Gluttony and the man who ate 33,000 calories per day

  • Thread starter Thread starter whatevergirl
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
W

whatevergirl

Guest
I watched a program a few nights ago, showing a few people who were beyond morbidly obese. There were roughly 500-800 pounds, and were bed ridden. In each case, these people conveyed how food put them into a euphoric state of mind. They literally couldn’t control their intake.

It broke my heart, this show. I want to lose 20 lbs…and know how challenging that can be at times…I can’t imagine needing to lose hundreds of pounds.

My question is…the show’s doctors basically said that these people have a disease. Would you call this gluttony or a disease? I might call it both, as I know that overeating caused their conditions…however, the reason for their overeating seems to show evidence that there is something lacking in their brains, triggering a need for such large amounts of food.

What do you think? And, as a family member…what would you do? Their family members were cooking all of this food…I mean, it angered me to see that they didn’t seem helpful to their loved ones in helping them to better their health.😦
 
IMHO, it appears to be mostly a mental disease with profound physical manifestations. At the same time, one could say the person was gluttonous; however, given the severity of the disease, I don’t know how culpable they would be.

On the other hand, the family does have control over the food intake. No doubt they’re feeding their loved one because they don’t want to see them suffer, but if they are placing their loved one’s life at risk…it seems at some point they have to assume responsibility for the care taking including feeding the addiction. Having zero experience in this, that’s all just my own opinion. I’m sure it’s not an easy addiction to be around.
 
I don’t know…I don’t think it would be all that hard to lose a few hundred pounds. It seems like it would be a much bigger job to keep all of those pounds on. In fact it would be a full time job just to eat enough calories to weigh that much and maintain it. I can’t even imagine.

These are people who haven’t figured out the difference between pleasure and happiness. Pleasure is a short lived thing. Think how many times they must need to “re-up” on food to keep that euphoria going. It’s really pretty messed up, because what happens is that they become a slave to that pleasure. They literally turn their lives over to it. I guess it is really the same with any addiction/obsession.

Happiness is different though. It is based on the big picture, the long run. People should never replace happiness with pleasure. The two can coexist at times, but happiness can really only be found by developing discipline, following the rules, doing what is right for yourself an others, and basically living a clean life.

In otherwords, true happiness can not be found without being obedient to God.

As for their families…they are total enablers. They don’t understand that a lot of times love means saying no.
 
First of all, people need to accept responsibility for their actions and stop blaming others for their “food problem”
Secondly they need to “put the fork down”.
Thirdly, they didn’t wake up weighing 500 lbs. It was/is a process over time.
I am an emotional eater too, but I am not so stupid that I think I can eat and eat and eat and not gain weight. More calories in than out = weight gain. Their is only one person here responsible for how they look…and if they have a mirror, they will see who it is.

Kathy
 
Just out of curiosity, why do so many people sympathize with people who are anorexic or bulemic and don’t “blame” the person who is suffering from these diseases, but when it comes to someone obese, they are quick to discard that a disease exists. And eating disorder is a disease, whether it be anorexia, bulemia, or over eating. There is an addiction factor to all three, so all I would say is back off the quick judgement. If the obese person is just being gluttonous, then so is the person who over exercises, the one who uses laxatives daily, the one who vomits up their food, etc.
 
I wouldn’t argue with you there. Not eating can become an addiction too. I see one of my daughter’s friends wasting away because she has decided to only eat foods with true nutritional value. She consumes all of her time trying to decide whether something is worthwhile to eat, and then doesn’t eat it. The girl is 5’8" and I doubt she weighs much more than 100 lbs, based on how thin she is compared to when I was 5’6’ and 110lbs. It is dangerous to be that thin, just like it is dangerous to be 500 lbs.

A couple of years ago I went through a period where I was doing a lot of fasting, but realized that I had to stop because I could tell that I was getting addicted to the control of willing myself not to eat. Both extremes are dangerous, but I don’t think either could rightly be called a disease.
 
Katie1723 said:
First of all, people need to accept responsibility for their actions and stop blaming others for their “food problem”
Secondly they need to “put the fork down”.
Thirdly, they didn’t wake up weighing 500 lbs. It was/is a process over time.
I am an emotional eater too, but I am not so stupid that I think I can eat and eat and eat and not gain weight. More calories in than out = weight gain. Their is only one person here responsible for how they look…and if they have a mirror, they will see who it is.

Kathy
Click to expand...
Of course. But how much good do you think simply saying this sort of thing is going to do to anyone? I firmly believe it is a matter of addiction - and just like drug, alcohol or gambling addiction needs slightly more sophisticated treatment than simply saying to the addict ‘get over yourself’.

It is fact that fatty and sugary foods DO cause drastic changes in brain chemistry and almost certainly if these effects are dramatic enough the consumer can become ‘hooked’.

Add to this that junk food is probably the cheapest, the most easily obtainable and widely touted (advertised to an extraordinary extent) of all the “drugs”. A simple phone call or internet request and half an hour later it arrives delivered from the grocery store or the takeaway shop.
 
dulcissima said:
I wouldn’t argue with you there. Not eating can become an addiction too. I see one of my daughter’s friends wasting away because she has decided to only eat foods with true nutritional value. She consumes all of her time trying to decide whether something is worthwhile to eat, and then doesn’t eat it. The girl is 5’8" and I doubt she weighs much more than 100 lbs, based on how thin she is compared to when I was 5’6’ and 110lbs. It is dangerous to be that thin, just like it is dangerous to be 500 lbs.

A couple of years ago I went through a period where I was doing a lot of fasting, but realized that I had to stop because I could tell that I was getting addicted to the control of willing myself not to eat. Both extremes are dangerous, but I don’t think either could rightly be called a disease.
Click to expand...
I don’t believe the food and what one does with it is the disease, it is the reasoning behind the lack of control or desire of total control pertaining to food that is the problem. Why a person chooses to eat too much, eat too much and then get rid of it and then some by the various means, or not eat at all is wherein lies the “disease”. What is their underlying issue that causes them to have a warped sense of themselves and what food will do to alter themselves and make them “feel” better while everyone around them is trying to figure out how to intervene so that the person can get help. There is something wrong with all the people who suffer from eating disorders, just telling them to eat or to stop eating will not solve the problem. If they eat or stop eating (depending on the eating disorder), that will not change the distorted views of themselves nor stop the pain which they are running from.
 
gmarie21 said:
I don’t believe the food and what one does with it is the disease, it is the reasoning behind the lack of control or desire of total control pertaining to food that is the problem. Why a person chooses to eat too much, eat too much and then get rid of it and then some by the various means, or not eat at all is wherein lies the “disease”. What is their underlying issue that causes them to have a warped sense of themselves and what food will do to alter themselves and make them “feel” better while everyone around them is trying to figure out how to intervene so that the person can get help. There is something wrong with all the people who suffer from eating disorders, just telling them to eat or to stop eating will not solve the problem. If they eat or stop eating (depending on the eating disorder), that will not change the distorted views of themselves nor stop the pain which they are running from.
Click to expand...
I think it is probably a psychological issue. My daughter’s friend, for example, has a very controlling emotionally abusive mother. I think her eating disorder is a way for her to have some measure of control over her life, only when something is taken to the extreme you lose control.

The eating or not eating is not really the problem (it’s a problem but not the problem). It is the symptom of an underlying problem, which will have to be addressed if there is to be any hope of solving the food problems.

People in these situations need to not look for the quick fix of the pleasure or satisfaction found in eating or not eating. They need to take steps to recognize and address the larger problems in their lives. Often times we will do just about anything to avoid dealing with our real problems.
 
Many people forget that such excessively obese people are genetically impaired; they cannot stop eating simply because they lack the means to do so, not because they don’t have the will to stop. They want to stop; they cannot stop, because they are biologically incapable of stopping. I have a friend who is like that, so I know what they’re going through. Please do not judge these people as gluttons, because they are not and would do anything to actually get their lives back in control.
 
I believe, and have been told by a priest, that any type of eating disorder, whether it be anorexia, bulimia, or morbid obesity is a form of gluttony. Since the primary characteristic of this “deadly sin” is the uncontrolld and excessive preoccupation with food, all eating disorders can be classed as gluttony.
 
Clearly there are multiple causes. Some are certainly outside the control the poor individuals affected.

But others are the results of sinful levels of food consumption that eventually became a habit. And then a compulsion.

Eventually it comes to the point where the person has indded lost control. Just like an alcoholic.

Obviously, this does not apply to all those affected by this.

Having said that I must say this.

We are all, every last one of us, sinners. We have all, every last one of us, committed mortal sins of one type or another. That is why our Lord came. We cannot forget the season we are now celebrating, Lent.

These people, whether they are mentally impaired in some way, or have developed a sinful attachment to food, deserve our prayers. Not our pity,. but our sincere prayers, just like a man addicted to porn or a woman who is so vain she would never let anyone see her without spending an hour in front of a mirror.
 
I saw a photograph of a man who weighed some fantastic amount … 900 pounds or more. He would eat something like 42 pork chops at one sitting.

So … who cooked for him? Who bought all that food for him? He couldn’t work; where did he get the money for that much food? I’m not even sure he could reach his mouth with his hand; it is questionable that he could feed himself. Since he couldn’t walk, he couldn’t cook or shop for himself.

Genuine compulsive behavior is a mental illness, rather than a sin.

But you have to wonder at all the factors that are in play.
 
Al_Masetti said:
So … who cooked for him? Who bought all that food for him? He couldn’t work; where did he get the money for that much food? I’m not even sure he could reach his mouth with his hand; it is questionable that he could feed himself. Since he couldn’t walk, he couldn’t cook or shop for himself.
Click to expand...
I always wonder about that myself. I realize that people in this situation have a very serious and life-threatening addiction. I also know that suppliers to, say, drug addicts are legally as liable or more so than the addicts themselves. I wonder if there should be any ramifications for the person who supplies a food addict with his or her thousands of calories per day. They’re aiding and abetting that person’s dangerous addiction. But then we don’t arrest those who supply alcoholics or smokers who are confined to their homes due to emphysema and the need for oxygen therapy. I have no idea what the answer is. I cannot imagine how frustrating and defeating it must be to be trapped by such an addiction, and I cannot imagine how it must feel to be the caretaker of such a person. The caretakers must always be torn between wanting to make their charge happy and wanting what is best for them, and in these cases I’m betting the two are usually mutually exclusive.
 
dulcissima said:
In fact it would be a full time job just to eat enough calories to weigh that much and maintain it. I can’t even imagine.
Click to expand...
Are we sure that they need lots of food to maintain the weight? Maybe once they have the weight, it only takes a regular or slightly elevated amount of calories to maintain. I know that people who weigh 200-300 pounds don’t need to eat lots of food to stay that way. Are the bedridden kind of obese people different in metabolism than the ordinary obese, perhaps?

I suspect being 900 lbs causes a lot of continuous pain. Do they give them painkillers to help with that?
 
Pug said:
Are we sure that they need lots of food to maintain the weight? Maybe once they have the weight, it only takes a regular or slightly elevated amount of calories to maintain. I know that people who weigh 200-300 pounds don’t need to eat lots of food to stay that way. Are the bedridden kind of obese people different in metabolism than the ordinary obese, perhaps?

I suspect being 900 lbs causes a lot of continuous pain. Do they give them painkillers to help with that?
Click to expand...
The way it works is the more you weigh, the more you need to eat to maintain that weight. Let’s say person A weighs 125 lbs and person B weighs 200 lbs. Assuming they both have a normal amount of physical activity, person A would need to eat 1500 calories a day to maintain their current weight, but person B would require 2200 calories to maintain their weight. In any case, eating an excess of 3500 calories will cause you to gain a pound. So, if person A and person B both ate 2200 calories a day, person A would gain a pound within 5 days, where as person B would gain no weight. However, if they both ate 1500 calories a day, person A would not see a change in weight, but person B would lose a pound within 5 days. So, basically it is much easier for a really heavy person to lose 5 pounds than it is for a much smaller person.

People who weigh 200 to 300 lbs actually do eat more than people who weigh half that, assuming that they have the same level of physical activity (which is somewhat doubtful). Otherwise, they wouldn’t stay 200 to 300 lbs for very long.

It is true that the metabolism rate for these individuals would be different, because people with more body fat have a slower metabolism than people with less body fat. Muscle uses more calories than does fat. So, the example with the calories is just part of the equation, and that is why diet and exercise are both important factors in maintaining a healthy weight.
 
gmarie21 said:
Just out of curiosity, why do so many people sympathize with people who are anorexic or bulemic and don’t “blame” the person who is suffering from these diseases, but when it comes to someone obese, they are quick to discard that a disease exists. And eating disorder is a disease, whether it be anorexia, bulemia, or over eating. There is an addiction factor to all three, so all I would say is back off the quick judgement. If the obese person is just being gluttonous, then so is the person who over exercises, the one who uses laxatives daily, the one who vomits up their food, etc.
Click to expand...
that is a fantastic answer! yes, that went through my mind watching that show…and also, how we tend to also have sympathy for drug addicts, and alcoholics (rightfully so) but, blame obese people, and actually many people make fun of them for their situation. It’s sad. We wouldn’t do a ‘drug run’ for a family member…we shouldn’t do a food run, if the person really needs help.
 
whatevergirl said:
that is a fantastic answer! yes, that went through my mind watching that show…and also, how we tend to also have sympathy for drug addicts, and alcoholics (rightfully so) but, blame obese people, and actually many people make fun of them for their situation. It’s sad. We wouldn’t do a ‘drug run’ for a family member…we shouldn’t do a food run, if the person really needs help.
Click to expand...
My opinion is that addicts, be that food, drug or otherwise, all have the choice to do or not do their “addiction”. Except for a baby born to an addictive mother, they all made conscious decisions to do “something” and thus need to be held responsible. No one held a gun to an alcoholic, no one forced a drug addict, no one put their fingers down someone elses throat, those people made the choice. Hold them responsible.

And like someone else said, don’t make a food run for someone any more than you’d do a drug run.

Kathy
 
Well, it could be an addiction after some time. I remember watching on TV about a woman who struggle with anorexia for few years.the last 2-3 years before her death was quite sad. Basically, she wanted to recover and tried to eat, but her body just couldn’t take the food in.

I think it also goes to obessity. These people want to stop, but may be they just don’t know how. They are used with the huge amount of food intake, if they stop it, the body will starve. Well, it takes strong determination and also time.

I know that, during exam time, I love to eat snacks, chocolate, biscuits, cookies, etc. Usually, I have lots of sweet snacks. But I know that during the holiday, I’ll exercise to get rid of it. 😃 such a waste… 😛
 
dulcissima said:
The way it works is the more you weigh, the more you need to eat to maintain that weight. Let’s say person A weighs 125 lbs and person B weighs 200 lbs. Assuming they both have a normal amount of physical activity, person A would need to eat 1500 calories a day to maintain their current weight, but person B would require 2200 calories to maintain their weight. In any case, eating an excess of 3500 calories will cause you to gain a pound. So, if person A and person B both ate 2200 calories a day, person A would gain a pound within 5 days, where as person B would gain no weight. However, if they both ate 1500 calories a day, person A would not see a change in weight, but person B would lose a pound within 5 days. So, basically it is much easier for a really heavy person to lose 5 pounds than it is for a much smaller person.

People who weigh 200 to 300 lbs actually do eat more than people who weigh half that, assuming that they have the same level of physical activity (which is somewhat doubtful). Otherwise, they wouldn’t stay 200 to 300 lbs for very long.

It is true that the metabolism rate for these individuals would be different, because people with more body fat have a slower metabolism than people with less body fat. Muscle uses more calories than does fat. So, the example with the calories is just part of the equation, and that is why diet and exercise are both important factors in maintaining a healthy weight.
Click to expand...
Then there are those who have the ability to eat anything and everything and not gain any weight.

In Christ - J.M.J.
Mapleoak
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top