"Maybe you eat too many bananas" (when I was briefly a raw foodist and consulting a dietitian about weight).
"It's because you're vegan! Vegans are carboholics" (assuming I ate lots of pasta without even asking).
My favorite: "You must be lying about what you eat".
Upon finding out that I exercised every day: "That's not going to do you any good, your body gets used to it, duh" (in an obvious attempt to indicate that I was simply too stupid to exercise properly.. so exercise.. but not every day.. or something like that. #butiwasexercising*).
"You eat too much fruit" (from a different person than the dietitian- they insisted that fruit was no different from shoving cupcakes in your mouth).
"You don't eat enough. You need to keep your metabolism up" (or the alternate "You eat too much- doesn't matter how little or much you actually eat).
"You should skip breakfast" (or the alternate "it's because you skip breakfast").
I'm sure there are more that I'm not thinking of right now.. but the anti-fruit people are the ones that make me laugh the hardest.. or maybe just the ones who make me afraid for humanity the most. I don't mean that literally of course.. just an exasperated exclamation about the ignorance of the general public on issues of both fat and health. When you begin villianizing fruit in attempt to further fatphobia, then the extremism of fat hate has gotten to a point of being simply astonishing. Add your own bizzare diet advice or "you're fat because" comments. Then we can all have a good laugh together at how ridiculous they are and a good cry over the fact that we, sadly, used to believe them (what were we thinking?!).
*anyone else notice that the last bit looks like "sexercising"? Now that sounds like a good workout!
My last encounter with the ongoing sport called "doctors trying to name the magic fat inducing food I never eat" consisted of a doc telling me that ketchup is a primary cause of both edema and my "morbid obesity." Ignoring that I was taking a steroid well known for causing weight gain without increased food intake and edema. Then advising that all veggies and fruits were bad for fat people and I must cut my consumption of them by 40% immediately.
ReplyDeleteAnd although agonizing muscle pain within minutes (or seconds)of standing or walking or trying to brush my own hair was "inconvenient, you shouldn't let that stop you from exercising."
Yeah, I fired him.
I just found out that people should eat fruits, veggies and the main course. In that order. That way, fruits will aid with the nutrient absorption. Here in the Philippines, we eat fruits as dessert. Makes me feel I have a lot of catching up to do. :D
ReplyDeleteYeah, sexercising seems like a good cardio workout. Instant facial, too! ;)
Ketchup! haha! That's fantastic Mary! The fruits and veggies one tends to pop up a lot... they're just flailing at this point.
ReplyDeleteLornadahl.. how is fruit supposed to aid with nutrient absorption? It's true that eating foods in a certain order can give you gas.. but i'm pretty sure all of the nutrients get absorbed regardless of order..
Ha! Back when I used to play college sports, my coach told us no eating directly before games. Sort of makes sense. He didn't want players puking on the field.
ReplyDeleteFast forward a million years, my trainer told me the other day I should be eating breakfast *before my 6AM workout*, not after. Skeptical, but willing to try it, next time I did. When I told him that I had a bowl of Cheerios, he proceeded to rant about how all cereal is bad, etc, etc.
At that moment I realized that "trainer" doesn't necessarily mean "well-trained".
Now I eat after; I get a better, less nauseous workout (as predicted by my college days coach). The trainer's contract? Not renewed.
The point? Despite years of medical research, and even more years of fad dieting, there is no simple equation for making us all look like super models.
Eating healthy, exercising regularly, does not fully compensate for the roll-of-the-dice genes we inherit. However, good habits will help us achieve the best we can do with what we were dealt - even if it doesn't match society's ideal of a "healthy body".
With fat haters, you cannot win, no matter what you do or don't eat. The only way to win is to cease to exist. Because even getting thin isn't good enough.
ReplyDeleteEvery person's body has an inbuilt system to tell it what it needs, what works for it and what doesn't. All the "studies" in the world can't decipher that, only the person living in the body can.
"You don't eat enough. You need to keep your metabolism up"
ReplyDeleteOh! I got that one from a friend of mine not too long ago. She realized that her starving herself with severe calorie restriction was not good, discovered body pump, and suddenly she has the body she's been trying for. The body she had been fighting AGAINST was skinnier than I ever was and would ever hope to be. So, she sees me eat like a bird at lunch one day and decides that I'm not allowing myself enough calories to keep my metabolism up. She just doesn't get that I have NEVER specifically restricted calories. She's known me since we were 12 years old! If I'm hungry, I eat. Maybe I eat too much, but I don't get that bloated feeling of someone binging. (Well, I have a couple times. It's harder for me to judge fulness when I'm eating Indian food for some reason.) One of the medications I take tends to make me very un-hungry for a good portion of the day, so I take it after a big hearty breakfast and don't feel the need to eat until 2 or 3pm. So, before that time, I may nibble if I'm going out to eat with a friend, but I'm not going to eat a lot if I'm not hungry. Then later I eat. Because I'm hungry.
I'm rather put off by her new-found religion she calls body-pump, and I'm concerned at the things she shared she learned getting her training as a personal trainer. Still...I was amused that her latest theory involved me not eating enough.
I eat what I'm comfortable eating. I've been on diets that attempted to rev up the metabolism- they didn't work either. When I'm manic my metabolism kicks into gear and I eat more- still doesn't change my weight. People need to stop assuming they know the secret to skinny- they don't. every person is different. every body is different. Perhaps you can politely tell your friend that she should keep her food issues to herself? Or if you're just venting a little feel free :) I definitely know how annoying it is to have that friend who thinks they know the secret to changing *your* body!
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