I know a lot of cynical people think overweight people don't care about calories, but that is simply not true. Being obese is the side effect of a variety of problems both physical and psychological. Essentially, they are addicts just like alcoholics or crackheads. They're not happy, and they're not indifferent, though in some cases they've simply given up and given in to their misery. They decide that if they can't break their addiction, they will at least enjoy how that addiction makes them feel.

The antagonistic and mocking attitude of the general public toward fat people only makes it worse as part of what causes people to seek comfort in food is their psychological misery at how they are treated and how their lives are going. At the very least, such people don't deserve contempt. Just leave them alone if you can't muster any compassion for them.

People who actually know anything about how bodies work know what strong, healthy people look like, and except in unusual cases it's not being huge, ripped, and having 1% body fat. I've gained 20 lbs of muscle in the past year, I still look mostly like me, just... Bigger. =)

I say keep at it and enjoy feeling better, it's more than most people do!

Bar owners thought smoking bans would kill their business but it brought all those non-smokers to their places instead. I really think labeling menus would bring more people out to eat. But perhaps I'm too much of an optimist.

home of the quadruple bypass burger

Throw some garlic in there.

That's the SOP for a lot of these restaurants. Fat and fat and garlic. I know I get a fat and fat and garlic craving every now and then . . . Mmm.

Unfortunately, as you get older, losing weight gets harder.

Sucks.

Muscle weight gain occurs naturally every time you step up your muscle use. (And if you spend all day in a cubicle, even doing push ups is a step up). Also I am not going all out on the weights, just keeping them at a consistent level, so that I can /maintain/ my strength and shape. Apparently my muscles start turning to jelly within 4 weeks of not exercising.

That's what I do. And at McD's now you can get apples instead of fries, and Wendy's has the little orange cups (I love those).

I also like to get milk instead of soda.

Possibly one of the worst dietary decisions a person could make?

Survey say, "Yes."

@lpranal: Telekinesis burns calories like a mofo. It is convenient to be able to cook dinner without leaving my chair, though.

Yes, yes, I hear you both, especially the part about the bloating mid section when trying to build muscles.

That is because there are abs developing under the fat, and it makes it look bigger. You know that its the exercise thats working, but other people looking at you will think you are just a bloated piece of lard.

That is mainly a short term problem though, and I prefer to look at the long term advantages. To anyone who judges me based on my transitory fat, I say "fuck you too".

Meanwhile I alternate between days of Fat Burn/Cardio exercises and weights training, as I see no point in letting my arms and back lose strength while I put my waist through the torture.

Also, I am nowhere near as fat as the penguin in the pic. Nowhere near.

@floraposte: Whenever I used to find myself at a fast-food joint, I'd order a kid's meal. They are reasonably portioned, and you get a toy to boot!

Now I'm vegetarian-ish, so when I go to a fast food joint, I get fries. Salads almost always have chicken on them, prepackaged. Yay!

Whoops! Looks like there was a generalization in that statement after all.

yes, it is, in fact most would say impossible. The only way i've able to lose any fat without losing muscle is through the The Anabolic Diet. It's controversial, but it works- I'm about 4 weeks in, I've definitely cut up significantly while my lifts have stayed the same or improved- which is pretty much a miracle considering how much I need to eat in order to gain muscle.

Thems the breaks, at least for me.

@HFC: He did, that's why he used the word "I" istead of "we". Doy.

@caelanarcher: It's not an issue of "if" it will kill you, it's a matter of "when". Do you care if you're only 40? I don't either; about you that is...

As someone that has most of the nutritional info of most foods memorized, or I am able to make a very educated guess....I still eat very poorly most of the time.

@Christie Porter: I believe this was written by the guest bloggers. Well done hot blogger girl and that other guy!

Your east-injun restaurant is doing poorly because of things other than nutrition labeling. I sure hope they have a buffet and that it has mac & cheese on it. When times are tough, people get conservative about what they eat and want the comforting, familiar basics. Personally I think a combo-Indian/American stealth buffet would be brilliant. After all, it's what the Greeks did to turn Americans on to their food - they Greek-ed up American dishes, and snuck Greek stuff onto American diner menus and vice-versa.

People generally know that fast food isn't health food. But sometimes they don't realize just how bad it is. And sometimes they like to make black humor about the whole thing. Have you missed the hilarious intent of this post?

They comes with bacon bits AND a zesty ranch dipping sauce.

These days, food costs are higher, and some restaurants have been tempted to cut back on portion sizes, which leads to customer backlash. Historically, attempts on the part of restaurants to 'health-up' their offerings, or to publicize smaller portions, has led to profit sadness ([knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu]).
There are other cultural-historical and socioeconomic issues that don't get addressed much when debating diets. Americans don't have much experience eating a low-calorie, smaller portion, high-vegetable & fiber diet. Never have. Healthier foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean meats cost considerably more than less healthy options, and require more effort to prepare. People who work hard at minimum wage jobs, which is frankly a large chunk of the populace, don't have the means to hop on the healthy eating bandwagon.

@floraposte: My brother and I (I'm 44 and he's 40) both realize/lament that we need fewer calories than many to maintain our weight. I typically eat less than 1800 a day, and he's discovering that he requires about the same. We're both ex-chefs, love food, are what is known as "big boned" and eschew the healthy when you can have cheese on top.

Think about it this way: one POUND (an entire BOX) of your run-of-the-mill uncooked pasta has 1600 calories. It's almost impossible to eat a pound of pasta in one sitting, yet a triple whopper with cheese, fries and a large soda goes down pretty easy.

Not only is healthy food better for you but you will naturally eat less and get less calories out of it.

It has been several months, and he is now in great shape, and definitely isn't starving.

Example of a 1600 calorie day:

Breakfast - oatmeal and coffee

Lunch - bbq chicken, slaw, brocolli and tea

Dinner - bourbon salmon, veggies, edamame and water

Snacks - Breakfast tea with sugar, juice and watermelon

Also, I haven't read anyone being surprised that fast food is bad and/or high in calories. Are you reading people's minds?

@Eric1285: 2000 is a perfectly good guideline for healthy, active women. Those with higher metabolisms can adjust to their needs. Is that really a big inconvenience?

Mmmm, stick o butter.

@The Murderous Eyes of Eos:

Oooh, I love those cheese fries too, but I get mine without bacon so I'm sure they are way healthier that way. Plus, I'm in an Outback once every two years so I don't think the rare treat is going to kill me.

My wife and I ordered those cheese fries once. Someone should have explained that you need to share it among six people to get the calorie count per person down to a sane amount. They comes with bacon bits AND a zesty ranch dipping sauce.

I lost about 30 pounds a couple years ago, mostly by simply eating less. The result now is that most restaurant (fast food and regular) serving sizes look enormous. I order off the kid's menu if I can, otherwise I eat half and take the rest home with me.

I don't understand why restaurants go for the 1500 calorie, gut busting meals. You could make a quesadilla burger (or whatever) that's 1/2 or 1/3 the size and tastes exactly the same. Most appetizers (the cheese fries, for example) could be ordered based on number of people ("we'd like the cheese fries for 3 and the coconut shrimp for 4 please"). It would take exactly the same amount of time to prepare and would result in much more sanity at the dinner table.

Of course restaurant owners would never do this. Smaller portions mean lower prices without any change in the number of customers served, so their income would go down.

Also, how will this affect mom and pop businesses? Will my favorite Indian restaurant who can barely get 10 customers on a Saturday have to figure out a many calories are in the Vindaloo? Will they get fined if they get it wrong?

2000-calories-for-everyone is of course a myth, but people vary in both directions.

I think your arteries would win.

@Chris Walters:

Okay, so let me get this straight, one really big meal a day, then we go to sleep, no paper towels but a little bit of bread because we're not Nazis and as many popsicles as we want.

I am guessing it depends on the body metabolism, activity levels, level of carbs and proteins in diet, etc etc.

On a side note, its a bitch to build muscles elsewhere when you are trying to lose some inches from your waist.

I think it's kind of like prices on menus--you figure it's expensive, but it's a different matter when you're faced with just how expensive. I think this may be especially relevant to the astonishingly caloric salads some of these places sell, since people think they're choosing the healthy option when it's not necessarily the case.

@HFC:

Plus, many of them offer you "more than 1lb of food"!

Fast food is my arch nemesis - if I want a burger and fries, I don't eat anything but salad the rest of the day. :(

I know a friend of mine has done it before. Who can consume the most.

Still a lot, but not insane.

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This line nearly made me spit coffee all over my computer screen.

HAHAHA. I love the writers at this site. Such funny ways of wording everything ;)

Every time I eat at Outback I can hear my heart screaming, "WHAT DID I DO TO YOOOU!?"

I don't care if they'll kill me; I will eat the heck out of those cheese fries, and I will fight anyone who tries to stop me.