Is this why Americans are obese?

[Mickey_D]

Sequoia, with posts like you've made in this thread (and others) you wonder why so many question if you're really Harley?!?!

You've summed it all up for me. I am with you on the "only in America" bit. Whenever I see that in a post (or sometimes a thread), I lose all interest in everything else said.

I may not be American by birth, but I willingly took out my citizenship here. And I put my life on the line (several times) defending her in her armed forces. So everyone bashing the United States please acknowledge that you are putting yourself directly in my line of fire for a quite steamy verbal retort.

And anyone slating overweight people in generalistic terms, you're edging in from a different angle to that very same line of fire. Some may remember me describing my wife a little. If she read that I was posting some of these numbers on here, my posting priviledges might be revoked on a permenant basis due to lack of physical ability to type!!

My son is turning 13 this year. My wife has been valiantly trying since he was born to lose the 100 pounds (yes, that was ONE HUNDRED POUNDS) that she gained during the pregnancy. She eats quite healthy (much more so than I do), she eats MUCH smaller portions than I do, she does on average twice to three times the exercise and activity than I do, and yet she is a little over 180 pounds at five feet tall. And here's me at 175 at 6'3". And I eat like a pig (Hungry Man 1.5 pound meals are a snack). If it ain't deep fried, don't serve it to me. My idea of exercising is driving a stick shift to the store instead of an automatic. So my little family kind of blows any theory of "smaller portions, exercise more" out the window, doesn't it?

Anyways, I've got better things to do than argue about "only in America" or "eat less, exercise more" with people that ....... never mind. As I said, I've got better things to do. Like watch for the image of the virgin Mary to appear in my cig smoke.......

 

[Amp34]

So, seeing as the first two remarks I made to alli were addressed directly at the incorrect assertions he made, I have to conclude that what you didn't like was

No sh.... erm, no kidding. I wouldn't have guessed. Still, disliking 290,000,000 people having never met the vast bulk of them is justifiable. Somehow. I suppose.

Yeah, that was sarcastic. But, when someone claims he dislikes 290 million people when the VAST majority of them he hasn't met, exactly what type of response do you want? I mean, what's the justification for that, if it isn't ignorance and blind prejudice which, incidentally, is precisely what you accused virtually my entire nation of!

That was the remark i was talking about. As i previously said my other post the 2,000,000,000 post was in direct response to THAT and only that comment. In the same way i'm pretty certain alli doesnt hate every single american (as yes that really is stupid), im pretty certain that most americans don't hate everyone in each of those countries. How can your comment be classed as sarcasm and mine be classed as a vehement attack on american society? They are one and the same analogy and can only be compaired to each other.

As i said its not quite the same but a lot of this can be put down to knowledge problems and the fact people believe what the US administration say without doubt. This is not just a problem with american people, there is also a problem in the UK, there are a hell of a lot of people who believe outright whatever the UK government say, but its not quite as bad. There are problems with this all over the world, fuelling major conflicts and civil wars.

Sorry but this comment does not have any anti-american sentiment in it whatsoever, as you can see I also said it is a major problem in most other countries around the world including the UK, NOT JUST THE US.

The US popuation has one of the lowest geograpical and world historical knowledge in the western world which in part is why there is such a big problem. People dont have the knowledge to argue with what the US administration pumps out.

This comment came from an article of National Geographic just over a year ago. Now i'm sure you are not going to argue that the National Geographic is anti-american? It also went on to comment in the article that it is not the fault of the US people that there is a problem with this, it is the fault of the US curriculum which puts too much emphasis on US history and US geography. Unfortunatly i dont have the article in front of me at this time so cant provide facts but suffice to say (and according to the NG) there is a worrying lack of knowledge in children about subjects and places outside the US. And again this is also becoming more of a problem in the UK. People just arent taking history and geography any more, this will cause a large problem in the future as very few people will be able to make their own decisions, at the moment a worrying amount of people get their information and ideas from newspapers such as the sun and mirror.

And just to make myself perfectly clear NO I do not hate every american, or for that any american, i may dislike a few, such as the main administration, for their gross incompetences and policies but i DO NOT dislike any normal person, as you said yourself that is rather stupid and grossly xenophobic idea to have.

Yes maybe the report of just one man isn't quite enough evidence, but there is still a serious and well know problem with segregation and the inability to live and communicate with other cultures and races in the US.This you cannot say doesnt exist. By all means its not the whole or most (as i said in my previous post only a very small minority) of the US population but it still exists, this spills over to other countries and cultures outside the US which is where the article comes in. Again just to even out the comment, it is not just the US that has a problem with this, the UK has to some extent the same problem and other countries arround th world have major problems with this, including a lot of people (or administrations) in the countries i spoke about.

But to accuse "most" of a 290 million strong population of 'hatred' of several other entire nations .... well, words fail me. Rarely, even in the anti-US feeling on here, have I seen such rampant stupidity as evidenced by that remark.

And, for reference, I didn't cross 'the line' on personal attacks. I said that remark was stupid, not that you were.

I am sorry but I take that as a remark against me not the comment I made. Admittedly maybe you meant it to mean what you said but the way it came out in that sentence was not the the comment was stupid. You are saying in that sentence that the remark is evdence of my stupidity. Now maybe i am reading it wrong but to me that says just what it says. Now as you have repetedly said that you are not calling me stupid then i will take that remark as a crossed wire, reset my opinion of you and i take back the insult remark as well.

Hopefully we can put this behind us and carry on normally.

Sorry Jonny69 i think it was mainly my fault for derailing the thread. Ill try not to do it again

 

[Jonny69]

If it ain't deep fried, don't serve it to me.

Mickey, I like the cut of your jib. We'd get on well Good luck to the wife, that's a hell of a lot to shift. Hope she's not to down about struggling to shift it. She's no on sleeping pills is she? Blame the doc... ;D

Sorry Jonny69 i think it was mainly my fault for derailing the thread. Ill try not to do it again

Aaw shucks, here I'll take back your black star and give you a gold one instead

 

[Sequoia]

That was the remark i was talking about. As i previously said my other post the 2,000,000,000 post was in direct response to THAT and only that comment. In the same way i'm pretty certain alli doesnt hate every single american (as yes that really is stupid), im pretty certain that most americans don't hate everyone in each of those countries. How can your comment be classed as sarcasm and mine be classed as a vehement attack on american society? They are one and the same analogy and can only be compaired to each other.

I don't know who alli hates or doesn't hate. I only know what he said, which was

there's still more chubbys in 'merka, end off.

and you can't argue they're not a greedy nation

and

i don't like them. personal opinion. "period" sorry, i mean "full stop"

I can only read that one way - he dislikes Americans because they're Americans, and there is no qualification in their about it not being all of them, and he IS talking about the "nation". He says so.

My comment is sarcasm, because I said I'm sure that can be justifed, "somehow". The inplication is clear - I can't see how. Maybe either you or alli would care to say how he can dislike an enitre nation simply because of their nationality? Would you like to justify it? THAT is why it is sarcasm. Your remark, on the other hand, alleged something even more ludicrous - that 290 million Americans mostly "hate" 2 billion others. That isn't sarcasm, it's just ridiculous. You are comparing two analogies, for sure, but I DIDN'T MAKE EITHER OF THEM. So how is MY comment affected by that analogy?

Sorry but this comment does not have any anti-american sentiment in it whatsoever, as you can see I also said it is a major problem in most other countries around the world including the UK, NOT JUST THE US.

Perhaps so. But I didn't comment on that remark. I didn't agree with it, I didn't dispute it, and I didn't refer to it. So the relevance of throwing that back at me is now .... ????

This comment came from an article of National Geographic just over a year ago. Now i'm sure you are not going to argue that the National Geographic is anti-american? It also went on to comment in the article that it is not the fault of the US people that there is a problem with this, it is the fault of the US curriculum which puts too much emphasis on US history and US geography. Unfortunatly i dont have the article in front of me at this time so cant provide facts but suffice to say (and according to the NG) there is a worrying lack of knowledge in children about subjects and places outside the US. And again this is also becoming more of a problem in the UK. People just arent taking history and geography any more, this will cause a large problem in the future as very few people will be able to make their own decisions, at the moment a worrying amount of people get their information and ideas from newspapers such as the sun and mirror.

Again, I didn't object to or comment or that. But even if every word of it is true, it doesn't support your ludicrous assertion.

You made a remark that I did and still do consider stupid and offensive, because of, and I quote, what you say I said about alli ... "It was more a comparison with what you said about alli, the very reason I quoted you."

So let me recap, alli made a remark that was factually incorrect, and I corrected him. He then said he disliked Americans. His words, not mine. I objected to such a sweeping generalisation, so you made an even more sweeping and fatuous generalisation.

So please don't try to move the goalposts by going onto ground that I didn't even comment on. Alli's remark was daft because he claims to dislike Americans because they're American. That has exactly the same roots as the KKK disliking blacks because of their skin colour, or the Nazis disliking jews because they're Jewish. It is a VERY nasty and ignorant attitude to take. And we know where that attitude leads.

You then accused my entire nation of the same thing against half a dozen other nations.

So please don't try to drag this off in other directions. I accused you of making a stupid remark, because what you accused my entire (adopted) nation of was an attitude that would have done the Third Reich proud.

So I'll repeat myself once more .... either justify that accusation (and that doesn't include remarks about educational shortcomings or a somewhat insular nature, which even I wouldn't disagree with), or accept (as I thought you had) that it was a stupid thing to say.

I'm NOT going to get into a debate about completely separate issues, because I didn't say anything at all about them.

I stand by what I said. The sarcasm over alli disliking Americans becasue they are American stands, as does my disgust at the accusation (that it seems you didn't actually mean) that "most" Americans hate some 2 billion people because of nationality.

So, what was it about what I said about alli that was wrong? What justifies attacking an entire nation? Even if you felt I was unfair to alli, what justifies insulting 290 million people because of that?

Sorry, but as I said, if you don't want to be pulled up over stupid remarks, don't make them. Or can you justify why it wasn't stupid? I don't think you can, but it'll be interesting (for me at least) to see you try. I suspect everybody else is getting bored with this by now.


Oh, and finally .... if you consider my remarks about you as a personal attack, RTM them. PLEASE do. Because I'm not withdrawing a word of it, unless and until you come up with a justification for it. If that costs me my account here, so be it. But I will NOT sit by and watch such stupid and gratuitously nasty remarks go unchallenged. I'd rather leave.

 

[Sequoia]

Sorry, Jonny. This will just have to pan out however it does.

 

[GordyR]

My son is turning 13 this year. My wife has been valiantly trying since he was born to lose the 100 pounds (yes, that was ONE HUNDRED POUNDS) that she gained during the pregnancy. She eats quite healthy (much more so than I do), she eats MUCH smaller portions than I do, she does on average twice to three times the exercise and activity than I do, and yet she is a little over 180 pounds at five feet tall. And here's me at 175 at 6'3". And I eat like a pig (Hungry Man 1.5 pound meals are a snack). If it ain't deep fried, don't serve it to me. My idea of exercising is driving a stick shift to the store instead of an automatic. So my little family kind of blows any theory of "smaller portions, exercise more" out the window, doesn't it?

The theory still holds water Mickey. At 6'3" you burn up a lot more calories per day than she does. Without working it all out it is safe to say that you can eat far more food than her without gaining weight. You can also eat far more unhealthy food than her without gaining weight. Simply because your daily calorie requirements are so drastically different.

The "smaller portions, exercise more" theory would only be "blown out of the water" if you were both the same sex, the same height and had the same amount of lean body mass.

But anyway, this isn't what the thread is about, I just wanted to pick you up on that point even though I agree with everything else you said. I hope you don't mind.

 

[Amp34]

Ok well all I can say is sorry. I really didnt mean to offend you or any one else.

That comment as I have said before WAS over the top BUT I stand by the fact it was just in retaliation and only comparable to the ONE line you wrote. I stand by the idea alli cannot hate all americans because of their nationality in eactly the same way that the majority of americans dont hate the people from the countries listed. If you cannot accept that then after this long I will not be able to persuade you fullstop.

What I do still stand by is that the comment you made WAS an insult of me ALONE. Even if my comment was serious that was at least a generalization not an attack on a SINGLE person. Saying that I do no want to be the cause of you being suspended or banned from this forum (or leaving for that matter) especially as it was in retaliation to a comment which i must admit was a little stupid even in its context.

Again I am sorry if it offended you that much ut i still stand by the fact you have taken it out of context and blown it out of all proportions.

That is all i am going to say about this, i cannot persuade you and i cannot be bothered to carry on this stupid argument going over the same facts again and again. THIS IS THE FINAL WORD FROM ME ON THIS SUBJECT.

END OF.


Now hopefully this thread won't be derailed any further.

 

[Sequoia]

I've blown it out of proportion? Oh give me a break.

Alli said something daft, I picked him up on it and YOU chose to make the remark you've since admitted was over the top. What did I do? I said your assertion was fatuous, and ridiculous. And it was.

And since then, you've signally failed to come anywhere close to even justifying it, despite having a go at me over it. And I've blown out of proportion?

Even now, having made that daft gaff, you still can't help but try and blame me for it. You've tried to shift the gorund this way and that, all nothing to do with what I actually said, and then reckon I blow it up? God give me strength.

You want to drop it? Fine by me. But do it without making another prod at me, such as that I'm exaggerating this.

 

[DJammyRasta]

NEW YORK The sleeping pill Ambien seems to unlock a primitive desire to eat some patients,

heheehhee this is what i read the first time through, i was like wtf people are getting fat from a drug that causes them to eat each other how have i not read about this one before!

real acticle is still interesting, just no zombies

 

[Arcade Fire]

My son is turning 13 this year. My wife has been valiantly trying since he was born to lose the 100 pounds (yes, that was ONE HUNDRED POUNDS) that she gained during the pregnancy. She eats quite healthy (much more so than I do), she eats MUCH smaller portions than I do, she does on average twice to three times the exercise and activity than I do, and yet she is a little over 180 pounds at five feet tall. And here's me at 175 at 6'3". And I eat like a pig (Hungry Man 1.5 pound meals are a snack). If it ain't deep fried, don't serve it to me. My idea of exercising is driving a stick shift to the store instead of an automatic. So my little family kind of blows any theory of "smaller portions, exercise more" out the window, doesn't it?

I don't think that it blows anything out of the water. The simple fact is that if your wife is not losing weight, it's because she's taking in more calories than she's using in day-to-day life. You can eat more because you over a foot taller, and you'll naturally burn many, many more calories than she does.

The theory isn't "smaller portions, exercise more and you'll lose weight". The theory is "Take in less than you're using, and you'll lose weight".

Edit: I just realised that GordyR said exactly the same thing a few posts back, although he put it better. Shucks.

Anyway, Mickey, this isn't supposed to be having a go or anything, I just thought I'd point out why your wife might still not be losing weight even though her lifestyle is 'healthier' than yours