Are You Aware of Your ‘Thin Privilege?’

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

Skinny honkies unite!

 

[GunnyFreedom]

If I have to eliminate coffee, I think I'll rather stay fat.

Honestly, the Mark Sisson quote makes me not want to be thin. That's just depressing.

 

[Feeding the Abscess]

If I have to eliminate coffee, I think I'll rather stay fat.

Honestly, the Mark Sisson quote makes me not want to be thin. That's just depressing.

Coffee has trivial amounts of calories. Maybe 5, if it's a heavy brew. Calories come from additives, like creamer, milk, etc. Stick with black coffee and you'll be fine.

 

[acptulsa]

I dispute that trying to change this equation will lead to any good results. The body is supposed to take care of this matter, automagically. It shouldn't be an issue. You should never have to count calories. There's a very nice PID feedback system built right in called "Hunger, Lack-of-Hunger" that manages it all perfectly. Like a well-tuned cruise control system it keeps us cruising right along at a more or less ideal weight.

Way to oversimplify the living snot out of it.

This wonderful hunger switch is a whole lot more complex than you give it credit for. You need energy/you don't need energy doesn't account for cravings. If you need roughage those peas will look a whole lot better to you than they did yesterday. If you're short on potassium while you're shopping you're liable to wind up with a whole bunch of bananas. If you're short enough of iron, you'll actually eat that liver when it's set before you.

Eat a Twinkie--or two, or ten--and you're liable to be just as hungry when you're done as you were when you started, because you were probably hungry for nutrients--and the damned Twinkies don't have a single one.

This is a very nice theory, but I do not think that there is any empirical research whatsoever showing that it works. Do you know of any studies? I am open to changing my mind and saying "well, I guess Enoch was right -- you can lose weight by using willpower to restrict calories after all, as long as you don't restrict too much," if you can find some good, solid research proving the case.

Yeah, I've got some research to prove it. I was a fat kid all the way through elementary and junior high, broke myself of compulsive eating and learned to listen more closely to my cravings so I could give my body the nutrients it needs at the moment and stop bugging me for food, and haven't been fat since. Now I'm middle aged, and do have to work at keeping the middle aged spread off. But you can see my six pack.

I don't know if 'dieting' is the perfect way to describe it. I changed my outlook, my level of education, my habits and my attitude. But short of someone with, say, a hypoactive thyroid, I think almost anyone can do what I did. I don't know why you'd talk them out of trying.

 

[helmuth_hubener]

First, Enoch, let me just request again any good research showing that your recommended strategy of consciously and carefully keeping calories below energy expenditure rate but above basal matabolic rate will lead to long-term weight loss. Just show me any reason to believe this. If there is no reason to believe it, I will (surprise!) not believe it.

Good to know that people will never get fat from eating to much. They'll just stop eating when they aren't hungry.

That is, in fact, what humans do. That's how the system works, Enoch.

If the system doesn't work, the solution isn't to try to monkey-wrench the symptom into changing via heroic expenditures of raw will and determination. It's to fix the underlying system failure.

FYI, even Mark Sisson says you have to cut calories to lose weight. And he obviously has given some thought to the caloric content of food as well as it's nutritional content and influence on hormones and so forth.

And all his portion-control advice in the quote you give is totally worthless! It is yet another entry in the long and proud tradition of dieting advice that sounds good on paper, and does not work in reality. There is no empirical evidence whatsoever that "cutting meat portions in half" will make people permanently fix body composition problems. Show me a good study where the researchers have 1,000 people eat a certain portion of meat at their meals and another 1,000 cut that portion in half, and then track the body composition of these groups over 5 years.

So all the portion control stuff is just useless -- in fact, as the research shows, counterproductive! A few of the 10 action items, however, are just part of the Primal Blueprint pattern of changing the eating style back to the ancient primal way, changing the type of foods eaten (not the quantity). Those would be 8, 7, and 4. Starchy vegetables, legumes, and fruit are all on the "moderation" list of things that should be more or less avoided if one has an overweight body composition, until the body has fixed the problem and equilibrated on a more reasonable and healthy composition.

All this just seems to be good sense. If you back up and applies the same rules of sense and logic to the issue of obesity as you apply to all the other aspects of life you've successfully mastered, I think it will become pretty clear that these principles are true. To start at the very basic level, just consider two facts:

Humans almost certainly didn't count calories during any of our existence up until extremely recently.
Humans almost certainly didn't have a problem with being chronically obese during any of our existence up until extremely recently.

Just ponder that. Then ask yourself: Is it likely that insufficient counting of calories has caused the recent widespread chronic obesity?

 

[helmuth_hubener]

And that, hubener, is where you descended into the realm of nonsense.

That is my favorite place to be!

Statistically speaking, 90% of Americans will never earn a six figure salary. Does that mean that you shouldn't aspire to earn one, or that if you do happen to earn one, you're just "lucky" -- that it was based on nothing more than random chance? Of course not. While statistically unlikely, there are a set of fairly concrete rules that can be used to reliably achieve a six figure salary (go to a good school, get a degree in a field that pays well, work hard, etc.) Just as there are a set of fairly concrete rules that can be used to reliably lose weight and keep it off permanently.

Yes, let's make a completely unfounded analogy to a completely unrelated subject and then draw a sweeping conclusion from that analogy. Whee!

Statistically speaking, 90% of Americans will never be attacked by an Eskimo. Thus we conclude: [you fill in the rest].

That's not to say that it's easy -- it's very difficult. Kicking a heroin addition isn't easy either, and indeed, the vast most addicts eventually relapse. That doesn't mean that you just dismiss the possibility of recovery entirely, write it off as hopeless.

Willpower turns out to be a critical and effective tool in overcoming heroin addiction, indeed almost all addiction, and indeed problems in life in general. Obesity just isn't one of them. It is an exception to the rule. It is a problem that willpower alone can not effectively solve. There are complex biological reasons for this, discussed in the book (Willpower) I excerpted in my long post #43.

 

[Blueskies]

Obesity just isn't one of them. It is an exception to the rule. It is a problem that willpower alone can not effectively solve

Not true, willpower can solve it. People regain their lost weight because their willpower fails and they relapse into their old lifestyle -- stop working out, go back to eating fast food, etc. It's entirely a byproduct of willpower failure. In many instances, overweight people have an addiction that's not all that different from heroin addiction -- an addiction to food, particularly unhealthy food.

If you take a 300 lb person make them stick to a diet of fruit, veggies, lean meats, eggs, etc. and they lose 100 lbs, they're not going to suddenly regain the 100 lbs. if their diet doesn't change.

You're either communicating poorly, or you're being nonsensical.

 

[helmuth_hubener]

You're either communicating poorly, or you're being nonsensical.

Read the chapter I posted. This will solve all communication problems, I believe.

 

[TonySutton]

I lost 30 pounds last year by doing just a few simple things.

no soda
no junk food
heavily reduced eating processed foods
stopped eating seconds
stopped eating desserts
started making more home cooked meals with real ingredients
I use olive oil and butter
not sure if how much this helped but I get my meats from a farmer who was trained by Joel Salatin
started walking before supper, after about 4 months of that I started running 3 miles three times per week

Currently trying to improve on that for 2014 and lose another 30 pounds which will put me at 190 @ 6'2" Can I get my Thin Privilege card when I get there?

 

[GunnyFreedom]

Coffee has trivial amounts of calories. Maybe 5, if it's a heavy brew. Calories come from additives, like creamer, milk, etc. Stick with black coffee and you'll be fine.

That's only part of it though. The entire quote from Sisson is depressing and miserable. I mean, I'm not obese, but I'd rather live obese than to live like that. I'm pretty sure humans were not made to be miserable 24/7, so I am guessing that this Sisson guy is going about it totally the wrong way.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

I lost 30 pounds last year by doing just a few simple things.

no soda
no junk food
heavily reduced eating processed foods
stopped eating seconds
stopped eating desserts
started making more home cooked meals with real ingredients
I use olive oil and butter
not sure if how much this helped but I get my meats from a farmer who was trained by Joel Salatin
started walking before supper, after about 4 months of that I started running 3 miles three times per week

Currently trying to improve on that for 2014 and lose another 30 pounds which will put me at 190 @ 6'2" Can I get my Thin Privilege card when I get there?

^^^ THIS is way less depressing than that "only drink water. avoid all flavor. eat paper and styrofoam peanuts only" crap. This I can deal with. That Sisson guy needs to take a long walk off a short pier. He's probably the reason why some people are fat.

 

[Origanalist]

Event Description
Nicole Sullivan and Cora Segal, two Boston-based feminist organizers, will lead a workshop on fat justice, which is a political stance that seeks to address the ongoing exploitation and oppression of fat people. From the war on obesity to the rise of deadly bariatric surgery, there is an unprecedented attack on fat bodies. This workshop seeks to map out the focal points of this oppression, while delving into the complex history of white supremacy and misogyny that created it. We will set forth an analysis and call to action to make fat justice a priority in women's movements.

Refreshments provided.

Funded by the Women's Resource Center, Dean Henry, History Department, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Interpretation Theory, and Worth Health Center.http://calendar.swarthmore.edu/cale...=11929&view=EventDetails&information_id=33385

http://theothermccain.com/2014/03/2...-blame-reagan-praise-communism-and-socialism/

 

[Feeding the Abscess]

^^^ THIS is way less depressing than that "only drink water. avoid all flavor. eat paper and styrofoam peanuts only" crap. This I can deal with. That Sisson guy needs to take a long walk off a short pier. He's probably the reason why some people are fat.

That's what Sisson says. What Sisson does is actually go into detail about what it means, so that you can follow the program instead of thinking you're eating well while consuming hundreds of grams of carbs/sugar. In that specific list, he was describing ways to get to a certain point; those who have already lost a good amount of weight, but want a six pack or have their body in the best condition of their life.

I have a bad ankle, and I can't do any serious form of cardio (I used to aggressively play basketball 3-5 nights a week). Because of my injury, I ballooned up to 275 pounds, as the way I was eating did not support a sedentary lifestyle. I ditched grains completely; something I never thought I'd be able to do, as I ate grains with almost every meal. I lost 70 pounds in 7 months while doing zero cardio. I ate as much chicken, red meat, bacon, eggs, and sweet potatoes as I wanted. I made almond and coconut flour pancakes. I even add salt to my almonds, since I don't really get much from my base foods. I liberally use olive and coconut oils and butter in everything I make. Ever made eggs in bacon grease? It's the furthest thing from bland in existence.

To say that the primal/paleo diet is avoiding all flavor is absurd.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

That's what Sisson says. What Sisson does is actually go into detail about what it means, so that you can follow the program instead of thinking you're eating well while consuming hundreds of grams of carbs/sugar. In that specific list, he was describing ways to get to a certain point; those who have already lost a good amount of weight, but want a six pack or have their body in the best condition of their life.

I have a bad ankle, and I can't do any serious form of cardio (I used to aggressively play basketball 3-5 nights a week). Because of my injury, I ballooned up to 275 pounds, as the way I was eating did not support a sedentary lifestyle. I ditched grains completely; something I never thought I'd be able to do, as I ate grains with almost every meal. I lost 70 pounds in 7 months while doing zero cardio. I ate as much chicken, red meat, bacon, eggs, and sweet potatoes as I wanted. I made almond and coconut flour pancakes. I even add salt to my almonds, since I don't really get much from my base foods. I liberally use olive and coconut oils and butter in everything I make. Ever made eggs in bacon grease? It's the furthest thing from bland in existence.

To say that the primal/paleo diet is avoiding all flavor is absurd.

How is "eat less meat" and "don't eat fruit" and "drink protein shakes" in any way shape or form, 'paleo?'

 

[tod evans]

Refreshments provided.

Snark...

 

[ctiger2]

I'm lovin' this newly identified thin privilege!

However, it does come with a price unlike any of my other privileges (tall, white, male).

I can't eat sugary food/drink, no grains/starches either. And that's NOT fair!

 

[Feeding the Abscess]

How is "eat less meat" and "don't eat fruit" and "drink protein shakes" in any way shape or form, 'paleo?'

In that specific list, he was describing ways to get to a certain point; those who have already lost a good amount of weight, but want a six pack or have their body in the best condition of their life.

If you don't want to have washboard abs, you don't need to go to those lengths.

 

[juleswin]

Here is a very funny commentary about thin privilege as seen through the wonderful world of tumblr. I thought it would fit nicely in to this thread, so enjoy.



One fun fact about thin privilege unlike all the other privileges, it is the only one you can gain or lose throughout ones lifetime. Same cannot be said for white, male, cis gendered privileges

 

[GunnyFreedom]

In that specific list, he was describing ways to get to a certain point; those who have already lost a good amount of weight, but want a six pack or have their body in the best condition of their life.

If you don't want to have washboard abs, you don't need to go to those lengths.

I had washboard abs in the Marine Corps and ate like a pig, ate junk food all the time, and got drunk every weekend.

 

[Feeding the Abscess]

I had washboard abs in the Marine Corps and ate like a pig, ate junk food all the time, and got drunk every weekend.

You don't have a washboard now. You were 18 years old and active. You can't eat like that and get results if you aren't young and active.