Ok so I really have been meaning to move my blog over to wordpress because wordpress is much nicer to look at. :p I'm also going to be renaming the blog because...well because I can. Also because there's a PCOS blog over there that I'm an author on and I need to really try and get back into that. I also have a blog Written Sustenance that I talk about various life issues and food. I also may do book reviews on there since I am done with college and can't find a job I've been reading...a lot.
Now some of my most pertinent posts will be transferred over, some however will not. Why because some of them are just whiny. And I'm really tired of being whiny.
So go over and check me out at my new fat blog foreverfat.wordpress.com
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Why Calories In/Calories Out Doesn't Work
So this is just a quick hit to link you to another blog. Ragen over at Dances With Fat wrote a wonderful post explaining the science behind why calories in/calories out doesn't work. Go check it out here. Also I'd like to thank the dear Sleepy Dumpling over at Fat Heffalump for pointing this particular blog post out to me. It may have taken me a week or two to notice it otherwise. Enjoy!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
No Justifying
As fat people we shouldn't have to justify our lives to others. As people in general we shouldn't have to justify our lives to others. We shouldn't have to tell that person who doesn't know anything about us other than our appearance how healthy or unhealthy we are. And here is a song that I was just introduced to on the radio that I think sums it up. It's called Riptide by Sick Puppies, enjoy!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Hippocratic Hypocrasy
Recently it has been reported that some doctors in South Florida are refusing to treat patients who weigh more than a certain amount or qualify as 'obese' (Use the word fat, it won't kill you I promise!). Some of these physicians have claimed that their equipment won't stand up to the strain of such fat bodies on them and fear we fatty fat fatties will flatten them with our fat asses. Others don't even make the attempt to cover up their dislike of fatties (can you say phobia and disgust my dears?) and simply state that the risk is too great for them to treat patients who are so obviously more likely to have complications and major health issues.
I would like to ask these doctors if they took the Hippocratic Oath when the graduated from medical school. And if they did if they were just shooting hot air out there ass when they took it, or slept through that part? Allow me to present to you my dear readers a modern copy of this oath that was created some time during the 5th century BCE by Hippocrates the supposed father of Medicine. (supposed only because history can't entirely prove it was him)
"I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:
I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.
I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.
I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.
I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.
I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.
I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.
I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.
I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.
If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help."
—Written in 1964 by Louis Lasagna, Academic Dean of the School of Medicine at Tufts University, and used in many medical schools today. Found at Nova's website.
Now the really important part is toward the beginning of the oath. It states, "I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism." In layman's terms, I will to the best of my ability treat all the sick who come to me while avoiding overtreating them (read overdosing them on medications), or turning them away because I feel that I can't (won't) help them. This oath, though not binding as it was centuries ago, is performed to my knowledge by almost 100% of medical schools today, and has some bearing on how medical ethics work. So in essence these doctors who are refusing patients because of their fatness are breaking an oath held in high esteem by doctors for over 2000 years. An oath that they themselves most likely took upon graduating!
Now important part #2 in this oath, "I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure." Now I ask, how the hell can you prevent disease when you refuse to even look at fat patients. You claim that they are at higher risk for diseases and complications. Could this perhaps be because fat people have been so ridiculed by doctors in the past that they don't come in to see one unless some huge emergency has reared it's head? Could it be that they have complications because it takes longer to diagnose them?! MY GOD WHAT AN ORIGINAL THOUGHT! If you catch the disease/cancer/whatever early, treatment is easier!
So my dears can you say bullshit with me? BULLSHIT! It is bullshit that these doctors are refusing patients who come to them in need. And we all know how many fat people go to the doctor unless it's an emergency; not very many! So these doctors are not only denying fat patients in their area care, they are also showing fat people everywhere that they should just go home and die because it's just too much of a risk for them to treat our fat asses. I continue to call bullshit! It is no more or less risk for a doctor to treat a fat patient than it is for them to treat a thin one! Thin patients have all the disease and complications that fat people do! Thin patients are just as likely to sue their doctor if they believe that doctor fucked up as a fat person! And actually if you think about it a fat person might be less likely to sue because they are beaten down so often that anything that goes wrong they immediately feel it is their fault!
So South Florida doctors...go back to your offices and start doing your job. And yes I realize this has been written about all over the place but I wanted to put my two sense worth in.
I would like to ask these doctors if they took the Hippocratic Oath when the graduated from medical school. And if they did if they were just shooting hot air out there ass when they took it, or slept through that part? Allow me to present to you my dear readers a modern copy of this oath that was created some time during the 5th century BCE by Hippocrates the supposed father of Medicine. (supposed only because history can't entirely prove it was him)
"I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:
I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.
I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.
I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.
I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.
I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.
I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.
I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.
I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.
If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help."
—Written in 1964 by Louis Lasagna, Academic Dean of the School of Medicine at Tufts University, and used in many medical schools today. Found at Nova's website.
Now the really important part is toward the beginning of the oath. It states, "I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism." In layman's terms, I will to the best of my ability treat all the sick who come to me while avoiding overtreating them (read overdosing them on medications), or turning them away because I feel that I can't (won't) help them. This oath, though not binding as it was centuries ago, is performed to my knowledge by almost 100% of medical schools today, and has some bearing on how medical ethics work. So in essence these doctors who are refusing patients because of their fatness are breaking an oath held in high esteem by doctors for over 2000 years. An oath that they themselves most likely took upon graduating!
Now important part #2 in this oath, "I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure." Now I ask, how the hell can you prevent disease when you refuse to even look at fat patients. You claim that they are at higher risk for diseases and complications. Could this perhaps be because fat people have been so ridiculed by doctors in the past that they don't come in to see one unless some huge emergency has reared it's head? Could it be that they have complications because it takes longer to diagnose them?! MY GOD WHAT AN ORIGINAL THOUGHT! If you catch the disease/cancer/whatever early, treatment is easier!
So my dears can you say bullshit with me? BULLSHIT! It is bullshit that these doctors are refusing patients who come to them in need. And we all know how many fat people go to the doctor unless it's an emergency; not very many! So these doctors are not only denying fat patients in their area care, they are also showing fat people everywhere that they should just go home and die because it's just too much of a risk for them to treat our fat asses. I continue to call bullshit! It is no more or less risk for a doctor to treat a fat patient than it is for them to treat a thin one! Thin patients have all the disease and complications that fat people do! Thin patients are just as likely to sue their doctor if they believe that doctor fucked up as a fat person! And actually if you think about it a fat person might be less likely to sue because they are beaten down so often that anything that goes wrong they immediately feel it is their fault!
So South Florida doctors...go back to your offices and start doing your job. And yes I realize this has been written about all over the place but I wanted to put my two sense worth in.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Fat Poem 2
So here's another poem about fat. Be warned this one is written in the voice of those who are fat phobic, so it may cause a very negative emotional response. I hope that if it ends up in the hands of someone who thinks like this they realize how horrid they sound.
Fatty McFatterson
Get on the treadmill Fatty! Lose those pounds,
Exercise Fatty! Try harder! Make yourself vomit
after you eat! Good Fatty force it all out. Starve
yourself Fatty! Show some self-control! Count those
calories Fatty! Everything that goes in has to come out!
Quit dawdling Fatty! Get off the couch! Put down the
cheeseburger! Do us all a favor and disappear.
Fatty McFatterson
Get on the treadmill Fatty! Lose those pounds,
Exercise Fatty! Try harder! Make yourself vomit
after you eat! Good Fatty force it all out. Starve
yourself Fatty! Show some self-control! Count those
calories Fatty! Everything that goes in has to come out!
Quit dawdling Fatty! Get off the couch! Put down the
cheeseburger! Do us all a favor and disappear.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Self-Esteem, We All Have It
Self-esteem, everyone has it, be it high or low or in between. It’s how you view yourself, and in some ways how much you value yourself. Self-esteem however is not just based on what you think about yourself, it’s what you hear and see, or think you hear and see, other people saying or thinking about you. Your self-esteem can take a hit from a glance from someone who you view as prettier, or better than you are. It can get a boost from someone smiling and complimenting you on your clothing. Your self-esteem is changeable.
I tend to think a lot of people have lower self-esteem then they let on. Why do you think so many people make fun of others who are different? They do it to make themselves feel better. Because hey, if they aren’t at the bottom of the pile there will always be someone worse off than they are. The best case of this happening that I can think of is the low income white people in the South during the time of the Civil War. They didn’t own slaves; they didn’t benefit from slavery in any way other than they knew that a black person was lesser than they were just because of the color of their skin. As a result those people were some of the most violent and virulent racists in the entire country after slavery was abolished.
As only one woman with PCOS I can’t speak for everyone, but I know several factors in my low (but getting better) self-esteem is tied up in my physical appearance and how people (myself included) see me. I’ve never had anyone come up to my face and make fun of me about my weight, I have heard comments however about the hair on my face, and how I look. But I got the message, or what I thought was the message, loud and clear. I was less important, less desirable, just less because I wasn’t as pretty as the girls who were size 12 or below. I got this from comments my parents made when I dressed up, I got it from trying to find clothes while shopping with my sisters (who are all size 10 or under) who could shop at any store they wanted, I got it from looks and snorts and stupid things.
To get your self-esteem higher you have to learn whose opinion really matters and who is just full of so much crap. That stranger on the street cat calling you or making mooing noises? Full of crap. That sales lady who sneered at you when you tried that pretty blue dress on? Full of crap. The old woman at the grocery store or food court who made a remark on your food choice? Full of crap. That random family who made a callous remark about you compared with your sisters? Full of crap. And not only do you have to learn to ignore these outer voices, you have to be able to silence, or at least muffle the voice of society in your head telling you that you shouldn’t wear that skirt because your legs are too flabby, or that dress because it’s too brightly colored and makes you stand out.
It isn’t easy, and it doesn’t happen in a second. I’ve been working on my self-esteem for the last…well it’s been a long time. But the instant you realize that truly the only person whose opinion matters is you, and you really take that realization to heart, you’ll take the first step into feeling better about yourself. Even after this step you will have days when you look in the mirror and think how ugly you are. Those days are the days when you most need to be yourself and not do what society attempts to brow beat you into doing. Those are the days to wear your favorite top, or that gorgeous skirt you just bought regardless of what color they are. Those days are the days when you have to stand up and be the most like yourself, and not like what society wants you to be.
I tend to think a lot of people have lower self-esteem then they let on. Why do you think so many people make fun of others who are different? They do it to make themselves feel better. Because hey, if they aren’t at the bottom of the pile there will always be someone worse off than they are. The best case of this happening that I can think of is the low income white people in the South during the time of the Civil War. They didn’t own slaves; they didn’t benefit from slavery in any way other than they knew that a black person was lesser than they were just because of the color of their skin. As a result those people were some of the most violent and virulent racists in the entire country after slavery was abolished.
As only one woman with PCOS I can’t speak for everyone, but I know several factors in my low (but getting better) self-esteem is tied up in my physical appearance and how people (myself included) see me. I’ve never had anyone come up to my face and make fun of me about my weight, I have heard comments however about the hair on my face, and how I look. But I got the message, or what I thought was the message, loud and clear. I was less important, less desirable, just less because I wasn’t as pretty as the girls who were size 12 or below. I got this from comments my parents made when I dressed up, I got it from trying to find clothes while shopping with my sisters (who are all size 10 or under) who could shop at any store they wanted, I got it from looks and snorts and stupid things.
To get your self-esteem higher you have to learn whose opinion really matters and who is just full of so much crap. That stranger on the street cat calling you or making mooing noises? Full of crap. That sales lady who sneered at you when you tried that pretty blue dress on? Full of crap. The old woman at the grocery store or food court who made a remark on your food choice? Full of crap. That random family who made a callous remark about you compared with your sisters? Full of crap. And not only do you have to learn to ignore these outer voices, you have to be able to silence, or at least muffle the voice of society in your head telling you that you shouldn’t wear that skirt because your legs are too flabby, or that dress because it’s too brightly colored and makes you stand out.
It isn’t easy, and it doesn’t happen in a second. I’ve been working on my self-esteem for the last…well it’s been a long time. But the instant you realize that truly the only person whose opinion matters is you, and you really take that realization to heart, you’ll take the first step into feeling better about yourself. Even after this step you will have days when you look in the mirror and think how ugly you are. Those days are the days when you most need to be yourself and not do what society attempts to brow beat you into doing. Those are the days to wear your favorite top, or that gorgeous skirt you just bought regardless of what color they are. Those days are the days when you have to stand up and be the most like yourself, and not like what society wants you to be.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Hate Groups
Today in my magazine writing class we discussed hate groups. The reason this was brought up was the professor brought in a magazine that had a huge section devoted to hate groups and anti-government/patriot groups. One thing I noticed is that all of the groups mentioned are Anti-Semitic, White Supremacist, Anti-gay, Holocaust Deniers, and other things of that racial/religious ilk. So what do I do? I open my mouth and say, "Well I think it's interesting that fat hate groups aren't in there because their just as virulent and damaging, if not mores so, than all of the groups mentioned." My professor gave me a funny look and started saying something about how can we judge other people and say their ideas are crazy or bogus or whatever. It kinda made me mad because it's a completely valid argument. White Supremacists whole idea is that their skin color makes them better than black, it's the same exact thing for people who form those website or groups on facebook who fat bash. Now I also mentioned this to my mother, and she did the "Uh-huh, that's nice dear, I'll humor you," voice.
So I'm thinking some research is in order for some of these groups and websites. I know they're out there. Then I want to write an article for this class. Any of you fat acceptance ladies want to be interviewed to give your POV? Mind you it may never be published or see the light of day but I've been thinking about writing an article about fat acceptance and the kind of crap fat people have to put up with on a day to day basis the entire semester. So now that my pet-peeve meter has gone DING! it's time to get to it.
So I'm thinking some research is in order for some of these groups and websites. I know they're out there. Then I want to write an article for this class. Any of you fat acceptance ladies want to be interviewed to give your POV? Mind you it may never be published or see the light of day but I've been thinking about writing an article about fat acceptance and the kind of crap fat people have to put up with on a day to day basis the entire semester. So now that my pet-peeve meter has gone DING! it's time to get to it.
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