tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27277534.post1413715199823782071..comments2023-10-24T03:48:17.089-04:00Comments on Does Every Woman Have an Eating Disorder?: Book Review--Rethinking Thindrstaceynyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11698974154886393241noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27277534.post-41530425652039069602008-02-04T13:26:00.000-05:002008-02-04T13:26:00.000-05:00I think that, for the most part, the concensus her...I think that, for the most part, the concensus here has been there is a lot more to dieting and maintaining a "normal" weight than genetics, willpower, what have you.<BR/>Although I have no medical or nutrition credentials, I have myself been struggling with an eating disorder for over a year now, and can say one thing for it. I realize that the weight I am at now, or even the weight I want to acheive in the future, is one that will be difficult, if not impossible to maintain once I get there, and the possibility of my yoyoing afterwards increases substantially. However, I like to think of myself as the kind of perfectionist who does not take kindly to hearing what I can and should do according to some social statistic. So it's a matter of saying "You're not like these people, and you can be the exception." I am aware that to maintain this weight I will probably have an eating disorder throughout the entire course of it all, but if that is what we are willing to accept, then so be it. <BR/>I know it's irrational thinking, and I am not pushing eating disorders on anyone, but merely comparing my own struggles with eating to, say, someone on a low carb or low calorie diet. It's the same concept. It has become a matter of what we will accept within ourselves. I wish I could say I would be fine at a higher weight if it meant I didn't have to deal with eating issues. But I am not there yet, so can deal for the time being.<BR/>I apologize if I have offended anyone, I just thought I would give another point of view.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27277534.post-67483825440608730532007-08-16T00:52:00.000-04:002007-08-16T00:52:00.000-04:00Read the book. Went to my therapist the next week ...Read the book. Went to my therapist the next week and discussed how the book convinced me that dieting is futile.<BR/><BR/>Convinced me, despite/because (?) been at this weight/eating disorder obsession for too long.<BR/><BR/>Good read.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27277534.post-4717851217416638652007-08-06T10:48:00.000-04:002007-08-06T10:48:00.000-04:00I am not quite so optimistic that this book will h...I am not quite so optimistic that this book will have any positive effect on societal impressions. I am sure it would be a good read- her writing is easy to read and absorbing, even if I don't always agree with her positions. But we have gone too far down the skinniness-is-godliness path to change course so easily. Sadly.<BR/><BR/>To wifemomchocoholic, I think we can INDIVIDUALLY change course. I am "overweight" by the BMI scale- along with such lazy sloths as Andy Roddick, Yao Ming and George Bush. I am so happy that finally, at age 50, I can honestly say that I no longer care. I know it's hard to expect someone, especially a woman in America, to have that attitude but if you could, trust me, it is SO freeing. I am very fit and in good health, and that's all that matters to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27277534.post-25968681135067318592007-07-31T23:47:00.000-04:002007-07-31T23:47:00.000-04:00I am glad that people of science are delving into ...I am glad that people of science are delving into the reality of overweight for only when it is totally understood will a real reversal of this condition occur. <BR/><BR/>And besides genetics, the cultural aspect is equally important. It seems to me that people really are 'stuffing' emotions on a massive scale just so they can deal with each other without going 'postal'? This truly is a society that pushes 'Go along to get along.' Not really very healthy for each individual person :(Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27277534.post-69950634765800984982007-07-31T18:18:00.000-04:002007-07-31T18:18:00.000-04:00meowser-Chuckles certainly acknowledged the role o...meowser-<BR/><BR/>Chuckles certainly acknowledged the role of genetics, dietary history, medical conditions in determining weight. I'm sure that there are plenty of people who, despite cautious eating and ample caloric expenditure, have trouble losing weight. In those cases you are right - it is not about willpower, it is not about control. It's about the complex mechanisms of biology that we have not fully understood. <BR/><BR/>However, these cases are more often the exceptions rather than the rule, especially when you consider the fact that thttps://www.blogger.com/captcha?type=IMAGE&captchaKey=1ihe098dmjt4l<BR/>Visual verificationhe rise in obesity corresponds to the rise in wealth&industrialization (which both amplify the opportunity of eating) as well as the rise in sedentary jobs (leading to less calorie expenditure). <BR/><BR/>Like kolata said, it's important to remain open-minded and unbiased when discussing the controversial subject of weight - and I think that requires a weight-neutral standpoint - not fatpositive, not fatphobic.Rosalie Yhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01931692982199132372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27277534.post-48910653896403291602007-07-31T12:23:00.000-04:002007-07-31T12:23:00.000-04:00I found this book somewhat depressing, but it real...I found this book somewhat depressing, but it really confirmed what I already knew. I'm not terribly overweight, nor have I ever been. However, every time I have lost weight and dropped below "overweight" status, I cannot sustain the lower weight without 2 hours of exercise a day and a 1500 calorie diet that leaves me hungry and cold all the time. In time I just can't take it and start eating more, regaining the weight.wife2abadgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03886552203311389234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27277534.post-8092360429116581232007-07-31T11:17:00.000-04:002007-07-31T11:17:00.000-04:00You are wrong, Chuckles. You are just plain wrong...You are wrong, Chuckles. You are just plain wrong. I know fat people who exercise like hamsters and exercise the kind of "dietary control" you can only have nightmares about, but aren't thin and aren't getting close to it and probably never will. I myself probably eat <EM>half</EM> of what I did five years ago (and I didn't start out inhaling massive buckets of food) and exercise twice as much (and I wasn't totally sedentary then either), and my weight hasn't changed. Seriously, ask my doctors, my weight is identical to what it was five years ago, almost to the ounce.<BR/><BR/>I know you don't want to believe that couldn't possibly be, that things like dieting history and medication usage and yes, genetics could play a part in what someone weighs, but sorry, it's all true.<BR/><BR/>(Admin: If you're going to delete the troll post feel free to delete mine also.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27277534.post-17502180260427712022007-07-31T10:27:00.000-04:002007-07-31T10:27:00.000-04:00"Kolata tackles ...the idea that dietary control m..."Kolata tackles ...the idea that dietary control may result in sustained weight-loss."<BR/><BR/>"She confronts the notion that fat people are to blame for their size, instead offering a literary montage of research studies suggesting we really don't have much control over what we weigh."<BR/><BR/>You make it sound as though fat people can somehow violate the laws of physics. Fat people aren't fat because they consistently consume more calories than they expend- it's their genetics!<BR/><BR/>While genetics might predispose people to obesity, such a nearly static factor in the short-term cannot explain the fact that obesity rates have more than doubled in the US since 1980. Clearly factors, I don't want to say "in a person's control", but certainly more alterable than genetics have caused this change.<BR/><BR/>And yes, sustained dietary control in conjunction with regular physical activity does result in sustained weight-loss. Most people inevitably end up not sustaining their dietary control and experiences constant unhealthy fluxes in weight- but this does not disprove my assertion. It's unfair to say fat people are that way "because it's their fault" or "they lack willpower"; on the other hand, willful or not, most fat people are that way because of the lifestyle they lead. <BR/><BR/>A life-long change to a healthy diet, coupled with regular physical exercise, is enough to prevent obesity in essentially every case. Whether people can make that life-long change, willful or not, will largely determine their weight in the long-run.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27277534.post-65966942733034074442007-07-31T10:03:00.000-04:002007-07-31T10:03:00.000-04:00Thank you for writing this review! I've added this...Thank you for writing this review! I've added this book to my (ever-increasing) reading list.<BR/><BR/>Oh, my queendom for more time in the day to read! 8-)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17032617457209218758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27277534.post-57879665612276902772007-07-31T08:54:00.000-04:002007-07-31T08:54:00.000-04:00thanks for the review. I think she's one of the b...thanks for the review. I think she's one of the better science writers around. If this book is as good as her book on flu is, I'm sure I'll get a lot out of it.Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11813023808982058233noreply@blogger.com