Yeah, only temporarily.
Ok Heffalumpies, I need to put my ranty pants on, so brace yourselves!
Y’all know I bought a Thermomix a month or so ago right? Well I did, and it’s awesome. I have a lasagne cooking in the oven right now that took me about 20 minutes to put together, INCLUDING cooking both the bolognaise and bechemel sauce from scratch. That puppy is going to feed me for about a week.
Anyway, I’ve been following quite a few Thermomix blogs, forums and Facebook feeds since before I bought it, and so far they’ve been fantastic and very inclusive, with no judgment about weight or food or eating, but lots of great recipes, from the ultra efficient tummy fillers to delicious indulgent treats. I’ve really loved that about the Thermomix community, that I’ve felt included even though I’m a big fat person!
Anyhoo, imagine my shock this afternoon when I see one of the prominent Australian Thermomix bloggers (who I am not going to name here, I don’t want to give them any traffic) post this horrible article to their Facebook page, with this comment: “Oh wow, these people need to find [redacted], the chocolate appetite suppressant…”
Trigger warning on that article lovelies, there’s a headless fatty on there and a whole bunch of fat hate. I’ve redacted the name of the “chocolate appetite suppressant” because I’m not giving that stuff any promotion.
So I left a comment and asked could they please keep it to cooking/Thermomix and not bigotry against fat people, because fat people both a) have Thermomixes and b) read their blog. I also talked about my eating disorder past and how my Thermomix has been instrumental in helping me learn to eat competently and reclaim my right to enjoy cooking and food.
Said blogger then sent me a message saying that they hadn’t intended to offend (yeah right, by suggesting that “obese people” need a damn appetite suppressant), that they would remove the post, that they shared it because it would be “interesting for those who care about eating proper food” and could I please email them privately. I did so, expanding on how my Thermomix and the online community has been fantastic for helping me in my recovery from an eating disorder, outlining the problem with the article they posted, and expanding on my highly disordered past with a history of abusing appetite suppressants and other diet products, both natural and chemical. I even said, and I quote:
Fat people don’t need chocolate appetite suppressants, we need to be able to live our lives without stigmatisation and shaming, and to find the healthiest ways to feed and move our bodies as they are, and not hold off on life “until we lose weight”.
I also sent them a link to my earlier post about the topic.
Well, you can imagine how speechless I was to receive a response offering me a sample of the “chocolate appetite suppressant”!!
This is akin to offering a recovering alcoholic a drink, or a recovering drug addict a shot of heroin. It is both irresponsible and tactless, and actually, it’s dangerous. I’m one of the lucky ones, I’m well enough down the road of recovery that I can say no, and do so without being triggered horribly.
When I did a bit of research into the “chocolate appetite suppressant”, I discovered the active ingredient is Theobromine, a caffeine like stimulant (alkaloid). It is the ingredient in chocolate that is harmful to cats and dogs. It is not “entirely harmless” to humans, and can cause illness and even death if consumed in enough quantities. From Wikipedia:
The first signs of theobromine poisoning are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and increased urination. These can progress to cardiac arrhythmias, epileptic seizures, internal bleeding, heart attacks, and eventually death.
Now if someone has admitted to you that they have a history of abusing appetite suppressants, are you going to suggest they try something that if abused, can lead to the above? I should hope not. It’s like handing an addict a loaded needle.
It goes to show that people shilling these products really don’t care. They don’t do the research, they don’t listen to people and they don’t take responsibility for how their snake oils might be abused by vulnerable people.
How I didn’t tear them a new orifice in my response email, I don’t know. My God, am I actually learning restraint??? Say it ain’t so Heffalumpies!
Needless to say, I’ve removed that particular blog from my RSS reader, unliked their page on Facebook and will be avoiding them like the plague.
Fat Heffalump 