After watching Thin and then looking over those website regarding "ana's" and "mias" was difficult. I didn't know if I could truly sympathize with them. Sure, I know it is a "disease", but part of me knows that it was a disease until they chose for it to be a disease. I think it depends on what side you are looking at, are you the patient or the viewer. It was tough reading their blogs though. They constantly counted their calories (if any at all) and got upset over a few pieces of cracker. All the discussion boards I have been on before were constant talk back and forth between the community. It didn't seem like they really spoke much or encouraged themselves only bitched about their day. But again, I suppose I can't chime in considering I don't know what they are going through, but it was like a place for them to talk about how they hated themselves or ways to lose an extra 5 lbs rather than somewhere they could talk about how they could fight this disease.

It really bothered me at the end of Thin to find out that almost all of the patients didn't recover. They were given an opprotunity and their families spent good money on them for quality help. Sure they were treated like children, but maybe that is how they should be treated. Then you see that one military chick throwing up the day she gets back with her kids in the other room. It is hard for me to sympathize for people like that. I sympathize for her children. If they grow up seeing that their mom (the person they look up to) is extremely self conscience about her weight all their lives, how do you think they will look at their weight and image? They probably will grow up thinking a healthy weight is bad and to be skinny is best, or still not good enough. I think the people who struggle the most our their family members because it seems like the purgers have already given up.

Even though this is a disgusting and unsettling topic and not a way to swing into the sexy man of the week/blog...it has to be done.

The heartthrob is Mr. Jeffrey Dean Morgan...a.k.a. Denny Duquette from Grey's Anatomy. However I only call him by JDM now, so he gets his name out there and not just "denny". He deserves more credit and should be a household name!

he has really cute smiley pictures but I just love a man in a suit so i picked this one...

Think THIN, Don't be THIN...

So that movie THIN we are watching in class is extremely difficult to take in. Sadly, it was easier for me to watch the doctors remove that tube from the girls stomach than to see their backbones crying for help. I didn't know what to feel. Part of me felt sick from eating so much at breakfast those two mornings before the screenings, but the other part of me felt great for feeling so full.

It is hard to see the world judging the "larger/obese", when those people could very well be happy with themselves and are enjoying their lives, and then when you see people (like in the film) with a eating disorder, not happy. Yet, society sees being "thin" as good and accepted.

On page 371 in Everything's An Argument, it shows us three images of how people are dressed nd we are asked to describe their style. Then, it reminded me of THIN, and how that one girl stood in front of the mirror and tried on at least 8 different outfits before picking one. She looked disgusted with herself, and I don't know whether it was because she thought she looked to fat in a few of those choices or if she was trying to pick a baggy outfit to appear as if she gained some weight. It is upsetting how we look at ourselves, unpleased and disappointed. The girl even said she joined the army to lose weight! To lose weight!!! She wasn't worried about getting shot, leaving family, or even the fact that she could die, but because she knew she wouldn't gain any extra weight. So when you see her looking at herself trying on clothes in the mirror, we have no clue what she is thinking. We don't know how she works, whats on her mind. I think it is hard enough for people to judge you, let alone to judge yourself.

This all really makes you think. For the first part of the semester i was all about getting fit and losing some weight, now while watching this film, I felt like i should eat more. Now, I know I would NEVER be caught up in an eating disorder because for one I love food and two I have been throw up free since 93 (thankfully), but seriously there is like no winning in this class. Sometimes I feel like I should be eating more for those bone girls while other times I think I should be cutting down.

Ok, after all that depressing-ness...sexy man of the week/blog! Ok, no judging me, but this is my FAVORITE all-time player on Survivor, he was on during the Cook Island season, and then came back for Fans vs. Favs...until his unfortunate early exit because an infection grew in his knee from a STUPID puncture wound...he was forced to leave, despite seeing the light at the end...he sooooo was set in the perfect position to win, and i am pissed! Now, Survivor is boring as hell and I don't have my sexy blue-eyed man to stare at anymore.

Oh, plus, he is an Actor/Writer!!! He has been in several movies (my fav being The Last Supper), nominated for an Oscar on a film he wrote AND has been on shows like Seinfeld, CSI, and Arrested Development.

The one and only...JONATHAN PENNER!!!

Food + Flat Screen = Unhealthy Me

The title is the epitome of my life. Our in class discussions and part of chapter 10 talks about why people are considered obese and how people describe what "being obese" truly is. I thought the day when we labeled words we associate with "obesity, epidemic, body, and perfection" was a brilliant and slef evaluating moment. I personally thought a few of the words my classmates provided were a bit harsh, however it is nice to know what others think. Then after having been shown the pictures with the people labeled as either "skinny, average, fat, obese, etc." it helped us reconsider. What really is obese? I would have never labeled most of those people fat or obese. Most of those were extremely ridiculous because I don't think height and muscle mass was even considered for those people. It is strange how people are labeled like that without even knowing their possible family medical history, lifestyle, etc. We just look at someone and judge them.
I don't think just what we put, or don't put, in our bodies should be the only thing to determine whether or not we are obese or not. Personally, I have always eaten crappy foods and healthy foods; it was a nice balance, but I never technically had to watch what I ate or count things. Now, I find myself attempting to eat better and in smaller portions and I will admit, I suck at doing that. I know that it is a issue now because I am not involved in sports like I was seven times a week, every week. I could eat junk and be somewhat toned because I was constantly on the go. Now, I play maybe one intermural sport a semester and stayed hyped up in my room studying, or having girl night. Besides I'm an RTF student so tv and movies are my life, so I spend most of my time persuing the brilliance that is the big screen. I do not receive near as much exercise as I should be getting, but at least I am aware of that, and I am okay with it.
What is ridiculous is people don't realize that when they try a new diet, they have to do more than that. Sure it is great internally for you body to eat better foods, but that isn't just the only thing you must do. When you see those television adds that says "take this tablet once a day and you will shed pounds" people tend to not listen to the rest of the ad. Every single one of those ads I have seen also say or read "...along with eating healthy, water, and daily exercise". Well duh! If you ate healthy, drank water, and exercised daily, of course you are going to loss weight. The tablet isn't what is working, it is the other stuff that you should be doing along with that stupid tablet. I understand it is difficult for most people to do all of that with our busy schedules, lack of money, and just will power. Lets face it, I have been saying I am going to eat better and exercise for weeks now and I just enjoyed a yummy slice of pizza about an hour ago...it was delish!
Also, when we discussed that that ridiculous lady said fat people aren't happy, are you kidding me? I know plently of people that are a tad over weight and several who could be considered obese, but they are some of the happiest and funniest people I know. I think it is how you handler yourself and what you make out of your life. If you are happy with yourself then who cares what others think. I enjoy food and food makes me happy, I just try to stay active. And if it works for me, obviously it works for other people as well.

and for my sexy man of the week/blog....Greg Grunberg....better know as Officer Matt Parkman on Heroes, plus I found out he is one of the male representatives of Weight Watchers...besides i think he is sexy, sexy...i love the big boys