Is Being Over-Weight A Sin?

[Romanseight2005]

Oh wait until you are late 40's!

I think it was Romans who said that what is easy in the the teens and 20's becomes more difficult over time. I used to lose weight at the drop of a hat. I also used to control my weight much better when I could run. However, genetic OA is making fast inroads into a number of my joints - both knees, one hip, one shoulder, cervical spine, and both big toes - and this makes exercise so much harder. I can no longer run, and have been told that quite firmly by the orthopedics specialist. I have bone on bone on one of my knees. Yes, we walk, we bike, and I have a home gym which is really fantastic, but it's a harder process to maintain a good weight, especially when there is often pain with exercise. Also, in the 40's, life is actually busier (for me) than it was 20 years ago. And yet, at the same time, more sedentary! When I was in my 20's, I walked everywhere - I mean, to work, at lunchtime, during my work day, back home, to friends/family houses .. I just walked. I carried my groceries home on the bus. At weekends I hiked during the day and danced the night away. That's not my lifestyle any more. It is a typical American, middle class, middle age, middle management lifestyle. I drive to my boss's parking spot only 2 minutes from the building. I sit at my desk all day long, with someone to gofer, and everything available by email. My printer is right by my desk. It's easier sometimes to sit in the office and do school work at my computer and eat my lunch than get up and move. In the evening, I drive home and right away I sit back down at my laptop and get back to my school work. Get up to eat dinner. Then sit back down to finish schoolwork. Then I wonder why I am stiff!!

That's why I have to make a concerted effort. I get up at 5am to work out! It's the only time that I have spare and it's not always easy to get up BUT I am privileged that we put that money aside, and left our cars on the drive, so that we could have a home gym. Also, we happen to live in a city where we suffer no really cold weather, so I don't have to worry about freezing in the garage while I work out. These are huge advantages. The trails we have in this city are another fantastic advantage. I couldn't imagine trying to walk outdoors without having this benefit.

Not everyone has these advantages/benefits and not everyone can afford a gym membership. People do not always live in neighborhoods that are safe to walk in. Many do not have the knowledge about cooking healthy foods. Many more do not have the money to buy good food. After all, you can buy a burger for 1 dollar at McDonalds, and what does 1 dollar buy at the grocery store? One apple?

I just don't think it's that easy.

You mentioned life being busier, and that is true. For instance, I now have not only responsibilities to my own husband and children, but I also have a mother who basically needs babysat. In other words, people in their forties get it from both sides in terms of responsibilities.

I also want to respond to something that was said earlier, I think by Niffer. She made a comment about choosing to spend time on the computer, that could be spent exercising, or I think that was the gist. Well, here is the thing. Much of my work needs to be done on the computer, so it's quite easy to flip over and post on a forum, while being in the middle of work responsibilities. It's a quick little break, verses what's entailed for the amount of exercise needed to maintain my proper weight. I can do little things at my desk, like move my legs or something, but again, it's not near the level of what it takes to keep the weight off. And yes, time management is definitely harder now, than it was in my 20's. Although, having a baby, doesn't leave one with tons of free time either.

 

[dallasapple]

I dont think the state of beign obese is a "sin"..I think that how you get that way can be.

Also the its cheaper to eat unhealthy than helthy ?I dont buy that..Not one bit..especially becasue i dont consider things like boxed mac and cheese which is while flour and powdered hygronated cheese flavored oil to be food in the first place...

But anyhow if you wan't food thats "healthy" DRIED BEANS are one of the cheepest foods you can buy..so is brown rice..if all you are doing is tryign to get enough claories to surive..(which is what junk food is EMPTY calories) ..then why not eat beans adn rice which is CHEAP and isnt just empty calories?YOu will get the calories you need and some nutrients at least that way..

If you are eating food that isnt just 'not godo for you " but that CAUSES obesity and all other helath conditions and its becasue of money?Then whats the excuse not to eat BEANS and rice..which WONT cuase obesity and is as cheap or cheapter than processed junk food?

Adn besdies that..REAL food ..food with vitamins and fiber in it..FILL YOU UP..dont cause obesity ...so which one cost more in the logn run?How much does it cost to treat diabetes from say 40 years old til you die 30 years later?How much does it cost ot have open heart surgeries ?

If I was SOO poor that I couldnt afford to feed my chldren a variety of fruits (OG wait BANANAS are very inexpensive)..and vegies and eggs and fish..I woudl opt then for beans and rice(a variety of beans) and as I just mentioned bananas..before I would say "well dont I have a choice ..I'll just feed them fat filled ground beef with fake cheese and white flour smothered in ketchup"..

Oh and oatmeal..oatmeal is cheap..its not fattening..has vitamins and minerals and fiber..

Dallas

 

[JanniGirl]

No. I don’t believe that being “overweight” is a sin. Nor do I think that it qualifies as “gluttony” in and of itself. A person can eat a pizza a day and 20 twinkies and still be of a “normal” weight, depending on metabolism and activity level …. Is this person better or less sinful than someone who gains weight because of the same behavior? I think not. Not one single person alive eats the “ideal” diet. And because the ideal diet isn’t described in the Bible, I don’t think one exists. For some people bread is a big no-no in their “healthy” diet. Another person abhors eating meat. Yet another, abides by the food pyramid. Who’s right? This is one of those things where it’s supposedly “easy” to look at another person and call it “sin” – Look, they’re fat. Sinner. I contest that gluttony is determined by intent rather than results.

 

[dallasapple]

[QUOTEI did not read the book or hear the story you are talking about. If his wife married him pretending to be a virgin and she wasn't, or pretending not to have done something that she had done of a sexual nature, she had ripped him off. In the Old Testament, our righteous Almighty God gave Israel commandments regarding a death penalty for a girl playing the harlot in her father's house and being married off under the pretense of being a virgin. God apparently takes this sort of thing seriously.

][/quote]

It depends..the food pyramid changes..now they have increased the veggie and fruit requriement.

but havign said that...I think the people who can eat whatever they want ..and not ever have to think about it..never gain an ounce no matter HOW many calories they eat a day and DONT use are just as rare as the people who apparently could stop eating and 3 months later be dead of starvation but have not lost any weight.

Im a thin person..when people ask me "what is yoru secret" ..I say ..wel I try not to eat more calories than I need..They stand and look at me with a blank stare..

NO..it must be I have a metabilism that is highly unusual..it must be "gentitic'..NO..If I start eating today ..500 more calories a day than I use..I WILL start to gain weight..If I dont eat ENOUGH I lose weight..

Its not a secret..and Im not unusual..Im average..IF my metabilism changes..then I will change how I eat according to that..I highly doubt..that it would reach a point ..that i would have to STOP eating alltogether to just maintian my wieght..or not gain..

Im sure there is a tiny % of people like that..that could starve to death..but not lose an ounce before that happened..And thats what would happen..if someone litterally had some sort of condition that they burned NO calories.. ZERO in a day.So even if they had NO calories going in ...they stayed the same weight.Or heck even gained.

But you can see in the countries where people do NOT get enough food..none of them seem to have the metablism ..unfortunately for them..that they will retain fat ..regardless of the fact they aren't gettign enough daily calories..One thing they ALl seem to have in common ....malnourished and painfully thin...

Dallas

 

[Conservativation]

It depends..the fodo pyramid changes..now they have increased the veggie and fruit requriment.

but havign said that...I think the people who can eat whatever they want ..and not ever have to think about it..never gain an ounce not matter HOW many calories they eat a day adn DONT use are just as rare as the peopel who apparently coudl stop eating and 3 months later be dead of starvation but have not lost any weight.

Im a thin person..when people ask me "what is yoru secret" ..I say ..wel I try not to eat more calories than I need..They stand and look at me with a blank stare..

NO..it must be I have a metabilism that is highly unusual..it must be "gentitic'..NO..If I start eatign today ..500 more calories a day than I use..I WILL start to gain weight..If I dont eat ENOUGH I lose weight..

Its not a secret..and Im not unusual..Im average..IF my metabilism changes..then I will change how I eat accordign to that..I highly doubt..that it woudl reach a point ..that i would have to STOP eating alltogether to just maintian my wieght..or not gain..

Im sure there is a tiny % of people like that..that could starve to death..but not lose an ounce before that happened..Adn thats what woudl happen..if someone litterally had soem sort of condition that they burned NO calories ZERO in a day.So even if they had NO claories going in ...they stayed the same weight.Or heck even gained.

But you can see in the countries where people do NOT get enough food..none of them seem to have the metablism ..unfortunately for them..that they will retain fat ..regardless of the fact they aren't gettign enough daily calories..One thing they ALl seem to have in common ....malnourished and painfully thin...

Dallas[/quote]

Yes. Exactly.

Calories in minus calories burned.....more/less (meaning its not exactly 1 to 1 equals gain or loss of weight.

Im the same way, have no issue with weight, if I over eat for a week or two, I will see a touch of pudge, this happens when I travel, jet lag , like fever, makes me hungry because Im tired. Eating actually even makes me more tired but it feels right at the time.

One fantastic diet I found was to drink one room temperature glass of Mumbai tap water. Within 24 hours you can lose 5 pounds or more.....I did.

 

[snoochface]

I maintain that if someone is already obese (to the degree all would agree), has no disease causing it, and is eating a stone of pizza and twinkies by the day, yep, they are sinning.

I guess this is where I keep quibbling with you. Someone can stop at Starbucks on the way to work and order a Venti Mocha every day, and the extra calories in that one drink, over time, will cause them to gain weight. If they continue to do this, or add an afternoon Starbucks into their regime as well, that person may become obese over time.

But is someone who has two high-caloric sugared coffees a day a glutton? No. They are ingesting more calories than they are expending, but they are not being a glutton. This is very very different from a person who eats a stone (is that near a pound?) of pizza and twinkies every day, who may be eating that way out of gluttony. The gluttonous person would be sinning. The person who has simply put on weight over time through careless habits but is not doing it in a gluttonous way is not sinning.

It's not equivocation about how to define obesity that is the issue. It's disagreement over whether it is the cause or the effect that is sinful. The effect is not. The cause may be, if the cause is gluttony.

 

[JanniGirl]

Most people agree that calories in + energy burned = weight. Of course, I can only eat about 1100 calories a day in order to be at a “normal” weight with my current activity. Perhaps you could eat more? Or less? So it’s not simply a matter of calories. I don’t know that the Bible speaks to how much activity / exercise one must do in order to NOT sin…
An overweight person could be far healthier than a normal weighted person or a skinny person – nutritionally. There are a whole lot of malnourished normal weighted folks in the United States.
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']But, that wasn’t the question posed, either. The question was whether or not people who are overweight are gluttonous and sinning simply by being overweight. I still say that it’s a ‘No’. It’s far too broad a brush with which to paint people. Overweight is just a possible visible sign of a possible sinful behavior; gluttony. It’s not an absolute qualifier.[/FONT]

 

[Conservativation]

I guess this is where I keep quibbling with you. Someone can stop at Starbucks on the way to work and order a Venti Mocha every day, and the extra calories in that one drink, over time, will cause them to gain weight. If they continue to do this, or add an afternoon Starbucks into their regime as well, that person may become obese over time.

But is someone who has two high-caloric sugared coffees a day a glutton? No. They are ingesting more calories than they are expending, but they are not being a glutton. This is very very different from a person who eats a stone (is that near a pound?) of pizza and twinkies every day, who may be eating that way out of gluttony. The gluttonous person would be sinning. The person who has simply put on weight over time through careless habits but is not doing it in a gluttonous way is not sinning.

It's not equivocation about how to define obesity that is the issue. It's disagreement over whether it is the cause or the effect that is sinful. The effect is not. The cause may be, if the cause is gluttony.

Agreed on the bold.

So why the ongoing debate about what is and isn't gluttony? or obesity?

The question asked if they were sins. It should be assumed that asking that is steeped in the assumption that the things are really present.

I assure you if I asked "is lying a sin"....and then started trying to parse the words and show how this is not a real lie but that is, etc....Id get excoriated for being "pro-lying". But the question would have been simple....is lying a sin?


"What IS lying?"...is a totally separate question.

Same dynamic should apply here

anyway, not that important for me to continue. Said me piece

 

[c1ners]

Is being over weight a sin? Sometimes. It all depends on what the person is doing to get that way. If your stuffing your mouth full of junk, yes, you are sinning. Eating pizza and twinkies everyday is going to make a person gain weight a lot quicker then having a cup of high calorie coffee a day is going to.

I believe that gluttony and over indulgence is a sin. And by saying that I am also saying that I am a sinner. I may not be over weight (because I am one of those people who can eat alot without gaining). But because of that I stuff my face. I overindulge and I stuff poison and bad for you things into my body. That's where the sin comes in. Like I said, I don't believe just being over weight is a sin. It's what you've done to get over weight that is the sin.

 

[ImperialPhantom]

I dont think the state of beign obese is a "sin"..I think that how you get that way can be.

Also the its cheaper to eat unhealthy than helthy ?I dont buy that..Not one bit..especially becasue i dont consider things like boxed mac and cheese which is while flour and powdered hygronated cheese flavored oil to be food in the first place...

But anyhow if you wan't food thats "healthy" DRIED BEANS are one of the cheepest foods you can buy..so is brown rice..if all you are doing is tryign to get enough claories to surive..(which is what junk food is EMPTY calories) ..then why not eat beans adn rice which is CHEAP and isnt just empty calories?YOu will get the calories you need and some nutrients at least that way..

If you are eating food that isnt just 'not godo for you " but that CAUSES obesity and all other helath conditions and its becasue of money?Then whats the excuse not to eat BEANS and rice..which WONT cuase obesity and is as cheap or cheapter than processed junk food?

Adn besdies that..REAL food ..food with vitamins and fiber in it..FILL YOU UP..dont cause obesity ...so which one cost more in the logn run?How much does it cost to treat diabetes from say 40 years old til you die 30 years later?How much does it cost ot have open heart surgeries ?

If I was SOO poor that I couldnt afford to feed my chldren a variety of fruits (OG wait BANANAS are very inexpensive)..and vegies and eggs and fish..I woudl opt then for beans and rice(a variety of beans) and as I just mentioned bananas..before I would say "well dont I have a choice ..I'll just feed them fat filled ground beef with fake cheese and white flour smothered in ketchup"..

Oh and oatmeal..oatmeal is cheap..its not fattening..has vitamins and minerals and fiber..

Dallas

Right on. And for drinks, one of the cheapest and most refreshing ways to wash down a meal is cold brewed tea. Take a gallon of water, stuff some tea bags into it and let it sit for a few hours. Tastes delicious even without any sweetener

 

[Boidae]

Blind Post: Being overweight CAN be the symptom of a sin, but not the sin itself.

However its hard to say because as one gets older, their metabolism decreases and weight gets put on.

I eat like half of what I ate when I was a teenager (like 16, 17) and I was like 160 pounds at that age. Now that I'm 29, I'm like 210.

Don't I know that all too well.

I was very thin when I was younger and couldn't put any weight on, but now that I am 37 I am about 20-25 pounds overweight. Not obese, just overweight.

I can't stand to exercise, I'm not a jogger or runner, but I would like to bike. Problem is I don't have a bike and can't afford one either.

 

[Boidae]

I dont think the state of beign obese is a "sin"..I think that how you get that way can be.

Also the its cheaper to eat unhealthy than helthy ?I dont buy that..Not one bit..especially becasue i dont consider things like boxed mac and cheese which is while flour and powdered hygronated cheese flavored oil to be food in the first place...

But anyhow if you wan't food thats "healthy" DRIED BEANS are one of the cheepest foods you can buy..so is brown rice..if all you are doing is tryign to get enough claories to surive..(which is what junk food is EMPTY calories) ..then why not eat beans adn rice which is CHEAP and isnt just empty calories?YOu will get the calories you need and some nutrients at least that way..

If you are eating food that isnt just 'not godo for you " but that CAUSES obesity and all other helath conditions and its becasue of money?Then whats the excuse not to eat BEANS and rice..which WONT cuase obesity and is as cheap or cheapter than processed junk food?

Adn besdies that..REAL food ..food with vitamins and fiber in it..FILL YOU UP..dont cause obesity ...so which one cost more in the logn run?How much does it cost to treat diabetes from say 40 years old til you die 30 years later?How much does it cost ot have open heart surgeries ?

If I was SOO poor that I couldnt afford to feed my chldren a variety of fruits (OG wait BANANAS are very inexpensive)..and vegies and eggs and fish..I woudl opt then for beans and rice(a variety of beans) and as I just mentioned bananas..before I would say "well dont I have a choice ..I'll just feed them fat filled ground beef with fake cheese and white flour smothered in ketchup"..

Oh and oatmeal..oatmeal is cheap..its not fattening..has vitamins and minerals and fiber..

Dallas

The only thing that you mentioned that you consider healthy that I would eat would be the rice. Don't like beans, bananas, most fruit for that matter. I will eat an apple every once and a while, and same with canned peaches. Don't like fresh peaches at all. I don't like most veggies either. I will eat broccoli, cauliflower, peas, corn, spinach if it is cooked with something else, and I think that's about it. Oh and potatoes.

I just started eating salad within the last 1 1/2 years or so, but with only Italian dressing or Ceaser dressing. Maybe a Vinaigrette.

I am a hugely picky eater, but I have gotten better over the years. There are many things that I still will not eat though.

My most recent like is boneless chicken wings with buffalo sauce.

 

[Chaplain David]

Without weighing in on the whole subject yet and I do plan to express more of my opinion later, I would like to say that their are aspects of being overweight that I do not believe are cause by sin of the overweight person.

A couple of these include for example, taking prednisone. David Crosby, of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young swelled up like a baloon after he had a liver transplan some years ago. Last pic I saw of him he was still heavy. One of the main anti rejection drugs used is steroids (prednisone like drugs), and they a well know for their cause of extreme weight gain.

Another thing that can lead to weight gain is having been abused. Abuse is insidious trauma that cause all sorts of problems for the abused person later in life. One of these is weight gain.

Other untreated mental health disturbances, and still more that are not treated successfully can also lead to weight gain.

I do not classify these types of weight gain I've listed above as sloth or sinful or anything like that.

Using myself as an example, when I used to be alcoholic, I gained a lot of weight and pretty much looked like the pillsbury dough boy. Maybe if I'd drank other types of liquor I would have gained so much weight but due to finances I drank a lot (and I mean a lot) of beer. The way I was drinking was sinful, my behavior from the drinking was sinful, and the weight gain which was just a side effect from the aforementioned,l in my opinion was sinful as well.

I quit drinking, went to AA, it worked, I lost most of the excess weight, and have gotten rid of that sin. (plural). However, because of other reasons I can stress eat and while it is easy to say to knock it off, it often it just not that easy and sometimes it's extremely difficult if not impossible until progress is made with underlying issues, truama, emotional/mental health problems, etc.

 

[Boidae]

Without weighing in on the whole subject yet and I do plan to express more of my opinion later, I would like to say that their are aspects of being overweight that I do not believe are cause by sin of the overweight person.

A couple of these include for example, taking prednisone. David Crosby, of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young swelled up like a baloon after he had a liver transplan some years ago. Last pic I saw of him he was still heavy. One of the main anti rejection drugs used is steroids (prednisone like drugs), and they a well know for their cause of extreme weight gain.

Another thing that can lead to weight gain is having been abused. Abuse is insidious trauma that cause all sorts of problems for the abused person later in life. One of these is weight gain.

Other untreated mental health disturbances, and still more that are not treated successfully can also lead to weight gain.

I do not classify these types of weight gain I've listed above as sloth or sinful or anything like that.

Using myself as an example, when I used to be alcoholic, I gained a lot of weight and pretty much looked like the pillsbury dough boy. Maybe if I'd drank other types of liquor I would have gained so much weight but due to finances I drank a lot (and I mean a lot) of beer. The way I was drinking was sinful, my behavior from the drinking was sinful, and the weight gain which was just a side effect from the aforementioned,l in my opinion was sinful as well.

I quit drinking, went to AA, it worked, I lost most of the excess weight, and have gotten rid of that sin. (plural). However, because of other reasons I can stress eat and while it is easy to say to knock it off, it often it just not that easy and sometimes it's extremely difficult if not impossible until progress is made with underlying issues, truama, emotional/mental health problems, etc.

I can definitely agree with the prednisone aspect.

My wife has told me as well as shown me what she had looked like when she was going through her MS flare-ups every three months. She gained 75-100 pounds because of the high doses of solumedrol and afterwards prednisone in order to calm her flare-ups down.

She has since dropped all that weight, but it is one of her fears when she one day has a flare-up having to go through the weight gain because of the steroids that they'll put her on.

She is currently just at the high end of her ideal weight, if not just a little higher, but her doctor would prefer she stay where she is as he feels she is a little better off that way.

 

[dallasapple]

Maybe if I'd drank other types of liquor I would have gained so much weight but due to finances I drank a lot (and I mean a lot) of beer. The way I was drinking was sinful, my behavior from the drinking was sinful, and the weight gain which was just a side effect from the aforementioned,l in my opinion was sinful as well.

Gainiing the weight and beign in the overweight condition isnt a "sin"..though in my opinion ..the aclohol abuse was..including the fact that the alcohol wasnt just making you gain weight..it injures your organs including your brain.

I didnt becme obese from beign an alcoholic..I was within 'normal weight'..but had a ratio of fat that was too high..out of shape ..Probably 1200 of my daily caloric intake was from yours and mine favorite..beer..then I maybe ate 800 calories worth of food..thats probably the only reason I didnt become obese..I was too filled up on beer to even want to eat much..

Oddly ..when I quit drinking I drastically increased my food intake(eatign healthy foods) and lost 12 lbs within about 6 weeks to 2 months..I doubled my calories fo food intake..dropped the beer calories and came out ahead on the weight deal..

Anyway I guess my point is..had I GAINED a lot of weight from drinking beer and been obese..my weight "beign obese" wouldnt have BEEN the sin..the sin would have been gulping down the beer(abusign alcohol/and beign a glutten)..IOW if I had gotten say ..liver cancer from the alcohol..I dont think having liver cancer would have been "sinful"..weight is no different..its what CAUSED it..The weight..or the cancer..would have been a consequence of sin..not a sin in of itself..

Dallas

 

[dallasapple]

Of course, I can only eat about 1100 calories a day in order to be at a “normal” weight with my current activity. Perhaps you could eat more? Or less? So it’s not simply a matter of calories. I don’t know that the Bible speaks to how much activity / exercise one must do in order to NOT sin…

Im operating under the assumption ..that each individual knows when they eat X amount of calories they tend to gain or lose or maitain..

I only need about 1200/1400 calories a day right now to maintain my weight..(Im doing a rough guess)..I eat healthy foods many times a day til I feel "unhungry"..by unhungry I mean I eat until I dont feel hungry anymore..then move on..when I get hungry again I eat again until Im "unhungry" ..that probably adds up to about 1200/1400 calories spread out over maybe 15 waking hours..

but thats me..Im a 44 year old 5"2 female ..with moderate activity..(not excersice per say ..I mean on my feet movign aroudn lifting things bending stretching anythign but sitting or lying down)..

If I started exceriszign like lifting weights?I woudl INCREASE my calories..(for MY ACTIVITY level )...

My son on the other hand..is 15 years old 5'11 and is more active than me(including hes growing)..He probably needs about 2200/2500 calories a day..If he ate what I ate he woud be anorexic..

but it IS a matter of calories..Caloric NEEDS for each individual..based on all factors..

Dallas

 

[JaneFW]

I'm with you on calorie intake Dallas, probably because we are about the same size/height. However, as you now, there is a huge difference between 1200 calories that come from healthy food and 1200 calories that come from crap.

A person can eat 1200 calories of McDonalds - which would probably be one burger, mind you - and that's not going to help them lose weight. Sad thing is, some people don't know that.

Like Luther said (we have agreed on TWO threads now - faint and fall over), junk food is all pervasive, and very very cheap. In reality, McDonalds salads with dressing are no less fattening than fries. I know that because I'm interested in food, and I stay informed. Someone else might think that it's a good option. It's really not. You would be better to skip McD's (oh every time!) and go to Subway if you need food in a rush.

I've ranted about this before too - but just in case some poor individual hasn't seen it .. .. it really bothers me that the main alternatives offered to children in the vast majority of restaurants I have attended, in fact in every restaurant pretty much, is dreadful. It is the highest fat, highest calorie, highest junk going. Take a look next time if you aren't in the habit of looking because you don't have kids. I can guarantee there will be .. chicken fingers, maybe steak fingers, corn dog, burger, melted cheese, etc. All with fries. So, basically, fat and sodium with fat and sodium. It truly appalls me and always has. The adult menu in a halfway decent restaurant will offer low fat dishes, or low calorie, or 'healthy options' for adults, but no such thing for kids. Nope kids, you're not healthy food. IMO, and this may be stretching but that's fine, it's intentional on the part of the food industry to get those kids SO hooked on this kind of food that they will stay with it.

More later ...

 

[dallasapple]

there is a huge difference between 1200 calories that come from healthy food and 1200 calories that come from crap.

right..1200/1400 calories of healthy food..is actually qutie a lot in "volume"..and in nutrients..obviously healthy foods are nurtient "dense"..they fill you up more..the fiber too..

1200 calories at Mcdonalds..however maybe not just one burger..but probably in a burger meal thouhg..and throw in a milkshake for desert Im sure its all together 1200 calories or close for one meal there..(maybe 1,000)....You coud eat "modestly" there (in volume anyway) several times a day and Im sure easily eat 3500 4000 caloiries..which Im sorry UNLESS you are a body builder..or a runner(some sort of athlete)..no one needs that many calories..

And to add insult to injury..its full of crap..low nutrient dense crap..

I woudl rather just peel a bunch of raw carrots and eat those(and I dont even liek them that much honestly) than eat a big mac at this point..And I used to have 'big mac attacks LOL!! (no lie)..

My sister..I swear..she was talking about this "sleeve" apparrently my mother was telling her about..some internal thing they wrap around your intestines to help you lose weight???..Anyway she said she was at this point 'willing to try anything"..I bit my tonge..as she was telling me this..while drinkign a beer(actually she had about 6 or 7 over about 6 hours)and was snacking off and on ..on fried chicken wings dipped in blue cheese dressing..and chicken and cheese quesedillias..(dipped in sour cream)

IOW just while we were sittign there (all night) she probably had 800 calories of empty calories with the beer..and another 600 with the food..(that was high fat)..she would nor most peopel hardly call that "gorging" or beign a "glutton"..but she ingested as many calories as I do ..in an entire day ..with a few beers and some appetisers..Even if she had eaten farily modestly the rest of the day before she had gotten there even say another 800 calories spread out(over 9 hours)..she woudl still have gotten far more calories that day than she needed..and even IF she only does that 1/2 the time..say 3 or 4 days a week..thats enouhg to GAIN weight over time..and definately its no way to lose weight if you are obese..which she is..she is probably 80 lbs overweight..I just found it "odd" she would consider surgery..but really wasnt even thinkign aobut the empty calories she was taking in right then ..

Dallas

 

[blythe_ann]

i will preface this by saying that I am ONLY talking about those who are overweight, but by changing diet/activity could lose weight.
- Niffer

I wanted to quote this to keep your original question in mind as I respond because this topic is so easy to jump to different tangents on.
As others have said, I would say that physically being overweight is not a sin, but sin can cause it *notice "can"*.
We are bombarded with two vary differing opinions on the matter of weight, especially as Christians and especially women (because we talk about it more). There is the fit-camp who believe the body is the temple of God that should be cared for and to not care for it is sloth and gluttony. There is the self-accepting camp who believe you are made just as God wanted you and to worry about your looks is vanity.
Both sides have biblical ground to stand on but fail to recognize all the passages. Most I would say fall somewhere in the middle, but when a button gets pushed it's easy to cling to the chosen side like it is the only truth on the matter.
We should avoid gluttony, sloth and vanity. Our body is a temple of God that should be cared for and God did make us exactly as He wanted.

The sins that can lead to being overweight don't necesarily have to. Thin people and thick people alike have been guilty of overeating on poor food choices, but as unique creations of God some are able to stay the same size. Thin people and thick people alike have been guilty of doing something unproductive (*cough, cough, as I sit on my laptop instead of doing dishes, cough*) instead of doing something more important. And the same goes the other way. Thin people and thick people alike have been known to glance in the mirror a time or two, make a snide comment about someones appearance or let jealousy bring their spirits down.

I see sin in my life in a lot of areas, including how I treat my body, and I treat it pretty well. But I admit to eating foods that are unhealthy and essentially lowering my energy level to do anything good for the Lord. And I admit to as recent as a few minutes ago, thinking about my figure and how it could improve.

But I think it's been mentioned before, weight is such a touchy subject. Such a personal thing to suggest that what we eat or do with our physical form could be sinning. These are things we do every single day and as simple as they seem they are important parts of who we are and to suggest that we might be doing those things wrong goes against our nature.

I guess what I'm going on about is... we are all sinners and we can't all be sinners if nothing is a sin. I personally believe that we sin a lot more often than we even know. This isn't to say that every time I eat a cookie I'm sinning, or every time I run an extra mile to burn the calories is sinning. But the heart behind our actions, going against our conscience and what we know is right, leads us astray. Often choosing a less than healthy option is not a good heart stance. Often choosing to spend more time at the mirror than with God is not good.

So, after all that, in answering your other questions, I don't believe we should accept obesity as an acceptable cultural norm. Overweight, with the BMI calculators as they are and all the other things that go into determining that, I am going to remain silent on. But we know when someone is too heavy by their own doing and they are causing a lot of pain and damage to themselves and those around them and that shouldn't be acceptable.

 

[sdmsanjose]

Quote of Jane
there is a huge difference between 1200 calories that come from healthy food and 1200 calories that come from crap.

Quote of Dallas
right..1200/1400 calories of healthy food..is actually qutie a lot in "volume"..and in nutrients..obviously healthy foods are nurtient "dense"..they fill you up more..the fiber too..

You two ladies seem t now a lot about calories. Do you have a menu on healthy food that would be from 1800-2000 calories? If you do would you post them please?