First off, I want to thank everyone for commenting on Jen's blog.
At this rate I will be on the StairMaster for 12 hours!!!
Well, maybe not, I think the last time I checked she was at 117 comments. I will have to think of something creative after 140 comments because my gym has strict rules about being on a piece of cardio for 65 minutes.
Trust me though, I will try to go longer, I will have to "sneak the sweat"!
I have been overweight my whole life. When you are an overweight kid, there are a few things that come with the territory:
1. Your pants will have to be shortened. You can not wear size 38 pants when you are 5 foot 1 and 220 and not have them adjusted.
2. You always think people are making fun of you. One of my defense mechanisms was to beat people to the punch and make fun of myself first.
3. Have nicknames
I have had more nicknames about my weight than I can count. I have heard it all!
Piggy, Chubs, Fat-Ass, Butterball, Jackie Gleason, Orson Wells (The smart drama kids called me that!), Hungry Hippo, etc.....
Trust me, if you want me to go on, I will!
The one thing that has always bothered me, and I might be the only on that is bothered by this, is when people refer to themselves as fat.
It does not make sense to me.
Here is why.
At what weight are you "fat".
Example one- In high school I thought I was fat. I looked in the mirror with my shirt off in disgust. I would do everything to lose weight. In 1990, I really did not have many options except not eat very much.
I lost weight and still thought I was fat.
By the way, in high school, I was 5 foot 6 and weighed 164 pounds.
Example two- Last August, I lost an incredible 140 pounds. I was going to the gym 6 days a week. I was "eating clean" for a couple of months. I was able to take walks with my wife, and I ran around at work. There was no way I was fat!
By the way, last August I was 5 foot 6 and weighed 280 pounds.
I think that people throw the word fat on themselves so much, and it is so subjective. They say they are fat and weigh 180 pounds. Then someone else says they are fat and weighs 240 pounds.
There is a girl I know that "needs to lose five pounds" because she has "never been this fat!!"
She weighs 110 pounds.
Here is maybe the main reason I do not like the word:
Once you "think" you are fat, you will always be fat in your mind!
You will lose the five pounds, then realize you need to lose five more. It is hard to get out of that "fat" mentality!
You will always beat yourself up.
You will look at yourself and think you are fat. People around you will say "Oh my God, you are not fat!" but we will think that.
I told this to someone who thought it was a dumb concept. In fact, so many people will!
She looked at me and said "Well, what should we call ourselves?"
Overweight maybe. At least there is a point where you are not overweight.
Phat maybe?
How about "determined to get healthy".
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Romantic Getaway November 2009
1 hour ago
Posts
19 comments:
This is an outstanding post. Anyone who has battled their weight can relate. When I was in college, at 140 lbs, I thought I was fat. I look at those pictures now and I can't believe I thought that about myself (I was a size 8). When I got married, at 175, I was even "fatter." At one point my weight reached 267, dangerous. Now I'm down to 171 and I'm "fit," with about 20 pounds to go. In fact, I'm probably in the best shape of my life. I am training for a triathlon, and yet, I still have days where I feel fat.
I'm with you. I like "determined to get healthy."
The word doesn't bother me, but I understand your point. I thought I was "fat" back in highschool too, and I only weighed 133 lbs.
Kudos.
I agree that there are boundary lines for normal, overweight and obese, but the word fat leaves so much to interpretation.
I was morbidly obese when I started my journey. At my current weight--according to BMI charts I am 'slightly' overweight. However, I am 4'11" with a muscular build so that's not the most accurate measuring tool for me. :)
Fat is a negative adjective with no clear cut basis in fact to apply that description to the human body. Fat is a tissue that when we are overweight/obese expands in size. That is different for everyone because the tissue expands as we gain. At 126 pounds the medical charts say I am slightly overweight, not fat. And the kicker is this: many women my height wouldn't look right at 126. Thank god we aren't carbon copies of each other.
Hope you are having a wonderful day and your little man is letting you sleep :)
P.S. Will be posting a link to your site for the Missouri 60 Challenge this afternoon. Pictures are loaded and ready to send. Thanks for the incentive.
Not sure how I feel about this...
If you are fat you are fat. It can be that Jim has an extra 4 lbs of at on his body that he wants to get rid of, or Tim can have 100 lbs of fat he wants to get rid of.
I agree the word can be negative, almost like calling someone a nigger. But there are some people like the lady you mentioned that said she was fat and only weighed 120 something lbs that isnt really fat but has some fat she wants to get rid of.
Everyone will always have fat in their body, it's needed. But some folks actually use the word incorrectly.
I dont agree on using the overweight word instead of fat. Why? Because a body builder can be purposely overweight and have little fat. So is he fat or overweight? He wants to be big and to be big he needs big muscles, which weight more than fat.
Unhealthy is a good choice as a word. I often tell my daughter that I am training to be healthy. She is 4 years old and says dad, you look skinny. I tell her thanks and that I am feeling healthier and not trying to be skinny, but healthy. I try not to use fat and skinny around her too much.
Anyway, I lost my thought. lol.
I thought I was fat at 14. I'd always been tall and lean, and was starting to get my womanly curves. My mother told me they were called 'thunder thighs'. This was back in the 70's. When I got married I weighed 140 pounds and my husband thought I was fat. I'm 5'9". I don't know when I will stop thinking of myself like that. Something to think about! Enjoyed the blog today.
I am guilty of using the word fat. I hate the "O" word because I am ashamed of the fact that they created a medical term for it. I use "overweight" a lot too.
Your points are good though. I think the other descriptions carry some baggage also, so maybe it's pick your poison.
Determined to get healthy? - very upbeat.
Hey, Tony! Great post! I'm a pretty new reader of your blog. I recently became a follower today. Just thought you might like to know who's out there!
Reina
http://reniwi.blogspot.com/
I've been using *fluffy*. *Flabulence* lately to refer to my spots that need more work in the toning department.
I'm not sure fat eyes ever leave us, no matter what we call it. It's a common issue amongst the formerly fluffy - what we see vs. what others see.
Great post. The word doesn't both me at all. I definitely am fat. Its fine. I won't always be.
Today one of my girl friends called herself fat. She weighs half of what I do and I would never consider calling her fat. I almost stopped her but realized that we each have our own bar for what constitutes "fat."
I shall have to think about this.
I've been fat since I was 6 years old.
I'm still fat. I don't say it in a disparaging way, just a truth. No, I'm not as fat as I used to be, but there's still a lot of stuff under the skin that shouldn't be there. I know, it wiggles and jiggles all the time when I move. I do believe there will be a time when I'm not fat. I really do.
I don't like when people that really aren't fat say they are though. That's just me. I think there's a difference between having a little extra fat you don't want and being fat.
I'm off to ponder your post.
Wow Tony...You've hit a nerve. I was thinking about this lately. Fat can roll off my tongue pretty fast. I can tell myself that I'm fat but if you ask my daughter, she will tell you something else. For the girl who weights 110 and needs to loose 5#s those type of people can slip into the danger zone.
We live next door to a man and his car plates say's "FAT DADDY". It fits but how sad.
I remember a girl in high school and she was very overweight. Boy, she had to be well over 400#s. After high school, she took her life. How sad and it makes my heart ache.
My hubby is overweight...when I met him he was as skinny as could be. When we got married and I started cooking for him, something happen. It's been a yo yo there after. Lose weight and gain a bit more. Lose weight and gain a lot more. Pants that don't stay up and hems on the ground.
One more thought I had as I was bringing in the grocery's yesterday. I had my arms full with bags,watermelon and a case of water. I had to stop and think all the extra weight I was holding. I had to think of my husband and others that carry that amount and more every day all day long.
I have F.F.F on the arm of my t shirt. It means future former fattie. To me, fat means I have an excess of body fat that needs to be gotten rid of. Fat is also a state of mind that leaves you feeling unable to overcome your obstacles. I will tell you why I use the word fat. For years I used the words chubby, plump, round...you name it. This was to mask what I really was, I was fat both physically and mentally. To me, I will no longer be fat when I am within my healthy weight range and when I realize I have the power to direct my life. My healthy weight for my body type is between 111 to 139 lbs. Will I still retain some body fat. Yes. But not unhealthy amounts. I will also prove to myself that I can overcome something once I apply my will. I need the slap of the word to wake me up. But, to each his or her own. Love your blog.
Chris
When I weighed 300 pounds I was fat, and knew it. However, it was okay for me to say it, but not for anyone else! After losing 150 pounds and keeping it off for 12 years, there are things I'd still like to change, but for the most part I am satisfied with my appearance.
Great post - I like your site, and your weight loss is amazing!
A rather rotund former acquaintance of mine used to say, "I'm not fat. I'm suffering from bulimic amnesia. I binge and then I forget to purge." It always made me chuckle. hehe
I'm going to do a post about this, because I don't really agree with you, but this would turn into a long comment if I were to explain my reasoning in detail. Besides, I've been wondering what to blog about today!
This is a subject I relate too. I was interested to read what you had to say on it. As I lose weight I have to work on adjusting my perception of myself. For instance, I am 280ish, but have the tendency to assume that I am just as "damned" as I was at my highest at 365.
My parents told me I was fat when I was ranked 5th in the nation in my event (swimming) when I was twelve. I was considered one of the "prodigy" children of the sport, but was being told I was fat at 5ft8 and 135lbs... at twelve years old. They had monitored my food and body from an early age, and the coaches joined in once I was showing signs of being tremendous. Not only did I struggle from believing that 140 was near obese, but I ended up toying with anorexia...
I burnt out and quit swimming by the time I was 16, and started gaining that weight I believed I already was. Fast forward ten years and 235 pounds heavier...
Anyway. This post hit home for me because I believed I was fat before I was fat...the incredible self-fulfilling prophecy.
I love your blog. This transformation is simply amazing - and you're right, it is a battle.. every day. KUDOS!
Great post! I was 145 in high school, cheerleader, volleyball, etc...and my stepfather, along with some brilliant kid who called me "thunder thighs", convinced me that I was fat. *shaking head* Now, if I were that fat, I would be incredible!!
When I went to the gym the other day for my 30 minutes on the eliptical, and while I was stretching afterwards, I saw the looks...but you know what? I actually AM fat now (385!!), and it's empowering for me to say...it's simply a fact. But, it doesn't devestate me now, like it did in highschool...because I'm on my way. I'm stronger than anyone would think, and I'm only getting stronger.
If I've learned anything about being "fat", it's that the person who has 10 pounds to lose can honestly feel that way in their mind. I did, when I was perfectly fit way back then. And even though at times it makes me want to roll my eyes at them, I remember that I felt that way, too.
Sorry for the book. ;) Thanks for the inspiration.
I used to hate the word, now I'm mostly indifferent to it (unless it's used hatefully). It's just a description to me now, and it slides off the tongue easier than overweight. I think of fat as heavier than chubby, but none of them bother me, as long as not used in a derogatory manner In my town, there's a large homosexual community, and they've (as in the general community, not everyone in it) "taken back" words like fag, queer, queen, dyke, etc.,and many often refer to themselves as such, even amongst straight friends. That doesn't mean they'd appreciate it yelled at them by a bunch of as*hats in a derogatory way while driving by in a car, but it's common enough that bars advertise "Fag Fridays", etc., to get a crowd.
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