The surprisingly harmful aspect of the body positivity movement

Most if our society still finds it acceptable to marginalize the obese. There is a lot of blame -- that being fat is a choice. Anyone who is educated on the subject knows how false that is.

The appearance aspect us another issue entirely. Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. De gustibus non est disputandum -- in matters of taste, there can be no dispute. So, some can think smoking looks cool, but there is near universal acceptance that it is not healthy.

Some believe obesity is beautiful, some don't. That's ok, and unavoidable. But some also believe they can be healthy while obese, and I cannot disagree with that more strongly. You can get away with it while you are younger. You can still be somewhat active, you may have no obvious complications. But obesity is a time bomb. It will catch up to us. Everything from diabetes, heart problems, high cholesterol, arthritis, and on and on.

I'm glad to see you choosing what is best for your health. Ignore all the crap people will talk at you. I wish I had done this when I was much younger.

You're spot on with making that difference between subjective views of beauty, and actual health! I agree! My doctor was surprised by how (relatively) healthy I was at Christmas in spite of my weight (335 lbs at the time) - I had almost none of those things. I snore but don't have apnea, my blood sugar is normal (though higher than it used to be), my heart is in great condition, I'm not pre-diabetic, no arthritis (though some joint pain). It's all OBVIOUSLY just lurking down the path, though, especially diabetes, which runs in my father's family. I've always known that! So yeah: time to turn that steamship around before it's too late! I was eating good food, just in much bigger portions than I should have been. And I was still eating sugar. Now I've cut refined sugar completely and am following a Mediterranean-based diet (high veg, no sugar, moderate healthy fats (avocado, olive oil, etc), moderate protein, low carb), and so far it's been working for me. I'm staying away from fads and trends and pills and trying to make sure I cover my nutrients within that 1200 calories and I feel great. I know that post-surgery my caloric intake will have to drop further and I'll likely need to supplement with more vitamins, but it's a process!

Which surgery did you have, just out of curiosity?

I had RNY. You can add your surgery type, surgeon, and surgery date into your profile, and it will show up as a header in all your posts. It can make getting answers a little easier.

It sounds like you are on a great path. Remember that after surgery, you'll really need to focus pretty exclusively on protein. Think keto, not Mediterranean .

Ah, ok, cool. I haven't explored the options on this site yet!

Yes indeed, for post-op. It's just that it's likely going to be about two years until then, so I was looking for something I can sustain over a long period of time while still losing, you know? As long as I have the stomach space to fight against, I thought it would be wise to keep my dietary options as broad as possible, and it was the diet my doctor recommended. So far it's doing me well, but yeah - I'm very much aware that there will be more changes after surgery. It's at least half about getting my head into the new game, you know?

yep, how you eat is pretty much how I eat. though probably a little higher on the protein front. Initially it is tough to get enough protein in, but as you are able to eat more you can add in more of the healthy vegetables and fruits you would have been eating in the Mediterranean diet. I wanted to lose in the same way I planned to maintain...with healthy, whole food choices.

This was exactly me in my 20's and early/mid 30's. Doctors could not fathom that I seemed healthy and that all of my numbers ( glucose, lipids, BP, etc. ) were perfect. They'd look at me, look at my lab results, and look back at me in surprise. My family history with those issues is terrible, and doctors were stunned I wasn't having those health issues at that point. Up until I injured and then developed osteoarthritis in my right knee at 36, I felt physically great despite being 280ish pounds. ( Emotionally was a totally different story. )

All that good luck was starting to run out by my late 30's. By the time I hit 40, I was pretty much a train wreck waiting to happen. I had RNY at 41. I'll be 5 years out this year and I feel SO MUCH better at 46 than I did at 26- even though I was a "healthy " morbidly obese person at 26. ( if that makes sense. )

Every single day is just so much easier now-even the really sucky days.

Yes, exactly this. I had this shocking wake-up call the day before my 38th birthday and very suddenly had to realize that I can't just keep living the way I have been all of my life up until 3.5 weeks ago! My health problems have been piling up over the past year and I finally just saw clearly that every one of them go back to my weight. So: time to fix it. :)

You commented that you're healthy "so far". And to me, that's a huge part of the issue. As a nurse, I believe that the body will compensate and compensate as long as it can, keeping all of the things we medical people check looking good. Until it can't anymore, and then it just falls apart. For me, that was around the age of 40. Other than my knees that had congenital problems that the weight exacerbated, I was "healthy". My blood pressure was normal, my blood glucose was great (except for going TOO low), I was active and did all sorts of things like belly dancing and working out at the gym. And then it seemed like overnight, though it was really over the course of a year or two, everything bottomed out. Sleep apnea, heart arrhythmia, high blood pressure, autoimmune disorders... My body couldn't keep up anymore.

My weight didn't CAUSE any of these things, but it puts so much more stress and strain on EVERY body process, that things give out before they would without the weight. No one will ever convince me otherwise.

Didn't sound to me as if the OP was saying she was the model of health, just that she didn't have obesity-related problems as of her last appointment.

Right, sorry if I sounded harsh to the OP. My response was directed at the bopo/HAES people. The OP in my reading seems to be of the same opinion I am, that as of now she's not had any problems, but she wanted to get the weight off to avoid problems down the road because of the weight.