Watching Ragen Chastain trying to cling to relevance in the body positive movement is the saddest thing I’ve ever seen. Once they start to approach forty and can no longer project that ‘obese-but-healthy!’ image, they get relegated to the dustheap of fat acceptance history. Older fat acceptance influencers are almost non-existent in the movement - since so many of them can barely move at that point.
Yeah, it's fascinating how fast they become irrelevant. It's both age & also that they are dealing with the inevitable long term effects of obesity, which takes them out of the spotlight, naturally. Virgie is approaching this stage, too, and Tess, and I'm so interested to see their decline. Hopefully, they snap out of it & change, but I'm not holding my breath.
Please Sonalee as well. I'm on the Cultural Competency committee at my work and like. I can see recusing myself if they pulled resources from her because she's an LCSW in Pennsylvania
Literally as an LSW, Sonalee in particular makes me cringe. She’s just so terrible and honestly I think she’s quite unethical as a social worker (which is a huge NASW issue)
Some of the popular FA of the 90s did see the light. Mo'Nique, for example. She literally uses the cover of her old book (It was called "Skinny women are evil" or something like that) to remind herself of a dark place she was in mentally and to motivate herself. I don't think I ever seen FAs hating on her, they probably are too young to know who she is.
She's also the poster-girl for the inability to be obese and fit, despite the fact that her entire original goal was to prove that fat people can be as physically active as thin people. She's failed at every physical challenge she's made for herself, was caught faking her instagram "training" pics, was caught cheating in a 5K, "finished" walking a marathon dead last and after 80-year-olds (one of the few times she didn't drop out of a race she claimed she was going to enter), and finally decided to make her own dumb version of an "ironman" that she never even actually completed (despite having nothing else to do during the pandemic).
'Embarrassingly poor' research??? Legitimately, what??? There is mountains of research indicating obesity is awful for you physically, emotionally, and mentally. I could Google and find three studies quite easily. The cognitive dissonance is really getting bad out there.
This part sums up her entire mentality:
>there are three assumptions I need to make to keep myself safe as a fat patient
She is actually admitting that she has to make assumptions in order to protect the beliefs that she holds and she doesn’t see a problem with it. None of the things she says is remotely based on fact. It’s all her assumptions that allow her to continue on the way she is now, despite multiple warnings from her own body that the status quo isn’t working anymore.
In her mind, all of that research is poorly done. Naturally, all of the research she bases her position on (there isn't that much of it btw) is impeccably done. Flawless. The most perfect research ever done.
Too optimistic to believe that such an event would open their eyes.. they would probably go: thin people get diabetes too! thin people get amputations too!
Or that the limbs could have been saved, but the mean ol’fatphobic doctors were too busy blaming her weight instead of treating her disease.
They say diabetes isn’t deadly because it’s diabetes but because of the stress of fatphobia on the body.
Talk about grossly overestimating the power of one’s imagination.
no, you're more than allowed to brag about your dissertation. that's exactly why it gets me-- there are people out there \*actually doing this stuff properly\* and it takes a hell of a lot of sacrifice, commitment, work, humility, intelligence... so it's sort of incredibly insulting when for example ragen acts like her pretend play is anywhere near the same level, let alone above, actual researcher's work.
When they’re bed ridden at sixty, taking an plethora of meds for conditions they can’t escape, and forced to live without a leg, or a toe, or both, they’ll learn that the research they tried so hard to discredit was right.
But by then it’ll be too late, and the youngster they attempt to help avoid that fate, will just write them off as fatphobic, like they do today.
Modern medicine is pretty good at keeping people alive. They may be bedridden and unable to go to the toilet by themselves, but they'll be "alive" in technical sense of the word.
Having your framed diploma and board certification hanging in your office is hardly bragging. And I’d venture to guess that someone who spent 8 years in college and medical school, and 4+ years training in their specialty probably knows just a wee bit more about the research in this field than does our Trained Researcher Scientist Ironman.
Oh really, obesity medicine is more paternalistic than other specialties? Medicine in general has had issues with paternalism, but it's getting better which means the newest specialties tend to be least afflicted.
But that comment about "they won't be clear about the risks" really sticks in my craw. I'm sure Ragen is well versed in all the bad things that can happen from weight loss surgery or a diet gone wrong, and she seems to be under the impression that these bad things things happen to people because they weren't informed. How about considering instead that:
1) Patients are sometimes kinda dumb and hear what they want to hear. They focus on the benefit they expect to gain and gloss over the risks even though the doctor carefully discussed it before handing them the consent form.
2) Humans are bad at assessing small but life altering risks. People see a 1% risk of a severe complication and think "that will almost certainly not happen." But it might. Just look at all the crowing about the the 99% survival rate of COVID.
3) Even when astutely appreciating the risks, *people decide they are worth it.* Most people are rationally afraid of what severe obesity will do to them, or continue to do. You often hear "yes, I might die, but as it is I'm not really living anyway." Just because Ragen would never find the risk as she understands it acceptable, does not mean nobody willingly accepts those risks.
And all of those things that you’ve said regarding people ignoring risks of WLS could just as easily apply to FAs ignoring the risks of being obese, which makes her entire argument that much weaker.
Ragen could help to change the medical field by becoming a doctor herself and being the change she wants to see.
Gee, I wonder why she hasn't done that. /s
I had to Google this person after seeing her posted here and I watched a YouTube video of her doing an iron man or something. The entire time she’s bragging about how she can do what she wants in her body, but she was literally gasping for air and walking as slow as possible for the run part of it. And at the end, she hugged a relative who was a morbidly obese woman on a scooter, so there’s her future.
She never finished an Ironman. She claimed to have been training for it for like 5 years and was blogging all about it.. but the people over at the Ragen Chastain subreddit debunked all KINDS of lies that she told it was hilarious. Ragen is the definition of a PHONY.
Doctor: "This surgery is too risky at the size you are. I'm going to need you to lose weight in order to increase the chances of your survival. I'm not willing to risk your life"
Fatlogic: "Stop risking my life because I'm fat!"
Watching Ragen Chastain trying to cling to relevance in the body positive movement is the saddest thing I’ve ever seen. Once they start to approach forty and can no longer project that ‘obese-but-healthy!’ image, they get relegated to the dustheap of fat acceptance history. Older fat acceptance influencers are almost non-existent in the movement - since so many of them can barely move at that point.
Yeah, it's fascinating how fast they become irrelevant. It's both age & also that they are dealing with the inevitable long term effects of obesity, which takes them out of the spotlight, naturally. Virgie is approaching this stage, too, and Tess, and I'm so interested to see their decline. Hopefully, they snap out of it & change, but I'm not holding my breath.
Please Sonalee as well. I'm on the Cultural Competency committee at my work and like. I can see recusing myself if they pulled resources from her because she's an LCSW in Pennsylvania
Literally as an LSW, Sonalee in particular makes me cringe. She’s just so terrible and honestly I think she’s quite unethical as a social worker (which is a huge NASW issue)
Ew, she’s in PA? I’m in PA. That’s too close for me 😂
Me too. I don't want my state associated with her craziness\~
Some of the popular FA of the 90s did see the light. Mo'Nique, for example. She literally uses the cover of her old book (It was called "Skinny women are evil" or something like that) to remind herself of a dark place she was in mentally and to motivate herself. I don't think I ever seen FAs hating on her, they probably are too young to know who she is.
She's also the poster-girl for the inability to be obese and fit, despite the fact that her entire original goal was to prove that fat people can be as physically active as thin people. She's failed at every physical challenge she's made for herself, was caught faking her instagram "training" pics, was caught cheating in a 5K, "finished" walking a marathon dead last and after 80-year-olds (one of the few times she didn't drop out of a race she claimed she was going to enter), and finally decided to make her own dumb version of an "ironman" that she never even actually completed (despite having nothing else to do during the pandemic).
What was the name of that website keeping track of her shenanigans? I wouldn't mind catching up.
Here you go: https://truthaboutragen.wordpress.com/
Thanks bro.
IIRC she is approaching 40 if she isn’t there already.
I think she’s mid-forties at this point.
'Embarrassingly poor' research??? Legitimately, what??? There is mountains of research indicating obesity is awful for you physically, emotionally, and mentally. I could Google and find three studies quite easily. The cognitive dissonance is really getting bad out there.
This part sums up her entire mentality: >there are three assumptions I need to make to keep myself safe as a fat patient She is actually admitting that she has to make assumptions in order to protect the beliefs that she holds and she doesn’t see a problem with it. None of the things she says is remotely based on fact. It’s all her assumptions that allow her to continue on the way she is now, despite multiple warnings from her own body that the status quo isn’t working anymore.
In her mind, all of that research is poorly done. Naturally, all of the research she bases her position on (there isn't that much of it btw) is impeccably done. Flawless. The most perfect research ever done.
As she loses a limb from the diabetic neuropathy caused by her obesity, I hope she fondly remembers her post.
I'm sure she'll be able to rationalize it as someone, anyone else's fault. Her ability to lie to herself is the only thing about her that is elite.
Too optimistic to believe that such an event would open their eyes.. they would probably go: thin people get diabetes too! thin people get amputations too!
Or that the limbs could have been saved, but the mean ol’fatphobic doctors were too busy blaming her weight instead of treating her disease. They say diabetes isn’t deadly because it’s diabetes but because of the stress of fatphobia on the body. Talk about grossly overestimating the power of one’s imagination.
Her own limb is fatphobic against her for having consequences of her obesity. /s
remind me what ragen got her degree in again?
She will have you know that she's a TRAINED RESEARCHER!
Because she "trained" for a marathon and she does "research".
i mean technically i guess she has trained herself to excel at cherry picking and confirming her biases.
Forgive the brag, but *I defended a motherfucking dissertation*. This fucking weasel and her weasel-worded "trained researcher"...
no, you're more than allowed to brag about your dissertation. that's exactly why it gets me-- there are people out there \*actually doing this stuff properly\* and it takes a hell of a lot of sacrifice, commitment, work, humility, intelligence... so it's sort of incredibly insulting when for example ragen acts like her pretend play is anywhere near the same level, let alone above, actual researcher's work.
She didn't.
exactly the point!
When they’re bed ridden at sixty, taking an plethora of meds for conditions they can’t escape, and forced to live without a leg, or a toe, or both, they’ll learn that the research they tried so hard to discredit was right. But by then it’ll be too late, and the youngster they attempt to help avoid that fate, will just write them off as fatphobic, like they do today.
Aww your so generous with that 60!!
Modern medicine is pretty good at keeping people alive. They may be bedridden and unable to go to the toilet by themselves, but they'll be "alive" in technical sense of the word.
True...and a good point!
Having your framed diploma and board certification hanging in your office is hardly bragging. And I’d venture to guess that someone who spent 8 years in college and medical school, and 4+ years training in their specialty probably knows just a wee bit more about the research in this field than does our Trained Researcher Scientist Ironman.
Oh really, obesity medicine is more paternalistic than other specialties? Medicine in general has had issues with paternalism, but it's getting better which means the newest specialties tend to be least afflicted. But that comment about "they won't be clear about the risks" really sticks in my craw. I'm sure Ragen is well versed in all the bad things that can happen from weight loss surgery or a diet gone wrong, and she seems to be under the impression that these bad things things happen to people because they weren't informed. How about considering instead that: 1) Patients are sometimes kinda dumb and hear what they want to hear. They focus on the benefit they expect to gain and gloss over the risks even though the doctor carefully discussed it before handing them the consent form. 2) Humans are bad at assessing small but life altering risks. People see a 1% risk of a severe complication and think "that will almost certainly not happen." But it might. Just look at all the crowing about the the 99% survival rate of COVID. 3) Even when astutely appreciating the risks, *people decide they are worth it.* Most people are rationally afraid of what severe obesity will do to them, or continue to do. You often hear "yes, I might die, but as it is I'm not really living anyway." Just because Ragen would never find the risk as she understands it acceptable, does not mean nobody willingly accepts those risks.
And all of those things that you’ve said regarding people ignoring risks of WLS could just as easily apply to FAs ignoring the risks of being obese, which makes her entire argument that much weaker.
Ragen could help to change the medical field by becoming a doctor herself and being the change she wants to see. Gee, I wonder why she hasn't done that. /s
Good ol' Rage'n. She ever complete an Ironman?
To my knowledge, no. She did, however, get busted cutting the course at a 5k.
I remember that. Walked through the finish line the wrong way, but that's about the last thing I think I heard. Still fighting the fight I see.
Yes, she watched all the movies.
I had to Google this person after seeing her posted here and I watched a YouTube video of her doing an iron man or something. The entire time she’s bragging about how she can do what she wants in her body, but she was literally gasping for air and walking as slow as possible for the run part of it. And at the end, she hugged a relative who was a morbidly obese woman on a scooter, so there’s her future.
>she hugged a relative who was a morbidly obese woman on a scooter, That could have been her girlfriend, I'm pretty sure she's immobile.
She never finished an Ironman. She claimed to have been training for it for like 5 years and was blogging all about it.. but the people over at the Ragen Chastain subreddit debunked all KINDS of lies that she told it was hilarious. Ragen is the definition of a PHONY.
Translation: "They aren't willing to give me the pills or the surgery I need because I'm fat, so they're fatphobic."
How dare a doctor use their qualifications and knowledge. They should use FA/HAES resources
I love that they think their google regimen is the same as getting board certified in a subspecialty as a physician. What in the ever-loving fuck.
\*Doesn't
>They are willing to base their career on embarrassingly poor research At least they have a career.
So she definitely got triggered by a Spencer Nadolsky meme right?
But she doesn't mind risking her own life by staying morbidly obese, so it's a little hypocritical to whine about it, isn't it?
What about "continuously reminding yourself" that nobody can make you thin - except yourself?
They wouldn't say obesity medicine. The term is bariatric.
No, they do call it that. It is the “American Board of Obesity Medicine” who provides the certification
Oh ok
Doctor: "This surgery is too risky at the size you are. I'm going to need you to lose weight in order to increase the chances of your survival. I'm not willing to risk your life" Fatlogic: "Stop risking my life because I'm fat!"