Funny to see all the stereotype stuff flying around here: “Fat people are lazy.” “Fat people think they’re victims.” “Fat people try to claim special rights.” Etc… I would bet there’s an inverse relationship between a person’s age and his/her tendency to over-stereotype other people.
Translation: It’s the younger guys that have it all figured out!! Or at least think they do… (oops, did I just stereotype?)
That said, chronically overweight people tend to get on my nerves a little, too. Mainly because I’m an FFB myself, and it gets annoying to see people go year after year after year deceiving themselves into thinking/hoping that there’s a silver bullet or magic pill out there for their weight problem. There isn’t.
And then there are the yo-yo people: They actually lose weight, look and feel better, and then a couple of months later the weight is back on, sometimes more than before. I have one friend who is the most committed, hardcore guy there is when it comes to losing weight.
He can diet and exercise off 100 pounds and so impress the community that he’s asked to teach classes and give talks. He’s good at dropping weight like this because he’s done it at least half a dozen times in the ten years that I’ve known him. I don’t even know where he is in the brutal cycle at the moment: losing his 100 pounds or putting it back on…
As for me, I’ve been guilty of all of the above. I was in pretty good shape (though not much muscle; just low BF) when I met my wife. After we got married, we both had a ten-year honeymoon with each other and with Dairy Queen. Then I’d had enough (of Dairy Queen, not my wife), so I went to work trying to figure out how to get healthy.
For the first few years, it was just solving the amazing riddle of losing the fat (which turned out not to be a riddle at all, but “eat healthy and exercise” just doesn’t sink in easily once one makes it to 250 pounds of pure fat). For the last few years, my focus has been on adding muscle.
An equally staggering challenge for me, and, again, because I tend to over-complicate things. Really, I only very, very recently figured out that I actually need to eat MORE if I want to add muscle!! Imagine that…
But here’s the interesting thing: In the midst of all of this (getting terribly fat; taking forever to figure out how to undo the damage; spending several years more just trying to get a simple plan for adding muscle; etc.)
I was going to school and earning a 4.0 GPA and a Master’s degree in international business; I was building a very successful business that hasn’t even really been hurt by this current economy; and engaging in all sorts of other VERY DIFFICULT AND CHALLENGING intellectual pursuits. I don’t think anyone has ever called me lazy, except me, and I’ve never been a victim of anything except myself.
I was lazy physically for awhile there – actually, more irresponsible than lazy, and choosing to focus my efforts and energy on non-physical things.
Now, I’m miraculously applying my energy and efforts to both areas: intellectual and physical. It can – and should – be done!! How many people do the reverse of what I did – they focus all their efforts and energy on physical pursuits (like bodybuilding) and are negligent in other areas (like school and work)?
Just a thought next time anyone is tempted to throw around overly-simplistic judgments of overweight people or anyone else who is struggling with something…
