Let’s say you have a designated parking spot in a lot that you pay for and some guy rents the space right next to you where he parks his Ford F350 dually taking up his space and half of yours. You can’t get your doors open. Your car gets dinged every time he opens his door. Your car no longer fits in the space you pay for because his hangs out in front, in back and on both sides. Would you cry foul? Sure you would. Would you eventually go to the parking lot owner with the argument that his car is so big that it takes up his space and yours too and that isn’t fair? Yes you would. And you would expect the parking lot owner to take action on your behalf. Your argument would be if the car he drives by choice takes up two spots then maybe he should pay for two spots! And you would be right!
United Airlines has decided if you hang over into the seats around you, then you have to buy a second seat. Fat people and their support groups around the country are screaming, “Unfair!” What’s unfair about it? If you take up two seats, you pay for two seats. Just like when you take up two parking places!
Years ago, I hopped on a Southwest flight and grabbed an aisle seat. Another guy took the window seat. As the plane filled, a guy about 350 pounds walked up and said to me and the window seat guy, “You guys are going to need to raise the armrests so I can sit there in the middle seat.” I told him that he was free to sit there, but I wasn’t raising my armrest. He said if I didn’t, then he wouldn’t fit in the seat. I explained (politely) that it wasn’t fair for me to pay for a whole seat and then have to share my seat with him. He said, “But I’m fat and take up more room.” Again, politely, I said that I didn’t make him fat and that being fat was his problem which was his business but that I wasn’t going to let him make it my business by sitting in my lap.
Some of you will say I was very mean. I’m prepared for that. But this is an issue of personal responsibility. I am personally responsible for my life and that includes utilizing the space I take up on an airplane: the space I paid for and have the right to use. The big boy is personally responsible for not taking up more room than he had paid to use. It’s the same reason you can’t take three pieces of luggage on the plane, because it would infringe upon the rights of the other passengers. It wouldn’t be fair to them. It would be irresponsible of you to do it and irresponsible of the airlines to allow it.
If you are selling space (and airlines are), then you have the right to make sure you distribute the space based on what is fair to everyone. That is just good business.
If you own a spa that promotes peace and quiet, then you are responsible for making sure the spa is quiet and peaceful. It is what you advertised and what you sold and the level of expectation you created about your business. If a bunch of loudmouths came in and made inordinate amounts of noise, infringing on the rights and paid expectations of the other guests, it would be your responsibility to step in and fix the situation. It would be expected of you. It would be good business.
Okay, I believe my point has been made.
Why are groups saying this is unfair and that fat people are being abused and persecuted? If you are heavy and don’t like this, then here’s an idea: lose weight! Our society is obese. We eat twice as many calories as are recommended to be healthy. People are dying faster than they have to. We are living in an age when for the very first time in recorded history, it is doubtful that the new generation will outlive its’ predecessor. Mostly because of obesity. Obesity is killing our kids and our adults and costing us all billions of dollars. 33 billion dollars will be spent on weight loss products this year. Want to save a little money? Stop eating so damn much! Want to be healthier, live longer and be around to play with your grandkids? Try this! Put down the Big Mac and the KFC and go for a walk!
A new study released just yesterday in England ties obesity to global warming. Fat people drive more than they walk which means more gas usage and more emissions. Fat people eat more food which requires that more food production must happen. Do you buy this argument? Doesn’t matter if you do or not. Action must be taken to help our society become more healthy and less FAT.
Should we pass a fat tax? Maybe on April 14, we all line up and weigh in and a tax is determined based on whether you are height/weight proportionate? No, we shouldn’t do this. I honestly am not for more government intervention in our lives. I believe in the right to choose to live any way you want to live . . . unless it interferes with how I get to live. In this case, it does. I pay for Medicare and Medicaid and so do you. Smoking and obesity are the top two contributors to illness, hospitalization and pharmaceuticals. What does that mean? Fat people cost us all money because our tax money pays to keep them alive. I’ll back off and let you live exactly the way you want to live when my taxes stop paying for your fat ass.
Do I hate fat people? Not at all. My family is huge. When my family sits around the house, they literally sit around the house. And they die early because of it. And it makes me mad. And if you are fat and dying earlier than you need to die, then that makes me mad too.
90 percent – pay attention here – 90% of all obesity is lifestyle related. It is personal choice. Don’t believe me? Did you ever eat anything by accident? That means that it can be controlled BY CHOICE.
This one will fire up a bunch of you. Half of you will hate every word I’ve said. If that is the case, I know how much you weigh.
Some of you will say this is none of my business. You are wrong, this is everyone’s business because it costs us all money. If it costs you money, it’s your business.
Some of you will agree with what I have said and I appreciate that. My purpose is not to hurt anyone’s feelings. I don’t mind being blunt and saying what I believe but I am never intentionally cruel. I just state the obvious and let people come to their own conclusions. My purpose in this little rant is to point out that people need to take responsibility for their own lives and their own space. They need to take responsibility for their health and their weight. And we are all responsible for being responsible.
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Hello, my name is Keith, and I have read every book and blog so far, agreeing here, disagreeing there, but generally thinking I am a better man for having read it. Now, I will tell you that as of last night I am 285 pounds, and when I read this blog, I was FURIOUS!!!! I just flew to Florida last week and was shocked at what little room they give you nowadays. Reading this just made me boil! It made me furious! It made me angry! It made me…think. Then, as I read it over again, I recalled many of your disclaimers that say that while you might not like what you read, it still is the truth. And looking down at my gut and recalling the gentleman who sat next to me (may have been 6 foot and 290 or so, talk about Battle of the Bulges), I am forced to say that no matter how cruel it sounds, LARRY IS RIGHT! I do not have the right to inconvenience the passenger next to me because I have a weight problem (on weight watchers as is my whole family because we don’t want to die, again, Larry hits it on the head). I can point to many factors as to why I am fat, but the most important one is that I ate too much and led an unhealthy lifestyle, and nobody should have to suffer for it (but me).
Keith – that is the bravest post I have seen in a good long while and I applaud you for writing it. All the best to you in your efforts! I support you completely and am proud of you for taking responsibility!
Larry
Haaaa! didn’t have to read your blog word for word (Mr & Mrs Winget). If one does not get the message -oopsie daisy – bullshit. books (yep) and am still learning – I think your friends David Bach and Randy Gage are just as smart as your own self.
Don’t get an ego boost n all,(showing off is not allowed apparently) no-one likes someone who expects the best from themselves and everyone (workwise) around them cough, splutter, cough, heh do it anyway. Works for me and has made be a better employee and has encouraged me to quit my job and be destitute.
Haaa! joking again. Yep.
No accolades to you apart from you are straight up (New Zealand terminology).
maorimars
I’m a big guy, myself, but I manage to squeeze into a plane seat. I always make sure I have an aisle, and the armrest stays down unless there’s nobody in the seat next to me. I don’t raise it because I’m getting pinched by it, though, just so I can go through stuff I’ve put on the empty seat.
The first time this kind of thing happened, I thought as they did. “Unfair! Persecution!” etc. But then my anti-entitlement genes kicked in and I realized that the “Unfair!” attitude is just silly, that the airlines have the right to do whatever they want, and if I’m too fat for the chairs, then I either need to lose weight or find an airline with bigger seats. If I’m thin and don’t like their fat people policies, then I’m free to find a different airline or hoof it.
In the last month, I’ve been using a new meter stick to guide me in matters such as this: How does the unfairness of X compare to say, the situation in Tibet? It’s amazing how that’ll shake loose a few notions of what is truly unfair.
Right on Larry!!! Wish you were up here in Canada to say this… did you know the airlines here are now legally required to give fat people a FREE extra seat?!?! http://www.canada.com/Health/story.html?id=977633 I especially hate how this ruling groups obese people in with disabled people… there’s a difference, and that difference is CHOICE.
Amen, Larry!
I’m going to quote you to all my left-leaning “you’re-okay-just-the-way-you-are” friends.
If they get ticked off, well then, my Christmas list just got a little smaller and I can send the extra change to my mortgage company.
I agree with you, Larry. I am what is cheerfully referred to as “morbidly obese”, and I have ALWAYS bought two seats when I have to fly, simply because it’s not my right to make the person next to me uncomfortable. Why not lose weight, you say? I am, in good measure because of the things I’ve read here, but it’s a slow process, just like putting the weight on, was. So, until I can fit in a plane seat without making the person next to me uncomfortable, I will continue to pay for two seats. It’s only right.
Bravo Larry and to those taking responsibility for their weight and lifestyle choices. I get offended when these idiots sue fast food companies, no one (since your mom when you were 6 and left the veggies on the plate) forced you to eat. Eating is necessary, overeating is not. It is possible to enjoy good food in small portions. People laugh at the small portions at French restaurants, without realizing that that is a proper portion. We are used to over-sized everything here in the USA. Maybe the economic crisis will teach us all to scale back everything from the size of our plates to the size of our televisions, but I digress…
Insurance costs have risen astronomically because of obesity. I was thrilled recently when our insurance company offered us a new Healthy Lifestyle plan which lowered our costs dramatically because we don’t smoke, our BMI is within range and we drink very little alcohol. What’s better is that it was made the only option we could offer our employees, all or nothing, they agreed to the plan (which covers weight loss and quit smoking clinics for the first year) or they paid 100% for their own insurance. If you are going to choose an unhealthy lifestyle, I’m not paying for it. Much the same as why should I pay for an overweight person’s seat on an airplane.
Larry, I love you, man. Seriously, you speak my mind. Am I being bugged, taped, or mind-controlled? Hmmm.
I am 5’11, 205lbs, lean & mean (sometimes). Several years ago I experienced the same thing flying however I was sandwiched between the 2 Tons of Fun couple. I was miserable and angry. The attendant finally took pity on me and moved me to another seat. Since then, I empathize with the airlines and not of malice, but of necessity agree that fat people (such a bad term, I know) should pay the price, not me. Thx, my brutha.
When I heard this on the news it was like “DUH!”. Airlines are selling a SPACE on their airplane. We are cattle. If the cow is too big, put it on a bigger plane and charge the owner for the extra SPACE. If you were to measure the exact cubic space I bought to fly somewhere, that is MY space, I paid for it and I don’t want anyone else in my space as planes are crampt enough. I wouldn’t say I was a thin guy but not fat either. I try my best to not let my elbows touch the other passengers. P.S. which armrest belongs to which passenger as three seats in a row will have 4 armrests and 6 elbows to use them?
Right ON!!!! I am sick of morbidly obese people making excuses for themselves (hypothyroidism, can’t afford to eat well, I don’t have time to exercise) and whining and complaining. Sounds like a new book Larry- “Shut Up, Stop Whining and Lose Weight!” Why should we cater to people who have decided to choose to be unhealthy, eat what they want, not exercise, and basically not care about themselves. I’m sure Richard Simmons would be more sympathetic, but in reality he would also say to them to LOSE WEIGHT!! I work in the medical field and have seen many people with morbid obesity. In fact, many of them EXPECT that they will be catered to even if it means risking injury to the health care workers. Sorry, but if a person is too fat to fit in an airplane seat, a bed, a toilet, wheel chair, or stretcher then there is a problem and THEY not US are the ones who need to fix it. We can help them along, but when it comes down to it every individual is responsible for their own health and well being.
Agree with you, Larry! Need two seats – pay for two seats. It’s that SIMPLE!
Oh yeah, one more thing………….I haven’t touched a McDonald’s/Burger King/KFC- or any fast food since 1987! It makes all the difference!!!!!!
Larry, using your logic, then we male pornstars should pay for two seats as well. Don’t you think a fella should get a break on a count of genetics?
Larry as usual you are right on and I am pleased to see these posts in agreement. I’ll add a Larry story. Last summer I attended one of Larry’s presentations in Mesa Arizona, the day before Larry had just received his first shipments of his “Burning Money” shirts and I wanted one, I’m from Texas, I’m breaking into writing country music I like western shirts. The largest size he had was XL and I told him I usually wear a XXL and he said buy the shirt and lose some weight you need to! I didn’t get offended I knew he was right and I laughted it off enjoyed the event then went to the Rusy Spur Saloon and had what is said to be and I believe it the best burger in Scottsdale. Now here is where the real truth of Larry’s statement comes in, I’ve recently develped swelling ankles which is a signal for heart failure, I already take blood pressure and cholesterol medications and my Dr. was very concerned with the ankle swelling so much so he may restrict me from flying next week on a planed business trip to Florida. The Dr. was upset because he’s been telling me for a long time to get back on my daily walking routine and to lose weight. I’m 260 and should be under 200. I don’t hang over the seat but I sure use all of it up but more importantly hope it isn’t too late to get myself in good shape so I can live a long time.
Larry you tell it like it is and more people need to heed your word and by the way I am able to wear and do wear the “Burning Money” shirt. America is a fat country and many f us need a “stimulus” to lose weight, mine came in the form of pretty straigh talk of do it or die!
Oh Larry… I love you.
I am fat. Not as fat as I used to be (thank God), but it truly was due to what is called Cushing’s Syndrome… related to an irresponsible doctor prescribing me prednisone instead of trying to remedy the underlying problem. Lucky me, the Syndrome slowly dissipates over the course of YEARS (along with its accompanying buffalo hump, thick fat layers and extreme water retention) as time goes on. But it’s not as if I can wear a t-shirt that says ‘Cut me a break, it’s not all my fault’. Truly, I used to hate fat people till I became one, so you’re a better man than I.
What I would like to know is, in a case such as mine, what happens to those of us whose conditions were exponentially worsened by medical conditions? Who decides what is and isn’t too fat? There are plenty of very tall people who are just as big of a pain to sit next to because their shoulders are so freakin’ wide that they literally bruise their neighbors.
Like many of your ideas, it’s a good one, but necessitates some serious thought, objective consideration, and some sort of dispensation for those of us who are for whatever reason unable to remedy the situation.
Have you ever seen how handicapped people park??? And they get special permits!! Are we now going to have medical authorization fat flight permits???
Since my 85 pound weight gain from prednisone (which also gave me congestive heart failure… don’t get me started!!!), I have lost 25. I’m still too heavy, still a big girl. My endocrine system fights me every step of the way, although I excersize strenuously 3 times a day and speed walk the other 4. I am doing all I’m medically permitted to do.
I support your idea, but would like you next to write a column on holding physicians accountable for the ramshackle way they and pharmeceutical companies can destroy lives. I am $45K in debt to a doctor who has since lost his license due to all the wrongful death lawsuits, etc.. He has destroyed my credit. And I have no recourse since his insurance has reached its maximum payout. I will be delighted when these bills ‘roll off’, because I refuse to pay a cent for someone who killed three acquaintences of mine…and almost me!
As with every issue in the world, they’re all connected. : )
(oops… 3 times a WEEK… not a DAY… but you knew that, right??)
You’re killing me Larry…. From laughing so hard. I love the way you say what everyone else is thinking. It reminds me of my grandmother, God bless her. As she got on in years her hearing started to go and she would whisper what she was thinking at a volume slightly south of shouting. This led to many embarrassing occasions for a teenage boy but I remember people were alot more frank about things in those days. She taught me a lot about being empathetic AND accountable.
Thanks for reminding me of her. Do you bake coca-cola cake by any chance. She was good at that as well…
M
Larry,
You are sooooooooo right. I was a very obese person several years ago. I tipped the scale at 350 lbs. As a result, I developed heart diease and diabetes. As a result of my diabetes, I lost part of my leg. I lost 110 lbs, by eating better and excercising. I am now a Personal Development Coach helping people lose weight and stop smoking.
I am a mission to help children with obesity issues and all those buffets and energy drinks that have large amounts of sugar in them.
Please take care of yourselves, eat better and healthy and get out and excercise just like Larry advises us and don’t complicate it. Keep it simple!!
Agree 100%. Let’s take this much further. Let fat people pay more for health insurance – let them bear their fair share/burden. They, and smokers are primarily responsible for the high cost of health insurance and medical costs. I am sick of it. I’m 53 yrs old, and am fit – I exercise and eat a healthy diet. And it takes discipline and work, but I am happy and a much better person because of my these habits.
What shocks me is the medical profession doesn’t get it either. Take a walk through a local hospital – the medical personnel are just as bad, if not worse than the general public in this respect. Absolutely disgusting.
Larry, how did the story end? What happened with you and the fat man on the plane?
Mitch: How the story ended. The guy in the window seat put his arm rest up and the fat guy sat there as it was the last seat. I didn’t move my arm rest. He sat in his seat and practically laid on top of the guy at the window. It was still incredibly uncomfortable for all of us.
I wonder if mothers in Africa tell their children not to finish what is on their plate because there are obese children in America? Before you think I’m being cavalier, we now have more obese people on the planet than hungry people and more importantly many of those obese people are just as unhealthy as those starving. What we are eating western countries is not only fattening it is nutrient deficient and so in some respect there are obese people who are starving….for nutrients. It is that very nutrient depleted addictive food that is causing people to go back to the cupboard and fridge.
Most obese people aren’t hungry but starved nt just of nutrients but of purpose in meaning in life, your body is telling you to eat something that will nourish it. Real food which is without chemicals and full of nutrients has a self protective mechanism that signals you to stop eating when you’ve got enough nutrients, ever see someone console themselves overeating a bowl of raw broccoli?
From someone who was formerly twice their size (not ten foot four inches) I know that I am responsible for what goes in my mouth. We really need to stop tip toeing around the truth and our responsibility for what we eat and it’s impact not only on our bodies but on the planet, organically grown foods are best for our bodies and the environment and it’s almost impossible to get fat eating them without anything processed.
The point I am most passionate to make in response to your post Larry is that there are plenty of people in western countries that are of a normal ‘healthy’ weight range that live on processed food and are just as unhealthy as overweight people because they aren’t eating real food with real nutrients to protect them against disease. Your weight is an indicator of your health but you can be just as unhealthy in a thin body as one that is overweight. I’ve seen just as many thin people with health issues in my work as overweight.
As for paying taxes based on your body fat? Wrong on so many levels. Pay the tax when you buy the food that is directly responsible for making people sick and fat, more tax on the stuff we eat that is not necessary for life. Refined anything! Sugar, salt, oils/fats. grains and chemicals. Take that out of the American supermarkets and fast food and not only would you hardly have a handful of things to buy in a supermarket (nothing at a drive thru) but lifestyle diseases would be reduced by half in 6 months….. thin people would too benefit from this.
You’re going to hate me for saying this (and by the way – I’m a female, 5’10” and 135 lbs at 61 years old, so there’s no question about my motives)the actual fact of the matter is that obesity and smoking kill people much younger, and , in fact, according to the studies actually cost the system LESS MONEY in the long run!! That being said, I agree w/what you have said, and would also like to add a point about the opposite problem: normal sized women being viewed as “plus-sized” because they’re not rail thin. There was an ad in our paper calling for “mature” models, 5’6″ to 6 ft tall, sized 2-8. If I wore a size 8 I’d look like hell at my age…on Rodeo Drive, my size 10 is considered a plus-size. Remember Marilyn Monroe? She wore a size 14 and had curves, like women are supposed to have. AND, somewhere in the back of my pea-brain I have this nagging feeling that our obsession w/women being rail-thin (remember Twiggy?) as a beauty standard hasn’t helped our image much either.
I am a nurse…and I agree w/Eric. It is oxymoronic to have an obese health care professional lecturing you about your diabetic diet, or a smoker lecturing you to quit smoking. (I refused to deal w/that when I was a smoker many years ago)
As always – good rant.
You have some really good logic here. In some ways the people who could benefit most are the fat people. What if 3 obese people bought one ticket for a seat they didn’t fit in, assuming that the passenger next to them was going to put their armrest down and they all ended up in the same row? Who would get to sit on who? Which one gets to say “Put your armrest down? Are they victims of the airlines? Would they be as quick to say “Here, sit on me” as they are to say “buying two tickets is unfair”? When I quit smoking I gained 50 pounds and I can tell you staight up and in your face that there are consequences to being fat. Not being willing to accept them means not only am I fat, I’m in the “gimme-something-I-don’t-deserve” line. Entitlement and victimization issues are personal character defects that need to be eliminated as thouroughly as a big butt does. While I’m fit and powerful for my age and weight there are still things I can’t do that I could do when I was thinner. Like wear size 8 pants. Should I claim that I shouldn’t have to buy size 16 pants because I don’t fit in size 8? No. I should shut up and walk my kid and my dog around the block and do us all some good. Thank you for reminding me that if I can quit smoking I can quit eating too much too. Then I’ll have the money I save on food to pay for the extra seat but I won’t need it.
Larry: Even though I agree with you about taking up more than one seat, there is one thing you’re not considering in all of this: the airlines have been decreasing the size of seats. They (according to an article in our local paper) have shortened the distance between one’s seat and the seat in front by 4 inches, AND they have reduced the width of the seats to 17 inches. The new stadium being built in our area has seats 20 inches wide. I measured chairs in my house, just out of curiosity, and they all run approximately 20 inches–give or take a few eighths. These are standard chairs; I haven’t purchased any “extra large” or specially made seating. It seems reasonable to object if people spill over the 20 inch standard, but not if they spill over because the airlines are actually reducing the size of the seats. I’d like to see some controls on how many carry-on bags that people bring onto the plane; talk about extra weight and spilling over!
Hi Larry! I used to be morbidly obese (5′ 3″ & 250 lbs). Before, I would have been devastated by what you said, but now I understand (you’re wrong on part of it though). If I had been forced earlier in life to pay my way, with higher health premiums, and anything related to the expense of being obese, maybe I’d have ‘gotten it’ earlier. It would be an excellent dose of reality for fat people–and bring them to the bottom–like an alchoholic who has to hit bottom.
I totally agree with what you said, except that you misunderstand that food addiction is a disease like alcholism. It is not a matter of self control and never will be. The only solution that ever worked for me is treating it like an addiction–Overeaters Anonymous. There, it is taught you cannot control it–the paradox is that when you accept this and use this program–the weight comes off! I’ve been thin for five years which is something I never in 30 years of my life could do before.
Thanks for the awesome article. Kudos!
Bravo Larry! Let’s hope the theaters and sports arenas can get on board too. When I pay those outrageous prices by golly I do want to sit comfortable without someone taking up 1/2 my seat
(you know, one on each side!) I shouldn’t have to suffer because I am in good shape (on purpose).
We can all walk and it’s a great way to stay fit – if you’ll only do more of it. Get some great ideas to get inspired on my website.
Larry:
You are so RIGHT! I am tired of people making fun of me being 4’11” and calling me tiny. Well, people, I fight to keep this “tiny”. It’s mostly fat people making fun of me. And I had several experiences of people oversized in their airplane seats and “touching” me. I am 56 years old, look 40ish and use exercise as medicine. I eat right and I am happy! I say to all of you fat people who make fun of me: I can’t grow, but you can get skinny! Deal with it.
Signed,
Diane “all 105 lbs of muscle”
Larry, I sat near a really big guy on a Greayhound bus once, and I thought to myself: “How can anybody eat that much?” Only one of his legs/buttcheeks could fit in the seat, and the other was in the isle. I couldn’t even rest comfortably, because he kept touching me with his knee. I think some of the really fatty foods should be banned from the menus, and everybody should be required to do at least 1 hour of physical training each day. I’ve been to many other countries, and none of them have even one person over 250 lbs. I would have to agree with you, that we shouldn’t have to pay for the medical expenses of all the fatties, that can’t take care of themselves.
Thanks for allowing me to speak up without signing up for all kinds of trash.
I am one of those who is fat from medicine. Last year the doctor put me on some that made me gain at least 10 pounds a week. I was on it for 4 weeks, and more than 40 pounds. I have been exercising and not eating fats and such and trying to be careful but all I have lost is 10 pounds. I feel so fat and don’t need others to tell me that I am. I used to be extremely skinny. I look at my daughters who try to wear the clothes I did at their ages, and the clothes are waaaay too tight. The clothes were hanging on me. I tried for ages to gain weight, and was happy when because of pregnancy I did. When did this change come about? Well, I had finally gained enough to look somewhat decent, and then the dr put me on the medicine. :-/ No, it’s not my fault. Yes, it’s causing problems. No, you aren’t responsible for it. Yes, I’m trying to solve the problems, the cause of the problems. I don’t yet hang over into your seat, but I should pay for it if I did!
I agree with the basic concept – as a fat person I think it is only right for me to purchase 2 seats (if the plane is not flying with several empty seats). As I am also a tall person, I would like to complain about the lack of space on today’s planes, I cannot fly even with buying 2 seats because I cannot spend several hours with my knees jammed into the seat in front of me.
Bingo! Larry, you hit the nail on the head. By the way, did you give him any Irritational Recommendations during the flight? I’d sure like to hear the contents of that!
Try citing some sources next time, using case examples and evidence to support your claim instead of meaningless rhetoric and maybe eventually you’ll be able to write a reasonable piece of work you backwards bigot.
Larry,
Thank you for being who you are and speaking your mind. This is so true! I was on a plane recently and found my seat. Emergency row as I have long legs. The guy next to me turns up and he was fat, short of breath and sweating. I am big but lean and look like you, so he knew that he could not mess with my space. He looked at the air hostess and started to complain that he did not have an empty seat next to him. Eventually, he got another seat as the plane was not full but what a guy. Should he pay for two seats – absolutely! Larry, keep saying it as it is.
I am currently reading your ‘Idiots’ book and it totally rocks. I am coach and I often have people asking for advice. When I read your piece on advice, it so hit me. People ask but few do what you tell them. Dude, I might write that book before you do 😉
“Why bother, you won’t do it anyway”
Respect!
Kevin. What was in the posting that needed evidence or sources or case studies to support? I only made two claims that weren’t based in my personal opinion. 1) obesity and smoking are the top causes of illness. No time to give you all of the stats that back this up but here is one from the Center For Disease Control:
“These stats are for the year 2000 and now that 2009 is here you can almost triple these percentages.
Obesity. 34% of U.S. adults are overweight and 31% are obese. This can lead to heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, back problems, arthritis to mention a few.
Poor diet (including Anorexics/Bulimics) and not enough physical activity caused 400,000 deaths in the year 2000 (16% deaths.)
Tobacco products, 435,000 (18%) can cause heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer and various other cancers.
Alcohol causes liver disease, lack of proper diet (85,000 deaths 3.5%)
Microbial agents (75,000 deaths)
Toxic agents (55,000 deaths)
Car accidents (43,000 deaths)
Firearms (29,000 deaths)
Sexual diseases (20,000 deaths)
Illegal drug use (17,000)”
2) American will spend 33 billion on weight loss products. Here is the full study:
The National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases provides the following statistics regarding the cost of obesity and some of its health consequences:
Q: What is the cost of overweight and obesity?
A: Total cost: $99.2 billion
Direct cost: $51.6 billion (5.7 percent of the U.S. health expenditure)
Indirect cost: $47.6 billion (comparable to the economic costs of cigarette smoking)
Q: What is the cost of heart disease related to overweight and obesity?
A: Direct cost related to overweight and obesity: $6.99 billion (17 percent of the $40.4 billion total direct cost of heart disease, independent of stroke)
Q: What is the cost of type 2 diabetes related to overweight and obesity?
A: Total cost related to overweight and obesity: $63.14 billion (more than 60 percent of the total cost of type 2 diabetes)
Q: What is the cost of osteoarthritis related to overweight and obesity?
A: Total cost related to overweight and obesity: $17.2 billion
Q: What is the cost of hypertension (high blood pressure) related to overweight and obesity?
A: Direct cost related to overweight and obesity: $3.23 billion (17 percent of the total cost of hypertension)
Q: How much do we spend on weight loss products and services?
A: Americans spend $33 billion annually on weight-loss products and services.20 (This figure represents consumer dollars spent in the early 1990s on all efforts at weight loss or weight maintenance including low-calorie foods, artificially sweetened products such as diet sodas, and memberships to commercial weight-loss centers.)
Source: NIDDK Stats Related to Overweight and Obesity: [http://win.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/index.htm]
Hope you enjoyed the stats. I don’t make things up. I feel that perhaps I must have struck a cord with you Kevin. All the best on your diet.
Larry
WOW! Presenting facts and dollars. There is no arguement.
I have always told my friends if they would be picky in caring for themselves as they do their cars, homes, and pets; they would be amazed how much better they would feel and look. They would also be amazed how much money they save too.
Thanks again Larry for holding our feet to the fire about making a change, whether is a weight problem or something else to create a better world with better people. I know from your books that you have met a lot of these challenges head on yourself.
I would add that it seems the seats and legroom decrease in the same way as the content of many food packages out there these days. The closer and smaller the seats, overweight or not, we are flying with Avian Flu, SARS, and now Swine Flu in the HVAC systems on those jets.
All the more reason to keep our health and immune systems in good condition.
Regards,
Rick
Singapore
This is a topic that we all live each time we f for ly.
Zerlina: Please don’t try to make this political. I am as left-leaning a person as you’re ever going to find, and I agree with this policy 100%. Pay for what you use. If I’m still hungry at a restaurant and need a second meal, I have to pay for it. Just because you “need” more than everyone else doesn’t mean you are entitled to get it for free. If the seat next to you is already empty, fine. Have it for free. I’ve enjoyed my fair share of free seats on airplanes when the flight wasn’t full. But if it’s not, and you spill into the seat next to you, you are taking up space that your seatmate has paid for, and making them uncomfortable as well. Fairness works both ways.
Now if they’d only institute this policy on NYC subways and buses…
Right as always Larry.
You are probably my favourite PF pundit, ever. Never mind catholic ramsey and cougar suze.. you tell it like it is.
I agree with 100% of what you’re saying.
If no one should be taxed for being fat, maybe they should just raise the prices and give skinnier people a discount. 😛
Oh, and I wanted to wholeheartedly add my support behind the fact that if you are fat, you have a choice
I once read an article about some fat chick getting mad that people in wheelchairs or with medical equipment and who were disabled were ALLOWED a second seat for free but she had to pay for a second seat because she was bigger.
She compared her fat self to disabled people. DISABLED PEOPLE who didn’t have a choice about whether or not they could walk, or breathe.
I was in total disbelief.
Some people think the whole world should be handed to them on a platter and that everyone should pity them for being fat, but no one pities the skinny folk who have a disease when they’re anorexic.
Sorry for the double comment.
Love the blog. I read it religiously when you do post, so keep it up 🙂
FabulouslyBroke.com
Larry!
Hey, thank you for keeping it real as always. I love your no BS approach!
Lynn Lane
Success Strategies For Life
Success Today
Larry,
Keep on rocking my friend! You tell it how it is and I try to pass it on every single day. Thank you for helping me keep on being me. Your words of wisdom help me to keep my mind on the right things in life and be whom I am suppose to be.
Larry, Great job driving a much needed point home. I was not the least bit offended because I am not a fat ass. I CHOOSE to eat healthy and I CHOOSE to exercise. In life, you make choices and then those choices make you. Hey, I am sounding like a mini Winget! Kevin, no need to call Larry names. He is not attacking anyone personally, he is just attacking their actions that got them to that point. I am going to write a health and fitness book that is one page long. It is called: Eat less and exercise more. It will be a bestseller. Ha
Larry,
I totally agree with you. If a person uses two seats, they should have to pay for two. I am sick and tired of people making excuses why they are fat. They are fat because they sit on the couch, eat fast food, and not exercise. I am overweight because I changed my lifestyle. I got a job where I was driving three hours per day and working 10-12 hours in addition to the drive. I made the decision to quit my job and am working on getting back into a regular exercise program. I agree that we all need to take responsibility for our health. By the way, I am reading your book “People Are Idiots and I Can Prove it” right now. I love it and I love all your books. Thank you for the kick in the butt.
Larry: I have read all of your books and loved them. I started reading this post prepared to be pissed off (because I am morbidly obese), but your acknowledgement a few paragraphs from the end that there are ten percent of us who are fat through no fault of our own redeemed the whole post.
I’m a “ten-percenter.” Thanks for acknowledging that there are a few of us who are obese, not because we overeat, but due to medical or other issues.
HOWEVER, I want to tell the other “ten-percenters” out there that there is hope. I got fat ten years ago, thanks to a number of factors, including an abusive marriage (stress causes weight gain), a long course of cortico-steroids and antibiotics (medicine ditto), and a car wreck where the other guy fell asleep at the wheel and rear-ended me at more than 100 mph (leaving me with severe back and neck trauma, a broken foot, and massive closed-head-injury resulting in memory issues and violent, debilitating migraines). I went from 110 pounds to 250 pounds in less than 2 years, and was not able to exercise. It was devastating.
I divorced the abuser in 2001. But the medical issues remained. However, in the last nine months, I have been able to discontinue the medications and my doctor released me to start exercising again. I discovered the martial arts, and was blessed to find a sensei who would work with me through the various physical limitations. I do karate 6 to 8 hours a week, and a strengthening program called Callanetics an additional two hours a week.
I have dropped almost 70 pounds, and people who haven’t seen me for a while are gratifyingly dumbfounded when they see the “new” me.
I am grateful to those who stood by me and defended me over the last decade, as I dealt with people who blamed me for my weight issues. It’s very hard when you WANT to exercise and your medical team won’t let you. (I’ll grit my way through pain, but I learned the hard way that I had to follow my doctor’s orders about exercise.)
I am also grateful to people like you, who tell it like it is. The overeaters are giving us “ten-percenters” a bad rap that we don’t deserve.
[But I should point out that airplane seats were uncomfortably small even when I was 110 pounds — and at that weight, my doctor said I was undersized and needed to gain. So “spill-over” is not JUST the fault of the obese. The airlines have some responsibility for making their seats too narrow.]
Larry,
I’m a large guy ‘5 11″ and 320 lbs and I couldn’t agree with you more. I put the weight on and I should be the only one who is inconvenienced by it. My body/weight is proportional but even so my mass is bigger than the space in a coach seat.
When flying I usually fly with my wife who is petite and we don’t have a problem with space (i was a weight lifter in my younger days and my shoulders are wide but I don’t hang over on the sides) but my butt is also, now, much wider and if I were any bigger I would definitely infringe on the seat space next to me.
However, when I fly alone on business I try to buy a 1st class ticket so I don’t infringe on someone else space. It cost me more to do so, and sometimes I really struggle with this added expense (as in I can’t afford it) but I’m the one who grew, the seat space didn’t get any smaller. I certainly don’t buy 1st class for the added service, and my wife usually has a fit when the bill comes in so I take a beating twice.
This space thing and fat people doesn’t stop with airlines. What about event or stadium seats? I thought about this recently when a friend invited me to a football game to his alma mater last fall and we sat in his season seats. When we sat down in those seats I thought he was trying to sit on my lap or vise versa. It was comical, if you can find such things funny.
As we tried to get comfortable (which was impossible) the gal in front of us, who he knows from multiple seasons in the same seat turned to him and said “you should have bought your friend another ticket”. You know she was right, I should have had two seats; one for me, and the other one empty. My friend and I have been life long friends (since 5 years old) and we all got a good laugh out of it but that gal, who was actually very nice, wasn’t being mean, in her jest she made a point. If you can’t fit into one seat then you should have to buy two.
Fortunately another friend of ours has a suite so I was able to make a call and mooch a little more comfortable spot to watch the game, but the cost of beverages cost me as much as a dozen seats!
A friend of mine asks me to support her in her weight loss journey. I am quickly learning that support in her eyes is the same as doing it for her. She doesn’t measure anything and has a distorted view when it comes to portion control. She thinks that she does not need to pay attention to nutrition values or sugar content because she is counting calories. That explanation might be plausable if she actually measured her food.
Exercise is like pulling teeth. She will not exercise unless someone does it with her and she whines the entire time. Her exertion rate never gets high enough to make exercise worthwhile.
My family is obese. Fat enough that they need a wheelchair to get to the corner. Dispite having a true thyroid problem, I am not fat. I have learned what I need to do to control my illness. Fat people are self indulgent in so many ways. They are so busy feeding themselves that they are not feeding or nuturing other people. While I love my family, I am ticked that I will have to take care of them some day soon because they did not take care of themselves.
I encourage business entities to charge obese people an extra fee. We are all paying for their lack of discipline. It is offensive that fat people see themselves as having a disease or disability. It is an insult to people who work everyday to manage their disabilities. Kuddos to them.
As a fat man becoming a thinner (and fitter) man, I can say this to other fat people:
1. Assuming you stick to it, cardio and weights will work wonders, if you want to change. You won’t be thin and buff overnight, but as the weeks turn into months, you will definitely notice the difference in a good way.
2. There are a good number of people who are not fat through their own actions, but the vast majority is responsible for themselves. Granted, high-end organic meat and produce is expensive (while the worst food for you tends to be very cheap), but there are a lot of options in between.
3. While at the gym, I have found my own personal confidence grows exponentially every week. I push myself in cardio, dare myself to go higher up the plates in the weight room, and add new sets to my routine every week. This attitude hangs around with you even after you leave a gym.
4. To fat people thinking about getting in shape, remember: it’s not easy, but it’s not difficult, either. 80% of your success depends on actually showing up. 15% is making sure you eat smarter (generally speaking, small “mini” meals, more protein, and eat around six times a day), and the other 5% is trying hard. Pay attention to what you’re doing. Don’t worry about how much (or little) you lift, or what the people around you think – you are there to get better, end of story. Trust me, if you don’t quit, you will be amazed at what you can do.
I cannot know what it’s like to be an obese person and standing in their shoes. It must be tough out there to carry that extra weight and deal with life situations (i.e. airplane seats). On the other hand, as a regular at my gym, I know how tough it is to drag my ass to the gym in order to bench press 150 lbs+, do the stationary bike for 20 minutes “intensely” with resistance, do 12 pull-ups in a row (really tough), and other exercises. However, the pay-off and results are extraordinary and deeply satisfying.
The keys to being fit and staying fit are education and support. You gotta learn what to do and you gotta get someone other than yourself to remind and encourage you to do it (and that you CAN do it).
One last rant comparing Water vs. Coca-Cola:
75% of Americans are chronically hydrated; in 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is mistaken for hunger (wow!); one glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of dieters studied in a Univ. of Washington study.
On the other hand . . .
You can put a t-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.
To loosen a rusted bolt, apply a cloth soaked in Coke to the rusted bolt for several minutes.
The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. It will dissolve a nail in about four days.
Hey, Larry,
Airlines are more and more like cattle cars. No one should expect to be comfortable unless they pay extra. We should all be buying extra leg room and head room and butt room. Most of us already think of the ride as purgatory; we just hope to tolerate it and ignore our discomfort for the duration. Then, squished together like animals to slaughter, we realize we can’t. But the solution is not for everybody to miraculously get thin; not gonna happen. Nor is it for fat people only to buy two seats. The solution is for everybody to buy better seating. Pay what the trip is worth to be comfortable. Or don’t go.
Yes, Larry, you are right.
I wanna get on my fat high horse and say you’re wrong, but you’re right.
I’ve never flown on a plane. But I weigh 290. And you are the kick in the ass I need, whether it’s about losing weight or saving money…
There are cookies at my job right now. I see them.
But I’m gonna get to the end of my shift and not eat a single one.
I’ve flown frequently for business (but never first class!). I’m a plus-size gal and am VERY conscious of not infringing on my seat-mates. That makes every flight very uncomfortable for me because I’m holding my arms and legs as close in as possible. I don’t flow over the arm rests or anything and my seat belt fits w/o an extension, but I’ve seen people much more obese than me on planes and I pity them and their seat mates. That said, I definitely agree with you on every single point.
But there’s just so much wrong with air travel today. No one’s said anything about the guys who spread their legs wide, or the people who lean back in their seats while your tray is down and you’re eating; the kids who kick your seat back the whole flight. I would love to have the reclining seat function removed!
Thanks for the article!
To anyone who argues that it would be discriminatory to have to pay proportionately for the space that their butt occupies on an airplane, consider this:
Before taking off, pilots have to have a planned destination and a back up destination in case landing at the primary destination becomes an issue. Then they calculate how much fuel they will need to fly to the primary destination, do the holding pattern thing for a while, then fly to the secondary destination, do another holding pattern thing and then land the plane.
An Airbus 330 uses about 5 tons of fuel per hour. If the pilot decides to allow for another 12 minutes of flying, he would need to bring along another ton of fuel, but, on a flight of about 16 hours (say Chicago to Hong Kong), for every extra ton of fuel you bring along, you have to factor in another ¾ of a ton of fuel in order to carry the extra ton for the 16 hours.
So, regardless of how much space it occupies, if my butt weighs 100 pounds more than yours, it will take 75 pounds more fuel to haul my butt from Chicago to Hong Kong than it will take to haul yours there. Suppose that’s why they charge extra if your suitcase is overweight?
You are all stupid people who have no idea of how hard it is to loose weight. You all have probably been skinny and have never had weight issues…I have been skinny before and yeah it was good but you know what when you have surgery after surgery and are on bed rest and cannot do anything for a couple of years, its hard to not pack on the pounds. Larry, you should try it sometime….maybe you could shoot yourself in the face you dumbass son of a bitch. You have no idea what it is like to be fat or no idea how to be a good citizen. You forget that people like me that once faught for your freedom on that plane and have had issues with getting wounded in war. yeah I was in the military and skinny as ever….but guess what buddy if you dont like it fucking move out of the country and deal with the real issues facing this world like, people dying and getting brutually raped for no reason. Try to say that was a personal choice of thiers to live in those conditions. I am going to promise you that they would love to move out of there if they could…..but that will never happen becuase of closed minded people like you who have nothing to worry about in your precious perfect skinny life. You all forget the world around you is falling apart more and more everyday. I really think that there are bigger and better issues to blog about. I really hope that one day you too will be fat so that you can see the world through someone elses eyes. I promise that you will wish you would have moved your armrest up and apologized for being so ignorant. Ill bet you wish you could apologize to all fat people because you just so damn close minded. I hope that you all burn in hell for the evilness that you are spreading and may you all have serious accident while on the treadmill trying to keep up with all that society has to offer you.
Dear whoever you are — you are two years late on this post. And look at all the fat people on here who agree with me, but you didn’t bother to read their posts since you say that all on here are skinny. I will never be fat my friend because I love my family too much to die before I have to because I am too lazy to eat right and exercise. You protest to this blog because you know we are all right and you are completely wrong and the only way to fight back is to attack us. Also, ask yourself these questions: What does someone else being brutally raped have to do with you being a lardass? Does everyone who has ever had surgery become obese? And do they stay that way? And do they use that as an excuse for the rest of their fat lives? And how does my giving my opinion on this topic make me a bad citizen? By the way, the odds are much better that you will die early from the number one killer in America today (obesity) than we will from falling off our treadmills. Do yourself a favor and take responsibility for your weight problem and stop blaming the rest the world – we didn’t load up the fork and park our asses on the couch – you did. By the way, thank you for your military service. Now, I have to go spread more evilness………
Larry,
I bought your book “People are itiots and I can prove it” because it was on the bargain rack at my local supermarket, and I admit at the time the title rang true for me.
I’ve been googling and this is the closest I can find as a place to respond to your attitude and statements about obesity, so forgive me if it’s the wrong forum.
I’m on page 26 of the book.You remark in the book that you would love to hear opinions but only if someone has actually read the book. Well I’m reading it and Plan on finishing it, no matter how offensive I find it, because I am not a quitter and I almost always finish a book that I start.
I somewhat agree with various things that you say, how people can be itiots in their finances, how your self help is really an ancient idea just put in your words.
But I’ll cut to the chase, I am an older overweight woman, and yes I find your remarks on obesity offensive! I can’t but agree that the Simple answer is eat too much, gain weight, eat less, lose weight. However the issue is not Always a simple black and white. Perhaps your most ardent fans Are simpletons who enjoy your abrasive hick manner? Your to the point but offensive words work for them because that is what they respond to.
You comment that you sit outside of fast foods resterants and take note of how many fat people are going in and out (do you really do this?) You must have a lot of time on your hands. I am fat but don’t often eat fast food. You also comment about how many fat people are in the health industry.
Well I was a CNA (nurses aide) for years. I was on my feet 8 hours a day doing an unbelievably hard and physical job, and guess what, I was still as overweight! I am not saying that if I eat less I would not lose weight . However, I just wanted to let you know I find your simpleton comments offensive, abrasive, and just plain mean, and sometimes quite ignorant.
How lucky for you to never be fat. Perhaps you are 1) tall 2) a man 3) not old or ill 4) maybe it’s not in your heredity. Even you have to see or admit that losing weight would be much harder for some people than others, taking into account age, gender, heredity, possible medications or health conditions to name just a few factors.
Have you ever considered that healthcare is such a stressful job (you have to have worked it to experience it) that maybe those fat people have extra stress and also work the night shift?
You are Not the expert on health , or obesity. I am going to read your book. Perhaps there is a kernel of self help insight in there, as in many books there is one or two kernel of brilliant wisdom among the rhetoric. However, I wish you would Just take it upon yourself to be a little more sophisticated. Why don’t you find some meaningful scientific facts , instead of spewing your offensive comments about what You think of fat people , because You are lucky enough not to be one?
I am waiting to see what kind of a man you are , whether you delete this from your blog comments, or leave it up for the world to see. Also how would you feel if someone wrote disparaging remarks about, say, bald guys? Sometimes it’s nice to be – nice, but I guess that isn’t your style.
Alicia, your long wait (two days) to see what kind of man I am is over! Here is your response: Alicia, you can write all you want about my being bald. Why? Because it would be the truth. Just like I write about people being fat because they eat too much and don’t exercise enough; it’s the truth. By the way, my baldness isn’t by choice, obesity is almost always by choice. As a nurse’s aide, you should see what a hypocrite you were for being fat. What kind of health-care professional can offer health-care while breaking the basics of good health. And don’t blame exercise you got in while on your feet for 8 hours a day. If you expend 1,000 calories via exercise yet eat 4,000 calories, you still end up fat. Your exercise didn’t make you fat, you just consumed more calories than you spent. And my statements about the health-care are true: it is is full of fat people. I just visited a friend in the hospital a few weeks ago over a period of several days and came up with a sad joke: What do you call five obese people setting around a desk? A nurse’s station. Does that mean ALL nurse’s are fat or all in the health-care profession are obese – certainly not, but it is obvious that many are. But ask anyone to do a visual check of any hospital to see if I’m right and they will all surely attest to the fact that I am. I have even asked many doctors about this and they unanimously agree with me: the health-care profession is full of fat people. And please don’t blame your obesity on the stress of your job or the fact worked the night shift as that is just stupid. If stress caused you to be fat, all soldiers on the front lines would be fat. They aren’t. Why? They burn more calories than they take in. Your posting is nothing but weak, silly, pitiful excuses. That’s why I am happy to put it up for all too see in order to prove my point and the title of the book you find so offensive. So face the facts in the book, People Are Idiots and realize that YOU are your problem; not your job, or your stress or the hours you work. Just you and your eating habits.
You are an overweight whiner who wants to blame me and your job for the fact that you won’t put your fork down. Here is a very simple question for you: Do you exercise enough to burn more calories than you take in? If you are fat, then the answer is no. I didn’t have to go to medical school to know that. And NO doctor or other health-care professional has ever said anything about the obesity comments in this book except to say that I’m right. But you wanted statistics to back up my poinsts so I will post them for you even though they were posted just above your posting here in this same thread:
“These stats are for the year 2000 and ten years later you can probably almost double these percentages.
Obesity. 34% of U.S. adults are overweight and 31% are obese. This can lead to heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, back problems, arthritis to mention a few.
Poor diet (including Anorexics/Bulimics) and not enough physical activity caused 400,000 deaths in the year 2000 (16% deaths.)
Tobacco products, 435,000 (18%) can cause heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer and various other cancers.
Alcohol causes liver disease, lack of proper diet (85,000 deaths 3.5%)
Microbial agents (75,000 deaths)
Toxic agents (55,000 deaths)
Car accidents (43,000 deaths)
Firearms (29,000 deaths)
Sexual diseases (20,000 deaths)
Illegal drug use (17,000)”
2) American will spend 33 billion on weight loss products. Here is the full study:
The National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases provides the following statistics regarding the cost of obesity and some of its health consequences:
Q: What is the cost of overweight and obesity?
A: Total cost: $99.2 billion
Direct cost: $51.6 billion (5.7 percent of the U.S. health expenditure)
Indirect cost: $47.6 billion (comparable to the economic costs of cigarette smoking)
Q: What is the cost of heart disease related to overweight and obesity?
A: Direct cost related to overweight and obesity: $6.99 billion (17 percent of the $40.4 billion total direct cost of heart disease, independent of stroke)
Q: What is the cost of type 2 diabetes related to overweight and obesity?
A: Total cost related to overweight and obesity: $63.14 billion (more than 60 percent of the total cost of type 2 diabetes)
Q: What is the cost of osteoarthritis related to overweight and obesity?
A: Total cost related to overweight and obesity: $17.2 billion
Q: What is the cost of hypertension (high blood pressure) related to overweight and obesity?
A: Direct cost related to overweight and obesity: $3.23 billion (17 percent of the total cost of hypertension)
Q: How much do we spend on weight loss products and services?
A: Americans spend $33 billion annually on weight-loss products and services.20 (This figure represents consumer dollars spent in the early 1990s on all efforts at weight loss or weight maintenance including low-calorie foods, artificially sweetened products such as diet sodas, and memberships to commercial weight-loss centers.)
Source: NIDDK Stats Related to Overweight and Obesity: [http://win.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/index.htm]
Alicia, you want me to be nice? The nicest thing I do every day is tell the truth. The truth is your obesity is your own fault. Deal with it. Or die earlier than you have to, which is always a loving gesture toward your family. Does that sound mean to you? I am sure it does as our entitled society now believes that the truth is mean. The truth doesn’t have emotion, it just is. The truth doesn’t exist to make you comfortable or happy or even to make you mad, it only exists as the truth. In fact, the old saying, “The truth hurts.” certainly applies with my truth here and your reaction to it doesn’t it? Again, check the stats for the truth since my opinion doesn’t impress you.
By the way, you say that “I am lucky not to be a fat person.” What a stupid thing to say. Luck has nothing to do with it. Very few are “lucky” that they are fit. And being unlucky doesn’t make you fat. In my case, I exercise regularly and eat right and it is still a struggle every day for me. If I let myself go I would be obese in a month’s time, but I won’t do that. I won’t because I have too much self-respect and love my family too much to die sooner than I have to out of pure selfishness. Because obesity is selfishness. Another thing; I come from an obese family which for most people (like you) would lead them to believe as an excuse that I am genetically inclined. No, fat families just teach their kids how to eat like pigs and make it okay to be fat – genetics play no role.
So, you go be “sophisticated” with your sophisticated, ridiculous, whiny excuses based in your own lack of discipline, selfishness and over-eating and I will continue to present the cold hard truth like the “hick” you say I am to the people you call my “simpleton” fans because like it or not, the truth is still the truth. My fans get it – you don’t. They like simple truths that are irrefutable and aren’t whining that their problems are the fault of other people, or their job or their stress. My “simpleton” fans take responsibility for their problems and work to fix them. It appears you would rather whine which means my book, “Shut Up, Stop Whining And Get A Life” might be a good follow up book for you!
All the best to you. Happy eating!
Larry, I will address your long winded comment in order. First of all I don’t think I’m being a hypocrite by being a nurses aide. I doubt you have much of a clue what the job entails (mainly taking care of the elderly, alzheimers, and otherwise disabled and incontinent , unmobile people) . I’m simply trying to make a living . It IS a very difficult job. I never went in there and said “Hey I’m thin” ! Being fat or thin really doesn’t have much to do with the job at all. People do come in all shapes and sizes.
I Do agree, when it comes down to it, that I am totally responsible for my own weight. At least I would Like to believe that. That is why I do agree with some of the tennents of your book. Because as plausible as it may or may not seem to yourself or others I DO believe that if you take responsibility for whatever it is, then you Have a better chance of changing it. If you blame someone else, or something else , than you remove the blame and can never change it.
I have not personally noticed or seen that health care proffessionals are more overweight on average than the rest of the general population. I do feel it is just mean of you to say so, and I do think you haven’t a clue what the stress is in some of those jobs.
And speaking of me being “selfish” for my family, that is so off. My husband is overweight, and I Do feel he sabotages my efforts. However I am thinking of joining “weight watchers”. I am NOT understanding why you would put down “the weight loss industry”. I mean in a way I understand . BUT what if someone can’t seem to do it on their own, do you not thinking Getting help in the way of weight watchers or whatever would be a good move in the direction of helping oneself (and family ). ?
By the way I Did quit smoking, all on my own, that’s when I gained weight. I figure it’s preferable to be overweight than to smoke.
I didn’t say I found the title of your book offensive. I said I Bought the book because the title caught my eye. How can you say I want to blame YOU because I won’t put my fork down? Did I say That or is it just something you felt like making up?!
It’s like you just toss offensive things out there at intervals! You are right though, you Did post statistics on the post above. By the way though, there actually is a lot of conflicting health info out there about what is good , what isn’t etc. For instance chocolate is bad it makes you fat , but it also reduces stroke by 25% in women, go figure?!
There are plenty of sick thin people. Wait, I know you will jump on that one with god knows what! It IS true though! Also one year they will come out with a “statistic” saying to be 10 lbs underweight is best for your health , you will live longer blah blah blah”. Two years later a study will say people 10 lbs overweight are healthier than the thinner ones.