Thread: Women's belly buttons... sexy?

Yep - the equation's simple: if (energy in) < (energy out), you lose fat (not weight necessarily, at least not immediately - muscle is heavier than fat).

Unfortunately, like all simple things, the devil's in the detail. You can vary the left hand side of the equation (diet) or the right (excercise), or both simulaneously (my preference). And not all (energy in)s are equal - you can have two diets with similar caloric intake, but if one has high fat content there's other issues generated.

Don't take this the wrong way - I'm not into guilt-trips, but I found the initial picture pathetic, in the original meaning of the word. There's a lot of reasons why someone gets morbidly obese like that poor woman, and a lot of it's emotional in my experience. You are of course responsible for your own actions, and every action has a reaction and all that. But horrendous childhoods, low self esteem, abuse, lack of support, social isolation - they can all sow the seeds. And once you pass a certain point, it's very hard to go back.

Sorry - I know that was really preachy...

James.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

Yep - the equation's simple: if (energy in) < (energy out), you lose fat (not weight necessarily, at least not immediately - muscle is heavier than fat).

Unfortunately, like all simple things, the devil's in the detail. You can vary the left hand side of the equation (diet) or the right (excercise), or both simulaneously (my preference). And not all (energy in)s are equal - you can have two diets with similar caloric intake, but if one has high fat content there's other issues generated.

Don't take this the wrong way - I'm not into guilt-trips, but I found the initial picture pathetic, in the original meaning of the word. There's a lot of reasons why someone gets morbidly obese like that poor woman, and a lot of it's emotional in my experience. You are of course responsible for your own actions, and every action has a reaction and all that. But horrendous childhoods, low self esteem, abuse, lack of support, social isolation - they can all sow the seeds. And once you pass a certain point, it's very hard to go back.

Sorry - I know that was really preachy...

James.

Not preachy James --- just true. In every controversial situation like this one , there are always easy targets of the blame. I'd be willing to say that kids from good families can tackle and handle almost anything -- but your are right there are all types of childhood issues that can bring about general bad health in adults . Ultimately (even if outside sources can be blamed) it's up to the individual ---- difficult ?--yes very difficult but that's how life goes.

Justin

Originally Posted by Scrapyard Ape

And just how are you going to enforce these? Especially 2 and 5. Also please state what penalty you would impose for violating these rules.

Who said anything about enforcement? 1, 3 and 4 are simple policies, easy to implement as long as people are willing to invest in children (which, unfortunately, is not the case). 2 and 5 are guidelines.
In any case I offered solutions, not legal measures. If people are not smart enough to take care of themselves, they deserve what they get. If I wanted to get really nasty, I'd suggest mandatory medical checks including BFP checks and if the kid's BFP is too high without a legitimate medical explanation, the parents could be found unfit. That would get'em to listen to the voice of reason, but good luck passing that little piece of legislation lol.

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

Who said anything about enforcement? 1, 3 and 4 are simple policies, easy to implement as long as people are willing to invest in children (which, unfortunately, is not the case). 2 and 5 are guidelines.
In any case I offered solutions, not legal measures. If people are not smart enough to take care of themselves, they deserve what they get. If I wanted to get really nasty, I'd suggest mandatory medical checks including BFP checks and if the kid's BFP is too high without a legitimate medical explanation, the parents could be found unfit. That would get'em to listen to the voice of reason, but good luck passing that little piece of legislation lol.

I brought up enforcement because your original posting is a list of "solutions" with nothing to specify which are merely "guidelines". You added the guideline qualifier to two of them after the fact. I also brought up enforcement because if not everyone follows your solutions, then they are not really solutions to the problem, are they?

Originally Posted by jaegerhund

Not preachy James --- just true. In every controversial situation like this one , there are always easy targets of the blame. I'd be willing to say that kids from good families can tackle and handle almost anything -- but your are right there are all types of childhood issues that can bring about general bad health in adults . Ultimately (even if outside sources can be blamed) it's up to the individual ---- difficult ?--yes very difficult but that's how life goes.

Justin

I agree completely. I guess what I meant was that for some, not all, obesity is a symptom. When that's the case, the cause needs to be addressed - applying stiches might stop external bleeding, but if it was because you cut an artery...

And addressing emotional causes is tough. I've got a lot of respect for people who can and have done it. But no less respect for those who haven't been able to.

James.

wrong wrong wrong. thats all i have to say

I'll toss in a viewpoint. I am obese. But perception is reality. I have never seen myself as large as I really am. Until recently. And yes, I am working on it. But for those of you who have never been obese, you will not and do not understand what life is like for an obese person. You just think you do. And you think you know where to place the blame. I've tried diets. I've tried exercise. I've tried both together, with total dedication. But the pounds still add up. I don't eat at McDonalds. I don't eat fast food. I don't blame my thyroid, because I have been tested. I spent 6 months on a 1500 calorie diet and walking 2 miles per day. Every day. Weight lifting every other day. With no weight loss. So don't judge. Due to my size, I can't run or jog, only walk. And I do that throughout the day. I don't drink alcohol. I don't eat sweets. Snacks consist of fruit such as apples, oranges, kiwis or grapes. Meals consist of salads, vegetables, with limited amounts of meat or fowl for protein. Yet the weight remains. I would bet that my diet is 200% more healthy than most of you here posting on this thread. Yet, I cannot drop pounds. The original picture posted is not funny. It is sad. And if you think about it, it is a reflection on today's picture of health. Look at yourself. Look at your spouse. Look at your children. How many of you are at your "healthiest" or "ideal" weight? If you are not at your "ideal" weight, then you have no right to reply to this post.

Rant over. I don't mean to offend anyone. But this is a "walk a mile in my shoes" thing. As far as this is concerned, let's turn the tables. Let's talk intelligence. Let's take an IQ test. I promise you one thing. I may be obese, but as far as intelligence, for most of you here, I will kick your ever loving "laugh at the fatty" ass! Okay, now the rant is over.

RT

Damn. I ain't exactly petite but then again, I don't worry about self image issues. I got fat by eating too much and not exercising enough. I also know that I can get unfat by exercising more and eating less. My choice either way.

See, what happened was that being in the computer industry, Y2K was a big, scary thing with lots of "end of the world scenarios" being bandied about, so I was just stocking up for the planned food shortages, getting ready for Y2K. Well..... didn't need all the reserves I'd stored up and was going to set about shuckin them off when it dawned on me that there was no point wasting all that work since Y3K was still looming out in front of us.

Sometimes when I go to McDonalds and I see someone that big eating 6 big macs with fries drinking a diet coke, like the diet pop is doing anything for them. There are moments where I like to overindulge too, once every three or four months, just not every day. Thats why the diet industry is a billion dollar business here in the US, not to mention all the surgeries out there for this. They probably have stocks in the fast food corporations. Seems like more and more you hear and see about these people on Date Line or other similar shows where people are 1000 lbs plus. All of this fast food talk has reminded me of the song..The underwear goes outside the pants.


Just my 2 cents on the matter.



David

Wow wear did this thread go