S05.E06: We're Having A Baby

[lightninggirl]

13 hours ago, bichonblitz said:

Now it's about pregnant friends, addicted friends, the parents, the cats, stalking boyfriends, etc etc. Hell, anybody can have a show about that stuff. I don't understand where TLC is going with this show. It's nothing more than the life of a single fat girl and her dysfunctional friends and family. 

This is a good point. I wonder if TLC realizes that Sweatney isn't EVER going to improve herself, so now she's going to be:

- better than her coked-out addict friend
- and, by default, better than her 'in recovery' counsellor friend
- less petty (OK, that's debatable) than her Brillo pad-headed friend
- better than an online dating scammer grifting women out of thousands of dollars while stringing them along
- less fat than Nada
- better able to control her pets than her parents
- kinder to curly-haired rescue kittens than her own mother
- less stroke-y than her own mother
- not as pregnant as her friend Ashley, even though she can apparently pee pregnant at will
- not desperately in love with an addict like Heather

So who cares if she's not at the gym, or on a diet, or living her best life? She's SOOOOO leaps and bounds better than everyone else!!!  ? ? ? ? ? ?

[Maricopa]

6 hours ago, LocalGovt said:

My siblings and I always referred to our parents as Mommy and Daddy (but only when referring to them amongst ourselves)...we didn't call them that to their face.  We called them Mom and Dad.

My parents are Blossom and George so we called them (behind their backs) the BloGeo. Once the Geo heard us and asked "how we knew (as in blow-Geo)?" Oh boy I retched soon thereafter. That really wasn't what we meant, we were just being silly. TMI O rama

[tdanaher]

16 hours ago, Mothra said:

Agreed.  It seemed to me that there was a lot of odd cropping of the scenes in the birthing room.  I can't imagine the father wasn't there.  I have never hated Whitney until this episode.  What an asshole.

Absolutely the father was there. Ashley herself posted a pic on her Instagram of the father with their newly-birthed daughter.

[Ocean Chick]

Yarp. Twit as birthing coach?  Totally fake storyline. Along with fake epidural so that Ashley didn’t have to act like a woman in full blown labor. 

[Mothra]

40 minutes ago, Ocean Chick said:

Yarp. Twit as birthing coach?  Totally fake storyline. Along with fake epidural so that Ashley didn’t have to act like a woman in full blown labor. 

Yeah--that epidural totally threw me.  An epidural so early--so seemingly early, judging by Ashley's demeanor and obvious physical comfort--seemed totally wrong to me.   Dumbass that I am, it didn't occur to me that of *course* the whole filming Ashley having a baby thing was faked.  And that would answer someone's question upthread about the empty hallway--I bet they arranged to film this fake birth stuff at an hour when no one else was in that wing.  Real disrespect for their fans imo--I would've preferred THs after the fact describing what had happened.

I hate Whitney, and I hate this show.  I see her father wearing his "No BS" shirt, and that is the only reminder of what this show was supposed to be about.  I would never want Whitney or any other fat person to be discriminated against or made fun of or really hurt in any way, but her body is disgusting to me--and I'm 200 lbs myself.  I wanted to see true no body shaming, to see Whitney fearlessly taking part in the world, facing down discrimination by fighting for a job, not allowing people to make fun of her on her scooter in that parade, showing off her fat but strong and healthy body in her dancing, proudly taking part in 5ks, but what I see is an infantalized woman whose entire energy seems directed at making her friends' activities and problems her business.  She has to be the least self-aware person in North Carolina.

[ClareWalks]

9 minutes ago, Mothra said:

Yeah--that epidural totally threw me.  An epidural so early--so seemingly early, judging by Ashley's demeanor and obvious physical comfort--seemed totally wrong to me.   Dumbass that I am, it didn't occur to me that of *course* the whole filming Ashley having a baby thing was faked.  And that would answer someone's question upthread about the empty hallway--I bet they arranged to film this fake birth stuff at an hour when no one else was in that wing.  Real disrespect for their fans imo--I would've preferred THs after the fact describing what had happened.

I didn't even think about the possibility of a reenactment until you guys said that, but it would make a lot of sense. But the epidural wasn't necessarily early, they generally give epidurals during active labor, between 4-7 cm dilated, and I'm sure Ashley was there by then. After the epidural she would appear that physically comfortable, I know I was after mine ;)

Edited February 9, 2018 by ClareWalks

[lightninggirl]

3 hours ago, tdanaher said:

Absolutely the father was there. Ashley herself posted a pic on her Instagram of the father with their newly-birthed daughter.

 

Oh, my STARS that is the cutest dang baby! I can't!

[Mothra]

14 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

I didn't even think about the possibility of a reenactment until you guys said that, but it would make a lot of sense. But the epidural wasn't necessarily early, they generally give epidurals during active labor, between 4-7 cm dilated, and I'm sure Ashley was there by then. After the epidural she would appear that physically comfortable, I know I was after mine ;)

Just this minute realized I'm talking out my ass re: the epidural.  My children were both born via Caesarian; I was remembering my saddle block.  I never had an epidural.  So please erase my epidural comments from your mind.  Thank you.

[ClareWalks]

2 minutes ago, Mothra said:

Just this minute realized I'm talking out my ass re: the epidural.  My children were both born via Caesarian; I was remembering my saddle block.  I never had an epidural.  So please erase my epidural comments from your mind.  Thank you.

No worries! I actually got mine really late, they couldn't tell how far I was because my water hadn't broken, then after they gave me the epidural my water broke and they said if they'd known I was 8 cm they'd have said no drugs. Thank god for small favors, LOL :)

[Friday]

20 hours ago, Kid said:

I have been saying there is something wrong with that relationship. And I don’t know if he’s a participant or it is  all on her side. I said previously  that this scene really bugged me. The way she kept looking at him I think is what bothered me most. It was coy and flirtatious.  It’s not how you interact with your father.

What bothered me was how she bragged about kicking him in the balls when she was younger when he was teaching her how to swim.  Who in their right mind would get so much pleasure from causing their father pain?  She seemed quite proud of herself.

[Me from ME]

Quote

What bothered me was how she bragged about kicking him in the balls when she was younger when he was teaching her how to swim.

You left off the part about ending the statement with a loud donkey bray which leads me to wonder which of her friends laughs at her outrageous statements. Would she still be doing it if she hadn't been receiving positive feedback from somewhere?

[Bugfrey Von]

20 hours ago, Kid said:

I have been saying there is something wrong with that relationship. And I don’t know if he’s a participant or it is  all on her side. I said previously  that this scene really bugged me. The way she kept looking at him I think is what bothered me most. It was coy and flirtatious.  It’s not how you interact with your father.

OMG YES.  She is so flirty with her dad.  It's uncomfortable to watch and Glen looked pretty uncomfortable as well.  It's just wrong all over.  Her understanding of relationships is so skewed, like when she was rubbing up on Ashley trying to "induce" labor.  Ashley looked super uncomfortable, I just don't know why no one tells her to stop.  I don't want you to smell my breath, I don't want you to feel up on me, I don't want to see you naked or in various weird states of undress.

[Brooks]

I missed almost all of this episode.  From the comments here I'm relieved I did!

[Delete]

I was rather concerned when Whit was leaning too close to Ashley and her new baby. I half expected her to pull out the hot sauce and sprinkle some on both of them.  Nom, nom, please pass me the placenta.

Glenn wearing the no bs tshirt and swimming cap was so sad. But pathetic is the word to describe coaching his 30-something morbidly obese daughter doing orca flips in the pool while wearing a bikini on national tv. 

Glenn should save his “bonus check “ and spend it with Babs to get them as far away from their socially delayed daughter as possible. 

Heather knew about Buddy’s addiction long before and it was probably the real reason for their breakup. I’m quite disgusted by the fake tears and surprise. Todd was the only one letting the cat out of the bag regarding Buddy’s true issues when he spoke about the drinking and the anger outbursts. I like that Todd doesn’t play by the TLC Fakebook.

[Alapaki]

7 minutes ago, Ravenna said:

I was rather concerned when Whit was leaning too close to Ashley and her new baby. I half expected her to pull out the hot sauce and sprinkle some on both of them.  Nom, nom, please pass me the placenta.

Glenn wearing the no bs tshirt and swimming cap was so sad. But pathetic is the word to describe coaching his 30-something morbidly obese daughter doing orca flips in the pool while wearing a bikini on national tv. 

A 30-something morbidly obese daughter who can't even rep her own bullshit "brand" because the only thing she fits in are sports bras working overtime and the tarps they use to tent houses when they're replacing the roof.  

As far as Whitney in the labor and delivery room, my experience is that L&D birthing suites don't have all that much space around the patient bed.  All joking about Whitney's weight aside, I could seriously see her size being a potential impediment to doctors and/or nurses who might need access to Ashley, especially if something went wrong. 

[Alapaki]

45 minutes ago, Bugfrey Von said:

OMG YES.  She is so flirty with her dad.  It's uncomfortable to watch and Glen looked pretty uncomfortable as well.  It's just wrong all over.  Her understanding of relationships is so skewed, like when she was rubbing up on Ashley trying to "induce" labor.  Ashley looked super uncomfortable, I just don't know why no one tells her to stop.  I don't want you to smell my breath, I don't want you to feel up on me, I don't want to see you naked or in various weird states of undress.

I think Whitney is just starved for attention and now that she has what she perceives as some power over her barnacles she thinks she can make them dance to her tune.  So she keeps pushing the envelope because no one is telling her to Step. The Fuck. Off.

[MegD]

20 minutes ago, Ravenna said:

Todd was the only one letting the cat out of the bag regarding Buddy’s true issues when he spoke about the drinking and the anger outbursts. I like that Todd doesn’t play by the TLC Fakebook.

Todd needs to be careful or he's going to find himself recast like Meg.

 

The "It's been a year since we've seen sober Buddy" statement was weird. I took it as she was trying to imply that she knew more about his addiction than she did, including when his addiction started (just a year ago?).

[John M]

17 hours ago, mamadrama said:

I know we've gone over this before, but after this episode it bears repeating: there is something wrong with the way that that Whitney sexualizes everything. Not only does she exhibit almost zero signs of personal space and appropriate boundaries, but for a woman of her age (ie. not a teenager), there is something disturbing in the way that she makes EVERYTHING about sex. I have a dirty mind. I joke about sex with my mom, husband, and friends. I probably make at least one reference to it a day. But it almost seems like she can't get through any situation without making it something about sex. The touchy-feely stuff with Ashley was weird, too. Girlfriend couldn't let her get more than a few inches away. 

She tilted her book "I do it with the lights on". I think in her mind she is trying to make a point that even though she is fat she is still sexual but instead she comes off as alone and sex-starved. She's 30 years old and a woman that lives in her own house, there are lots of people with a fat fetish, no one thinks she can't get laid (Well I question from an engineering perspective but I'm sure someone is willing to try) Ashley is no prize pig either and she got knocked up on the 3rd date. I'm pretty sure the whole point of the Whit fake pregnancy scare was to repeatedly underscore that Lenny fucked her. 

Congrats on having sex Whit:

Yeah, it's great, I'm a fan but like most adults I don't need to repeatedly point out that I have sex on the regular, frankly the way you obsess about it makes it seem obvious that it is a very rare and special thing for you and not a, well, there is nothing on TV, I'm bored, do you want to fuck or should we wash the cars or take the dogs on a walk or something else kind of occasion.

[greekmom]

1 hour ago, Ravenna said:

Todd was the only one letting the cat out of the bag regarding Buddy’s true issues when he spoke about the drinking and the anger outbursts. I like that Todd doesn’t play by the TLC Fakebook.

Oh did I miss something?  Did Todd spill the tea?  Do tell!

[Dot]

52 minutes ago, John M said:

She tilted her book "I do it with the lights on". 

And she stole that from a song.

[Pachengala]

2 hours ago, John M said:

She tilted her book "I do it with the lights on". I think in her mind she is trying to make a point that even though she is fat she is still sexual but instead she comes off as alone and sex-starved. She's 30 years old and a woman that lives in her own house, there are lots of people with a fat fetish, no one thinks she can't get laid (Well I question from an engineering perspective but I'm sure someone is willing to try) Ashley is no prize pig either and she got knocked up on the 3rd date. I'm pretty sure the whole point of the Whit fake pregnancy scare was to repeatedly underscore that Lenny fucked her. 

Congrats on having sex Whit:

Yeah, it's great, I'm a fan but like most adults I don't need to repeatedly point out that I have sex on the regular, frankly the way you obsess about it makes it seem obvious that it is a very rare and special thing for you and not a, well, there is nothing on TV, I'm bored, do you want to fuck or should we wash the cars or take the dogs on a walk or something else kind of occasion.

Uh, what's going on with the 43 year old dudes? 

[AZChristian]

2 minutes ago, Pachengala said:

Uh, what's going on with the 43 year old dudes? 

Viagra.

[mamadrama]

6 hours ago, Ravenna said:

I was rather concerned when Whit was leaning too close to Ashley and her new baby. I half expected her to pull out the hot sauce and sprinkle some on both of them.  Nom, nom, please pass me the placenta.

Glenn wearing the no bs tshirt and swimming cap was so sad. But pathetic is the word to describe coaching his 30-something morbidly obese daughter doing orca flips in the pool while wearing a bikini on national tv. 

Glenn should save his “bonus check “ and spend it with Babs to get them as far away from their socially delayed daughter as possible. 

Heather knew about Buddy’s addiction long before and it was probably the real reason for their breakup. I’m quite disgusted by the fake tears and surprise. Todd was the only one letting the cat out of the bag regarding Buddy’s true issues when he spoke about the drinking and the anger outbursts. I like that Todd doesn’t play by the TLC Fakebook.

Agree with your points but also wanted to say that your screen name is also the name of my town, ha ha. 

[Elizzikra]

Quote

I can't figure if she's (Donna's) shy, not wanting any part of the show, or some lower status, where she only gets to see daylight occasionally?

I thought Whitney said in one episode that Donna works all the time or travels a lot for work - something to explain why she was seldom seen. Can't remember which episode - it might not have been this season.

[sainte-chapelle]

On 2018-02-08 at 5:03 AM, Stripper Glitter said:

With all due respect to laboring women (and I've been there 4x), actively being a doula (labor support) *can* be really hard work. I spend hours on my feet working with women, squeezing hips, rubbing backs, holding peanut balls steady, verbally encouraging....I comfort them when they're tired....the last birth I left the hospital limping and could barely walk the next day. I don't mind, I do it because I love it. But the work really can be hard. 

That said, in this case Mom had an epidural and was confined to bed. The hardest thing Whit did was walk briskly from her car to the room, and apparently hold a leg. 

 

Oh it is absolutely hard for a real birthing coach, Whit is as much Birthing Coach as she is dancer. I have a few friends who had doulas or midwives with them during delievery and worked with them during the entire pregnancy and let me tell you they did a lot more than interpretive dancing and putting hot sauce on noodles. My criticism was toward Whit, not other actual hard working doulas or midwives.

Edited February 10, 2018 by sainte-chapelle

[Elizzikra]

Quote

have young kids that needed looking after (Heather)

I don't know any of these people and I don't really know how reality tv works but... I'm feeling generous and I'm going to give a shout out to Heather for not having her kids on this show. I imagine there could be wacky hijinks if Whit were to babysit them or some storyline wherein spending time with Heather's children stirs Whitney's maternal instincts. Good on Heather (or maybe Ex Mr. Heather) for keeping the kids out of it.

[Dot]

Ratings for this episode are not much different from the past weeks:

#18 in the Top 50 Tue cable shows

0.34 share

1.143 million viewers

[Delete]

11 hours ago, greekmom said:

Oh did I miss something?  Did Todd spill the tea?  Do tell!

He mentioned Buddy’s anger issues and seemed not very surprised by the rehab announcement. He thought it was for booze though.

[Stripper Glitter]

On 2/8/2018 at 4:29 PM, Elizzikra said:

Forgive my ignorance, but what is a peanut ball? Please tell me it's a type of cookie and post the recipe.

Haha! Sorry to disappoint but it's an item used in yoga, etc and is good for helping position mom in labor for pain relief and such. 

[3girlsforus]

15 hours ago, Pachengala said:

Uh, what's going on with the 43 year old dudes? 

I’m more disturbed by the 20% of 15 year olds 

[tdanaher]

4 hours ago, Stripper Glitter said:

Haha! Sorry to disappoint but it's an item used in yoga, etc and is good for helping position mom in labor for pain relief and such. 

Hope i’m not the only one to look at that image and thought the logo was “Satan.”

[OnceSane]

All discussion of the 5K & Whitney's performance is spoiler talk and off-topic.  Please stick to what happened in the episode and take the 5K conversation to the Social Media thread.  

[Me from ME]

Quote

Oh, I thought that was another of Buddy's names.

You're close Buddy is...Boo Bear

[LocalGovt]

On 2/7/2018 at 10:01 AM, Alapaki said:

We haven't seen her take 12 continuous steps this season!  *rimshot*

She *did* lumber into the hospital on the birth day.

Edited February 11, 2018 by LocalGovt

[VIOLETDL]

On 2/10/2018 at 8:51 AM, tdanaher said:

Hope i’m not the only one to look at that image and thought the logo was “Satan.”

That green ball thing looks like Miss Bitch's Ass.

[LordOfLotion]

2 minutes ago, VIOLETDL said:

That green ball thing looks like Miss Bitch's Ass.

We're gonna need a bigger ball.

[Bunnygirl]

On 2/7/2018 at 7:40 PM, Dot said:

Random thoughts
? WTF was the point of that long, boring segment of Twit attempting to induce Ashley's labor? Twit said she researched the subject. What was her source? Doulas for Dummies?
? And was it really necessary for Twit to wrap her grotesque, giant body around Ashley for a massage? Surely not, unless you are constitutionally incapable of touching people appropriately. Maybe her research source was Fifty Shades of Grey.
? When Twit had a sneezing attack: did I see her wipe her nose on the clean clothes she was sorting?
? Stellar actress Twit should give Heather some lessons as her reaction to learning Buddy is a coke addict was so fake. See, here's what you need to do, Heather: bulge your eyes & open your mouth as far as you can. There you go.
? Heather sez about Buddy: "There's no one else out there for me." Right. How could she possibly find another obese, scruffy, unemployed drug addict?
? Todd sez: "Buddy always seemed so even-keeled to me even though he had his anger outbursts." That's kinda like neighbors of a spree murderer saying what a nice boy he was.
? How dramatic do you have to be over a pet's nip when you're feeding it a treat? Wash the blood off, pour a little peroxide on it, dab Neosporene on it & stick a Band-aid over it. BFD.
? Is there any recovering addict who comes out of rehab & DOESN'T want to become a substance abuse counselor?
? Twit sez: "We have to go see him." Does it not occur to her that maybe his GF is the ONLY one who should see him initially?
? Glenn is bringing 5 of Twit's friends to Hawaii, not 5 of his & Babs' friends & age group. C'mon, scriptwriters, do you have to be so obvious that TLC is paying for the trip, not Glenn?
? And who will the 5 be? Buddy's in rehab. Mattie, who was all over S-4, is apparently no longer in the In Group. Ashley's busy with a newborn. So, Boo Boo, Heather, Tal, Todd. Who's the 5th? Oh, the suspense.
? Oh, joy! More film of Twit running, my favorite thing. Tho I do prefer the camera on her backside rather than full frontal.
? I'm pretty tired of Glenn's insistence that Twit produce grandchildren for him. What about Hunter? Or is he gay which I think is a possibility. Glenn is of a generation which would never *conceive* of a gay man having a kid.
? Pigs are social animals. As are rabbits. About 4 years ago, I had to take in an unwanted rabbit becuz I knew it was either me or the little guy would be taking his chances in a vacant lot. (I am an experienced bunny owner & that was known.)
The first thing I did was have him neutered. The second was to find a pal for him at a Sacto House Rabbit Society adoption fair. Both Duffy & Twyla are contented bunnies becuz they have each other for company.
Obviously, getting a pig pal for Piggy is out of the question. You can't turn a suburban backyard into a barnyard. And you can't expect a 72-yr-old stroke victim to take care of one large pig, let one two.
Piggy, being a social animal, can't be happy living solo in a backyard. So, kudos to Twit -- I never thought I would say that! -- for finding a good solution. Piggy is going to a farm which specializes in rescued animals & will know how to integrate Piggy into the herd. And I hope Twit keeps her promise to Babs to take her to visit Piggy. For a while, that will be important to both.
? BTW, baby rabbits are very cute. (As are baby pigs.) But baby rabbits grow into adult rabbits, which are fragile, high maintenance & expensive. PLEASE don't give your child a baby rabbit for Easter. Most shelters won't take them when you get tired of them & they can't survive in the wild.

Mom of a 25 lb Flemish Giant house bunny here! He and our kitty are bonded buddies.

On 2/7/2018 at 8:14 PM, monagatuna said:

"Don't tell anyone, but I'm not going back to the bar."

:reads it out loud on TV:

Well, in all fairness, I think by now they’d know anyway.

[Bunnygirl]

On 2/8/2018 at 5:03 AM, Stripper Glitter said:

With all due respect to laboring women (and I've been there 4x), actively being a doula (labor support) *can* be really hard work. I spend hours on my feet working with women, squeezing hips, rubbing backs, holding peanut balls steady, verbally encouraging....I comfort them when they're tired....the last birth I left the hospital limping and could barely walk the next day. I don't mind, I do it because I love it. But the work really can be hard. 

That said, in this case Mom had an epidural and was confined to bed. The hardest thing Whit did was walk briskly from her car to the room, and apparently hold a leg. 

Sorry, but please, what on earth is a “peanut ball”?

[Bunnygirl]

On 2/8/2018 at 2:45 PM, Thrifty said:

And yet, fat acceptance movement people like her will insist "Health at every size!  Just because I'm fat doesn't make me unhealthy!  Skinny people can be unhealthy too!"

I think it’s funny that the actual HAES  fat acceptance group have officially renounced her. 

[Bunnygirl]

On 2/8/2018 at 5:21 PM, Pachengala said:

Oh Whitney is totally conflicted in her feelings about Heather. On the one hand, Heather is thin and cute and apparently capable of having normal relationships with men, all things Whitney wishes she was. On the other hand, Heather, as a submissive, beta personality, is one of Whitney’s loudest and staunchest amplifiers, so Whitney can’t go full mean-girl. The result is this passive-aggressive, self-serving behavior that Whitney wields and Heather mistakes for friendship.

That was very well said Pachengala!

[AZChristian]

23 minutes ago, Bunnygirl said:

Sorry, but please, what on earth is a “peanut ball”?

It's okay if you don't know.  It's something to help with exercising . . . so Whitney wouldn't know either.

 

[Me from ME]

Peanut Ball: yeah I was hungry at the time and thought food too.

Where is the information about Whitney being disavowed by the HAES movement? I

[Dot]

8 minutes ago, Me from ME said:

Where is the information about Whitney being disavowed by the HAES movement? I

I'd be interested in reading that, too.

[LordOfLotion]

9 minutes ago, Me from ME said:

Peanut Ball: yeah I was hungry at the time and thought food too.

Where is the information about Whitney being disavowed by the HAES movement? I

Color me interested as well.

[kar328]

4 hours ago, AZChristian said:

It's okay if you don't know.  It's something to help with exercising . . . so Whitney wouldn't know either.

 

In Labor and Delivery a peanut ball placed between the legs with the woman on her side will help turn a baby that's facing up or to the side, to face down, which is the easier way of being born (smaller diameter of the head coming out first). I was skeptical when we first got these things at my last job, but they really do work, sometimes in just a few contractions. 

[Thrifty]

19 hours ago, Bunnygirl said:

I think it’s funny that the actual HAES  fat acceptance group have officially renounced her. 

That doesn't make any sense.  Whitney is a public personification of what they stand for.  Maybe that's the problem.  Her high profile makes it harder for them to deny the absurdity of saying that you can be healthy at 300, 400, or 500 pounds.

 

I want to start a "Healthy at Any Tobacco Use Level" movement.  I want to stop the discrimination of non-smoking areas, the higher rates for insurance, and the stigma of smoking.  It's not nice that doctors tell us that smoking is giving us all sorts of diseases!  Non-smokers get lung cancer too!  And sometimes smokers die for reasons unrelated to smoking!  Like kidney cancer or AIDS or 17 stab wounds in the back.

[Thrifty]

I was thinking again about Whitney's claims of having developed an eating disorder from attempting to diet in her teens.  I saw this somewhere else today, on an online petition by someone in the HAES movement.  She wanted Weight Watchers to stop advertising to teenagers, claiming that she had joined Weight Watchers at age 9 and developed an eating disorder from it.  It makes me wonder if these people are confusing stress about the effort it takes to lose weight with "eating disorder".  I was in Weight Watchers at age 15 and I never felt anything close to an eating disorder.

[ClareWalks]

The fact that Whitney and other HAES proponents cannot recognize their binge eating as an "eating disorder" shows just how educated they are on the subject. They also continually misuse concepts like set point and starvation mode to service their bizarre fantasies that there is nothing wrong with being morbidly obese.

[Thrifty]

Just now, ClareWalks said:

The fact that Whitney and other HAES proponents cannot recognize their binge eating as an "eating disorder" shows just how educated they are on the subject. They also continually misuse concepts like set point and starvation mode to service their bizarre fantasies that there is nothing wrong with being morbidly obese.

That's a good point I hadn't considered.

I kind of wonder, where do you cross the line from "eating too much" into "eating disorder"?  I am overweight as a 270 pound adult male.  I wear size 44 pants, but I do that with a belt.  I think I could fit size 40 waist, but the legs are too tight.  I like my pants to be baggy.  I eat a lot for emotional reasons.  But I can also endure fairly well in exercise.  I can't run more than about 60 seconds without getting winded, but I can keep up a brisk pace of 3.8 to 4.0 miles per hour for a solid 45 minutes.  It's not easy... I get tired and very sweaty, but good exercise is supposed to be strenuous.  I look at other people running along at 6 or 7 miles per hour and wonder how the hell they do it.

[Alapaki]

2 hours ago, Thrifty said:

That doesn't make any sense.  Whitney is a public personification of what they stand for.  Maybe that's the problem.  Her high profile makes it harder for them to deny the absurdity of saying that you can be healthy at 300, 400, or 500 pounds.

There's probably a better thread to address Whitney vis a vis HAES.  But for now I'll just say that it's probably unfair to smear HAES, as a scientific field of research, by associating it with the likes of Whitney.

From the main author of HAES, in a 2011 peer-reviewed article:

Quote

Evidence: Except at statistical extremes, body mass index (BMI) - or amount of body fat - only weakly predicts longevity [32]. Most epidemiological studies find that people who are overweight or moderately obese live at least as long as normal weight people, and often longer [32, 33, 34, 35]. Analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys I, II, and III, which followed the largest nationally representative cohort of United States adults, determined that greatest longevity was in the overweight category [32]. 

and:

Quote

While it is well established that obesity is associated with increased risk for many diseases, causation is less well-established. Epidemiological studies rarely acknowledge factors like fitness, activity, nutrient intake, weight cycling or socioeconomic status when considering connections between weight and disease. Yet all play a role in determining health risk. When studies do control for these factors, increased risk of disease disappears or is significantly reduced [61]. (This is less true at statistical extremes.) It is likely that these other factors increase disease risk at the same time they increase the risk of weight gain.

Whitney personifies the statistical extreme that HAES explicitly excludes from its discussion.  Whitney is using HAES and "fat acceptance" as an excuse for her poor "fitness, activity, nutrient intake", etc.  

This season, and this past episode, more than any other, we've seen Whitney making very poor food choices.  We've seen her all but verbally acknowledge, and clearly visibly display, that she is no way active (or really, even able to be more than minimally active).

HAES advocates focusing on healthy lifestyle and dietary routines, but not using weight and/or BMI as the barometer of health or fitness.  Whitney has completely bastardized that message.