My hellfire response to statements likening fatties to dole bludgers (aka welfare recipients)

Well now. I might be a bit behind the times but I have just seen the most APPALLING interview on Today Tonight. Apparently it has caused quite the controversy! It was posted on the book of faces by someone I follow, not necessarily in a promotional kind of way, but more in a "what do you think about this?" kind of way. The girl who runs the page that shared the video seems to be friends, or at least acquaintances, with the people IN the video. They are all trainers on the Sunshine Coast. I do not hold it against her :), but I couldn't help but share exactly what I thought with the poor unsuspecting followers of the beautiful BionicaFit Warrior. I'm not sure if my comment will stay there or if it will be removed, but I think it's really important to share my response to this interview, because I believe that it is so incredibly vital that this ignorant and commonly held opinion of us fatties be challenged. 

You will however, unfortunately, need to watch the interview first, otherwise the rest of this blog post will mean absolutely nothing, and I may even come across a little nutso! So here is the link...

Some common themes you may have picked up on are -

• A medical condition that causes obesity is the ONLY excuse ANYONE has for being overweight, and everyone else just needs to get off the couch and eat better because we are all just lazy gluttons
• We all have a fat person and an athlete inside us and we need to decide which one we want to be (apparently there is nothing in between either of these extremes?) 
• Fat people suck the life out of the people around them (this is not a paraphrase, they actually said this!)
• Fat people are like dole bludgers, we consume the resources meant for people with a genuine need or problem. (I'm honestly really not sure what they were on about with this one, do they mean we steal all the Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers consultants from the people with the real medical problems which cause obesity?)

And here is what I unleashed on the common people (Keep in mind this is a response to a post on a facebook page, so it is basically addressing the administrator of said page. I have edited it only slightly for ease of understanding it out of context)...

I'm sorry but have either of these two ever actually been overweight or OBESE and either not been able to lose the weight or not been able to keep it off? Because anyone who hasn't been through that battle really should just keep their ignorant comments to themselves. I make the assumption that these two haven't because if they had, they would simply never make such small minded generalisations. 

I'm not offended per se, maybe because I know better, but I am bloody angry that people like this are who overweight people go to to try and "fix" their bodies. I'm not saying all fat people are blameless, but seriously, if you can't see that this "epidemic" stems from a societal issue, then you are blind. And if you think it is simply just a matter of calories in and energy out, then you are stupid (Disclaimer for my blog readers, I’m referring to people who claim to be experts here. Unfortunately this theory has been shoved down our throats for so long that it is understandable if you, my dearest reader, actually do believe this. And I would never call you stupid...). If it were just a matter of calories in and energy out, you (BionicaFit Warrior) would be out of a job. THEY would be out of a job, and the multi million dollar diet industry would collapse, because it would be EASY. We would all be thin and fit and beautiful. 

The fact is there are plenty of people who eat absolute rubbish and live a sedentary life who are STILL THIN. This observation alone suggests there is more to obesity that simply diet and exercise. People like this look at Joe Bloggs over there and see him sitting on his couch eating cheeto’s and think "all you have to do is get up and go for a run and replace your cheeto's and your chocolate with celery and an apple". What they don't see is that despite the copious amounts of food he is eating, he is NUTRITIONALLY STARVING. His body doesn't know any better, it just thinks "Im not getting what I need from what you've already eaten so I'm gonna tell you to eat more of it (enter all-consuming junk food craving). I’m also gonna tell you to feel tired so you can conserve what little nutrition you did actually get out of that pizza and not waste it on non-essential JOGGING (enter another season of Criminal Minds). 

Being overweight is not the CAUSE of anything. It is a SYMPTOM. It's not the cause of Diabetes, it's a SYMPTOM. It's not the cause of heart disease, IT'S A SYMPTOM OF SOMETHING MUCH DEEPER. It's not enough to treat the symptom, we need to be looking at the CAUSE. WHY is Joe's mind absolutely CONSUMED by the thought of eating that block of chocolate, to the point where if he doesn't give in he will stab himself with a fork in the eye just to take his mind off it? WHY can he not get off that God damned couch no matter how good he knows a walk would be?! And why, if he DOES manage to make himself do these things despite his body fighting him all the way, and to lose some weight, why will he most likely put it all back on plus some later down the track? 

We are NOT all Geoff Huegill. We do NOT all have an athlete on the inside. Good for you if you really love working out, if that is your passion, your thing. Being active is one thing but some of us have better things to than to train for hours a day! Hell, I like to read, and learn stuff, is there anything wrong with that? NO! Doing the amount of exercise it would take for an obese person to lose weight and keep it off for good (especially one who has yoyo dieted their entire life and now finds it almost impossible to shed even a kilo), is simply not maintainable for the average fat person. And not frigging desirable either! Fat people have lives too you know! 

It is just NOT a matter of getting off your couch and eating healthy. News Flash! NEARLY EVERY FAT PERSON HAS TRIED THIS AND WE ARE STILL FAT AND GETTING FATTER!!! WE DON'T NEED TO BE TOLD WE ARE FAT! WE KNOW! AND WE ARE FIGHTING A GOD DAMN WAR WITH OUR BODIES AND IT IS EXCRUCIATING!!! These two people and their trivialisation of such a complex issue and the pain it causes so many, quite frankly disgusts and appalls me. If I offend anyone, well, tough. Apologies for the thesis but seriously, wow, I am angry. I notice their book is called "Never Diet Again" but if what they say in this interview is any indication, I'm not quite sure how this title and what they seem to believe fat people need to do to lose weight really mesh. And quite frankly, good luck to them getting anyone to buy and read it after this. You just alienated the majority of your target audience, douche bags.

This was Bianca's (BionicaFit Warrior) incredibly diplomatic response - 

hahahah Jas - "You just alienated the majority of your target audience..." - look I agree with so much of what you said, it is definitely the other side of the conversation that was not presented. IF simply being told you were FAT was enough to make you go out and GO FOR A RUN and THAT was the solution to the world's obesity epidemic then SURE.. don't you think the daily messages in the media would be enough ??? I think the issue here is there needs to be an identification of yes there is 

1. A small percentage of people who are obese completely due to medical factors out of their control. 

2. There are obese people out there who are living in La-La Land of Denial, saying that Big Is Beautiful, and that Fat Can Be Healthy ( No, Even fat over 4.5 kilos creates leptin resistance which causes negative health in the body - but in saying that even I"m 4.5 kilos over my ideal athletic weight). These people need a serious reality check that their health is costing them in more areas than just financially. 

3. There are obese people who have yo-yo dieted all their life and would give ANYTHING for a solution to understand why it is that they can try so hard to lose weight and then it all piles back on in a second as soon as they take their eye off the ball for a moment. 

4. There are slightly overweight people who think that they are obese and are stuck in a cycle of ALL or NOTHING. They know what to do, but it doesn't seem to work for them long term, so they rebound when they go back to a more "sustainable lifestyle"

5. There are people who have a little weight to lose who just need a "J.F.D.I" kick up the backside to put a few healthy lifestyle changes in place and they will get there. 

Julius and Sharny are only talking about The Number 2 Type people, who I believe aren't going to do anything about their weight just because a couple of slim young people tell them that they are fat. ( Think Commando Steve screaming in a ladys face - You got fat because you're been BUSY? Busy doing WHAT ? Eating Chocolate!!! ) And I think that all the other types of people except for number 5 are going to be offended by what they said. 

The only common misconception that I would highlight Jas in your statement is that an obese person doesn't need to do excessive amounts of exercise a day in order to lose weight, 20 minutes is more than enough. And then throughout the day doing things that love their body, and eating foods that allow their body to love them back. Obesity is purely a representation of a lack of self love, and a lack of education, and a lifestyle that contributes to further stressing their bodies so their animal brain thinks that they're not safe - hence the need for protective layers.

With which I replied - 

Haha thanks for not deleting my comment . I understand what you are saying, and that YOU know that they are aiming their comments at type 2 people. That's why I follow your fb page. Unfortunately from what they said in the interview, it is perfectly clear that THEY do not understand this. They said quite plainly that anyone who does not have a medical condition that causes obesity is lazy and it's their own fault etc. THEY made that generalization and split obese people up into only 2 categories, not 5. That displays and perpetuates the same ignorance that pretty much drives everyone else in the diet industry, only these guys managed to articulate their ignorance in a far more insulting manner than the rest of the diet industry usually does. 

If they thought alienating type 2's was going to bring them more of the other types then they seriously misjudged themselves and their audience. I'm far from a type 2, I'm a cross between a 3 and a 4 who knows exactly what is going on with my body but still finds it all too hard and overwhelming, but their message still alienated me because quite frankly it is an insult to my intelligence and my knowledge of basic biology. Maybe there is more to what they believe than what they managed to convey in their interview, but I for one am never going to find out because after that little display, there's no way I would even open their book. 

And you know, I don't even blame all type 2's for being that way. I know how hard the fight is, and if the choice is between learning to love yourself the way you are and telling yourself that "big is beautiful" and you can have "health at any size", and fighting constantly with your own body and being miserable, then I get it. I've been there and I've tried it but unfortunately it didn't stick. If they can manage, and they're happy, then good on them. It is their life and their choice and no-one has the right to tell them otherwise.

To which I was told “Very well put Jas, it's a complex issue definitely :)”.

**As for Bianca's comment regarding exercise and 20 minutes a day being sufficient, I won't dispute that. Perhaps it is enough, and maybe she knows the magic formula. Honestly though I think it is different for everyone. The fact is, I have heard over and over again how people will do this, exercising regularly, and then get to a point where they plateau and won't lose any more weight. I believe it also has to do with the TYPE of exercise. From what I understand, consistent cardio like running is one of those types of exercises that your body sees as a chronic stressor, which causes it to hold onto fat. Weight training and HIIT (high intensity interval training - which is basically resistance or weight training interspersed with periods of high intensity cardio), seems to be the way to go for fat loss, but I cannot attest personally to it's effectiveness because I'm still watching Criminal Minds from the comfort of my couch :).

I would just like to say, kudos to Bianca for being so tactful and diplomatic, not once did she really say anything that would offend Julius and Sharny, or me, or anyone else who commented on her post. Not an easy thing to do with such a controversial topic. Clearly, I did not succeed at this, but as I don't know Julius and Sharny, I didn't feel a particular need to try...

I am interested in your thoughts so please feel free to comment, but if you are a douche like the two unpleasant people in the interview, I will just delete you. This is not a place for bagging out anyone. Except douches. I know, I really should stop using that word... and having double standards... Oh well.

Also, if you'd like any more information on the ideas myself or Bianca have presented about the reasons behind obesity and why it can be such a vicious cycle, I would strongly recommend reading a book called "The Gabriel Method" by Jon Gabriel. While I haven't stuck to what he suggests for various reasons (though I think I will revisit his research very soon and give it another crack), logically, biologically, and anthropologically, he makes a great deal of sense. He also comes from the perspective of being MORBIDLY obese, yoyo dieting his whole life, and does actually understand what some of us go through to try and lose an incredible amount of weight, and the frustration and hopelessness that can come with the seemingly endless battle. Also Bianca of BionicaFit Warrior has programs, as she mentioned, which may be for you, so if you have the money to spend on a coach, you might want to contact her!

Jas xox