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[Vicetrailia]

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-05-17/healthy-food-cost-USDA/55018070/1


Here is another study showing that healthy food isn't more expensive than junk food. If poor people want healthy food they'd get it. Poor people also tend to have cars and can drive to safeway and buy healthy food if they wanted to. Middle class and rich people in America are fat and have access to healthy food and it's cheaper for them too. The problem with being fat isn't because junk food is cheaper. It's because junk food is easy and tastes good. Being lazy makes it easier to eat junk food.

To me, all food is expensive :/.

 

[Gannd]

Sometimes. Kids don't have a choice for example.

My brother used to coach pee-wee football and morbid obesity was a big problem with kids coming from spanish families. The issues was that, in those households, food was seen as a pacifier/reward/preparedness mechanic. One kid who was about 70 pounds over weight was, on game day, essentially getting three course breakfasts, would go to the game and play (he was O-line), have a snack immediately after the game was over, have another 3 course meal in the afternoon because "of course you need it, you missed lunch", have ANOTHER 3 course meal for dinner, and if he got remotely peckish before bed, his mother would cook him something. Now this is an extreme case, but it's one that shows that people often don't get to choose what sort of things go in their body. No one in that family thought they were doing anything wrong, it was simply how they were all brought up. If you are a kid especially, the adults in your life have to really put a lot of effort into making sure you're eating healthy, and if they don't, the kid is going to see no reason to, because you're a kid and you'll eat pretty much anything.

And dieting, in my experience, is the hardest thing about staying fit. I love food too much to go on a super strict diet, but I still try to do little things here and there, like cut out soda, drink more water throughout the day, cook my own meals with natural incredients, stay away from HFCS, stay away from fast food, little things here and there that otherwise would pile up.

I love to eat, too. When I started to get healthy I didn't know how bad my portions were. I was eating too much of the wrong thing and too little of the right things. We're supposed to have 3oz of a chicken breasts but the average American has 6oz. We're supposed to eat more veggies and things but I was eating the wrong things. Now that I know more, I am eating fantastic foods but I'm eating the right foods.

 

[SeanR1221]

Hmm, sounds like excuses to me.

"I didn't get accepted into this high competitive program" vs "I filled my food cart with unhealthy junk food"

Which excuse is more valid?

 

[Zuhzuhzombie!!]

Some people's excuse is "I don't care", which is fine. They should cop up to it and not care and not respond.

 

[Mesoian]

Everyone should lift.

Everyone should run

Spoiler

Even though I hate hate hate running

 

[Kano on the Phone]

Healthy food isn't more expensive than the junk food. It's not as easy but it isn't expensive. If people wanted healthy food the shops would stock it. People demand cheap cars in poor neighboorhoods and those are sold there. People demand healthy food (Which isn't more expensive) and people will supply it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/is-junk-food-really-cheaper.html

Here is an article from the NY times.

Dude, people have already addressed this in this thread with food deserts and the like. Your "let them eat cake" lack of comprehension on this issue has been well documented in the past.

 

[Baraka in the White House]

What's the snarky answer here? Crying fat shaming?

It depends. Are we going to dismiss every scenario, situation or reason a detractor might offer in response to her question as an accusation of fat shaming?

 

[Gannd]

Speaking of bullshit...

Profit margins are insanely high on processed food, which is why grocery stores push these products instead of fruit, vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains.

I like having conversations, but what I can't stand is the black-and-white bullshit that permeates threads like these.

The stores also push health foods. Pick up the weekly ad and they have EVERYTHING there. That's bullshit that they don't want you to buy the healthy stuff. THey have to move the healthy stuff because it cannot sit on a shelf forever.

Your evidence that "it isn't a time issue"? The mantra of the food industry since World War II has been "how can we make our products more convenient and addictive?"

Getting out of the convenience food mindset is a societal problem, and it's no surprise that those with the most obstacles tend to be the ones that fall prey to it.

Did you read the article? No matter the income the average american watches at least 1.5 hours of TV. That means it doesn't matter if you're poor or rich we watch a lot of TV.

 

[marrec]

How about starting small.

I bet if the majority of obese people stopped drinking soda they would see a major change.

Is that too much to ask? To stop drinking sugar liquid?

As long as you don't make it sound like dropping the soda is suddenly going to make them look like a supermodel. Stop drinking sugar liquids, that's a good start to a healthy lifestyle that will mean you don't die at 53 due to heart disease and maybe stop gaining weight if you can also lay off the fast food.

After that, you can start talking about ways to actually change your body and your mind to make healthier decisions. Dropping Soda is a small part of a larger and much harder quest for a lot of people.

 

[xenist]

I can't believe people are trying to equate losing some weight to walking on the damn moon and getting a PhD.

 

[muddream]

There are many, many people in our country who work multiple jobs with irregular schedules, low access to healthy food, along with kids, bills, chores, and all the other things that adulthood brings. These are not "excuses," they are unbendable realities.

If I worked 2 or 3 hourly service industry jobs and had kids and all the other factors listed above, I'd definitely be offended by the picture, and especially by the "what's your excuse?" line.

It's also worth noting that the woman in the OP is in a stable married relationship, which undeniably helps her do everything she does. If you're a single parent (also a larger factor among the poor and minorities) then it's undeniably much harder to prioritize fitness and eating healthy, nutritious meals.

OK. So now that I've elaborated on my original statement, you can post your well thought-out reply.

Strange, those people who work 2 jobs usually aren't grotesquely fat, I wonder why. Typically it's people who have enough spare time to watch TV, which this woman does not. It's a facebook meme picture, people are over-analyzing this shit to somehow excuse the salty responses by shamed fat people. No sensible person looks at that and thinks "Hot Mom says everyone needs to be at least as fit as her or they're pathetic".

I already replied to the food desert myth, outside of fringe cases this is perpetuated by people who believe that walking 15 minutes to get food is some kind of insurmountable task. Actual food deserts exist in rural areas..

 

[Vicetrailia]

Everyone should run

Spoiler

Even though I hate hate hate running

I can't, my knees can't handle it. Do you wanna put me in a wheel chair for the rest of my life? That's why I bike and play tennis (limited).

 

[jmdajr]

Everyone should run

Spoiler

Even though I hate hate hate running

Started up running and it eventually led me to physical therapy since I got so banged up.
It's not for everyone. But hey there is like ..OTHER things I can do.

 

[Jay Fray]

Good for her. To many people do just do nothing.

That being said she was a tad confrontational so she's stupid if she didn't expect some push back.

Also everyone's situation is a tad different so I don't like to take her situation and use that for everyone. I sort of hate this I did this so you can do it to line of thinking as it's reductive without really looking at each situation individually.

Based on her Yahoo interview it sounds like she was aiming it at the subset of people whose excuse is "I don't have time" or "I have kids." People do tend to have a bag full of excuses for everything they don't do these days. It would benefit a lot of people to just take responsibility for their lack of motivation to do certain things.

 

[JustProgress]

I can't, my knees can't handle it. Do you wanna put me in a wheel chair for the rest of my life? That's why I bike and play tennis (limited).

Wait. Troll post or you really can't run but can bike and play tennis?

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

Everyone should run

Spoiler

Even though I hate hate hate running

 

[Josh7289]

Good for her.

 

[maliedoo]

I can't, my knees can't handle it. Do you wanna put me in a wheel chair for the rest of my life? That's why I bike and play tennis (limited).

Elliptical machine? I tore my ligaments in both ankles, now if i run for more than 5 min, it starts hurting. Doesn't happen with an elliptical machine though.

 

[jmdajr]

Based on her Yahoo interview it sounds like she was aiming it at the subset of people whose excuse is "I don't have time" or "I have kids." People do tend to have a bag full of excuses for everything they don't do these days. It would benefit a lot of people to just take responsibility for their lack of motivation to do certain things.

People rather sit on the couch than play with their kids outside. Its sucks but I see it all the time.

Hell kids love me when I go to their house because they know I'll actually play with them!

 

[Doctor West]

It's just envy. Some people like to shit on what they want but can't have. Instead of focusing so much anger on that image, those people should channel those strong emotions into fixing themselves.

 

[Gannd]

Dude, people have already addressed this in this thread with food deserts and the like. Your "let them eat cake" lack of comprehension on this issue has been well documented in the past.

There are a lot of studies showing that healthy food is cheaper than junk food. At what point does personal responsabilty come into play? Do we excuse people because they are poor? If only poor people were overweight, then maybe we'd have something. But, middle class and rich people are overweight. It's easy to eat junk food. That's why people do it. Grabbing a handful of doritos is easier than peeling some carrots. If you're fat the odds are that you got there because of bad choices. Being fat isn't healthy and we should stop making excuses.

 

[Zuhzuhzombie!!]

I can't, my knees can't handle it. Do you wanna put me in a wheel chair for the rest of my life? That's why I bike and play tennis (limited).

Get on an elliptical.




I was a major fat ass. Around the end of 2012 I stop spending 6 hours playing video games and woke up to run each morning. Lost 100 pounds. Hit a wall, but aiming to gear back up again soon. Hope to get another chunk off.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

She looks great.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

It's just envy. Some people like to shit on what they want but can't have. Instead of focusing so much anger on that image, those people should channel those strong emotions into fixing themselves.

This is uninformed projection. It's not about people needing to fix themselves. It's that they don't need to be told by someone else who doesn't understand them that they need to fix themselves.

 

[Gannd]

Get on an elliptical.




I was a major fat ass. Around the end of 2012 I stop spending 6 hours playing video games and woke up to run each morning. Lost 100 pounds. Hit a wall, but aiming to gear back up again soon. Hope to get another chunk off.

Congrats! I have lost 50 pounds this year because in January I didn't want to be a fat dad. I have another 54 pounds to go but it all started with me getting off my duff, eating well, and doing it. I make the choice to brown bag a healthy lunch and not hit the taco cart.

 

[Trey]

"I didn't get accepted into this high competitive program" vs "I filled my food cart with unhealthy junk food"

Which excuse is more valid?

What does it matter? they're both excuses. They're both responses to condescending attitudes toward a person's lifestyle.

That's the point they're making.

 

[Doctor West]

This is uninformed projection. It's not about people needing to fix themselves. It's that they don't need to be told by someone else who doesn't understand them that they need to fix themselves.

I know people like that angry mob all too well. They don't want to put the time and effort into losing weight/staying in shape because it's too much work, so they mock people who are in shape and call them shallow and vain.

 

[Marco1]

Let's sew up our mouths and remove our fingers so we can stop communicating with each other.
It's the only way for a better future!
The world is going mad for all the wrong reasons.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

I know people like that angry mob all too well. They don't want to put the time and effort into losing weight/staying in shape because it's too much work, so they mock people who are in shape and call them shallow and vain.

"I've seent it" isn't a valid argument. You're not paying attention to what people are actually saying.

 

[ColonelColon]

I just don't understand why anyone would even be upset about this. The ideal body for a man (muscular, low body fat) is orders of magnitude more difficult to accomplish and much less common than the ideal body for a woman. It's not exceedingly difficult to just have a healthy body weight. As a man, even if you're skinny, it's not really good enough. You're expected to lift heavy weights and put on muscle. I would count myself lucky if I just had to avoid eating mountains of junk food.

 

[jmdajr]

This is uninformed projection. It's not about people needing to fix themselves. It's that they don't need to be told by someone else who doesn't understand them that they need to fix themselves.

Well drug addicts and alcoholics have the same issue. Yeah they need to fix it themselves but sometimes they never get to that point.

Intervention is a sticky business. I feel that no matter how you say it, people get offended.

If anything you can always set a good example. I don't think people should encourage anyone to be fat or unhealthy though.

 

[Mesoian]

Congrats! I have lost 50 pounds this year because in January I didn't want to be a fat dad. I have another 54 pounds to go but it all started with me getting off my duff, eating well, and doing it. I make the choice to brown bag a healthy lunch and not hit the taco cart.

One of the most frustrating things I deal with now is the fact that my weight hasn't changed. My frame is 200% better than it was 8 months ago, I've lost a lot of inches off my waist, my chest has increased almost 5 inches, I look better, I feel better, but I still weight 240 pounds. I have to keep telling myself that the number is arbitrary and we are making good progress, but the mindset that I had to grow up with, dealing with making weight and managing what I eat, It still pecks away at me from time to time.

 

[Shao Kahn Going Shopping]

One of the most frustrating things I deal with now is the fact that my weight hasn't changed. My frame is 200% better than it was 8 months ago, I've lost a lot of inches off my waist, my chest has increased almost 5 inches, I look better, I feel better, but I still weight 240 pounds. I have to keep telling myself that the number is arbitrary and we are making good progress, but the mindset that I had to grow up with, dealing with making weight and managing what I eat, It still pecks away at me from time to time.

Numbers mean nothing. Go off of feeling. You're winning, brother.

 

[Kano on the Phone]

There are a lot of studies showing that healthy food is cheaper than junk food. At what point does personal responsabilty come into play? Do we excuse people because they are poor? If only poor people were overweight, then maybe we'd have something. But, middle class and rich people are overweight. It's easy to eat junk food. That's why people do it. Grabbing a handful of doritos is easier than peeling some carrots. If you're fat the odds are that you got there because of bad choices. Being fat isn't healthy and we should stop making excuses.

Why do we have to excuse being fat at all? My argument was only that food deserts do exist even if you wish they didn't, so your transition into more fat hating is extremely telling.

I think it's awesome you lost the weight and I'm really sorry you were fat all those years. I hope you can consider yourself soothed now.

 

[Gannd]

This is uninformed projection. It's not about people needing to fix themselves. It's that they don't need to be told by someone else who doesn't understand them that they need to fix themselves.

If we're moving to a universal health insurance plan, then I have the right to tell someone they should ge healthy.

 

[lupinko]

That's exactly the reason. It's also why people in poor neighborhoods drive shitty cars, if only the dealerships in these areas just carried BMWs.

As the husband of a 120 lb. woman with fibromyalgia and anklyosing spondylitis, yeah this is bullshit. Fibro alone is a lifestyle-altering disease and a severe enough case of it will make your exercise options incredibly limited. It's not quackery.

Everyone should lift.

That's presumptuous as hell.

The standard argument against that is that anyone can do whatever they want with their own body. It's pretty cool how we can do that.

This thread really did open a portal to Outworld eh?

 

[Gannd]

Why do we have to excuse being fat at all? My argument was only that food deserts do exist even if you wish they didn't, so your transition into more fat hating is extremely telling.

I think it's awesome you lost the weight and I'm really sorry you were fat all those years. I hope you can consider yourself soothed now.

Because, for the average American, they don't exist. That's including the poor. If you're urban poor you're within the distance to get healthy food.

 

[Risible]

Few things are sadder than fat people shitting on skinny people.

Yeah, those skinny fit people, always getting shit on by fat people. Yeah, that's the way life works.

Please let me know what dimension you hail from.

 

[Mesoian]

This thread really did open a portal to Outworld eh?

RIGHT!?! I just noticed that too.

Numbers mean nothing. Go off of feeling. You're winning, brother.

Thanks. Every day is a struggle, but we in dere.

 

[Doctor West]

"I've seent it" isn't a valid argument. You're not paying attention to what people are actually saying.

I am paying attention. You just don't like what I'm saying.

 

[MjFrancis]

Aggressive quote with a negative tilt. Of course, you're going to get people up in arms with something like that.

What's Your Excuse?

Same quote.

Same message.

Different messenger.

 

[Vicetrailia]

Elliptical machine? I tore my ligaments in both ankles, now if i run for more than 5 min, it starts hurting. Doesn't happen with an elliptical machine though.

This would work, but I hate using cardio machines in gyms if i'm not distracted with a class. I do love spin classes.

Wait. Troll post or you really can't run but can bike and play tennis?

Biking doesn't hurt my knees, at all. Tennis I must play in limited fashion. For example I can run a 200m dash a few times, but I can't go running even on trails. It just slays me.

I had to quit playing basketball because of my knees. I can play a game of 21, but that's it.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

I am paying attention. You just don't like what I'm saying.

You're literally just saying "I knows what I knows." You're not actually reading. You're not actually responding to the story. You've already formed your opinion and you came in here with the tact and empathy of a rabid bull to tell us all how you feel without attempting to engage with what's real.

 

[Mesoian]

Yeah, those skinny fit people, always getting shit on by fat people. Yeah, that's the way life works.

Please let me know what dimension you hail from.

The strange and alien hellscape known as Michigan.

 

[andycapps]

One of the most frustrating things I deal with now is the fact that my weight hasn't changed. My frame is 200% better than it was 8 months ago, I've lost a lot of inches off my waist, my chest has increased almost 5 inches, I look better, I feel better, but I still weight 240 pounds. I have to keep telling myself that the number is arbitrary and we are making good progress, but the mindset that I had to grow up with, dealing with making weight and managing what I eat, It still pecks away at me from time to time.

Oh man, do I know this feel.. I haven't lost any weight in several years, probably. I go up and down a few pounds but that's all water weight. I haven't gone below 215 consistently for years now, and at my biggest was about 240. I've lost that weight but can't go any lower. But I'm consistently lifting more and am looking better in the mirror over time. But yeah, the scale hasn't changed in forever. I used to have somewhat of a double chin when I was at the same weight, now don't have one.

 

[Gannd]

This would work, but I hate using cardio machines in gyms, other than taking spin classes (which I like!)



Biking doesn't hurt my knees, at all. Tennis I must play in limited fashion. For example I can run a 200m dash a few times, but I can't go running even on trails. It just slays me.

I had to quit playing basketball because of my knees. I can play a game of 21, but that's it.

My doctor told me when I first started trying to work out: it doesn't matter how fast you good or how much you walk/run as long as you start. I think for a lot of unhealthy people the first month of working out is really, really hard. You're tired, your body hurts, you're worried that all the fit people think poorly of you, and all of that. It isn't easy to get started. Someone said above that it's easier to stay fit than get fit and I believe that.

 

[Kano on the Phone]

Because, for the average American, they don't exist. That's including the poor. If you're urban poor you're within the distance to get healthy food.

Awesome job, dude. You did great. You're better than all those fat assholes. Bring that back over here so I can pat it good, bro.

 

[lupinko]

The strange and alien hellscape known as Michigan.

Which has the dangerous locale known as Detroit, that requires a metal champion, Robocop to defend and fight for it.

 

[Carnby]

Education for a PhD. costs an arm and a leg, eating right and exercising doesn't.

Sounds like an excuse to me. Bootstraps buddy. Bootstraps.

When we used to do interviews for the PhD program, we'd have 6 candidates from about 300 applicants.

Yeah I'd say that's harder to just get accepted then putting a different food in your mouth.

Why did I have to write this out?

Sounds as difficult as qualifying for a beauty pageant.

More excuses.

 

[Tenks]

I have to actively go downtown to get to the farmer's market to buy fresh vegetables. They're also cheaper than my grocery store.