Fatshaming

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After a conversation with friends, and with obesity (especially in young people) becoming a bigger crisis than smoking in our society, am I unreasonable to think that as we villanise smoking and drinking, should we fat shame more to encourage people to change their lifestyles. It's certainly worked with reducing smoking rates. Don't attack me (I've lost 2 stone). Just wondering why we target smoking more than fast food?

Oh yes though, I do agree with nutrient-rich calories rather than wasteful ones for sure. Quality rules.

I'm sorry mooncup, but this oversimplification and denomination of perfectly normal food drives me crackers and tbh contributes to the obesity epidemic

theredjellybean

The CICO hypothesis is too simplistic, we haven't even talked about the genetic element of all of this, because it is crucial in all of this too.

And I agree with you that the satiety part of all of this is crucial. I think people lose weight on low carb because they can fix their leptin responses and get their appetite under control and they end up eating less (but not feeling like shit).

I am a massive fan of fasting for so many reasons, way beyond weightloss and if people don't want to ditch the pizza, fasting is a good option to start healing the body

www.theguardian.com/science/2016/oct/03/yoshinori-ohsumi-wins-nobel-prize-in-medicine

I do appreciate chatting but have to go and get off my behind and go for a walk. :)

I'm sorry mooncup, but this oversimplification and denomination of perfectly normal food drives me crackers and tbh contributes to the obesity epidemic

I literally don't understand your point

You think we shouldn't classify food? So how do you decide what to eat?

And in what way does it contribute to the obesity epidemic?

I'm sitting here wondering how people don't even know banana is a carb and thinking what else they don't know about the food they are eating?

To try and be clear. Saying "A banana is a carb, so is a chocolate biscuit" leads people to think they are of equal nutritional value and equally "good" or "bad". I believe this leads to people trying to cut out entire food groups, which isn't sustainable long term for most people. It also plays into the hand of processed food producers who will brand their highly processed and almost certainly nutritionally inferior food as " low fat" or "low carb" or most recently "low sugar". When in fact people would be better off eating whole natural foods- carbs and all. I hope that clarifies things for you. Yes potatos are low in fat, so you would need some full fat dairy or meat with them. But they are a pretty good single food source.

How do I decide what to eat ? I see what's available ( in my life usually mainly unprocessed natural foods) i think about how hungry i am and how much time i have to :
A) prepare it and
B) eat it

What do you do ?

I agree the demonisation of bananas because they contain carbs, when they are also an excellent source of potassium, magnesium, vitamins B6 and C and fibre is ridiculous.

I recently read a book by Anthony Warner called 'The Angry Chef'. It's all about the pseudoscience surrounding food. It's quite illuminating.

Re: the how do we know what foods to eat? I think the answer was above. Eat food that contains fewer than 5 ingredients, so fresh, relatively unprocessed food, make your own food from fresh ingredients. It's basically what people have been saying for decades, but it is too boring compared to low fat/low carb/clean eating/keto etc and doesnt sell books or get you more followers on instagram. I don't do this, so I'm fat. I also snack too much on processed foods. If I went low carb, I probably wouldn't have eatent the eclair I had after lunch

Am I fat because I ate an eclair for no reason or because I ate a bowl of porridge for breakfast?

I’m fat! I know I’m fat, I’m depressed, miserable & lonely so I eat! I’m absolutely disgusting & hate myself! I’ve tried everything to lose weight in the past, it took me 6 months once to lose 2st this was under the guidance of a nurse on slimming pills! I didn’t even lose a dress size I stayed the same & felt like shit too! I genuinely walk everywhere I do the school run 2 miles a day & walk to town (20 min walk) & back with shopping bags, I also walk to work twice a week that’s another 2 miles each day! Yes I eat crap but compared to my super slim sisters who never walk anywhere & eat more than I do I should be slimmer than I am!

I was told by a nurse that because I walk so much my body is used to it so I will never lose weight! Quite disheartening for a fatty like me! Then I’m just handed a diet sheet & told to get on with it!

""They fat shame in France and it seems to work""

On what are you basing this rather grand sweep of logic? I go to France - 5 or 6 times a year, speak fluent French, and read a lot of French press - this is not the impression I get.

Fat shaming and telling obese people the risks of being obese and unhealthy eating, is two completely different things. Fat shaming is hurtful and unnecessary. UK size 14 here so not the skinniest. Fat shaming wouldn't do a thing but upset me. A doctor gave me a reality check on my weight (without fat shaming) and it's encouraged me to loose weight. I've bought some gym equipment and I've lost 3lbs in 1 week so far.

Fat shaming is not the answer. Having an economy where people dont live in "food deserts" and can afford to eat healthily would help, as would banning adverts for shitty sugary fat laden fast food

hungryagain I feel your pain. I walk 14 miles a week to work. I go for 5k runs. I do eat healthily (mainly vegan). I only eat one solid meal a day, and have an almond milk smoothie for breakfast and dinner. And I am still overweight. Both my parents are extremely obese and I have to exercise and restrict my food extremely not to put on weight. If I eat normally for a week on holiday for example, I put on at least a stone. I know it is my genes as I am not a secret eater and I know I am doing everything right! It is ridiculously unfair.

I highly recommend reading this article:
highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/everything-you-know-about-obesity-is-wrong/

Last time I was in France, I saw a lot of overweight people. Not sure that that fat shaming argument holds out. I'm overweight at the moment, know it and am trying to lose weight. I have a newish neighbour who is trying to get me to socialise with her, while routinely commenting and sneering and sniggering at me. Not working for her, or me.

The big difference here is smoking and drinking are almost always a choice. Nobody forces them. Whereas weight isn't always a simple case of stuffing your face. Im 15 stone and wish I wasn't all I eat most days is a toasted teacake and a bowl of soup due to IBS but other conditions I have and the medication I'm on make me balloon. I use steroids for asthma as well as a number of other meds.
There are people out there who have overactive thyroid and other conditions that affect their weight despite trying to lose it as much as possible they can't. You don't know someone's condition even if you think you do. Even close family don't always tell family about medical issues expecially if they are making snide comments about them been fat.

It's particularly hard for women at the moment (so happy I am no longer a young woman who has to care too much) because, perversely, the beauty industry has gone into a big "fat is beautiful" campaign.In the interests of "inclusion" there are fat models on cat walks, in magazines like Vogue etc.The arguments seem to have become polarised with doctors saying one thing and the fashion industry (in the interests of "just be yourself" although this apparently does not apply to hair dye, make up, cosmetic surgery) quite another.
Unfortunately men have just one view-they like women skinny, although they deny this barefacedly.

I think it may actually be unhelpful. Think about all the body positivity fat healthy delusional movements that have gone about as a response to fat shaming. Just stop funding healthcare for self inflicted illnesses, that way it doesn't effect anyone else and simultaneously provides a finacial ibsentive to be healthy without taxing foods and punishing people who consume food sensibly.

"Just stop funding healthcare for self inflicted illnesses, "

Does that include injuries through playing sport/ exercise?

As someone who has put on 5 stone due to necessary medication over the past 10 years I know what it is like to be fat shamed...but at least I am alive. I eat a healthy diet , no cakes , very little bread , no other starches but I have ballooned and there is f-all I can do about it as I cannot exercise.
Be Kind.

To try and be clear. Saying "A banana is a carb, so is a chocolate biscuit" leads people to think they are of equal nutritional value and equally "good" or "bad".

At no point have I said that in the banana discussion. I have said a banana is a carb which is true and will produce an insulin response.

Why this is important is that obese people have blood sugar issues (that is part of the syndrome) and so it is vital that they know that banana is a source of carbohydrate because ingesting a lot of bananas may be contributing to the blood sugar issues, and preventing them losing weight. If you were interested in losing weight by regulating your insulin, this would be important.

Tropical fruits are the highest in sugar, we were much more used to eating lower sugar fruits such as berries and crab apples in the UK.

That is not to take away that bananas have nutrients in them - however I think even this is over-egged. Brussel sprouts have similar levels of potassium, avocado has double - both of which are very low carb and will not produce and insulin response

I don't think I fast... my intake is mostly constant grazing, tbh. But I can skip meals, too.

Impatiently awaiting tea right now (DH's turn to cook).

I'm clinically obese, I was sent by my GP to an NHS weight loss group that if I wanted weighloss surgery I had to attend for a year before I could be referred for surgery, the group consisted of being lectured by a pencil thin leader about how we were lazy & greedy, the evils of white bread & pasta, we were told more about what we couldn't eat than what we could. The dropout rate of the group was massive, we started with 30 members & by week 5 when I gave up there was only 7 members still attending. My self esteem had dropped through the floor, I was depressed & felt worthless, this isn't the way to encourage weight loss. I joined SW instead & attended for 9 months, during this time I managed to lose 3 stone & maintained that weight loss for 2 years, I never felt that I was being fat shamed, if I had a bad week I was encouraged to carry on & keep trying, I never dreaded attending group meetings like I did the NHS group, I felt better about myself & learned eating habits I still follow today.