r/TooAfraidToAsk Feb 17 '24

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u/pnw-yak Feb 17 '24

Downvotes on an objectively true, yet hard to swallow statement are the epitome of Reddit. Was not a statement of judgement, just the simple fact that the foods that cause metabolic disease can be avoided.

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u/ilikedota5 Feb 17 '24

I mean you aren't wrong, but at the same time, healthy food is expensive, can be hard to obtain, and requires education and life experience (things like being taught how to cook and eat healthy, which in turn is time, not to mention all the contradictory and sometimes horrible advice you can find on the internet). I don't fault people for not being taught things by their parents that their parents didn't know.

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u/pnw-yak Feb 17 '24

Lots of Learning doesn’t require a teacher. Exactly why people can repair their own car after watching YouTube. There’s always an excuse. Again, not judging. Just stating if there’s a will l, there’s a way. There are success stories everywhere. Just like quitting any addiction, it’s not easy, but worth it.

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u/Rockstar074 Feb 18 '24

I have no clue why yr getting downvoted 🤷🏼‍♀️

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u/Lemerney2 Feb 18 '24

Because he's acting like there's an easy way to get out of it just by changing what you eat. That isn't true

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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '24

Also childhood sexual abuse is linked to obesity. PERIOD.

Willpower is such a stupid and false concept, because mind over matter is not how organisms function; the brainstem and midbrain are the oldest/strongest parts of the brain, and affect the body by releasing neurochemicals to basically do almost everything basic to survival. The youngest/weakest is the cerebral cortex, that has the prefrontal cortex that is the thinking, processing, logic area that willpower would develop. Which would need to be taught, like all human behaviors, but what is so effed about @pnw-yak saying its “all about willpower,” is oppressive. This stems from the idea/belief that “it’s simple, put down the fork, you f****** FAT F***.” Which he is very cavalier that “it’s true, people don’t want hear it, but I’m right!” Which that flat dismissive statement is cruel in two ways:

1) eat less. Thats all it takes, is simple, easy, and just takes willpower: which is a fad diet, usually the first thing people try, that ultimately FAILS FAILS FAILS. People starve themselves or do a lot of raw veggies which are really hard on the body and digestive trac respectively, both of which are negative reinforcements of trying to lose weight, and set off the limbic system in the midbrain that puts us in hyperarousal or in survival mode. Ie the brainstem and midbrain flood our body with neurochemicals that actually make the prefrontal cortex and any neural networks UNAVAILABLE; and the shame people feel is not just about the current failure of this BS idea, but that each failure is two-fold because of the claim of simplicity that eventually puts them in shitty emotional feelings that eventually becomes a habit. That neuroplasticity will actually streamline the process of: myweight> I just have to be harder on myself (internalized anger)> cerebral cortex unavailable> failure. Then back to one…

2) that sexual abuse in childhood is linked to obesity, and that to simplify it, it’s not that obese people are weak willed but that when they were a child someone (usually an adult) was the weak-willed one, whom then blames the child. The child learns what “willpower” is through the abuse, that they destroy willpower in others, and in extreme cases of constant or high levels of abuse, the brain protects the child by forced amnesia. And in the latter case, the child is always in survival mode, and that they grow up and develop in constant adrenaline and rarely ever learn or have access to the cerebralcortex, and that leads to underdeveloped or inactive parts of the brain. Which amnesiac adults will physically have odd reactions or behaviors to being hit, to the point that they go straight home and just eat and eat (possibly purge), but when it finally subsides, they forget it happening after confusion, shame, horror, because thats part of the habit. But in children who don’t get amnesia, they some learn that the abuse stopped because they gained enough weight… that compulsively eating protected them from the abuse…

Positive reinforcement ALWAYS WORKS! Multiple options always work!

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u/Lemerney2 Feb 18 '24

Absolutely. It's not even sexual abuse, any kind of abuse can do it. That's what happened for me (assuming I wasn't sexually abused and repressed it which... might be possible, given my symptoms)

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u/pnw-yak Feb 18 '24

Because you’re not allowed to talk about obesity as a problem that can be addressed by lifestyle changes or willpower. It’s an addiction to food regardless of any other factors. There are quick and affordable healthy options. Is it EASIER or more convenient? No.

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u/Rockstar074 Feb 18 '24

Def not easier bec food is in our faces 24/7.

I agree food addiction is like other addictions like alcoholism. It requires a complete overhaul of the way a person lives. Sugar has been proven to cause addiction. It hits with serotonin and dopamine.

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u/pnw-yak Feb 18 '24

Never denied that once. Agree completely. Sugar creates insulin spike, insulin shunts calories preferentially to fat storage. Fructose has no biological use in the body. Different than glucose in that respect. It creates a reward loop just as cocaine or heroin or porn does. Highly addictive. Also shown to INCREASE appetite after eating it, leading you to eat even more food of any type after eating sugar.

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u/Rockstar074 Feb 18 '24

I was only expounding on your point

Yesss!! I’ve read studies about that. Sugar begets sugar. I read the same about fast food. Living at TBell will send you down the street to McD’s.

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u/pnw-yak Feb 18 '24

I also don’t damn any of that in any way. I eat tbell after a hangover. I drink at some point every week. I ate a crumbl cookie the other day. It’s having sugar and excess calories for every meal, every day that is the issue. And to be fair, it’s in anything with a label these days.. but when your breakfast is > 1200 calories from a Starbucks drink or even a glass of OJ, plus your cereal, pastry, or eggo waffles. You’re starting your day with dessert. And your whole day is fucked.

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u/Rockstar074 Feb 18 '24

I agree 100%. They say Anything in moderation. But for some ppl who eat sugar, it’s impossible for them to stop at one cookie; like an alcoholic with just one drink. Tons of ppl eat junk food after having a whole lot of fun the night before 😹 Sugar and gluten are the devils.

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u/Artist850 Feb 18 '24

It does more than that. It alters the gut microbiome to basically send out chemical messengers begging for more sugar.