[podcast flashvars=”titles: ‘a psychotic ramble'”]http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/shownotes/wp-content/uploads/llvlcep90.mp3[/podcast]
Hello and welcome to Episode 90 of the Internet’s foremost outlet for low-carb support and advocacy, “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore!”
Sometimes, we get letters. Sometimes we get very strange letters. Today, our host Jimmy shares with you a commenter’s ramble on the true meaning of Christmas…er, um, I mean obesity. While it may have started out as a well-reasoned treatise that began to wander afield after the author drank one sherry too many. But we can’t help but kind of think he must’ve had a few too many shots from the get-go.
Listen in while Jimmy dissects this letter from a sad “former fat man” who felt compelled to share his rather odd opinions about being obese. It is full of anger, self-hate, bad humor, accusations, philosophy, semantic and linguistic critiques, disappointment, and rudeness. In the end, the writer seems to be using Jimmy as a Freudian surrogate punching bag for his own issues.
See how well our host does in rebutting this insane, psychotic ramble. It’s fun, fun, fun for the entire family!
LINK MENTIONED IN EPISODE 90
– “Is This The Body Of An Obese Man?” blog post
Did you get all that? No? That’s OK! Click the following link for a complete transcript of today’s episode.
TRANSCRIPT OF EPISODE 90:
This is Episode 90 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore” and I’d like to share with you some feedback I received on a blog post I wrote last year entitled “Is This The Body Of An Obese Man?” when I revealed that despite my enormous weight loss success in 2004 on the low-carb lifestyle, I am still technically obese based on the government standards for weight and height. Go to the show notes section at TheLivinLowCarbShow.com for a link to this column so you’ll have the context for what you are about to hear. The e-mail that I received from a guy about that article was one of the most irreverent, yet engaging pieces of correspondence from one of my LivinLaVidaLowCarb.com blog readers that I’ve ever received. And the tone was set right away when the first three words were: “You Fat Bastard!” Whoa, who peed in this guy’s Corn Flakes?! What a beginning to an e-mail! Curious about what this was all about, I kept reading what this person who had some thoughtful insights about the psychology of body image had to say. I’ll share what he wrote to me along with my response to each line. Get a load of this!
He said: “How dare you make me look at those ugly pictures,” referring to MY pictures in the blog post. Who ya callin’ ugly? Wanna step outside and tell that to my face?
He continued: “I am a bit surprised (or maybe not surprised) that no one brought up the issue of linguistics/semantics or whatever it is called when we play with the meaning of words.” Um, that would be semantics, my friend. But it’s all semantics.
He says: “The question of whether you are obese or not is answered simply by the definition of the word, which I guess means that you are obese.” Okay, I’m obese, I can accept that from a definition standpoint.
His rationale is this: “It is too bad that the general population and society overall has picked up what is supposed to be a scientific term and used it to be an insult. Some of the failure is our own, as we all seem to have a subconscious disdain for people with the physical attribute of being fat. We even dislike ourselves if we perceive ourselves as overweight. (some people don’t are and more power to them). Also some cultures do not see it as a problem, so I am being ‘culture-centric’ (just made that up) when I express these opinions.” Um, okay. And your point is?
He answers: “My point, (if I have one) is that the word was not meant to be an insult when it was first used. Something like the word ‘moron’ to describe an adult person with mental capacity below 12 years old. A fairly insulting name today. Also’retard’ which basically meant slow. If you ever had to adjust the timing on a car you would not consider the word ‘retard‘ all that bad, but it is now an insult. It is probably true of many words, I will not digress any further.” THANK YOU for the linguistics lesson for the day.
He clarifies: “I guess what I am saying is what we all (people reading your blog) already know … (ugh, I wanted to say something dramatic there and it just didn’t come). I guess we don’t know what we think we know.” And you expect ME to figure it out for you? HA!
He explains: “Some of us are obese, or were obese and we don’t like it. We don’t like being called or thought of as fat. Because, fat is bad right? Fat people are ugly, they are fat bastards, nobody loves them but their mothers. Obese means fatter than fat because some scientist said it, so it must be more true than when the school bully called me fat (wow I didn’t know where to end that sidetrack).” This is the dance doctors have to play with fat patients all the time.
He finally gets to meat of why he wrote to me in the first place: “So Jimmy, basically you are as fat as you ‘think’ you are. Nothing really exists outside your mind anyway. There are plenty of skinny little school girls that are puking behind the dumpster right now because they firmly believe they are fat. You may or may not sympathize with them.” I don’t think I’m fat and neither should school girls.
He philosophizes even further: “I never understood the thought process myself, until I actually lost a bunch of weight. I always looked at skinny people who said they were fat and needed to lose weight, and I thought they were crazy (also an insult that may have had a less insulting origin–I really don’t know)……um….I thought they were crazy, and I didn’t care a bit how fat, heavy, obese I was. I ate whatever I wanted and then some. I liked my size I was happy with it. Now I am down within the proper BMI range (barely) and all I can do is tell people that I am fat and need to lose another 5 pounds. I am now one of ‘those’ people that looks thin but inside I ‘know’ I am fat.” Sounds like a personal problem to me. Get over it already!
And so he warns me with the following: “So I guess I am warning you about the mental trap. Don’t (or do) let it get you!” If you read my blog or listen to my podcast show often, then you think think I sound sad? I’m a mental man of steel!
He then offers me diet advice: “I am certain that you can lose a bunch more pounds. You may not even look any different to anyone else. I just lost 10 lbs in last month, but noone would ever notice. 10, 20, 30 lbs is not as much as it sounds. If you follow the lifestyle (also another word with a different meaning for swingers), you will be able to lose the 30, and more.” And I’m doing that already. It’s called livin’ la vida low-carb, baby!
He thinks I’m thinking too much about this issue: “I guess the real issue is whether you need to keep thinking about it.” Um, to be honest, I don’t think about it as much as you think I do.
He then assumes to know how I think now with this next sentence: “You know Jimmy, you probably ought to set a date in the future where you will drop the whole diet/weight/low-carb issue and concern yourself with life and the rest of its pleasures.” That insinuates that I don’t enjoy life now. How WRONG you would be, buddy! I’m not just livin’…I’m livin’ la vida low-carb!
Then he makes the most asinine statement he could possibly say: “I don’t mean to drop the eating plan, just forget the blog and the rest of the fat bastards and let them figure it out for themselves. I think that is what I am gonna do. (right after I lose this last 10 lbs).” Let me ask you something: Why would I rob myself of the joy of helping others find the path like I did through this podcast show, my blog, my YouTube videos, my LowCarbDiscussion.com forum, and all the other places I am making a positive impact in the lives of people? The point is I WOULDN’T! Nope, I’m not going anywhere today, tomorrow, next month, next year or anytime soon. You are stuck with me for a while whether you like it or not! He ends his letter with another attempt to insult me: “Later fat man…….” While that comment might hurt some people, the fact is I am VERY comfortable in the skin I’m in. Oddly enough, there’s a lot of truth in what this strange reader shared with me and I can pretty much summarize his comments with the following: FAT IS FAT AND THAT’S THAT, YA FILTHY ANIMAL! THANKS for sharing your, um, er…comments. I think.
That’s it for Episode 90 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore.” Would you care to respond to any of the statements made by this e-mailer? Feel free to share what’s on your mind after hearing all of that little diatribe from someone who obviously has little sympathy for the obese and let him know how you feel. This should be a lot of fun! Come back again on Monday for even more low-carb podcasting that will educate, encourage, and inspire you to do this lifestyle change. So until next time keep on livin’ la vida low-carb!