Fat and Happy?

Last Wednesday I received an email from a friend with two photos attached of a former NBA player’s ex-wife, comparing her weight 20 years ago to now. I guess her weight gain was supposed to be a joke because there was a “funny” caption underneath the photos about what may have happened to her settlement.  I replied, “She could go to the gym since she doesn’t have to work,¹ but she looks fine.”

A few minutes later my friend replied, “Maybe she doesn’t want to go to the gym she might be quite comfortable just the way she is. There are a lot of people out there who are just fine with themselves but magazines, other people, TV, make them feel bad about their size.”

Fair enough.

I don’t doubt she’s happy or even comfortable; I just assume she would prefer to be a smaller size. I know being fat is not always about overeating, there are other factors (e.g. medical, emotional or psychological) that contribute to weight gain. Who knows what her reasons are yet we still judge or comment.

The issue of weight, especially for a woman, is a touchy subject and is not about the weight but the desire to feel wanted, accepted and loved. It seems socially acceptable to make fun of fat people because no one cares about their feelings.  “Fat people know that the first impression that others have of them may be negative. This leads to low self-esteem and shame.”

Not fair.

Losing weight is hard work, it’s not easy! Some people are choosing happiness over body size and have embraced the Fat Acceptance Movement, whose goal is to “change societal attitudes toward individuals who are fat.” I first read about fat acceptance on Kim’s blog over @ FatHappyGirl and I was moved by what she wrote below:

I think an important part of fat acceptance is really understanding what fat acceptance is. It’s personal, it’s not the same way for everyone. It isn’t just about being fat, it’s wanting to be treated equally and fairly. It’s about not wanting to be judged on being fat. It’s about being treated kindly because we are another human being. It means being free of assumptions and half truths. It means being judged less and loved more.

I’m trying to lose several pounds this year with the help of friends/family, my Wii Fit, cutting back² on junk food, making healthier food choices, portion control and regular exercise. Not everyone trying to lose weight wants to be a size 3 either, but a size comfortable.

I am not happy my clothes don’t fit anymore. I am not comfortable with my bulge, but I am a happy person. There are days when I dream of Frisbee sized cookies and days when my eyes are on the prize.  Can you be fat and healthy? Well there’s a bewildering array of conflicting opinions on the subject, but most of the studies I read said no. A few of them said yes. Can you be fat but happy? Absolutely!

So, what did I mean by my comment?  I’ve never heard anyone say they’re overweight because they want to be.  Either they don’t have the time to exercise or the money to buy nutritious foods. If someone is well off financially, to me that represents opportunity and freedom. Why wouldn’t someone use these tools to their physical advantage.

Later I apologize to my friend if I offended her with my comment, that’s never my intention, same goes with this post.  A person’s size would not prevent me from befriending or treating them with respect.  I do think it’s unfair that a person’s “worth”, especially a woman, is measured in pounds, that’s a heavy burden to bear almost more than the weight itself.

1. I’ll explain [↩]
2. not eliminating [↩]

Why Poverty?

“You will always have the poor with you.”

Poverty affects everyone. (Photo 1)

Before I sat down to write this post, I spent a lot of time thinking, asking questions and doing research on the “whys” of poverty.  Most of what I read, heard or saw made me angry.

When you think about it, we are living in the most advanced times (medical, technological and intellectual prowess) in human history and we still cannot find a way to take care of the basic needs of people.

This does not make sense to me. There is nothing that can rightly justify poverty, but I will speculate on my reasons of why we will always have the poor with us.

Our own foolish choices.

I handle most problems by focusing on the root of an issue, not the symptom, and I find myself in the Garden of Eden, the once home of Adam and Eve.

From my reading of the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve were provided with a place to live, plenty of food to eat and they lacked nothing. It wasn’t until after their choosing to disobey that this sentence was handed down:

To Adam he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ ‘Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life… Genesis 3:16-17, 19.  In my eyes, this is when Adam and Eve (and future mankind) became poor.    They went from having all of their needs being met to being dismissed from their home and having to provide for themselves.

I guess I could compare this relationship to that of a parent and child.  As minors, when we are under our parents roof and rules, we experience a certain amount of  protection or benefits.   When we remove ourselves from under their guidance and experience, well woe.   Sometimes because of choices we make, we experience poverty at our own hands.

There is no excuse for this. (Photo 2)

Another reason why I think poverty exists today is because there will always be someone to take advantage of poor people.

We can look at the current worldwide economic  situation and see the effects of greed and corruption.

If you live in an urban community you might see check cashing centers, pay-day loans, lottery, rent-to-own and pawn shops sprinkled throughout the neighborhood.  The interest rate and penalties alone for doing business at such place are oppressive enough.  These places prey on the misfortunes of the poor and are bleeding people to the point of desperation and hopelessness!

For thousands of years, mankind has, through many efforts (FreeRice.com, EndPovertyBlog.org and United National General Assembly, etc.) tried to win the war on poverty but have been unsuccessful.  Do you see any hope to the end of poverty? Will the poor always be with us? If you haven’t blogged about poverty on your blog, please share your views or  solutions to this growing problem. Since this post is a part of Blog Action Day, I will not be responding to the comments, but I will leave the comment section open should you care to leave one.  Thanks for reading.

Photo 1 by azem
Photo 2 by neweldorado

What the Freak is A Freegan?

Last week I was listening to my favorite radio show (hi Taylor and Colleen), and they were discussing a video clip they saw on Oprah’s show about Freeganism…yeah I never heard of it either, but this movement is surprisingly growing in the US.

“Freeganism is an anti-consumerism lifestyle whereby people employ alternative living strategies based on “limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources.

The lifestyle involves salvaging discarded, unspoiled food from supermarket dumpsters that have passed their sell by date, but are still edible and nutritious. They salvage the food not because they are poor or homeless, but as a political statement.

Freegans embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed.” ~ Wikipedia

{vidavee id=”6425″ w=”320″ }

I believe in their way of life, I love free stuff and not wasting what can be used, but freeganism pushes it beyond what I am personally willing to do, especially with food. I’m not above digging in the garbage, although I haven’t done it in years, on bulk day when my neighbors put out their big items, you could find some great stuff.

The most surprising thing about freegans is that they are not poor. I didn’t see the Oprah show, but one lady works for a Fortune 500 company and pulls down a six figure income, yet there she is, in the dumpster.

Is this a lifestyle you could adopt? Do you know any freegans? Is anyone up to the challenge of going to their supermarket dumpster at night to see what you can find? Not me, but I am a little curious. Have you ever garbage picked?

Thanks C for unknowingly naming this post.

Made With Food

I ‘m sure better use of this food could have been made, but I think these pictures are so cool. Uh, enjoy? EDIT: I made the pictures hyperlinks so you can view them in their original size. I did not take these photos.

Money Monday Tip #15

5 Ways to Save Money in the Kitchen and on Groceries

Cooking. Supercook is a new recipe search engine that finds recipes you can make with the ingredients you have at home. Simply add the ingredients you have in your home and Supercook will find a recipe.

Groceries. Find your local flyer deals fast by entering in your zip code and save bundles in the store with My Grocery Deal. This is a great site, especially if you do not have the time to look through the flyers in your mailbox or newspaper.

Coupons. Coupons.com allows you to print coupons from your printer. I have not tried this site, but it looks like a good one. Just be sure to check with your local store to make sure that they accept web based coupons. If you prefer the old school method, clip out coupons from your Sunday paper. I know people that buy several papers just to get multiple coupons and increased savings. FYI: Wal-Mart, Target and K-Mart also accept manufacturer coupons.

Make A List. Making a list before you go to the store prevents overspending. Supermarkets position items in the store to increase impulse buying, just look around at the check out line. Did you really go to the supermarket to buy that pack of gum or those tic-tacs? “Every aspect of a store’s layout — from the produce display near the entrance to the dairy case in the back to the candy at the register — is designed to stimulate shopping serendipity” ~ Real Simple.
Don’t go to the store hungry, make a list and stick to it. Download a free grocery list here.

Buy Generic. Don’t be quick to overlook all generic foods and products. Often times you are really paying for the brand name while the generic product boasts the same ingredients at a lower price. I taste the difference between Tropicana Orange Juice and the store brand, so 99% of the time, I buy Tropicana. My motto on this is: If you can’t taste the difference, don’t pay the difference.

Bon Appétit!

Photo Credit: SwissMiss.