But some people really and truly don’t see much of a difference in a day.
However, this is quite different, chemically and compositionally speaking, from long-term fat loss, which is really what people are referring to when they talk about “weight loss.”
Bodies are different. People’s experiences with weight are different. I ask that you respect that.
I also disagree that obesity scientists think health and weight loss are incompatible goals — from what I understand, they often promote the two as one and the same thing. Because they truly believe that weight is not only a proxy for health, but have conflated it completely with health, and treat the two as if they are indistinguishable.
They are not — weight is weight, and health is health.
Weight is not health, and health is not weight. And 2 + 2 does not equal 5.
The role of HAES and fat acceptance is to point out this conflation, and work to separate the two concepts from one another, so that we can actually, objectively EXAMINE the relationship(s) between weight and health, rather than just assume it as a foregone conclusion.
Then, maybe, we can actually, you know, DO something about the health risks larger people face, and come up with treatments for those risks, rather than just harping on weight loss over and over and over again.
Ok seeing as you find the way I express myself problematic, I’ll cease to torment you further, except to say that you seem to be responding to a tone you’ve picked up from me rather than what I’ve actually said.
What you’ve said above I don’t recognise as what I said, or the point I was trying to make.
Which is that the idea that weight loss has to be intrinsically painful is false, it’s false because we lose weight in ways that are not painful, I mentioned as least two forms of painless weight loss.
Although varying amounts can and have been lost painlessly by people, it would matter if the amounts were miniscule as I’m establishing a principle.
The point of this is to make sure we think about exactly where this idea that pain free weight loss is absolutely impossible, is coming from and who’s interests it serves. It comes from the same people that are still trying to keep people believing in painfully manipulating calories.
I wanted to discuss these ideas to see what people thought, not to get into an emotive argument. As that I don’t seem to be able to make that come across I’ll leave it at that, thanks.
Wriggles, I was almost starting to understand your point. But then you had to use the words “torment” and “emotive argument” and accuse me of misstating your words.
If I’ve misunderstood you, that’s fine — please just correct me. I realize that I am often wrong about things.
But your quick dismissal of my reply gives me the impression that you are not making your argument in good faith. I don’t know if that is truly the case, or just another misunderstanding on my part. But you should probably know it gives the impression of concern trolling, at least to me.
You’re welcome to attempt to explain yourself better, as I am starting to get a hazy outline of your point when you say “Which is the idea that weight loss has to be intrinsically painful is false.”
There is no point in leaving in a huff just because you’ve been misunderstood. We’re all humans here, and bound to misunderstand from time to time.
To add a note – my weight varies up to 5lbs, plus or minus, per day. That’s a little over 1% of my body weight.
It goes up a bit more when I’m getting my period, then goes down after.
If I get really sick (can’t keep much down, diarrhea, Gatorade starts tasting like nectar of the gods) I lose 10-15lbs.
I used to fluctuate more than this. In high school I dropped 20 lbs in 2 weeks when Coke was taken off the market and I stopped drinking it overnight. The more I dieted (and regained) the less I fluctuated, but I’m not sure if that applies to others or just me. It would be neat, in a geeky statistician way, to find out how average body size and/or dieting history affects the amount of daily fluctuation.
Some people seem to have REALLY labile weights. I’m not sure why that is.
When I am really, really stressed out, I sometimes lose about 10-15 lbs temporarily (because I lose my appetite and get really antsy and fidgety.) When things go back to normal, I resume my usual, stable weight pretty quickly.
Some of my other friends NEVER experience this and think it is really bizarre.
Wriggles, the reason I assumed you were talking about long term weight loss is because daily fluctuations (as Michelle has already said) don’t represent the actual fat loss that is the goal of weigh loss. My weight might vary by a few pounds throughout the day, but this is because I eat and drink throughout the day and those things have their own mass (that will be reflected on the scale) until they are either converted to energy or waste and expelled by my body.
I don’t see any reasonable way that natural weight fluctuations could be translated into permanent weight loss.
wriggles, what’s your point, exactly? That weight often fluctuates on its own, and that’s a neutral phenomenon? If so, then okay. Fair enough.
Or, are you saying that it’s easy to lose weight, because all you have to do is not eat or drink? If so, WTF? Not eating/drinking is unhealthy, uncomfortable, and eventually fatal. Undereating is unsustainable for most people, long-term, and it slows the metabolism, so even if it’s kept up, weight is often regained. It’s usually called “dieting.”
Found you through newsweek, wish I had before though! Nothing profound to say, just that it’s nice to read your perspective and glad to see something besides the usual nonsense.
I am a pregnant woman, overweight, who eats very healthy diet. Seriously – whole grains, veggies, lean protein etc…. I was recently advised by a MFM specialist to to lose weight or at least gain no weight during the next four months of my pregnancy and to see a dietician or else I’d have A HUGE baby. Then the doc explained what a carb was and told me to go on an atkins style diet. A)Seriously – what fat woman in America doesn’t know know what a carb is? B) ATKINS for a pregnant woman?! My comment really has no point except to amuse you with yet another anecdote of how the medical community likes to treat fat women and why so many choose to stay away from the doctor! If I was in Canada I would choose you as my dietician (although I won’t be eating any donuts!)
Also you’re seriously gorgeous :)
@Jenni O’L–OMG! WTF–telling a mom-to-be no milk, no fruits? Cause that’s pretty much what Atkins is telling you. That’s the last thing you need or want to hear now. That’s sad that you are eating so healthy and your doctor is prescribing Atkins. “First, do no harm,” right? Wonder what ketosis does to a developing baby…can’t be good. Hang in there, mom (you) knows best!
Hey Jenni. What a godawful bit of advice to a pregnant lady. I agree with Emgee — that is ridiculous and bizarre.
If you’re looking for a good RD, you can always go here:
http://eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/home_21343_ENU_HTML.htm
…and you can call around and ask people if they’re familiar with HAES. Many RDs who specialize in eating disorders are pro-HAES and anti-diet.
Michelle, I loved your article. I am so glad that you are promoting HAES and fat acceptance on a national level. I go to an ED group once a week, and often it comes down to questioning society. Recovery from an ED, to me, means eating in an intuitive and NORMAL way, but so many people want to preach about calories in versus calories out as the cure all. Often our interactions with people who don’t “get it” involves them bragging about how much they DON’T eat or how “bad” they are for enjoying a meal. They expect praise for their disordered behaviors. And infuriatingly enough, they usually get it! In that context, it sometimes feels like doing the right thing becomes subversive and rebellious. It’s really a shame that the vast majority of people still magically think that thin equals healthy or happy.
Hi Cassie. Welcome.
We truly live in an eating-disordered culture, and more and more, it seems, an eating-disordered world.
These ideas are so deeply ingrained in people’s minds, apparently, that it can be really tough to counteract them. But I’m glad we’re trying. I love the alliance struck up between a lot of ED practitioners and HAES. I used to attend an ED group myself (more for body image reasons) and always felt SO comfortable there. Because we all struggled with the same pressures and cultural messages, no matter what body size we were.
Once again, I am impressed with your courage. I really wish there wasn’t so much fat hatred, I really think there are some worthwhile conversations that need to happen that won’t because people won’t hear it. I think the inability to hear things that one doesn’t agree with is common among most folks, but absolutism is tiring to me. I applaud you for having this conversation and be willing to listen and respond to reasonable people, even if you don’t agree. There sure are many unreasonable ones all over this issue.
You speak the truth, Julie. It’s exhausting to deal with completely irrational people and trolls. So glad my own site is nothing like that. I actually enjoy a good argument (a skill I learned from my cheerfully argumentative friend Dee), but not outright nastiness.
“Cheerfully argumentative?” Hey, thanks! I like that. I did go over there w/ clue bat in hand yesterday, though. What a bunch of knuckle draggers. It’s like the frinkin monkey cage in the zoo over there.
In any case, they’re getting off this bus:
And doing this:
HAHAHAHHAHA
(I fixed it for you. Images gotta be hosted on my server, apparently.)
Also, in the interests of maintaining a high level of discourse, I would encourage people who find something someone else says in comments (myself included) to be nonsensical and confusing and/or amusing, to use the following image I have hosted expressly for this purpose:
You may do this by using the traditional html img tag, and the source url “http://www.fatnutritionist.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/lolwut.jpg”
Please note that quotation marks must be employed within the tag.
This has been a public service announcement.
golamers.com makes it even better.
Oh, and:
September 30, 2007
September 30, 2007 (again)
June 15, 2009
June 25, 2009
July 25, 2009
August 13, 2009
August 13, 2009 (again)
August 18, 2009
August 26, 2009
Wow. Obvious troll IS obvious. And, that icon kicks butt.
I LOVE your newsweek article and your website/blog!! I’ll be visiting your site daily!
Thank you! And welcome. Hopefully I’ll actually have some more writing up soon :)
I <3 the obvious troll. That made me laugh so loud the dog jumped off my lap scared!
I found your site though Newsweek. I love it. Have you ever read this New York Times magazine article from a few years ago on how the bacteria in the digestive tract affect calorie absorption? It’s a fascinating article although the statistics about all the bacteria in you is slightly disturbing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/13/magazine/13obesity.html?pagewanted=1
Keep it up the good work!
What a fascinating article — I may have heard of it at the time, but completely forgot about it! So thanks for the link.
Just another perfect example of how bodies differ. And how incredibly complex they are. Nothing in the human body is ever as simple as a straightforward mathematical equation, it seems.
We use them as rough (sometimes VERY rough) guesstimates, to help us tweak things that have gone out of whack. But we must always remember that these equations are just tools that represent a “useful simplification of complex reality,” much like a map. These tools are always, always limited in their scope.
Also: I’m going to start collecting articles like this and linking them somewhere, on a new page or on the sidebar. So anyone else is welcome to contribute stuff like this.
Michelle thanks for doing the work you are doing and by being brave enough to do that newsweek article. One extreemly viscious series of letters in a local listings mag on the subject of fat acceptance enough for me !
Hi Michelle,
This is Lisa, Cam’s friend who went to uni with him and then used to live in Toronto and now lives in Vancouver (does that help at all?) We hung out a few times, I seem to remember, although it was forever ago.
Anyway, I’m here to shamefacedly admit that I’ve been lurking ever since I saw one of your posts through the fatosphere. I’m a firm believer in HAES and fighting for rights for all and other stuff… I just never found the time to comment yet (we have a kid now! And I work full time! And other nonsense that I’m sure other people manage to work around…)
But also I just wanted to say hi. :D
Anyway, go you! This is great. I hope you aren’t losing too many sanity points from the comments to your Newsweek article. Also – Newsweek OMG!
Hi Lisa,
Of course I remember you :) I’ve even seen pictures of your baby, via Cam. Jeffrey and I were laughing at how much he looks like his mom and dad. So cute.
Glad to hear from you! And thanks for the encouragement — it means a lot.
Holy crap, you’re internet famous WTF! I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with the trolls, wackos, and straight-up rude people. Fortunately when I visited the newsweek story there was a lovely, articulate, and well-thought out comment on top, putting those immature rude ones to shame. Keep on doing what you do because it’s the right thing.
I just wanted to say thank you.
I’ve been on a diet practically my whole life and I’ve always dealt with my weight and all the insecurities that come with it. My mother always taught to count my calories and “limit” myself. But after reading your blog and about what you promote, it has inspired me to STOP dieting and to START loving myself for who I am :)
Good luck, Tara. Feel free to email me anytime if you have questions or difficulties.
Oops, should have checked back earlier but I forgot. Thanks for the very detailed explanation!