Of all the online communities I've been a part of, I love this one the most. I've made friends though it and I've gotten an amazing amount of encouragement and support from people all over the world. At the core of the community, though, there are two major groups--gainers and encouragers. The ratio between these two groups, like many online communities, is highly skewed--especially if you exclude beginning gainers.
For those, like me, who like the biggest-of-the-big men, it's a shame that there aren't many of these fellas to go around. I like to make friends with superchubs; I'm always curious about life at that weight, and hearing about theirs helps motivate me towards my goals. I spend a fair amount of time looking for big guys to befriend, but in searching, I continually come across something that I simply cannot stand.
In every gainer social networking site, there's always a small percentage of 'questionable' profiles. Men who claim to be of great weight but have no real proof. Profiles with headless, blurry photos (if any), and suspicious descriptions (like weighing 500lbs at age 18, or gaining hundreds of pounds in short timeframes).
Let me cut to the chase and say right now that I can't stand fakers. Skinny guys who claim to be 400, 500 pounds for the attention from chasers and encouragers. Longtime readers of this blog know (in great, whiny detail) of how much work I've put in to make the small progress that I have. Substantial gaining is a risky, time-consuming and difficult task. It is my opinion that the men who've put in the work and the dedication to reach these amazingly large sizes deserve to be in this small minority and their efforts deserve to be appreciated by those of us who may never reach such goals.
It's a shame, though, that there are those among us who see the attention that these men get and don a fake persona to feel what it's like. I probably shouldn't care as much as I do, because as long as they're not using my photos, it really doesn't affect my own goals and anyone with half a brain should be able to figure out their deal. Still, the fact that they even think it's okay to do this annoys me to no end.
I've dealt with fakers in so many of my online experiences. In any field in which I've put in hard work to improve myself, I run into people that have attempted to exploit my efforts to reap undeserved rewards. I've had people claim my drawings as their own. I've had people trace my drawings or use my ideas. I've had people pretend to be able to speak Japanese to me by using an online translator. I've had my own photos used on gaining social networks. I've even had people submit my photos to contests for monetary prizes.
There are so many telltale signs to a poser profile; I've heard them all. I don't want to post pictures of my face. I can't lift up my shirt because I'm self conscious. I'll post a photo soon, as soon as I borrow a camera, I promise! (Who doesn't have access to a camera these days? There's one on almost every piece of technology out there!)
It's quite easy for real guys to dismiss any suspicion. All it takes is one clear photo of you and your face. If you don't want to post your face, just post a few photos so that we at least know your body is consistent. Posers will insist they can't do anything to back up their claims. They never have access to a camera. They might post a photo with the face cropped out, but that's the only one they have and it look suspiciously like someone else you know. Their stubborn, pitiful attempts to cover their lies just compound annoyance.
And yet, there's always this nagging part of me that keeps me from saying anything. The "but what if they really do just have a shitty camera that makes their body look photoshopped? I'd look like a total jackass if I called him out..." feeling. This piles on a helpless frustration onto my annoyance and just has me boiling.
I have to take a stand, unfortunately. I'm tired of dancing around the issue when chatting with these guys, trying to weasel the truth out of them. I've taken a 'guilty until proven innocent' approach to you folk. I apologize to the superchubs out there who genuinely have no access to a way to take a decent photo of themselves, but if you can't prove to me that you're as big as you say you are, I don't want anything to do with you.
Massive apologies for the rant, but I feel so much better now!
Fakers
Round is a Shape
Even though it's to be expected of an overweight person, I don't like to be too out of shape. As you can imagine, putting on 40+ pounds in three months has had quite an effect on my stamina. At 265 pounds, my capacity to walk the usual path to work were starting to get too much.
The summers here are annoyingly hot and my commute has me walking quite a distance up and down broken escalators. There's one flight that's about three stories tall and if it's not working (and it usually isn't) I'm almost collapsing when I get to the top.
I decided to start doing a bit of cardio to try and get my endurance back. I never really enjoyed cardio, though, because it doesn't give the same instant results that weight lifting does. Plus, it can be extremely boring to run in place for 20 minutes unless you have a television or something.
Even still, it's becoming necessary for me, and I do recommend it to everyone--especially gainers. All you really need to do is keep your heart rate up for 20 or so minutes maybe three times a week; not much of an investment. Exercise isn't something for gainers to avoid, it isn't going to make you lose weight. As any legitimate personal trainer will tell you, weight loss is 90% diet. Doing exercise won't make you thin on its own. My usual 20 minutes of cardio only burns about 200 or so calories (or, say, one doughnut), and weight lifting is even less intensive.
Running on the treadmill is out, though. My only attempt at it left my legs feeling over-strained because of my weight and the heavy impacts to my calf bones--and the machine didn't like it so much either. Fearing that I might break something, I came to love the cycling and the elliptical machines. They're no-impact and great options for just keeping your heartrate up-- or if you're also interested in toning your glutes, as I must admit I'm becoming a bit obsessed with.
I encourage all gainers and big guys to go out there and work out--I need me some some eye candy.
