Ignorant People...

On People.com, there is a story posted today about Magic Johnson's son, E.J., who got VSG 5 weeks ago and has lost 50 lbs. Scrolling down to the comments section of the story, I was so hurt and shocked at some of the comments. Things like "can't you just stop eating?", and "he's just lazy and taking the easy way out". I'm paraphrasing, but that was the summation of the comments. Why do people think this is easy? I am seven weeks out today, and it is definitely harder now than before. You all know that paying attention to everything you eat, planning vitamins, exercising, all of that is harder than not paying attention and eating whatever we want and not exercising. I just wish people would get educated on WLS before passing judgment on those they don't even know, who choose to make a decision to improve their lives.

Cause as a group... people are stupid.

Not knowing what they are talking about rarely makes them not do it.

Exactly!

Those two comments in particular are the product of a belief that it's all about "Calories in vs. Calories out".  In other words, we've been told repeatedly, by multiple sources, that obesity is a function of "glutony" and "sloth".  That if people just move more and eat less the problem can be solved.

Too bad all that is wrong and we've been lied to for decades.  Obesity is about hormones, and specifically an individual's reaction to insulin.  Insulin is the main driver for pushing fat into cells and obesity is a marker of insulin sensitivity, or insulin intolerance.  For those of us where this is evident, carbohydrates, particularly sugars and grains, drive increases insulin which boosts fat production.

The longer version of this was published by Gary Taubes in the book "Why We Get Fat" as well as "Good Calories, Bad Calories".  The first book is just a shorter, and less technical, version of the second.  However, you can view the essence of the book via Youtube just by searching on Gary Taubes.

This information, taken together with several other sources: Tim Noakes, Robert Lustig, Jimmy Moore, Peter Attia, and John Briffa, to name a few that come to mind, will detail how modern nutrition science got it wrong, why sugar and grains are so dangerous to us, how the hormonal cycle really controls what happens to us, and how you should eat.

But don't listen to me.  Do the research and give it a try.  You've got nothing to loose except body fat.

I saw that as well as similar comments on the Rosie O'Donnell article.  It hurt me to see the comments as people do not understand that it has nothing to do with laziness.  I have just decided I am not going to read those things anymore..."ignorance is bliss :-) "

People are stupid.

I remember several years ago when I lived in Hawaii, I was dieting and exercising to lose weight.  As I was jogging my daily two miles along the Ala Wai canal in Waikiki, some guy stopped me and said "Why don't you just eat LESS FOOD?"  

Even when you try to do everything the "right way," there's someone around to criticize you.  Now that I'm older, I really don't care what anyone says to me or about me.  And if someone does say something negative to my face, I have an arsenal of a vocabulary to rip them to shreds.

The first rule of the internet is "don't read the comments." You will make yourself crazy.

I think a lot of people are caught up in the skinny person mentality--they think that because when they put on an extra 6 pounds over the holidays all they need to do is watch what they eat for a month or so and it's gone, it's the same way for everyone. Er, no. The metabolic changes that we go through when we get to higher weights make it much, MUCH more difficult to lose weight. How many of you guys have had friends/roommates/etc. over the years who were surprised that you didn't really eat more than they did, yet weighed so much more? 

But yeah--don't read the comments. They'll just make you angry. :)

That would be me! My friends are constantly commenting on how little I eat at each meal. They're all as thin as a rail and eating their meals, my leftovers and whoever else's they can get their hands on lol

Obesity is definitely a disease, and some folks just don't get that. We live in a cruel and close minded world at times.