Pictures of people who mock me

At my fittest I could run rings around skinny people and kick men's asses in boxing. But, I've never been thin and never will be. Even if I starved myself to death, I'd never be skinny.

Fortunately I'm quite confident and know that my worth has nothing to do with my dress size. Somebody wants to mock me? Go right ahead. I'm sure I'm a hell of a lot smarter than they are. And when they get a pot belly, lose their hair, get saggy books, or whatever, I'll still be a freaking genius

NO! NOT SAGGY BOOKS! ANYTHING BUT THAT! :yikes:


(Sorry, I couldn't help it Carrying books properly was drilled into me in elementary school so we wouldn't make the spines "saggy" lol)

Saggy books are sad.

I'm glad you're happy with yourself, as thats all that matters.

I say this carefully because I don't mean to offend, but unless you do have a medical problem, a proper diet and exercise is the way to being thin. I'm a lot fitter than some of my thinner friends too. I can hike up mountains, hang board all day at my job and still have energy. Personally, I don't take that as acceptance for my fat. My family often says to me that they don't understand how I could be overweight, as I'm very active. Well, I eat too much. I take in more calories then I expend, and it doesn't get much simpler than that.

With my weight loss "journey" as of now (down 25lbs) When I see how strong my body is right now, even thought I abused it all these years... I can curl/squat/deadlift more than any other woman in my gym (that I've seen). My cardio is just ok, lol. And that makes me excited for what I can become, rather than make society adapt to my unhealthy ideal.

Medical issues aside. There's always the exception to the rule. But yes, most people choose to be fat.

This is kind of my viewpoint too.

It's not like overweight people are a rarity so I highly doubt these people, who are walking through crowded cities, are singling her out and going "OMG LOOK AT HER." I would never notice this woman in a crowd. I see people that look like her nearly every day and I would bet most people could say the same thing. I mean maybe if she were 500lbs people would take more notice. I think it is more likely that these pictures just show people who are looking around as they walk. And yeah maybe they looked AT her. But in a mocking/judgmental sort of way? I don't know if I see that.

Maybe people just think she wears silly clothes.

Does it say how the camera is positioned?

One of our projects in school was all about setting up a camera/shoot in public and the goal was to capture the reaction of both strangers having their photos taken without verbal consent and also the reaction of those watching others getting their photos taken, both of which often lead to very interesting photos.

This sort of bothers me.

Most of these people are just glancing. I glance at people all the time. Fat people. Skinny people. White people. Black people. I could easy be one of the people in her photos.

Genetics do play a role in weight and height for people. Some people no matter what will always be bigger than others. Just like skin tones differ and vary, height differs etc. Genetics are more important than what people think.

She mentions it briefly.

Honestly? I don't find it "powerful" in the slightest. The woman seems like a self-important attention ***** who is trying to draw attention to herself and trying to find something to be offended about. Most of these people aren't even looking at her - they're looking in her general direction, they're looking past her, they're looking around her. Even if they are looking at her... So the hell what? There is no context for what these people are thinking and reacting to. ANYONE could walk around with their own personal photographer, have hundreds or thousands of photos taken of them, and be able to pick out a few where it looks like people are looking at/toward them and making funny faces.

Yeah, not to mention there are all kinds of health problems that limit the amount/type of exercise someone is able to do. I have a really good friend who is very overweight. She knows it and works hard to get the weight off. However, her femur's are deformed. You can't tell by looking at her, but they twist in such a way that her knees are really screwed up and half the time she either walks with a cane or uses a wheelchair.

She's on a very limited, fixed disability income. She can't afford a gym membership where she would have pool access, since swimming is just about the only exercise she can do without being in excruciating pain. She eats super healthy in reasonable portions.

Some people have heart conditions that limit their activity. One of my friends was born with a congenital heart defect. When we were in middle school the gym teacher didn't believe him and made him run a single lap around the track, which caused him to have a heart attack and nearly killed him at 13 years old. He's on the hefty side today. He eats healthy.

My mom is heavy. She's on several meds that all cause weight gain. Some meds do that, they have a drastic effect on your metabolism and bam! You can run and eat healthy all you want, but it just doesn't happen.

Best policy is, don't judge. You don't know what's going on with other people's bodies.

Wait, now are we talking obesity? Or overweight? You seem to be using the words interchangeably...

Have you seriously stopped every overweight/obese person you've come across and asked them their medical history and that of their family? Or are you just assuming?

Even if you ask someone's medical history that still might not tell you anything. Plenty of people spend years with goofed up thyroids before realizing that it's a problem, along with tons of other conditions that go undiagnosed.

Oh, I know. But, I mean, if she hasn't asked extensive medical history, then there's *definitely* no way she knows for sure. At least if she has then, well, it's kind of a step towards knowing. Almost. More of a "you have to have done ridiculous things to be able say that", really

Having some self awareness isn't a bad thing. Yes, if it's to a point you hate yourself, you lock yourself indoors, you starve yourself, harm yourself physically, avoid making relationships with those around you, etc, there is an issue that needs to be resolved.

having the awareness that maybe you shouldn't wear something or do something can be a healthy thought as well. Everybody has issues with themselves, Skinny, fat, "normal", rich, poor and everything in between. How you deal with it is more important.

I judge, in a way when I see someone very overweight, my eyes and mind tell me they are very overweight, but that's all it tells me. I have plenty of overweight friends. Some of them smoke too much too. Doesn't mean I agree with their choices by being friends with them, but they have other much more redeeming qualities that I admire.

Being overweight doesn't stop them from being good, productive, respectful, loving people. I don't care if they have a medical condition, don't care if they just eat poorly. Well I do, I try to get everyone to make more healthy decisions, but what they eventually choose isn't my main priority in life.

But I think genetics and medical conditions get far, far, too much credit in this country. We live like crap. We do. We eat like crap, even when we eat "healthy" we're are usually eating like crap. Thyroid conditions are awesome cause you can blame something else. They are as much a function of diet and exercise as anything.

our Thyroids and genetics have not changed in the past 50 years, but our lifestyles sure have. Diets based on cheap nutritionally defunct food and convenience have not been kind to our waistlines or our health. You can certainly give yourself a thyroid condition, and in fact many have. Not because their thyroid was broken, but because their lifestyle made it dysfuctional over time. They weren't given a bad thyroid or bad genes.

Sure it can be tested for and given medication to treat. Normal function can also be achieved with different lifestyle choices.

I have been overweight since puberty but only ever made fun of once. It was in high school and I was all of 165 lbs at the time. Size 8. Not skinny at all, but not near obese. The dude was a dick and that was all there was to it. It hurt at the time (I was a teenager after all) but looking back at it, I realize that he was just a loser. Most people are kind but if you go looking to be offended, you'll probably find it.

As far as fat people choosing to be fat, I think it's not that simple. I have PCOS which does affect the amount of calories I need. It is NOT an excuse but it DOES affect everything. 1. The diet that is generally touted by schools, etc is not a good one for people with PCOS. You can eat 'healthy' and still gain. Unfortunately the diet that seems to work well with PCOS isn't the one that even dieticians will tell you about. It flies in the face of the typical 'food pyramid'. So there's a lot of women that just don't know how to eat for their condition. 2. It's incredibly hard to get a diagnosis for PCOS. So you have these women that are fat and their doctors just tell them they're lazy. I've even had doctors tell me to exercise 15 minutes a day and I'll be fine. This is when I was already running several miles a day! 3. They have done studies where women with PCOS's caloric intake is compared to women of the same size that are 'normal'. The skinny PCOSers take in much less calories than the normal people the same size. The fat ones take in much less calories than the normal fat people. So you can have a fat person with PCOS that is not eating as much (or about the same) as a normal person who is skinny. A lot of people assume you must be scarfing down multiple hamburgers at meals and that is not the case.

No they don't know the exact link between obesity and PCOS or which is the cause of the other. But they do know there is a link. And I know that I was not fat until puberty then it came on fast.

I know I overeat sometimes and don't eat for my disease and it's a portion of my problem. So I take full responsibility for that portion of the problem. I'll be honest sometimes I am jealous that my friends who eat exactly the same way as I do are stick skinny. It's not fair. But then I have to remember that life isn't fair.

I think the problem is you have people with conditions like this or hormonal issues like I do and they go to the doctor and the doctor touts a very western diet as a cure. Seriously you would not believe the things the dietician told me to eat to lose weight. O_O That and then exercise 15 minutes... So I feel for people that are trying by going to doctors and then being told the flat out WRONG information. A high carb, low fat diet is a terrible choice for PCOS and many of the other issues people have and yet that's what doctors tend to recommend. Oh just eat off the food pyramid!

I agree completely. junk food isn't always cupcakes and candy bars and not everybody has the same background or education or upbringing. I don't hold that against people. That's kind of what I was trying to get at, but I never explain myself very well. I see overweight people, I can't help but not. I see people as fat, thin, muscular, fat skinny, white, black, etc. I can't help but see that stuff. What matters more to me though is, are you an asshole or not

My second part was just that genetics and thyroids are getting entirely too much credit these days. I wholeheartedly agree that our views on nutrition in this country need to change drastically.

I don't know if I agree that genetics and thyroid get too much attention these days. Maybe because I am on the other side of it I see a lot more people saying things like 'just eat less' or 'maybe you shouldn't eat a Big Mac every meal'. I am sure there are many people that eat that way and are fat but there doesn't seem to be much thought for the fact that a person could eat 'normally' by western standards but still be fat. I honestly think most people think the only way you are fat is if you eat sweets and fast food all day long. Just looking at articles on yahoo or CNN that touch on weight and you see that. Comments made by friends and even doctors say the same thing. You are fat because you are lazy. It is frustrating to hear especially from people who eat the same way I do.

I am not trying to dissolve myself of any responsibility because I know I could do better and be skinnier. And that would be healthier for me. But 'better' isn't what a lot of people think it is. It isn't eat whole grains and low fat.