tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680498.post3589173127642773754..comments2024-03-06T05:16:16.411-05:00Comments on car on the hill: Frances Kuffelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14928021465309402200noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680498.post-75866991863965398102010-05-12T12:58:27.228-04:002010-05-12T12:58:27.228-04:00I do not consider myself "an emotional eater&...I do not consider myself "an emotional eater". I consider myself a food addict, plain and simple. I don't need to FEEL anything to skip on out for cake. <br /><br />An emotional eater is another type of eater altogether, and my references to emotions in my response had to do with brain chemistry which is affected by sugar and other substances in everyone, but is craved more by those whose dopamine and serotonin levels are naturally low. Such individuals are not necessarily food addicts nor are they necessarily emotional eaters. They may drink or they may have the stoicism to walk through life a little under the weather.<br /><br />I don't think "emotional eating" has anything to do with my response.Frances Kuffelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14928021465309402200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680498.post-11988897783964621132010-05-12T11:59:49.667-04:002010-05-12T11:59:49.667-04:00Frances, not every obese person is an emotional ea...Frances, not every obese person is an emotional eater. I understand that that is something that's very central in your own experience, but you forget that it's not the case for everyone else who shares your body habitus.JShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13974691019739092440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680498.post-25774007160062745722010-05-03T15:19:29.961-04:002010-05-03T15:19:29.961-04:00I get a rush every time I read something you'v...I get a rush every time I read something you've written to this effect, Frances. I think that any sentence beginning "I'd be happier if only" or "I'll be happier when" is probably doomed to failure. Happiness doesn't come from being thin, or losing weight, or paying off debt, or finding the right guy, or anything else. These things can contribute to some extent to feeling better about oneself, but happiness has to be a journey in and of itself, and one has to realize that it's subject to, and must be navigated around, certain pre-existing circumstances like wonky brain chemistry. Sadly we don't generally learn that until we've failed at all the paths we thought would lead us there.<br /><br />I do want to be healthier, and I do believe that, for my body, that is probably needs to involve some decreasing of mass. But it's not going to make me a happier person. It took losing a lot of weight to realize that - I was a bit happier, but it was because I was loving and caring for myself, not because of what size clothing I was wearing. I still had the "down" days, and always will. And I still feel good when I do good things for myself, no matter whether they result in a lower number on the scale or not. <br /><br />I do get weary of people thinking thin = happy, and fat = lazy, stupid, self-indulgent, or whatever other adjective springs to mind. Oversimplification tends to prohibit success.Valerienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680498.post-21721278274795714002010-04-30T14:43:40.784-04:002010-04-30T14:43:40.784-04:00Not to make light of the seriousness of what Vicki...Not to make light of the seriousness of what Vickie said, but thin ppl cost more because they've ruled out the option of ice cream therapy. Fat ppl aren't jollier...they're just quieter. (At least in my experience.)Elisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12180829634228467810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680498.post-7531876933022254202010-04-30T08:06:56.589-04:002010-04-30T08:06:56.589-04:00I am so aware - all the time - that I have 'co...I am so aware - all the time - that I have 'cost' more (medically) thin and getting thin than I ever did before (fat).<br /><br />Because now I don't blame (pain, hurt, something not working) on the fat and then just live with it. Now I go get it checked. <br /><br />I had SO many things that had been ignored for years and needed attention (medically). Yes, some things just cleared up when the fat went, but other things did not.<br /><br />And that is just talking about the physical stuff.<br /><br />The mental stuff has also cost a lot more - meds, therapist, psychiatrist - thin. Fat - I just cried and felt alone and suffered.Vickiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05452333714845476967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680498.post-80843211941736616902010-04-28T14:54:08.112-04:002010-04-28T14:54:08.112-04:00PJ, Minnesota:
Elisa's right, but honestly, I ...PJ, Minnesota:<br />Elisa's right, but honestly, I do think I'd be happier if I lost 50 pounds. But geez, Frances, that is a powerful commentary you wrote. "War on Obesity" always makes me laugh because I've been waging this war all my life, and obesity is winning. Of course we can make changes in what kids are eating at school and at home, and that might help, but there is just so much more to the equation, and most people don't get it. "Glee" had a good commentary last night, too, with one of the cheerleaders who is seriously heavy. She sang "I Am Beautiful," and it brought tears to my eyes. Wish I had an answer for all this, but it is obvious that I do not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680498.post-7135709667576482402010-04-28T00:20:04.511-04:002010-04-28T00:20:04.511-04:00It's just more of "life is greener on the...It's just more of "life is greener on the other side of the fence". The real question is "will we ever actually BE happy or is happiness something we always think we're chasing?"<br /><br />When I'm thinner, taller, blonder, curvier, not so curvy, when I graduate, dye my hair, open my own business, drop the kids at daycare, eat healthier, stop smoking, exercise more....<br /><br />When does it stop?<br /><br />I'm also fairly convinced that no one is content with their bodies. There's always going to be something we want to change. So...I love me the way I am and am happy where I am with what I have.<br /><br />Usually.Elisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12180829634228467810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15680498.post-52363975173927483962010-04-27T17:52:56.003-04:002010-04-27T17:52:56.003-04:00Interesting topic, and your comment is excellent. ...Interesting topic, and your comment is excellent. It's intuitive that a fat person believes life will be different/better after weight is lost. Just like an alcoholic thinks life will be different/better when s/he finds sobriety. Hell, life IS different, and infinitely better in the early days of abstinence from one's substances of choice and recovery. Yet eventually and inevitably the "isms" that contributed to the addictions resurface and start calling the shots again. Wherever you go, there you are. Even if "less" of you goes.<br /><br />Like finding Mr. Right and getting married...it's all hormonal bliss... until it isn't. Then it becomes work, and lots of it, to stay the course over the long haul.<br />There's no one cure for any psychological, emotional or spiritual ills. But as a fat girl who is still striving to get to my "goal" weight, I harbor the hope that all will be well when less of me shows up wherever I am.Lesliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12401609334253676307noreply@blogger.com