First of all, a disclaimer. I am 190 pounds, 50 years old, and had fat parents. I am not skinny and will never be so. The last think I want to sound like is one of those annoying 20-year old size zero twits who say things like, "Just lose the weight" when they've never had to and have no idea what it's like to try. If it came off that way, I apologize.
And I'm not advocating anything radical. My brother, who weighed 450 pounds, had gastric bypass surgery, and I see the radical lifesytle change that he had to make afterwards. That's drastic stuff, and not for most people. I do think that he's lengthened his lifespan by doing it, however. 90% of his medical problems have disappeared over the last three years, along with 250 pounds.
The anorexic as an ideal is annoying to me as well. But what I was advocating in my response, however poorly chosen my example, was participating in your own medical care. I could have picked on smoking, or refusing to take prescribed medications, or existing only on fast food, or failing to research and ask questions of a doctor. It is not healthy to do any of those things, and it is statistically not healthy to be completely sedentary and eat poorly. No matter what the scale says, almost everyone would be well served by increasing activity levels, however they can.
Another disclaimer - I used to walk for exercise, but I had to stop because of foot problems. I never lost more than 20 pounds, but I had more endurance and felt better that I did before or I do now. It was also good for my blood pressure. One of the biggest benefits, though, was that I was doing something for myself instead of just waiting for the diabetes to kick in and kill me, like happened to my dad. That's mostly what I'm talking about.
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branchandroot
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Date: Monday, March 2nd, 2009 05:42 pm (UTC)And I'm not advocating anything radical. My brother, who weighed 450 pounds, had gastric bypass surgery, and I see the radical lifesytle change that he had to make afterwards. That's drastic stuff, and not for most people. I do think that he's lengthened his lifespan by doing it, however. 90% of his medical problems have disappeared over the last three years, along with 250 pounds.
The anorexic as an ideal is annoying to me as well. But what I was advocating in my response, however poorly chosen my example, was participating in your own medical care. I could have picked on smoking, or refusing to take prescribed medications, or existing only on fast food, or failing to research and ask questions of a doctor. It is not healthy to do any of those things, and it is statistically not healthy to be completely sedentary and eat poorly. No matter what the scale says, almost everyone would be well served by increasing activity levels, however they can.
Another disclaimer - I used to walk for exercise, but I had to stop because of foot problems. I never lost more than 20 pounds, but I had more endurance and felt better that I did before or I do now. It was also good for my blood pressure. One of the biggest benefits, though, was that I was doing something for myself instead of just waiting for the diabetes to kick in and kill me, like happened to my dad. That's mostly what I'm talking about.