Per micky:
I have a friend, married, about 68, who bought another house about 5
years ago and put in a chair lift, but she only has to use it for the TV
room which she doesn't watch that often. Well I think it was after I
saw a wheelchair on their porch that I risked getting in trouble and I
called her to talk about how heavy both of us were and how it makes
walking harder. She mentioned shooting pains down her leg, which might
have nothing to do with weight and might be the reason for the wheel
chair. But she also said she thought she was 20 pounds overweight and a
friend figured out that she was only 10 pounds. She's crazy. I think
she's 40 or 50 pounds overweight and she's deluded herself. But even
though that's why I called, to tell her she was fat, I coudln't bring
myself to argue with her after she said that. She doesn't wear
tight clothes or even remotely form-fitting, so it's hard to tell, but
I've had 20 years to watch her change, and I can see her face.

One of my #2 daughter's friends was borderline-morbidly obese.

I told her to imagine carrying a cinder block around all day.

Somehow she recalled it as carrying around an automobile tire - which is
actually a better analog IMHO.... both weigh 35-40 pounds, but it's
easier to imagine a tire around one's waist than carrying a cinder block
under an arm....

Anyhow, to cut to the chase, she went on some sort of diet, lost over 40
pounds, and reported back that my analogy was right on the money. How
she knew that, escapes me - unless she had a job moving automobile tires
around.... but it does point to the reality of how much work it is to
carry that extra weight, no matter how conveniently it is distributed
across one's body.
--
Pete Cresswell