The grocery store disgusts me sometimes...

[Trekker4747]

Every other day or so I see a heavily obese woman come into the store -probably in the neighborhood of 500 or 600 lbs- barely able to walk. Simply moving from her car in the handicapped spot to the curb (about a 20 foot walk) gets her winded like someone who just ran a full mile.

She gets in one of those mart-carts, straining it's weak electric motor and drives around the store and loads her cart up pretty much with junk. She skips the produce section entirely. Oh, and she also has one of those giant 42-ounce drink cups.

I can only presumed its filled with "diet" pop.

It's sort of disgusting to watch her.

 

[Amaris]

I feel sad for folks like that. I am no featherweight. Hell, at 5'11" I weigh 230 lbs (though I am working it off), but someone who is 400+ pounds? My heart goes out to them. They're already experiencing some of the worst side effects of obesity, and so when people snicker at them I get irritated. Yes, folks, they're aware that they're overweight. They are fully aware of it with every step they take, so when someone calls an obese person a "fatass", "Jabba the Hutt", or some insult like that, it does bother me, and it does sadden me.

In my opinion, being that size means something in the mind has gone wrong. I am not aware of any healthy person who willingly wishes to reach 400, 500, 600 lbs. A wire has crossed, an impulse can't be rejected, something is not working right. I believe someone who weighs that much should be given every opportunity to get back down to a healthier weight. Of course, I do have to make for the exception, that there are people who are that size because of circumstances beyond their control. Whether it's their bodies that won't cooperate any more, or certain medicines which can make one balloon in size, quite literally. Insulin, for example, is a hormone that causes significant weight gain if one's diet is not tightly controlled, as is Prednisone (a steroid).

And yes, there are those who simply don't care, and they eat everything they want without considering the negative consequences of their choices.

Still, I do feel sad when I see people in that condition. I think it must be so very miserable, and it makes me wish I could help in some way.

 

[MacLeod]

I'm more or les the weight I should be for my age/height, but that doesn't mean I don't think I couldn't stand to lose a few pounds. But for the most part I'm happy with my weight.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Some people comment on my weight gain and assume I am eating too much. I now weight about 78 kg or 170 lbs up from about from the 70 kg I was 2 years ago). However I am not eating any more than I did before but I am taking short courses of Prednisone (for asthma) and I am exercising less because of the arthritis in my hip.

 

[voyagergrl3193]

Yeah, same here, J.Allen. I also feel sorry for them in a way, even though I disagree with the way they're living. I think the daughter with her Mom at the parking lot was like 400lbs or so. In one way, I do feel bad for her..in another way I want to tell her to take care of herself. And yes, I'm sure they are well aware of how they look to others. I don't laugh at them, even though my comments earlier were crude and ignorant. As my friend Glen says and he's obese himself, that being obese is no fun at all. He's around the 300lb mark but can still move around pretty well. He told me the other day when he came to fix our garbage disposal that his fat ass needs to get back to walking again. The way he said it made me laugh. As for me, I've been feeling sorry for myself lately due to the fact that it's difficult finding a job and even though I get out there and try to put my foot in the door, I still feel down in the dumps about it..but then I watch this show the other night on Discovery Fit and Health about a 1000 lb man who lives in his bed and I think to myself, you know what? I'm actually lucky I have my health! And that made me feel a little bit better about things.Sometimes when I look at a fat person it's like I'm looking in the mirror at an unknown future for me. I tell myself I don't want to end up like that AT ALL cause obesity runs in my family with my Dad being overweight. It's also a struggle for me as well as an insecurity that I've been fighting ever since college.

 

[MacLeod]

Many factors can effetc how much you weigh. Some people naturally put weight on more than others. Some eat more than they need to. Some eat because they feel down (I tend to do the opposite and don't eat as much when I'm feeling low).

 

[voyagergrl3193]

Yeah, MacLeod. That's how one of my friends is. She doesn't eat when she's down. Sometimes I don't either..when I'm really worried about something. So there are several other factors that affect what a person weighs..maybe their medicine or the fact that they are diabetic? I know Mom weighed more when she was diagnosed with diabetes in 2007 but now she weighs a lot less and is really monitoring her blood sugar constantly.

 

[MacLeod]

Enviroment could also play a factor, as diets can vary between tropical/temperate and cold climates.

 

[scotpens]

I've got a better one, don't leave your shopping to the last minute when the store is closing.

Any place that's truly civilized has grocery stores that are open 24-7. Except maybe on Christmas.

 

[MacLeod]

24/7 stores tend to be found in cities and larger downs. the more rurual the location the less likely a store will be 24/7

 

[Trekker4747]

I feel sad for folks like that. I am no featherweight. Hell, at 5'11" I weigh 230 lbs (though I am working it off), but someone who is 400+ pounds? My heart goes out to them. They're already experiencing some of the worst side effects of obesity, and so when people snicker at them I get irritated. Yes, folks, they're aware that they're overweight. They are fully aware of it with every step they take, so when someone calls an obese person a "fatass", "Jabba the Hutt", or some insult like that, it does bother me, and it does sadden me.

In my opinion, being that size means something in the mind has gone wrong. I am not aware of any healthy person who willingly wishes to reach 400, 500, 600 lbs. A wire has crossed, an impulse can't be rejected, something is not working right. I believe someone who weighs that much should be given every opportunity to get back down to a healthier weight. Of course, I do have to make for the exception, that there are people who are that size because of circumstances beyond their control. Whether it's their bodies that won't cooperate any more, or certain medicines which can make one balloon in size, quite literally. Insulin, for example, is a hormone that causes significant weight gain if one's diet is not tightly controlled, as is Prednisone (a steroid).

And yes, there are those who simply don't care, and they eat everything they want without considering the negative consequences of their choices.

Still, I do feel sad when I see people in that condition. I think it must be so very miserable, and it makes me wish I could help in some way.

Well, it's hard to feel bad for someone for their being over-weight when they're drinking a liter of pop. You don't get to a size of a few hundred pounds and being unable to move without some, incredible, action on your part. I can feel sorry for people who are over-weight due to body type, genetics or even disease. But I think getting to the state this woman is requires some action, or lack of action, on her own part.

So feeling sorry for her, to me, is sort of like feeling sorry for an alcoholic for getting liver cancer or a chain-smoker getting lung cancer, or a meth-addict for losing all of his teeth.

They all got their by lack of self-control on their own part. And I'm hardly a picture of health and good eating myself but I am able to exercise some self control (if anything my weight is due to eating too little and low activity. My body is in hibernation mode) and walk between my car and the front door without getting winded. This woman is where she is because she over eats to an obscene degree.

 

[Gothowitz]

So, there really are people wearing only their pyjamas in grocery stores in the US? And I thought I had seen everything!

Yes Virginia, there really are.
Crazy hair usually completes the look.
Males and females both.

Or how about people who have their shopping cart so overloaded with food that it looks like they shop once every 6 months.

Grocery stores are wonderful places to see some truly insane shit.

Then there are the coupon crazies...

 

[RoJoHen]

PeopleofWalmart.com. Enough said.

 

[ThankQ]

So feeling sorry for her, to me, is sort of like feeling sorry for an alcoholic for getting liver cancer or a chain-smoker getting lung cancer, or a meth-addict for losing all of his teeth.

They all got their by lack of self-control on their own part.

I don't think you understand all that comes with and from addiction. Which, in a way, probably speaks well of you. Some people just don't understand addiction, and that's usually because they don't have addictive personalities.

Be it food, booze, cigs, drugs--prescription or otherwise--television, sex, attention, laziness... whatever. Willpower is only a minor component of breaking addiction.

 

[Kestra]

The only complaint I have against fat people is some of them dress wrongly. If someone is obese than stretched pants is not a good idea.

Neither is a short top that shows off the muffin-top above the pants.

I've been doing it wrong this whole time?

 

[scotpens]

Be it food, booze, cigs, drugs--prescription or otherwise--television, sex, attention, laziness... whatever. Willpower is only a minor component of breaking addiction.

There’s such a thing as “sex addiction”? I should only have such an addiction!

Seriously, I can understand addiction when it’s a real, physical condition — being hooked on alcohol, nicotine, heroin, prescription painkillers, whatever. But there are people who claim they’re “addicted” to shopping, or video games, or porn. I’m skeptical of the addiction model for things that are really just bad or self-destructive behaviors.

 

[MacLeod]

Well most addictions are down to a chemical reaction. o whilst I'm skeptical of being addicted to shopping/gaming etc.. I guess if it releases the right chemical it could cause a similar reaction to an addiction.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Stretched pants are never a good idea.

But I look outstanding in them!

So, there really are people wearing only their pyjamas in grocery stores in the US? And I thought I had seen everything!

I don't think I've ever seen anyone going around in their pyjamas outside of their home.

 

[MacLeod]

^Count yourself lucky then.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Be it food, booze, cigs, drugs--prescription or otherwise--television, sex, attention, laziness... whatever. Willpower is only a minor component of breaking addiction.

There’s such a thing as “sex addiction”? I should only have such an addiction!

Seriously, I can understand addiction when it’s a real, physical condition — being hooked on alcohol, nicotine, heroin, prescription painkillers, whatever. But there are people who claim they’re “addicted” to shopping, or video games, or porn. I’m skeptical of the addiction model for things that are really just bad or self-destructive behaviors.

Addiction can be either physiological (as in your body becomes dependent on a substance), psychological (as in your mental well-being depends on a certain stimulus), or both.

We really need to get over this idea that an illness isn't "real" if it's "only" psychological.