Participation awards all around! There is someone currently involved in my life that is the reason I really don't buy any excuses from morbidly obese people. Before this woman, I empathized with them but I always believed it was still a result of their lifestyle. She no longer gets my sympathy or empathy, and this is only a fringe reason why. She and some of her friends, surprise surprise, are all overweight. Ranging from I'd say 75 lbs (35 kg) to 200 lbs (90 kg) over a healthy weight. Could be an additional 100 lbs past that but it's been a while since I've seen them. It's safe to say I'm low-balling their numbers. They all commiserate together about not being happy with their weight. They want to lose some, so naturally they decide to diet together and walk more. This is where an outsider would feel encouraged by their behavior. I've been around her long enough to spot her potential deceit (another story for another time) or at the least never believe she'll follow through on something like this. She's a self proclaimed food addict. Like any addict, there are more excuses than one could imagine for how hard it is to eat healthy. Anyway, continuing with my story. So how does this adventure pan out? For two or three weeks, only one manages to lose some weight. Now they all need to celebrate! At each weekly show-and-tell of progress, they decide that the best way to celebrate is dinner and a movie. But they really need to drive to a bigger city about 175 miles (280 km) one way to do this, in spite of several movie theaters between their homes and destination. Why do they want to travel so far? Could have something to do with an excuse to load up on snacks for the drive, need a 3 course meal because they'll be out so late, and a movie is boring without popcorn and drinks. Oh and they will probably need to restock their snack/drink supplies for the way home. Oh noes, they all somehow gained more weight! Rinse and repeat twice a month until they are bored with losing weight and lose their excuse to celebrate.