If you want the unvarnished truth as I see it... when being thin stops being seen as "better than" and overweight people are treated as human beings and not objects of pity, scorn or disgust, THEN there'd be a lot more sympathy to go around to the people who just can't seem to gain 5 or 10 lbs.

When it's no longer safe to call a fat person a pig and assume all they're stupid, lazy and slovenly... when heavy people aren't turned down for a job... I mean how many times have thin people been turned down for a job because they're too thin and attractive to fit the corporate image?

Potatofree, you're absolutely RIGHT about this.

I mean, come on. Fat people and smokers are the last of the groups where it's still socially acceptable to hold contempt against them.

You just can't PICK ON anyone else anymore without some kind of political backlash.

I see. So it makes you feel better to belittle someone else. Kind of makes up for all the times you were made fun of on the playground.

I'm sure the chip on the shoulder doesn't have anything to do with not getting the job offers.

I've gotten every job I went after, except one, and I was skinny then. I got made fun of for being a DORK, but I didn't have a weight problem at the time, either.

I was just trying to explain why I don't feel a lot of sympathy for someone who says it's hard to GAIN weight. That's a different planet than I live on. I lack the capacity to "get" how it feels, although I can empathize with feeling inadequate. I'm also female, so the male concept of wanting to bulk up and look like Ahhhnold is kind of foreign to me too!

Where did I say it was okay to belittle and hurt someone, btw?

It wasn't you specifically. Just a comment about the Victoria's Secret model I was replying to originally, which I assumed from your defense you agreed with.

There is also another thread somewhere on this board about a UK reality show where the final two female contestants were a really skinny (looks anorexic) girl and an average sized girl. The comments from this forum were not kind to the skinny girl. Similar comments made about a heavy girl no doubt would have drawn a lot of criticism.

And that is part of my point: Even though discrimination against the overweight no doubt quietly occurs, and rude comments are often made, at least it is considered rude. There is absolutely no taboo against going right up to a thin person's face and saying something like, "You're so skinny! Why don't you put some meat on those bones!" Or "Here, have a piece of cake. You need to fatten up." If I went up to an overweight person eating a piece of cake, pulled the plate away from them and said, "You don't need that, you're already too fat," I'd win the Jerk of the Year award.

I understand you can't relate to that. But did you ever consider that the people who discriminate against the overweight can't relate to someone with an obvious weight problem not losing weight?

Not trying to start a war. I just think we all need to consider both sides.

I really DO understand what you're saying. I actually HAVE been told I don't need to eat that cake, but it was my husband who said it... not that it makes it okay.

And yes, I do understand that someone who would discriminate against a fat person can't relate... even some who have HAD a problem with their weight who say "All you have to do is...." or "I'm ONLY trying to help you, dear! You just have to TRY"

The root of ALL discrimination and mean behavior is lack of empathy and understanding. I'm sure somone who has more to lose than I do is likely thinking "Oh, cry me a river!" when I complain!

I've heard many people from my grade-school years on to my middle age using "skinny" "SO thin" and "You need to eat some more... you can afford the calories!" as women-shorthand praise. In a culture where teenage girls use the term anorexic as a compliment, even coining a term I'd never heard before to describe the emaciated look "Glamorexic" ... thin is considered by our culture as the Holy Grail of Beauty.... so I still just can't put myself in a place where I can relate to thin as some sort of "curse".

So I guess your husband won the Jerk of the Year award...I'm sure it didn't feel good to hear him say that.

In the meantime, I don't want to prolong the topic. We all have our demons and have to deal with them the best we can.

BTW, it looks like you're making good progress toward your goal. I wish you the best of health.

OK, slightly off topic, can anyone help with this post about clothing sizes: http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=318043