are you offended by other people being fat? in the united states or uk?

[One Eyed Cat]

(1) In the United States, we don't pick up the tab for the obese.

We do though. Those of us who need insurance do. Private insurance companies are mandated to cover diseases including those caused by obesity. Insurance premiums go up accordingly. The "free market" in health care touted by some in congress would amount to people choosing what they want covered. The prices would vary accordingly. Usually, that just means a high co-pay and just coverage for catastrophic incidents. If actuarial data shows obesity to directly correlate to payout, should insurance companies not be able to charge them a higher co-pay? The point of insurance is to minimize financial risk in the case of illness.

Do I want that to happen? No. It is troubling that a majority of bankruptcies involve health care bills.

Personally, I think you had a catastrophic incident. You would still have been a productive member of society had you had coverage to pick up the slack.

I was speaking of obesity specifically btw.

JT

[One Eyed Cat]

Ahh but it is - we're not all expected to fund additional healthcare for people with purple hair (apart from those poor victims of the explosion at the Allied Nebraska Cosmetics and Livestock Rendering plant). Personal preference is fine until it imposes on others, just as with music or fashion you have the right to express yourself but not to force everyone in your county to listen to the same tune. Self-imposed poor health, whatever the cause, should go hand-in-hand with acceptance of responsibility for all the costs or restrictions it imposes. I have no problem with someone wanting to be 450lb if they really insist on it, but if it's their choice then they should accept the costs and live with the fact the world isn't built quite the right shape for them. Everyone would think it stupid to campaign for higher doors in public buildings so folks with mohawks don't have to duck, so why not apply the same opinion to plane seats for the gravitationally-enhanced?

They actually make them buy 2 seats on Southwest Airlines. They try to accomodate for height (the tallest people get preference for the emergency door seat). Realistically though, I wouldn't recommend that airline to anyone over maybe 5'10 (unless you're seeing some major savings)

JT

[Jax]

My brothers fiance has the gastric bypass done a long time ago. She dropped A LOT of weight and works very hard to eat the right foods now to keep that weight off. Her efforts speak for themselves, since she is at the weight goal she set for herself and has not gained back the weight.

So if it doesnt work for some, maybe its because they saw a drop in weight and went back to eating unhealthy? Who knows but my opinion is just that... if you work on it, youll be happy with the results.

[One Eyed Cat]

My brothers fiance has the gastric bypass done a long time ago. She dropped A LOT of weight and works very hard to eat the right foods now to keep that weight off. Her efforts speak for themselves, since she is at the weight goal she set for herself and has not gained back the weight.

So if it doesnt work for some, maybe its because they saw a drop in weight and went back to eating unhealthy? Who knows but my opinion is just that... if you work on it, youll be happy with the results.

As long as you keep at it, you'll be ok. Another thing is to consider the body mass index: muscle weighs more than fat and takes up less space. As you get in better shape, the actual numerical weight will increase again at some point. I do wish I could pick a number and stick to it though. I think I'm currently in the lighter half of normal range. I can get either super skinny or lose the tone around the middle. It doesn't take much to have to switch a lot of clothes though.

JT

[Jax]

As long as you keep at it, you'll be ok. Another thing is to consider the body mass index: muscle weighs more than fat and takes up less space. As you get in better shape, the actual numerical weight will increase again at some point. I do wish I could pick a number and stick to it though. I think I'm currently in the lighter half of normal range. I can get either super skinny or lose the tone around the middle. It doesn't take much to have to switch a lot of clothes though.

JT

Yeah, she couldnt be happier with the results. Except now she has a lot of loose skin and is very subconcious about it. And you are very right about muscle weight. Hopefully those working out realize that you will gain weight, just not fat weight if you work out and take care of yourself.

Im the same way. I can go from healthy weight (around 120) to 100 in the matter of a month, so I really have to watch and make sure Im getting the food I need so I do not drop the pounds, which means another clothes shopping spree, haha.

[Mainline_Iodine]

There are problems with BMI though. When I was wrestling, by the end of the season I weighted 169 and was just over 5'10" and was still overweight according to BMI.

Losing weight is not easy. I never said that it was easy. At the start of my freshman year I was 205 lbs. by January I was 169. That's a pretty fast drop in weight. Want to know how I did it? Watched what I ate, cut all soda, candy and other junk food from my diet. But the biggest reason I dropped that weight was the hour and a half of running in the wrestling room every weeknight plus another two hours of sparing and practice every weeknight. Then add that the fridays we didn't have a dual that night, there are a tournament all day saturday instead. It was hard, it was painful at times but it made me healthier and I don't regret it.
Due to injuires from wrestling, I slowly gained weight back over the nest three years. Half way through the last semester of my senior year, I was back around 195. I then ended up getting a job a walmart, pushing in carts. Might sounds like an easy job, and it is if you have the machines, we didn't. So my exercise became dragging in rows of ten carts at a time for eight hours a day, five days a week. That sucked, but after doing that for five months, I am back at 170, and my cardio is better than ever. Getting in shape and being healthy is NOT a walk in the park, but that is no excuse.

[One Eyed Cat]

There are problems with BMI though. When I was wrestling, by the end of the season I weighted 169 and was just over 5'10" and was still overweight according to BMI.

Losing weight is not easy. I never said that it was easy. At the start of my freshman year I was 205 lbs. by January I was 169. That's a pretty fast drop in weight. Want to know how I did it? Watched what I ate, cut all soda, candy and other junk food from my diet. But the biggest reason I dropped that weight was the hour and a half of running in the wrestling room every weeknight plus another two hours of sparing and practice every weeknight. Then add that the fridays we didn't have a dual that night, there are a tournament all day saturday instead. It was hard, it was painful at times but it made me healthier and I don't regret it.
Due to injuires from wrestling, I slowly gained weight back over the nest three years. Half way through the last semester of my senior year, I was back around 195. I then ended up getting a job a walmart, pushing in carts. Might sounds like an easy job, and it is if you have the machines, we didn't. So my exercise became dragging in rows of ten carts at a time for eight hours a day, five days a week. That sucked, but after doing that for five months, I am back at 170, and my cardio is better than ever. Getting in shape and being healthy is NOT a walk in the park, but that is no excuse.

Interesting. There must be some additional fat/muscle density factor at play. BMI has generally worked for me. One thing I have wondered about. When I drop weight quickly (and I can really fast), my skin simply feels loose. Not much fat but loose. This may have been a factor on your BMI reading.

5'10 170 is probably close to your ideal weight. Another variance would be just build. If you have wide shoulders etc, your actual ideal weight would be a bit more than if you have a smaller build naturally.

JT

[One Eyed Cat]

Yeah, she couldnt be happier with the results. Except now she has a lot of loose skin and is very subconcious about it. And you are very right about muscle weight. Hopefully those working out realize that you will gain weight, just not fat weight if you work out and take care of yourself.

Im the same way. I can go from healthy weight (around 120) to 100 in the matter of a month, so I really have to watch and make sure Im getting the food I need so I do not drop the pounds, which means another clothes shopping spree, haha.

haha yeah. I'm gonna buy clothes this one last time, but I am determined to keep the same size. I think my weight gain in law school was more than I thought (I rarely weighed myself). I am not super muscular, so low averagish seems reasonable. The loose skin, in her case, is going to be harder to firm up. It can be done though.

JT

[Jax]

I measure my weight by how my clothes fit;p I was down to about 100 lbs about a month ago and just finally got back up to around 120, cause now my new clothes fit again. Usually I get top and bottom heavy and its now starting to go to my midsection, Ive never been so glad to see a semi gut, lol. My friends hate me when I talk about weight, they try to lose it and I try to gain it, but everyone comments on how good I look with weight on me. Bigger boobs, bigger butt, everyones happy;]

[One Eyed Cat]

I measure my weight by how my clothes fit;p I was down to about 100 lbs about a month ago and just finally got back up to around 120, cause now my new clothes fit again. Usually I get top and bottom heavy and its now starting to go to my midsection, Ive never been so glad to see a semi gut, lol. My friends hate me when I talk about weight, they try to lose it and I try to gain it, but everyone comments on how good I look with weight on me. Bigger boobs, bigger butt, everyones happy;]

hehe cool. I'm notoriously unaware until I start getting the pants slippage. They shouldn't get angry, it really is the same thing. It's damn hard to strike a balance.

JT