1C Lesson for “Too Much of a Good Thing” (355) and NAAFA Policy on Dieting and the Diet Industry” (358) and “Fat and Happy” (362)

 

Part I. Too Much of a Good Thing

 

One. Obesity epidemic hits children. 25% of children are obese; the number has doubled in the last 30 years.

 

Two. Thesis: 355, paragraph 2.

 

Three. Stigma, stigmatization. This is a good thing.

 

Four. Setting eating limits. Paragraphs 5-9.

 

Five. Setting eating limits is NOT the same as dieting.

 

Six. Stigmatizing gluttony is NOT the same as dieting.

 

Seven. Mindfully eating is NOT the same as dieting.

 

Eight. Learning to gravitate toward healthy foods is NOT the same as dieting.

 

Part II. NAAFA Policy on Dieting and the Diet Industry

 

One. The futility of dieting is described in paragraph 2.

 

Two. The dieting industry markets their bogus products by appealing to the irrational mind.

 

Three. At its essence, dieting is appealing for the same reason that falling in love is appealing. The person is desperate for change that is no less dramatic than a conversion experience, which is why dieters who find the “diet solution” become zealots who proselytize their diet with the fire of a preacher. Sadly, these diets are shams.

 

Four. According to McMahon, the Fat Acceptance rests its case on a logical fallacy, which can be stated as follows:

 

Since bogus diet schemes don’t work, fat people should give up and continue to be fat.

 

This asinine statement is equivalent to the following:

 

Since many parents are bad at parenting, all children should grow up without parents.

 

Part III. Fat and Happy

 

One. This essay continues with some of the lazy thinking evident in the previous essay.

Two. Does the author ever define “fat person”? No, and that creates a serious problem. How can we defend “fat people” if we cannot define who they are?

 

Three. The Fat Defenders conveniently ignore the fact that there is a certain point in which fat becomes a medical liability. This is irrefutable. This is not a cosmetic or aesthetic issue. This is not about the unrealistic expectations of making our bodies conform to svelte pulchritude.

 

Four. That women are enjoying swimming and belly dancing is a red herring. Being healthy and not conforming to the ideal of svelte pulchritude is one thing, but being fat to the point that we compromise our cholesterol, blood pressure, and triglyceride levels and make ourselves vulnerable to diabetes and other diseases is a serious issue that cannot be whisked away by anecdotes of swim parties and belly dancing.

 

Five. The failure of bogus diets is no justification for dietary excess and laxity.

 

Six. The author has become a vegetarian, which suggests she’s probably a mindful eater; she should clarify and emphasize her eating practices to others.

 

Seven. The question the Fat Defenders need to address is not whether or not we should diet, but whether or not we should eat mindfully.

 

Part IV. Mindful Eating

 

One. Mindful eating means we’re conscious of what and how much we eat every day.

 

Two. Mindful eating means we obey the 20-Minute Rule. In Japan a variation of this principle is called hara hachi bu. This means eating until you're 80% full. 

 

Three. Mindful eating means we chew rather than inhale.

 

Four. Mindful eating means we avoid super-sized portions.

 

Five. Mindful eating means we disassociate with mindless eaters.

 

Six. Mindful eating means we learn how to cook a small repertoire (selection) of healthy, delicious meals made of real food, not processed food.

 

Seven. Mindful eating means we avoid bingeing and purging.

 

Eight. Mindful eating means we avoid self-denial but rather eat our pleasure in moderation.

 

Nine. Mindful eating means we don’t eat when we’re distracted by TV, Internet, or any other venue that makes us mindless while we’re eating.

 

Ten. Mindful eating means we engineer our eating habits so that we only reduce our calories subtly. A gradual, small reduction (about 100-200) works better for two reasons. Our metabolism doesn’t rebel and go on shut-down and we don’t notice the missing calories. For example, many people lose weight by simply eliminating one thing, like beer or soda.

 

Part V. Writing Assignment 

Defend or refute the Fat Acceptance Movement.  

McMahon’s Sample Thesis: 

The Fat Acceptance Movement is egregiously misguided in its woeful failure to define fatness; in its reckless denial that obesity compromises our health; in its patronizing promotion of “self-esteem” as a substitute for healthy stigmatization, and its is pathetic reliance on bogus diet programs as an excuse to avoid mindful eating.