Why is Sam still fat?

[Greywolf2375]

When slender people want to buff up, they have to break their body's habit and eat more than they usually do, preferably mostly proteins. They have to work for the extra weight. So fatter people have a predisposition for getting muscular, but it's also quite hard to turn fat into muscle.

yeah...no. None of what you are saying about the transition from fat to muscular or thin to muscular is close.

[Snuzin]

Just finished "Feast" last night. Sam has definitely lost weight. He noted it himself regarding how his diet was essentially restricted to fish and fruit on board ship. He even noted that his archery skills had improved, which suggests he's become more fit.And mention was made of his "baggy black" clothes as he walked around in Oldtown. I agree he will never be svelte but he is certainly not the giant pasty he once was.

[Sijjvra]

Considering they didn't have much food on the march beyond the Wall, were practically starving on the way back, and he was constantly sea sick on the ship and has been up to a lot of physical activity in the NW's - which I don't guess makes for a lazy, indolent lifestyle - Sam probably has toughed up and lost quite a bit of weight. However, remember that from his own POV, (and this happens to people a lot IRL once they've been called fat, stupid, too skinny, ugly, etc one too many times) he probably still thinks of himself as extremely fat and unattractive. It might be that "unreliable narrator" that GRRM likes to pull so often.

[Ty Lannister]

I'd say he's probably around 220 right now. I base this on an exchange with Kojja Mo towards the end of AFFC.

""Can Gilly stay aboard till I return?"

"Gilly can stay as long as she likes." She poked Sam in the belly with a finger. "She does not eat so much as you."

"I'm not so fat as I was before." Sam said defensivly. The passage south had seen to that."

He started at 280 and has been eating less and getting quite a bit of excercise for a couple of years now. Now recently, on the passage south, he's getting even more excercise and eating even less. But, he's still fat enough that he's getting poked in the belly by friends. In today's world I'd say you stopped getting poked in the belly at 230ish. So, adjusting for the lack of an obesity epidemic in Westeros I'm going with 220-225.

[butterbumps!]

What is in the water lately? 2 threads on the extent of Sam's fatness, a "who is fatter" discussion thread AND a "Fatmoot" all in the past week? The scrutiny and precision with which Sam's level of obesity is being assessed is kind of commendable. Anyway, I definitely thought Sam had lost considerable weight during the voyage to Oldtown. I think the standards of calling someone "fat" in that context is a lot different than it is today, as well. Before the show, I'd pictured his build like Sean Astin, Jack Black, or Kevin Smith -- larger than the Westerosi norm of being toned and lean from hard labor/ training, but not epic.

[Dr. Pepper]

I think it's pretty clear from Sam's POV that he has lost considerable weight. The only thing that makes it unclear is that he's still known as the fatty by his black brothers. Considering they see him daily, a loss in weight won't be so noticeable, at least not immediately. It's like when you see your best friend everyday but don't notice that she's lost 25 pounds until she tells you but if you don't see your other best friend for two months you'll notice right away that she's lost 10 pounds. It's likely that his mother (should he see her) will remark on his weight-loss.

Still, he was pretty fucking fat when he joined, so even if he lost 100 pounds, he'd probably still be considered fat to those who didn't know him pre-NW.

[Alia of the knife]

I hope it wasn't something from "Trusted Guthy Rencor" (sp) ! (The company that keeps telling you they're 'trusted', which I find funny because that's not really how trust should work. If the way you establish trust is by telling people to trust you over and over until they do, that's brainwashing baby! Which Americans seem ready and willing to embrace. :ack: I often get the sense that we're still free only because it suits our our overseas creditors.)

I tend to view late-night infomercials with a sense of horrified wonder.

From Vinny the "Shamwow" guy, to the inept who can't make a salad without a nifty device that saves them the trouble, I marvel at that much energy at three in the morning, and what their coke habits must cost them.

The side affects of that stuff are worse than the problem, because you know that the cure for restless leg syndrome could lead to a midnight drive nude, looking for sex.

Who knew? :dunno:

As for Sam and his obesity, only excercise, moderation, and understanding his genetics are the ways to control his problem.

[butterbumps!]

Still, he was pretty fucking fat when he joined, so even if he lost 100 pounds, he'd probably still be considered fat to those who didn't know him pre-NW.

Are you sure? I really thought he was a bit more than "husky" but not, like, Marlon Brando/ Eric Cartman proportions.

I tend to view late-night infomercials with a sense of horrified wonder.

From Vinny the "Shamwow" guy, to the inept who can't make a salad without a nifty device that saves them the trouble, I marvel at that much energy at three in the morning, and what their coke habits must cost them.

OMG. Making parody infomercials was one of my hobbies in my youth. My favorite actual infomercial was that device for people who have trouble straining pasta, of course featuring an idiot who fails at aiming for the sink with their "conventional" strainer, and curls into a ball at the horror posed by the act of cooking pasta. They make it seem like even the most basic of activities result in loss of life and limb, property damage or some other devastating catastrophe unless you buy their product.

[Alia of the knife]

Are you sure? I really thought he was a bit more than "husky" but not, like, Marlon Brando/ Eric Cartman proportions.

OMG. Making parody infomercials was one of my hobbies in my youth. My favorite actual infomercial was that device for people who have trouble straining pasta, of course featuring an idiot who fails at aiming for the sink with their "conventional" strainer, and curls into a ball at the horror posed by the act of cooking pasta. They make it seem like even the most basic of activities result in loss of life and limb, property damage or some other devastating catastrophe unless you buy their product.

The pasta one is my FAVORITE!!

But the runner-up is the one for the egg-cracker, or whatever it's supposed to do, because the asstard makes NO effort whatsoever to get the egg into the bowl. :D

[Dr. Pepper]

Are you sure? I really thought he was a bit more than "husky" but not, like, Marlon Brando/ Eric Cartman proportions.

I think he was more fat than husky when he arrived, and then later more husky than fat.

"Jon turned. Through the eye slit of his helm, he beheld the fattest boy he had ever seen standing in the door of the armory. By the look of him, he must have weighed twenty stone. The fur collar of his embroidered surcoat was lost beneath his chins. Pale eyes moved nervously in a great round moon of a face, and plump sweaty fingers wiped themselves on the velvet of his doublet."

My image is that his appearance is similar to John Bradley, though probably flabbier than Bradely. Like Bradely, even if Sam lost 100 pounds, he'd probably still be considered fat even if his body was dramatically changed from his first appearance in the book/show.

ETA: Jon has see Robert and still thought Sam was fatter. I guess it depends on whether or not Jon has seen Manderly, who can't even sit a horse, let alone be carried over the shoulder by someone, or ride triple on an elk.

[Budj]

I bet the Maesters keep him on a strict diet too...can't have his knees going bad climbing stairs in keeps all the time. Maesters are supposed to live to be like 80000000 years old.

[Naathi Prince]

I bet the Maesters keep him on a strict diet too...can't have his knees going bad climbing stairs in keeps all the time. Maesters are supposed to live to be like 80000000 years old.

only Aemon, and most men if they live with a lord in a castle and never have to fight and have to constantly climb stairs will live long.

[femfatalatron]

Making parody infomercials was one of my hobbies in my youth.

Uh. You're awesome.

I used to call the 1-800 numbers listed on packaged foods / other grocery store products and ask them really silly questions. Massengill was not happy when I asked them to precisely define "that not so fresh feeling".

Oh right, on topic... Some of my family are midwestern farmers who eat a lot of meat and potatoes. They are BIG, but there's also plenty of muscle under there. I just figure that's what's happening to Sam. It's not all gonna come off at once, and for all his periods of marching and hard labor, he also has periods of inactivity where he pores through Castle Black's library, or nurses Maester Aemon in Braavos.

[Hoid]

He lost weight and gained some muscle because he had to work on the ship.

[butterbumps!]

ETA: Jon has see Robert and still thought Sam was fatter. I guess it depends on whether or not Jon has seen Manderly, who can't even sit a horse, let alone be carried over the shoulder by someone, or ride triple on an elk.

Hmm. I think you might be right. In general, I had imagined that all of the characters described as "fat" (with a few exceptions) were much less so than their portrayals on the show and by our current "standards" of heaviness. In particular, I thought Jon's comment was comparing Sam to other boys (and not including Robert or Manderley), but I could be wrong.

The pasta one is my FAVORITE!!

But the runner-up is the one for the egg-cracker, or whatever it's supposed to do, because the asstard makes NO effort whatsoever to get the egg into the bowl. :D

Ok, so about that pasta drainer. I spent 10 years of my life thinking, "There is no one in the world so outrageously incompetent who would need one of those stupid things to cook pasta without incident." Then I watched this one guy attempt pasta-cooking. I shit you not, when it came time to drain the pasta he put the "conventional strainer" facedown over the top of the pot and flipped the damn thing upside-down. Pasta and boiling water flew everywhere, and the pot/ strainer combo was so hot he had to throw that hastily across the room to prevent serious injury. And for the record, this guy was like 25 years old. Not even the original infomercial, which does a good job of making pasta-cooking look insurmountable, manufactured this moronic scenario strawman.

Uh. You're awesome.

Wait- are you being sarcastic? Those infomercials were pretty well-developed.

[Light a wight tonight]

Ok, so about that pasta drainer. I spent 10 years of my life thinking, "There is no one in the world so outrageously incompetent who would need one of those stupid things to cook pasta without incident." Then I watched this one guy attempt pasta-cooking. I shit you not, when it came time to drain the pasta he put the "conventional strainer" facedown over the top of the pot and flipped the damn thing upside-down. Pasta and boiling water flew everywhere, and the pot/ strainer combo was so hot he had to throw that hastily across the room to prevent serious injury. And for the record, this guy was like 25 years old. Not even the original infomercial, which does a good job of making pasta-cooking look insurmountable, manufactured this moronic scenario strawman.

That story is incredible. Dude! Boiling water's hot, y'know?

Actually you can improvise a strainer if need be. I heard of a guy who used a fencing mask.

[Darth Pipes]

Sam notes upon arriving in Oldtown that he had lost some weight and his clothes were looser on him.

[StannisBamfatheon]

Because he is the Ham, born admist salt and smoke.

Completely off topic but the Stannis AV's on this site are absolutely badass, that standard totally caught my eye nice find.

As for the OP, some people are just genetically predisposed to being horizontally advanced. And if sam lost the weight he'd undergo a Jonah hill-ification where he went from fat, jolly and lovable to looking like he's from outer space.

[Quentyn Baratheon]

Then Sam will march on Horn Hill and reclaim what's his with fire and ham.

:cool4:

Lord Samwell tarly, lord of Hornhill, came into the battle wielding Porkchopbane, his house ancestral valyrian sword. :bowdown:

[Currawong]

Lord Samwell tarly, lord of Hornhill, came into the battle wielding Porkchopbane, his house ancestral valyrian sword. :bowdown:

Lord Samwell Tarly, granted new arms by the king. A rich gravy brown shield, with a smiling pink pig in the centre.