tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2032474438502256887.post4589817862475770525..comments2023-05-23T08:46:08.013-07:00Comments on Very Nearly Hippy: If youre not part of the solution, youre part of the problemAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03811755842554326184noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2032474438502256887.post-27034304947754973392010-10-27T01:15:12.758-07:002010-10-27T01:15:12.758-07:00Okay, and now the other part. The one which is les...Okay, and now the other part. The one which is less pleasant. I have been working as a translator of medical reports for the embassy of a rich Arab state. A state where, for the last few decades, people have been obscenely rich. The old beauty standard (when they were poor) was voluptuous women. And now most of the people are obese - up to a point where it is life-threatening. I am not talking "ugly", I am talking about so-called "morbid obesity", where their organs stop working and diabetes is trying to kill them and their bones and joints can't put up with every day tasks anymore. Women who are overweight are less likely to conceive, and their kids have higher risks for certain diseases. <br /><br />Coming from a family where no one is slim (my mother, at one time, weighed more than 320 pounds), the stuff I learned at my job has made me decide I want to lose some of that surplus weight.<br /><br />It is easy to calculate your healthy weight. There's the BMI, there's ranges for percentage of body fat and muscles one should try to achieve, there's news and information everywhere. This is not really about being beautiful, but about being healthy.<br /><br />On to another thing - everyone who owns a pet will bury themselves in books and stuff on how to keep the little beast healthy. Buy the right food, give them exercise, take them to the vet etc. So why don't people go to the same efforts to keep themselves healthy? If most people treated their pets the way they treat themselves, Animal Rescue would be at their door in no time - and they'd be right to take the pet away. Unfortunately, it's rather difficult to separate people from their abused bodies without facing jail time, so... *gallow's humor* <br /><br />It's hard to break with habits (so far I have lost 10 pounds of the 40 I want to shed), but it's mandatory. We were given this life to enjoy ourselves and have fun, but we were also given these bodies to take care of ourselves. As long as we are capable of doing so, we should try to remain active and healthy and put as little stress on our system as possible. <br /><br />Okay, now that I have had my rant, I still have to say I don't advise anyone to go on a strict diet. In the end it all boils down to "Move more, eat less". And check what you eat (increase your vegetable/fruit intake - and the more steps there have been in preparing the stuff you buy, the less healthy it will be for you). Which is difficult (good bye, everyday homemade cakes and cookies and fudge and pudding and... *sniff*), but I would rather be killed by lightning right now than face any of the diseases I have seen in our patients. I still have pizza and chocolate and crisps, sometimes, but I am so not going to end up like my mother did (who had stomach surgery, lost almost 200 pounds, can hardly move and can hardly eat anything these days because her doctors messed up).<br /><br />It's our life. No one else should tell us what to do. But it's also our responsibility. <br /><br />(I am possibly not really famous right now. Sorry.)Diandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14570498251611083259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2032474438502256887.post-86921082711446172512010-10-27T01:14:22.571-07:002010-10-27T01:14:22.571-07:00Now there are several points coming after this pos...Now there are several points coming after this post... and I'll try not to write a novella, but I can't promise anything.<br /><br />First of all, this article by that woman is really, REALLY stupid. No one should be made to feel ashamed because of the way he or she looks. End of story. If you can't handle how someone looks, go cut your eyes out. Or get some brains and matching education.<br /><br />Second, I don't really agree with the first blog post about how men's behavior and stuff makes women feel inferior. Take a good look at images of women through time. The beauty ideal has changed over and over again, and it's usually been a physical standard that would be difficult to achieve/maintain at that special time. <br />The women depicted in the Stone Age were huge! Which was a beauty ideal because food was hard to come by, and women who had more body fat were more likely to survive (and bear children).<br />Let's fast forward to medieval times. European standards declared a woman beautiful if she was at least voluptuous and had very fair skin. That was because, once more, there was not much food going around, and if you had to work and live outside all the day, you were sure to tan. <br />Nowadays, the physically ideal woman is slim and tanned. Mostly because all the cheap food makes it easy to gain weight (I know what I am talking about, I gained 40 pounds during my eight years at university), healthy food is more expensive than noodles and white toast, and because not everybody can afford to go on vacation and spend hours tanning by the pool.<br /><br />I have to say, the standards many women have for themselves are pretty stupid. If you're short, no amount of losing weight will make you tall. If you have knock knees or pimples or scars or cellulite or... - nothing of this will disappear if you starve yourself to death. I mean, at least not while you're alive.Diandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14570498251611083259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2032474438502256887.post-309618904500881202010-10-26T18:14:39.209-07:002010-10-26T18:14:39.209-07:00she says "Yes, anorexia is sick, but at least...she says "Yes, anorexia is sick, but at least some slim models are simply naturally skinny." <br />and being overweight isn't a natural body thing? Like some people's metabolism aren't just slower? <br />she also says "I think obesity is something that most people have a ton of control over. It's something they can change, if only they put their minds to it." then she offers us dieting advice? what? I eat high fiber foods, I love veggies, I don't go to fast food restuarants- but I have to seriously diet to stay thin, she can stick it for all I care.K(Banterings of a Basketcase)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17926370065535783676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2032474438502256887.post-67807792520488977602010-10-26T18:07:42.247-07:002010-10-26T18:07:42.247-07:00Oh- gonna go read those now- I don't normally ...Oh- gonna go read those now- I don't normally pick up "women's" magazines- except if I am having some nice lady rub my feet and paint my toenails. I get tired of one magazines 'what he wants you to do in bed" articles. I've seen some of single dad's works, and he is realllly good. I'm just wondering where "happy medium" went. Do we have to be morbidly obese or morbidly thin? can't we all be fine being what our body wants us to be (mine likes soft around the middle and butt- like a ripe pear).K(Banterings of a Basketcase)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17926370065535783676noreply@blogger.com