St. Louis Cardinals Trainer fighting the good fight
kpho.com/story/28999430/trainer-not-apologizi...
kpho.comPosted May 7, 2015, 4:01 PM UTC
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kpho.comI visited the FB page. Part of his complaint was the couple sitting to her left had to request different seats because she was overflowing onto them. Now the nastiness level on his page has cranked to 11.
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I was at the movies with my husband, and it was for some movie that was of course packed. The man next to me was as big as this woman or worse, and he actually LIFTED THE FUCKING ARM REST between us so he could have more room. I turned to him and said "sir, this isn't going to work out, that arm rest is coming down, and I don't want you touching me." He was all apologies, but claimed he couldn't switch to the aisle seat near the stairs for some unknown reason. I straight up told him that his weight was his issue, and he was not going to make it mine, and that he needed to MOVE. He switched seats with his wife who wanted to huff and puff for a few minutes. Not my problem lady. Of course my husband wanted to die of embarrassment, but I was not apologetic in the least. It just pisses me off that they think they can just goo all over you and you're supposed to sit there and take it.
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So let me get this straight. He was there with his wife who had the aisle seat. And he put the arm-rest up between you and he. Why did he not put up the armrest between his wife and himself? Or maybe he did and still needed more space. I know why his wife didn't want to switch...she didn't want him crowding her as well. Or maybe the arm-rests don't go up in aisle, in which case he's crowding her again.
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Yes, rather than make his wife uncomfortable, he rolled the dice on me being a nice lady and letting it go. He was so wrong. And I'm willing to bet he put them both up for room. God I wish I could remember the movie. Because we almost never go to like popular Friday night showings that are packed, for this very reason! I have a flight booked next month and on one of the planes I'm in the middle seat. I live in fear it's going to be me between two guys this size.
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I don't like random strangers touching me. Just yell "BAD TOUCH BAD TOUCH"!
I wonder how often he gets away with it.
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Thankfully, my theater has sets of 2 seats together in little islands. I get there early enough so that I can claim dem fuckers.
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Her reply: http://theantijared.com/2015/05/i-was-the-so-called-unhealthy-fat-woman-at-the-cardinals-game-2.html
According to this she has already lost 150 lbs and was having a cheat night, which she logged (like we all should on cheat days!)
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Good for her! Losing weight does not mean you never get to indulge, it just means your whole life isn't an indulgence.
That guy was a total asshole, and I'm glad she put him in his place.
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Good for her, though I'd have to say that's one hell of a cheat night.
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Wow. That's so not cool. He publicly humiliated and bullied someone. Even though her face is covered, if she sees the picture she will know it is her. Bringing something up with a friend or family member is acceptable. Bringing weight up in a clinical setting is also acceptable. This is downright mean.
It can't be good for business. "Come to the game and have your image plastered all over the internet with commentary on what you ate that game!"
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Eh, its the Cardinals. There are like 10 people fighting for one seat in Busch Stadium in the off season, let alone during baseball season.
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I didn't know that.
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While it remains to be seen how the team will handle this.
I think things like this need to happen, we are growing more and more complacent with obesity and how we can't hurt people's feelings. As mentioned some people next to her had to be relocated because of her size, yet she is shoveling down 4000+ calories worth of food.
Likewise, she's probably the type that complains about the size of the seats and how they are not made for real people.
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Once I saw that others had to be relocated due to her fatness, I lost any sympathy I might have had.
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Yep. Her obesity is affecting strangers now, not just those close to her.
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If she's the only one who will know it's her, it's not really public humiliation.
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I don't feel that this is so wrong if she's the only one that will see it and know that it is her. He's addressing a real problem and keeping the woman's identity private keeps it from being a personal attack on her morals. He doesn't address her moral fiber or or character, he addresses her health, which is a huge concern. During a baseball game more than double the calories that I (6'1" 175lbs) eat in an entire day. On top of that the people around her needed to move seats. What is wrong is people like this receive disability benefits and are only required to pay for one seat when they take up space in three seats.
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I'd like to see the location of the original post that prompted this news article... who is this trainer? Where did he post to stir up such a shit storm? What did he say?
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His original post: http://imgur.com/oh3KXH8
His response: http://imgur.com/Bm4iRPF
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Her MFP entry:
"Salad - 150 Calories"
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That made me cackle.
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I mean, it could be that she was having a relapse night, and still logging it because that's what you do on relapse nights. It's not fair to jump on her for doing the right thing, even if it's an island in the Wrong Sea.
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Whenever my friends start talking about losing weight, I always direct them to log a standard week and not deviate so that they know what their actual intake on a regular basis is, and then work from there. Actually, I think I picked that up from Weight Watchers...
Maybe she's just starting her weight loss. We don't know.
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It looks like she might be in one of the all-inclusive areas. That means the food and booze is free, and all you can eat.
Now, if she has the same mindset as me (and she might).....that is viewed as a challenge. I've eaten/drunk OBSCENE amounts at ballparks. Though on reflection, I think the only all-inclusive areas that far up and into the first baseline are the private boxes...so if that's true, this guy probably knew this woman.
And if she's NOT in one of the all-inclusve areas..that's fucking expensive. A small soda starts at $6. Pretzels are like $5/ea. Nachos are up to $10/ea (if you go to the nacho bar). Busch has some really good food, btw. But no Chicago-style dogs :(
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How is obesity a national security risk? Are fat people more likely to divulge state secrets when offered a slice of chocolate cake?
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Maybe, but they probably meant "Safety risk".- they're definitely more likely to be unable to move quickly in the event of a fire or other emergency, and definitely more likely to require the assistance of one (or more) able-bodied persons to get them to safety while risking their own.
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No, it's a military thing. People who are too out of shape can't serve in the armed forces, which could eventually become a major problem.
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The main reason is that (theoretically) not enough people are healthy enough to join the military in the event of a major war. The government keeps track of the number of men who are draft eligible (males in the US have to register for the draft when they turn 18) and are likely to be eligible to serve if drafted. Here's an article about the problem, although it focuses more on volunteers than a possible future draft.
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Although the initial post was a bit mean, I feel like this guy missed a chance to "redeem" himself by perhaps offering this woman free dietary and fitness coaching if she chooses to come forward.
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I think when you are that size, you are not looking for dietary advice.
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What is this weight management consultant thing? Is it like a professional fatlogicist?
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A doctor for dem feels.
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If you're that fat you should have to pay for 3 seats since you will over flow into the ones to your left and righ, and you must be seated to the highest row in the section to not block anyone's view.
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This trainer is really doing the Lord's work.
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While I think it's important to bring awareness to what we're eating and healthy habits, I think the way this man went about the issue was cruel and I don't think it helped anyone.
It was mean and unnecessary. However, the comments on the article that Fletch posted are ridiculous. One woman complains that her meds make her large, but looking at the food she posts on her FB, it isn't the meds.
Oh I absolutely think people need to take a look at their consumption and stop making excuses. Once I realized that "Yes Kyra, eating too much cake and sweets is making you fat" and I was able to cut down on sugar, I started losing weight.
Losing weight is not easy, but it is simple.And that's what people need to realize.
"Losing weight is not easy, but it is simple" is probably the best way I have ever heard to describe it. You need to throw that on a graphic and people will Pin the hell out of it.
Ooh, that is a good idea. I could be famous! :p
Guy was definitely being a prick. He's just as bad as the atheists on r/atheism who feel they need to tell religious people off.
Amen. :p
So what's a nice way of doing it?
I'm personally a fan of not posting inflammatory commentary on social media in the first place, but if you want an actual rewrite...
How about not mentioning her use of My Fitness Pal, because at least she is tracking it (hopefully truthfully) which is important, and I believe the first step to getting healthy is actually knowing how much you eat normally, before implementing a bunch of changes.
But anyways, how about just explaining that this amount of food is over a full day's intake and that people really need to be more mindful of what they're putting in their bodies. I also believe taking photos of her was unnecessary and cruel. She's a person, not an exhibit.
Hopefully it opens a dialog opposite of Fatlogic, I understand that shaming does not help people. But we've become complacent with accepting obesity as the norm. And individuals like her are probably the ones screaming from the rooftops for bigger stadium and airline seating.
I hope that something positive comes of this. You're right that we've become compacent, absolutely. I'd just like to think that honesty can be used in tandem with kindness and tact, and that kindness is far more helpful than shaming.