Britains Heaviest Man

[ScumOfTheRoad]

Doing it with Google Docs for in-cloud insty-colouring just makes it more fun... 

Apologies for being dense - is there a specific Google app for doing thsi, or are you using a generic spreadsheet?

[bobb]

Would, I wonder, a recovering alcoholic have more sympathy with someone with such an eating disorder?

Almost certainly. I used to work with a woman who was massively overweight. I didn't like her as a person, but I think the arrogance and blatant lies she used to tell were a defence mechanism to her deep down knowing she was seriously overweight.

She did go on a diet and lost about 5 stone (she was still huge) and I could see how much of a massive struggle it was for her. Especially when someone in the office would pipe up with "Shall I order some pizzas?"

I felt really sorry for her and hope she hasn't piled the weight back on again. But something tells me she probably has.

I really don't have much time for people with no compassion. Nobody who gets that big ever intended to. Georgie Best never intended to wreck his liver(s). It's just the way some people are.

Having said that, I have no intention of suing the NHS for not telling me booze would get me into trouble and certainly wouldn't blame anyone other than myself for it...

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Tesco is selling multi-packs of the treat-sized bags of Cadbury mini-eggs at £3.60 for one, £4 for two.

Cadbury mini-eggs have been my sweetie of choice since Bassetts fubared jelly babies.

[Bledlow]

...
Overweight actress Debbie Chazen - very brave to participate, I thought - claimed to be one of those people who eat healthily and are nevertheless fat.  She agreed to be monitored and tested to determine whether she has a "slow metabolism".  While the concept of a slow metabolism is not mythical, it was concluded that her metabolism was in fact completely normal and the monitoring showed that she was eating half as much again as she thought she was.

I don't know how representative Debbie is, but I suspect there are a lot of people in the same boat..

Absolutely normal among the overweight. There have been quite a few experiments where actual food consumption was monitored, & compared with reported food consumption, & in almost every case, actual was considerably more than reported. This was true even when the subjects were in rooms where all access was controlled & all food was supplied by the experimenters, & where they were asked to keep a diary recording all food consumed. There was a strong positive correlation between the degree of obesity & the level of under-reporting of food intake.

Anorexics mirror this, over-reporting food intake.

[itsbruce]

You can, medically, get through life without booze, you can learn to totally avoid it, but, for the eating-addicted, they need to deal with their issues many times a day.

Try suggesting to a recovering alcoholic that they need to pop into the pub, just for a half, 3 times a day.

Would, I wonder, a recovering alcoholic have more sympathy with someone with such an eating disorder?

Almost certainly. I used to work with a woman who was massively overweight. I didn't like her as a person, but I think the arrogance and blatant lies she used to tell were a defence mechanism to her deep down knowing she was seriously overweight.

She did go on a diet and lost about 5 stone (she was still huge) and I could see how much of a massive struggle it was for her. Especially when someone in the office would pipe up with "Shall I order some pizzas?"

There are interesting parallels and differences between the two addictions.  An alcoholic can sober up overnight (however hard it is to stay dry) but that obese woman could work hard to lose weight and still be obese.  Both are extreme extensions of activities we all indulge in (well, not all of us drink, but almost everybody in this society does) and yet alcoholism receives so much more sympathy, despite the fact that alcoholics tend to be much more destructive to those around them than over-eaters.

Lee's post deserves not just "Post of the Day" but "Post of the Year" status.  Some of you should be ashamed of what you said in this thread.  If Lee's post didn't make you realise that, well...

[bobb]

...and yet alcoholism receives so much more sympathy...

Right! Cunty! No it does not! I've got family members who won't talk to me any more. I've never started a fight or smashed up a bus stop because I was drunk, but "He has a problem with drink" is enough for some people to not to want to know you any more.

You can express your opinions about alcoholics a bit more if you wish, but I can assure you, my mouth will get potty....

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Some people are thoughtless, some people lack understanding or empathy, some are judgemental, some people are just arseholes. I think alcoholism is generally recognised as a disease now by most people, and if you recognise it as a disease, you're generally more inclined to have a bit of sympathy. Fat people though - we're just greedy lazy fuckers. But there will always be the people smug in their own perfection and self-discipline who can't understand that other people find some things difficult that they find easy, and who are more forthcoming with the judgement than with the kindness.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Wrong thread bobb.

[itsbruce]

You can express your opinions about alcoholics a bit more if you wish, but I can assure you, my mouth will get potty....

It isn't a topic you own, Bobb.  I have personal experience of what alcoholism does to personal and family relationships, as with what people will ignore or condone, at least up to a point - something I can safely wager is true of a large percentage of forum members.  I wasn't speaking idly but based on that painful experience.  But this isn't the place for that argument, so I'll not press it here.

Edit: on reflection, it might be better if I try and resolve what I think is a potential misunderstanding.  Bobb, I'm not trying to gainsay your experiences with your family and intimates  I had in mind the views of society at large.  In my experience, many people tend to downplay the seriousness of alcoholism until it affects them personally, because they don't want to have to worry about the darker side of having a drink.  This can extend as far as people buying drinks for people whom they know to have a serious drink problem, refusing to think about what happens outside the pub.  The same people will be happy to say that George Best didn't deserve a liver transplant, but their mate, regular at their local, he/she's not in that class.  Those of us who have had to wait for them to come home know something different.