Comments on: Getting Fat Through Blogging

By: Performancing Stream of Consciousness – Tues Apr 8, 2008 : Performancing

Performancing Stream of Consciousness – Tues Apr 8, 2008 : Performancing — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 02:39:40 +0000

[...] blogosphere, and the health issues and deaths of some bloggers. My colleague David Peralty has a different take on the issue, which I only partly agree with. It is NOT as easy to make a living blogging as he [...]

By: bnpositive

bnpositive — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 03:54:11 +0000

I prefer to consider myself “insulated” against cold weather and starvation instead of fat or obese as Wii Fit has labeled me.

By: JoLynn Braley

JoLynn Braley — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 18:15:51 +0000

Hi David, you’re spot on that blogging doesn’t make you fat….no matter what job a person has, one has to take personal responsibility for their own health. If a blogger is so tied to the computer that they cannot take care of themselves properly (blogging addiction?), then it’s time to consider a career change. After all, if you don’t have your health, what do you really have?

By: KG Lew

KG Lew — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 04:54:33 +0000

I don’t think that blogging did this… in fact it was probably the advent of internet and higher media to begin with… it is just that people are getting more and more lazy… sports and extracurricular activities aren’t as common and everyone is staying inside with their ‘technology’.

By: David

David — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:50:36 +0000

To be honest Raj, I know you aren’t getting paid what you are worth and that’s something I think you are in your power to control.

I too work around 60+ hours a week on various projects, but I make time to go to the gym one hour every other day. Are you saying you cant?

I try to choose healthier things to eat. I try to resist the temptation of caffeine and other sugar laden drinks.

FACT: You are in control of your own body. Yes, working at home does increase your chance of gaining weight, but why pick on bloggers specifically? We are a very small part of the work-at-home group, and to be quite honest, I gained weight in an office, just as much as at home.

And I’ve noticed a fair number of $20/post+ gigs on Freelance Writing Jobs.

Lastly, I don’t think that my tone was insensitive at all. Being an obese person, I totally understand the issues facing people fighting obesity. I just think the article was kind of silly, and should have focused more on all work-at-home professions, rather than trying to linkbait us bloggers.

By: Kevin Muldoon

Kevin Muldoon — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:36:27 +0000

“FACT: Working at home DOES increase your chances of gaining weight, because you are no longer even walking from one side of the office to another, or from the parking lot to your cubicle, etc.”

I agree with you there however again it comes down to being responsible for your own time and responsible for your own well being.

I work from home but when I did work in the City I spent over 2 hours a day commuting. Of course, I also spent time walking around etc so got exercise in that regard. However, working from home I now exercise every day for an hour or two – something which I sometimes struggled to do when I worked 40 hours in an office job. Infact, working at home makes it much easier to maintain weight in my opinion. It’s very easy to take a break and do some situps or press ups or whatever whereas when your working in an office there always seems to be someone passing round sweets or whatever.

I agree with you though that blogging is not a well paid job for a lot of people however I think that the fact the job is not well paid is different from blogging makes you fat.

By: raj dash

raj dash — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:14:04 +0000

Just an addendum…. Even big network owners with lots of capital still only pay $10/post. Hardly easy to make a living on $10/post. The $30+/post gigs are very limited.

By: raj dash

raj dash — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:12:30 +0000

David: While I partially agree with you, your post is incredibly insensitive. I know you as a colleague and wouldn’t chastise you except in this case.

FACT: Working at home DOES increase your chances of gaining weight, because you are no longer even walking from one side of the office to another, or from the parking lot to your cubicle, etc.

But yes, you do have to take responsibility and balance your life accordingly. I wrote about this at Performancing yesterday. I’m guilty of that.

No you DON’T need to write a million posts to make a living, but I can’t agree with your attitude. Even with my extensive writing experience, and being a published author, etc., etc., I HAVE to work 60+ hours/wk to make more than $2,000/mth. Show me where all those blogging gigs that pay reasonable rates are. I have a couple, but hardly enough to compare to the kind of living I made offline.

By: NewsFlash : If you eat junk food and don’t excercise you’ll get fat!

NewsFlash : If you eat junk food and don’t excercise you’ll get fat! — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:56:47 +0000

[...] about people blogging til they dropped has stirred up a lot of discussion on the web. John Chow and David Peralty have both written posts today about how being fat and blogging on a regular basis has little or no [...]

By: Kevin Muldoon

Kevin Muldoon — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:00:38 +0000

Blogging is no different to any other desk job so not sure why they are targeting bloggers. At the end of the day if you eat fat foods and don’t excercise you’ll put on weight. Though this is a problem with western society more than anything else.

I wrote about this after my recent trip to New York. The UK is pretty unhealthy compared to the rest of europe but it still amazes me the portions of food you get in the USA when you place an order – Super Size Me!!