There really needs to be a name for that sad feeling fat people get when they realize it is 2 am and the leftovers they took home from the restaurant and planned to have for lunch the next are simply not going to make it through the hour.
Sigh. I’m so tired of being the owner who looks like his pet (TUNCH), but damn, I really want those leftovers right now. Those potatoes were damned tasty.
I don’t know of any songs called Fat Bottomed Boys, so, well, whatever.
And, god damnit, Freddie Mercury is dead.
superfly
I had a couple cupcakes for dinner, and a burrito for dessert, so I feel ya
SatanicPanic
Staying up late= eating things you shouldn’t.
Karmus
And so will I be, if I don’t leave the potatoes alone.
And dammit, I do so love potatoes.
Fucking diabetes.
ETA If there is a Heaven, Freddie is rocking it.
Alison
Aw, John. Doesn’t matter, your heart is as big as Tunch too :)
I have a semi-scary day tomorrow. Good wishes are welcome.
Geoduck
One Far Side strip had a caption along the lines of “Late at night, Edgar’s own stomach would thwart his attempts at dieting”, with Edgar asleep in bed and the stomach standing on a little set of legs in front of the open refrigerator.
Yutsano
@Geoduck: Ahh Gary Larson. He took the money and ran while the getting was good.
FairEconomist
If it makes you feel any better, if Freddie Mercury were still alive, he’d be 66 and no longer able to sing like he did in Queen. If that just makes you feel old, ignore this post.
Keith
There is always “Fat Boys” by Uncle Bonsai…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkTJTAS7ePE
PeakVT
Losing weight is a hard thing to do. We evolved in conditions of scarcity, but here in America we (most of us) live in conditions of plenty. Eating food is pleasurable. Being full is pleasurable. Being hungry isn’t.
The prophet Nostradumbass
@FairEconomist: Don’t know about Freddy Mercury, he was very good up to the end; on the other hand, there’s Mick Jagger, who is fucking terrible, and has been awful for years.
PeakVT
From the it-could-be-worse department, youth unemployment hit nearly 60% in Greece in February.
Talk about your lost generations…
ETA: Youth (under 25) unemployment is about 17% in the US.
Amir Khalid
@The prophet Nostradumbass:
I’m guessing that if AIDS hadn’t taken Freddy Mercury, he might have kept most of his vocal range today, although maybe not his waistline.
C.J.
@PeakVT:
Which means, as one of those youths, I should be thankful to not be Greek, I guess.
Do those Greeks have 30 grand in debt, I wonder.
Yutsano
@Amir Khalid: It seems so tragic. Although there is no cure, HIV has moved from fatal in a few short years to a manageable lifetime condition. And could have been sooner IF FUCKING REAGAN HAD BOTHERED TO FUND A BIT OF RESEARCH. Thanks Ronnie. I hope that earned you a ticket in eternal fire.
eemom
hmm. If this is how teh other half timezone lives, all’s I got to say is, fuck that shit.
Good night.
PeakVT
@C.J.: No. But, like here, those in Greece with degrees are probably better off than those without. I can’t say I’ve had the experience, but I would image that being in your early twenties without much of a prospect for your first decent job must be incredibly demoralizing. Not having a job at any age is demoralizing at any age, of course, but not being able to start on that path through adulthood, which pretty much requires a job… Or maybe I’m wrong here. Dunno. ETA: But my guess this is level of youth unemployment will be very bad for Greece in the long run. Hysteresis and all that.
Daulnay
One thing I’ve found that helps prevent those urges to eat: be careful not to eat foods or combinations of foods that mix salt, fat, and sugar. Two of the three at a time isn’t nearly as bad, but all 3 at once… really fires up the urge to eat more. (Yes, I read labels a lot, now.)
Also too, if you’re overweight… always exercise soon after you eat carbohydrates, to prevent blood sugar spikes.
C.J.
@PeakVT:
It can be, but I’m soldiering through some graduate work right now. Maybe the PhD dream.
I think lost generation is the right phrase for the Greeks. That or angry young men. Right now the disillusioned American youths seem to be the degree holding ones. 60% covers a lot more people than that. I think the levels of distrust in government for them will be astronomical.
Karmus
It always seemed to me that Freddie Mercury had lost a good bit of his range in later years, but he was still awesome. He once noted at a concert that the others “wouldn’t let him quit”. It must have been frustrating to him, though.
I remember Ray Charles performing “Behind Closed Doors” (usually associated with Charlie Rich, but it was Ray on this occasion) on TV shortly before he died. He just couldn’t hit those high notes, and you could see the angst in his face. It was wrenching. Such a great voice, but time is a cold thief.
Karmus
@Alison:
May all your fears be but smoke in the wind.
Anne Laurie
@PeakVT:
And look who’s found them: the Golden Dawn!
Avery Greynold
Late night, I love to eat till I hurt and then go to sleep and turn it all into fat. When I get disgusted at this, I make vows to consume only liquids after sundown. Then I end up convincing myself that things like yogurt and peanut butter are not solids.
PeakVT
@Anne Laurie: Massive unemployment -> fascism. Surprising to nobody except Eurocrats.
raven
Don’t want to be a fat man,
have not the patience to ignore all that.
Hate to admit to myself half of my problems
came from being fat.
Won’t waste my time feeling sorry for him,
I seen the other side to being thin.
Roll us both down a mountain
and I’m sure the fat man would win.
Anne Laurie
Serious question: How many people would be be interested in reading Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us for a BJ Book Chat? It’s a big fat book, but reviewers say it’s really readable, and it’s certainly “political” in the kitchen-table sense…
BGK
I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this before, so I’ll say it again to explain why I come off as such a joyless prig on this topic. I was morbidly obese for most of my adult life, and now I’m not. I’m now on the low side of “ideal” for my height and build, for what it’s worth. I’m extra-sensitive to fat shaming and it makes the worst of my bad temper.
Why does it seem that “even the liberal” Balloon Juice just can’t seem to help its collective self when it comes to framing being fat as a moral failing? It doesn’t have to be defended, but why isn’t it just a thing, like one’s height or hair color? Because it’s not immutable? So? Neither is how one dresses, or if one gets a tattoo, but I expect there’d be rather more of a defense of those.
Not trolling. Just my own ox being gored, I guess.
WereBear
@Anne Laurie: I’d be into that book.
Ole Phat Stu
And then there was Spinal Tap’s “Big Bottoms” :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qDgCmzh5ao
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
I find that carbs make me hungry. That’s bad because I love them (bread, rice, pasta, cereal, potatoes, etc.) so.
For me, if I eat a small breakfast (1/4 cup of rolled oats, some dried blueberries, a dash of salt, water to cover, 60 s in microwave), then don’t eat anything else during the day, then I can eat a reasonably sized meal in the evening and not feel hungry during the day. But if I eat anything for lunch, it just makes me hungry later.
Our bodies are funny things. It can take a while to figure out what they really want (e.g. is that grumbling in my stomach genuine hunger or just my body clock saying it’s time to eat?).
Try to cut down on the carbs in your diet. It may take a few days to get used to the change, but stick with it. You may find it will help. Or not – we’re all different. :-/
Best of luck.
Cheers,
Scott.
SiubhanDuinne
@Anne Laurie:
:: raises hand ::
Me, me, I would!
:: lowers hand politely ::
Lee
I just got through losing (and kept off) about 40 pounds (I’m a short guy so they really were evident).
It was not as difficult as I thought it was going to be (I’m over 45).
Couple of tricks that I learned in the process. Try to go to bed at a normal time. Staying up late just screwing around and you’re going to eat.
If you are going to stay up late, be doing something. I game. If I am immersed in a game I don’t eat (so game more). When I get done, I might be famished, I’ll have ONE snack bar and then go straight to bed. You’ll wake up ravenous. Have a big and healthy breakfast.
Work out everyday. Even if it is just a walk around the block once or twice.
Lavocat
It’s called scarfalism; that fatalistic feeling you get when you scarf down the food you thought you’d be saving for the next day.
TylerDurden
Reminds me of how my morning wakeup dose of smack would silently beg me to use it in the middle of the night.
Tough times
Cassidy
Offer is still open Cole. I’ve got a lot of experience in the working out department. For us guys who are just bigger people, unless we’re athletes living athlete lives and training for athlete things, we’re not going to diet. Yeah, we’ll stick with it a day or two, maybe even a week or two, but there comes a day when we blow it all on a shit load of wings slathered in grease and hot sauce and really dark beer.
So, it’s all about what you do in the gym.
lojasmo
I ate one meal yesterday (lunch) and one meal the day before (lunch) But I drank two bottles of Pinot each night to make up for it.
ETA: and ran 45 minutes on icy singletrack trails.
wenchacha
Last night our PBS station showed Eat, Fast, and Live Longer. The host tried some different strategies offered by researchers to reduce his blood levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, growth hormones and to drop some pounds.
By restricting caloric intake to about 600 calories for two out of seven days, certain chemical responses in the body (grow,m grow, grow!) are turned off, and bad blood chemistry drops. It’s worth watching, and maybe even giving it a try. Sticking with it, a person will reduce overall caloric intake, but doesn’t have to deal with the more unpleasant aspects of dieting every single day.
I’m not gonna pretend it would be easy, but it might do the trick for some people. YMMV, and consult with your doctor before putting all your eggs in the basket.
Edit: messed up the html, but you get the idea.
sparrow
@PeakVT: What do they mean by youth? My understanding from my Greek relatives (through marriage) is that a lot of younger people are not used to working. Case in point, his family has an olive farm and needed help with the harvest. I asked them if they could hire some local high-schoolers or other young people, and they just looked at me like I was bonkers. Apparently teenagers working is not the thing. They hired some illegal Albanians instead (the only ones willing to take the job… sound familiar?).
Austerity is stupid, but the Greek culture (and recent years of enjoying the EU money and not asking questions) is also partly to blame.
The Moar You Know
Dismaying when I realized several years back that he was unquestionably the most phenomenally talented singer of my lifetime.
Bubblegum Tate
I’d like to take a second to promote the homie Z-Trip’s excellent “Fat Bottom Girls remix. Lighters up!
Jebediah
@Yutsano:
That’s one of the reasons that pissing on Reagan’s grave is on my very short bucket list.
Anagram
ZsaZsa update sorely needed. What’s the latest on the lovely kitteh?
Quaker in a Basement
@Ole Phat Stu: Mudflaps! My girl’s got ’em!
KDUN
Ummm…
“slobenfraude”?
“weighs-a-tonnui?”
“sorrowtundity”?
F it. These are hard. Just eat the damn leftovers and get over yourself.
Scott
@The Moar You Know: And not just a great singer, a fantastic showman. Anybody who can get an entire stadium to clap and sing along to a song titled “Radio Goo-Goo, Radio Ga Ga” has to be the greatest showman ever.
And speaking of showmen, that new Bowie album is teh awesome.
Rita R.
@Bubblegum Tate:
Love it, I’m dancing around in my seat! Thanks for sharing.
Daulnay
@Anne Laurie:
Take a look at The End of Overeating instead. It’s by former Surgeon General David Kessler, and says the same things as Moss does (but with more SCIENCE!). It’s the book that got me on my anti-triad diet.