feeling sympathy for Smuggar

[ladypuglover]

Btw, I love your avatar. Pugs are so cute!

Thanks, I and my pugs think so too. And before anyone asks, that lovely little lady pug is not mine.

[Buzzard]

It's funny. I feel sorry for him in a way because he didn't ask to be brought up in this lifestyle, and essentially, with Daddy still owning the car lot and Grandma still owning the house, he's trapped. Maybe if he was single, he could break away, but with a wife and 2 kids to support, and no education to speak of, he's screwed.

So, technically... he's in debt to them? Hmmm... sounds like someone isnt really following the principles!

[lilwriter85]

So, technically... he's in debt to them? Hmmm... sounds like someone isnt really following the principles!

He's not following the priniciples and Michelle's leave and cleave motto is BS. The Duggars have no problem lying to their viewing audiences. They seem content with some people believing that Smuggar is a young successful businessman who set up his own business and owns a home.

[IReallyAmHopewell]

He's not following the priniciples and Michelle's leave and cleave motto is BS. The Duggars have no problem lying to their viewing audiences. They seem content with some people believing that Smuggar is a young successful businessman who set up his own business and owns a home.

My guess is they feel he's doing the "work" or at least overseeing the running of the car lots so that's "supporting" himself and his family. And, who knows? He may be paying Grandma rent of some kind. And they do get on that bus a lot---that really has to be hard work with the howler monkeys influencing their own kid all the time!! Not to mention all three of them on a single bunk!!!

[YPestis]

He's not following the priniciples and Michelle's leave and cleave motto is BS. The Duggars have no problem lying to their viewing audiences. They seem content with some people believing that Smuggar is a young successful businessman who set up his own business and owns a home.

That's the thing that irritates me to no end. The Duggars and other fundies like to brag about how their young boys can marry early, not go on to any higher education and support a growing family without any debt or help! Tell me how many ways a non-trust fund 20 year old high school graduate can support a family with his income alone?

As for Josh getting fat. He has gained a substantial amount of weight since his marriage.

I see a couple of factors:

1. Josh is married. No more looking nice for courting girls. He can "slack off" and not watch his figure.

2. Josh is getting older. Once past the teen years, people's metabolism may slow down. The Duggars never had the healthiest diet, and I bet Josh don't know how to eat really healthy (i.e fresh veggies, smaller portions etc)

3. Sympathy weight. I know a lot of people here think Josh is a jerk. I think he is very naive and smug...but I also think he loves Anna and tries to be a good husband to her. I think when Anna was pregnant, he gained weight along with her, as is common with some husbands.

4. Medical related. There are few conditions that can cause people to gain weight. Most people in this country are fat because of diet and lifestyle, but a small minority are that way due to endocrine related issues.

5. Josh is living in a small family now. Growing up, food may have been shared, snacks may be smaller portioned etc. Now, he can snack on junk food to his heart's content, he can stuff himself silly without consideration for the dozen siblings that may also want to sample the tasty treat.

His weight gain could be multifactorial. Some/all of the reasons could have come together at the same time contributing to his weight gain.

[fundiefan]

Life and circumstance changes often come with diet change, thus weight change.

Large family to small, or small to large. Single to married or married to sings. No kids to two pregnancies in as many years, and yes, sympathy weight.

I gained 20 pounds in my first three years or so of marriage. I did so because we liked to cook, so we cooked. The ex gained more than 30 pounds in that time. We experimented and sat down to full meals every single night. Eventually, we figured things out and ate differently and both settled at weights closer to when we started. I've also gained about 15 pounds since being divorced because I don't know how to cook for one so I eat more junk than I should but it is so much easier to pop a burrito into the microwave than to actually cook something for just myself and produce isn't an economical buy for me since other than some basics, it comes in larger amounts than I can eat before it goes bad.

I really just think it's life's progress and nothing more with Joshie because it is far from unusual and is much closer to typical given the last few years of his life and the changes.

[bananacat]

He's not following the priniciples and Michelle's leave and cleave motto is BS. The Duggars have no problem lying to their viewing audiences. They seem content with some people believing that Smuggar is a young successful businessman who set up his own business and owns a home.

What really bothers me is that so many viewers apparently believe this B.S. too. It's so irritating that they can't see how much he is still controlled by Mommy and Daddy because of selective editing.

However, I don't understand the whole "leave and cleave" thing anyway. JB has made more money than he can ever use in his lifetime. Isn't the point of making more money so that it can benefit your children? There's nothing wrong with helping your kids out even when they are adults; I just wish they wouldn't lie about it and pretend it makes them somehow holier. If I were in JB's place, I would help in a different way that isn't so controlling, but I would still want to help out my kid. It seems a little selfish to hoard all the money until you die and the kids inherit it.

[demgirl]

Especially when the kids are literally the only reason you have as much money as you do.

[Rowan]

Especially when the kids are literally the only reason you have as much money as you do.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Quoted for truth.

[lilah]

The whole "leave and cleave" thing is to make it appear that Josh is living debt free, just like mom and pops. Instead of taking out a business loan to start his car lot or mortgage to buy his house, those things are taken care of by mom dad and grandma.

I have to wonder whether the TLC money will last to establish all the younger Duggar boys in some business or trade, not to mention a new home for his bride. Are there enough business that Tonitown can support or will they have to move to other towns? I suppose the hope is that if say Josh's business is successful enough he could afford to hire one or two of his brothers. But the reality is that TLC has Josh performing like a circus monkey because that's where is money is coming from.

And would they do anything to help out their daughters when they are married? I really really really hope the Duggars that are over 18 are getting a share of the TLC money.

Yeah does Boob ever do anything for a living? He's not a very hand's on parent at least judging by how Josie was the first baby he'd really cared for. Michelle at least has to pretend to be a homemaker for the camera.

[Cassandra]

Umm, Josh didn't just gain 10 pounds over 3 years, or even 15 pounds over one year. He gained probably 40-50 pounds in just a few months. Even most very fat people have a stable weight, where it doesn't shoot up that much that fast. Like I said, when my thyroid is under control, I can scarf down tons of pizza and ice cream and not gain any weight, even though I am overweight to begin with. But if my thyroid is low, I will gain a ton of weight in just one or two months, no matter what I eat. You just can't eat enough steak to gain weight that fast unless there is something else going on.

I gained 30 pounds in about 15 weeks during my freshman year of college. The only thing wrong with me was eating portions designed for 18 year old boys and going from swimming 5 times a week to absolutely no exercise. Thankfully I looked in a mirror and realized what was going on after my second quarter and lost about 15 of it almost immediately. ( The other 15 have sadly lingered these past two years)

I'm not saying there aren't potential serious health problems behind the weight gain, but it is definitely 100% possible to gain that much weight in a short amount of time because of over eating.

[lilwriter85]

What really bothers me is that so many viewers apparently believe this B.S. too. It's so irritating that they can't see how much he is still controlled by Mommy and Daddy because of selective editing.

However, I don't understand the whole "leave and cleave" thing anyway. JB has made more money than he can ever use in his lifetime. Isn't the point of making more money so that it can benefit your children? There's nothing wrong with helping your kids out even when they are adults; I just wish they wouldn't lie about it and pretend it makes them somehow holier. If I were in JB's place, I would help in a different way that isn't so controlling, but I would still want to help out my kid. It seems a little selfish to hoard all the money until you die and the kids inherit it.

I have seen viewers on other sites and a couple of people in real life praise Josh because they basically believe he started the businesses on his own and some people actually believe that he owns a house. The editing on the show makes things look a certain way, but the Duggars keep certain details off the show. I agree there is nothing wrong with helping adult children start business or help them pay for an education. My parents helped me pay for college and i have friends whose parents have assisted them with starting business, buying homes and I've had friends who have taken over family businesses. It irritates me that the Duggars lie or don't acknowledge that they have helped Josh.

[lilwriter85]

The whole "leave and cleave" thing is to make it appear that Josh is living debt free, just like mom and pops. Instead of taking out a business loan to start his car lot or mortgage to buy his house, those things are taken care of by mom dad and grandma.

I have to wonder whether the TLC money will last to establish all the younger Duggar boys in some business or trade, not to mention a new home for his bride. Are there enough business that Tonitown can support or will they have to move to other towns? I suppose the hope is that if say Josh's business is successful enough he could afford to hire one or two of his brothers. But the reality is that TLC has Josh performing like a circus monkey because that's where is money is coming from.

And would they do anything to help out their daughters when they are married? I really really really hope the Duggars that are over 18 are getting a share of the TLC money.

Yeah does Boob ever do anything for a living? He's not a very hand's on parent at least judging by how Josie was the first baby he'd really cared for. Michelle at least has to pretend to be a homemaker for the camera.

I don't think the TLC money will last long enough to help the younger Duggars. In other post here, I mentioned that the Duggars probably won't make a huge profit from TLC and the show. Reality shows don't really make huge long term profits like scripted TV shows do. I think the after the show ends the Duggars will only make additional profits for maybe 1-3 years. Reruns/syndication royalities decrease over time and the only channel that the Duggar show will be rerun on is probably on DFH. The show will probably never be sold into syndication for local affiliates or foreign airings.

I think the Duggars have managed their money well and once the show ends on TLC they will still be ok financially. But they won't be taking too many vacations and they might now have certain expensive things. I think Boob will somehow find ways to get the younger boys involved in a business or trade. I could see him getting the boys involved rental property businesses. I agre they are also probably hoping that the car lots will do ok so Josh could hire one or two of the younger boys.

[alphaeta08]

Add me to the "he's just fat" camp. I once gained 80 lbs in about a year and a half. Nothing was medically wrong with me, I just went from exercising and watching what I eat to... neither. Josh works an office job, probably learned nothing about healthy eating from the SOTDRT, and it shows.

Ugh, I totally gained almost that much in the same amount of time! In my case, it's probably like 10-20% PCOS, 80% idiotic college lifestyle eating too much crap and not exercising as much as I did in high school. Plus, I'm realizing my metabolism in my 20's is laaaame. :roll:

I don't really feel sorry for Josh, since as I grew up, I managed to form some different opinions from my parents, so he doesn't have an excuse to be so crazy-fundie. I do think he tries with Anna and the kids, within the limited role he's given himself.

[makepeace]

He's just overweight. Don't a lot of men gain weight once married because they have a wife to cook for them and pamper them with delicious fatty dishes - and we know that's what Anna would have done to please him.

[Guest Anonymous]

Hypothyroidism has many more serious symptoms than weight gain, and with all the attention Smuggar gets, I think it would have been picked up by now, if that was the case. I agree with others, the most likely explanation is his new freedom to eat unlimited amounts of home cooked food, safe in the knowledge that his courting days are over and his 'helpmeet' is safely in the bag.