motivational reading - cross post

i do like junky tv especially what not to wear and ten years younger i dont really like to watch the biggest loser cuz those people exercise so hard they cry and all i can think is that they need wt loss surgery i fear for them that they will regain their wt kf

What was your opinion of X-Weighted?  I watched it the other day and really hated that it perpetuated the myth that everyone and anyone can lose weight just by diet & exercise.  I hated that the trainer kept saying over and over that "If you're serious about losing weight, just get moving and do it!"  because we all know here that it's just that simple, right? [/sarcasm]  There are studies that PROVE that it's statistically improbable for the SMO to lose & maintain that loss through diet & exercise. I was happy for the women that they lost some weight, but really pissed off that they were handed the same bull**** that I had had force-fed me for years. Guess I'm just a little touchy on this subject, huh

I know what you mean--and I agree to some extent. I do believe that for some people it is a matter of diet and exercise--though that being said--it certainly didn't work for me. Your post makes me wonder if there are people that they work with that we DON'T see---are there failures? One thing I DO like about the show--is that it has a multi-pronged approach. My favorite aspect is that they do active stuff recreationally with people they love. One episode I saw had a brother and sister going to a circus school for a night. I've also seen cross-country skiing, ballet classes with a mother and young daughter, etc. I know I never thought of anything highly active as fun--and just that realization makes me terribly sad---makes me reflect on all the missed opportunities I had when my girls were little. Oh well--better late than never. My 16 yo and I do go to the gym together sometimes--and that's fun. Even though I have absolutely NO regrets about my surgery--I'm still sad that diet and exercise didn't work for me. I'm also glad I had the courage to admit they didn't and proceed forward without shame. K

I absolutely agree that for some people, those with fewer than 75 pounds to lose, diet and exercise will definitely get them there and allow them to maintain.  And you're absolutely right about the positive points of the shows that stress activity - I think as a society, we've become less active and more sedentary.  Just by showing the options available, the show does a positive service. I still found myself ranting aloud at the TV that only 5% of the SMO lose & maintain through diet & exercise.  And, hey, it sure didn't work for me, either! I can't even watch the Biggest Loser or Celebrity Fit Club.  They're painful for me.  Just absolutely painful.

Durn--it's all painful, isn't it? I guess it always will be. Sometimes I think we're all (or maybe just most) scarred for life--we just wear a lot of the scars on the inside. What's interesting to me is all the coping mechanisms we all have. One thing I find hard is when, now that I'm a "normal" size--I'm in the club. Like people will make comments that are prejudicial--though rarely out-and-out rude. Like my massuse (I know I spelled that wrong, but cannot be bothered to look it up), she doesn't know anything about my weight history--though one would think she could tell...and she was saying it was so hard to work on large people, and talked about one client she had that she could tell had lost a lot of weight, etc. This happens to me all the time. I don't think people mean anything destructive by it, but it's a good reflection of how our culture is. The thing that bothers me the very most is when I feel sometimes that I'm not as compassionate as I should be to others who are now where I was. I cannot give you a real example, just that I know in my heart of hearts that I have some internalized oppression issues with it all.

OMG, yes!  I've found that being in the Little Girl's Club is such a huge shift in the way people treat you.  And absolutely, the things that people say in front of us now, some of them even knowing our history.  It's mind boggling. I've found, though, that if anything, I tend to be more compassionate now than I ever was toward the currently obese.  It burns my cookies to see the prejudice so openly displayed. Internalized oppression issues?  Girl, I don't have issues, I have SUBSCRIPTIONS.  I think I'm externalizing them now. It's been great "talking" with you!

I have read and reread "The Emotional First Aid Kit" by Cynthia L. Alexander.  It has helped me a lot.  It really deals with head hunger.  It is a guide to eating after bariatric surgery, but it isn't a recipe book.  It is a psychology book.  I loved it!  I bought it off Amazon. 

not THAT"S what i'm talkin about  thanks for the tip will order kf