Question:
What is your philosophy of obesity now?

What would you say are your thoughts or philosophy towards obesity now? Why?    — yourdivaness (posted on January 30, 2003)

January 30, 2003
You ask this question as if my philosophy about obesity has changed since losing weight. In fact, it remains the same. Morbid obesity is a disease that has a constellation of factors. The more factors, the worse the disease. Thhose factors include: basic genetics, eating behavior, exercise habits and metabolism altered by repetitive dieting. If your basic genetics lean toward fat production and retention, you have a large appetite (usually for more than just food -- sex for example), you are limited physically or are generally sedentary, and you have altered your BMR by dieting, you are more than likely going to need surgery to successfully overcome morbid obesity and it's comorbidities. This opinion is based on years of research and personal experience.
   — merri B.

January 30, 2003
I think it's a disease that needs to be treated as such. Instead, it's often viewed as a character flaw. Obesity takes away some of the best years of people's lives. It's a shame that there isn't a more readily available "cure".
   — Diana L.

January 30, 2003
Interesting question...My main reason for having WLS was psychological, that is to say I had no real comorbidities to speak of (though it was just a matter of time), but I was so filled with self loathing and disgust at this body (that didn't even feel as if it belonged to me anymore) that I had to do SOMETHING, you know? Now I see obese people and I sometimes want to say "There is a way out of this prison"...but I realize how judgemental that is. Just because I couldn't function as a MO person doesn't mean that someone else isn't perfectly content with themselves and their life, just as they are. It's hard not to project your own feelings/experience of being fat onto others...But thru this site I have learned that MO people live a wide array of lifestyles and experiences, and being fat doesn't have to mean they are miserable, as I was, and it doesn't even have to be an overriding factor in their identity. I don't know if any of this makes sense, but it's just some of my thoughts.
   — rebeccamayhew

January 30, 2003
My thought is that obesity is a disease, and weight loss surgery is an effective way to keep it in remission. Personally, I don't think there's such a thing as "X number of pounds gone FOREVER." As long as we view obesity as a disease, and fight it like one, we can stay ahead of it and control it. But "let loose the dogs of carbs" (or sugars, whatever it is for you), and look out, the weight will come back, even after WLS. So my philosophy is, my excess pounds are not gone -- they're in remission. :) I hope to keep 'em that way! ;)
   — Suzy C.

January 30, 2003
Obesity is a disease and its a shame that anyone would have to live with it, when we have a "cure" sorta speak. Grant it we have to take control and use our "cure"/tool appropriately for it to work but in any case its there for us ... I hope to god that people who suffer from obesity see what a wonderful thing wls can be, not only for their health but for there self esteem as well...
   — Deanna Wise

January 30, 2003
I too believe that obesity is a disease. We know that it is genetic, that some people are more predisposed to becoming obese. Many of us know that we have not helped our weight in the ways that we had eaten in the past, but many of us know more than most nutritianists in regard of calories, good foods/bad foods, etc. I do not feel any differenly now than I did pre-op. When I see someone obese on the street, I feel total empathy in regard to how they may or may not be feeling, or how they may or may not be treated by other's. The thing that really bother's me most though, is by example on the "Dr. Phil" show last week. The subject was about obese people and how being obese is "their choice". There is already a stigma surrounding this disease, but it is shows like his that help to fuel the stigma when he states that it has little to do with genetics and more to do with choice. That is CRAP!!! So, in a nutshell...that is how I feel. Nothing has changed in my views.
   — twenc

January 31, 2003
I find myself feeling nothing but compassion. Sometimes, when my hubby and I see an extremely obese individual, we say, "That person could really use the RNY." We don't mean it as a put down, but rather an observation of how much this surgery could help people, if they chose to pursue it. Sometimes I am amazed that people DON'T do it, since more and more insurance companies are approving it now.
   — Terissa R.

February 1, 2003
Hmmmm, when I read your question and decided to answer I thought I had an interesting answer. Now that I've read what others have written I see that I really approached your question differently. Ever since the surgery (open RNY 10/31/02) I've been writing down everything I eat including the calories and protein grams. That has taught me how difficult it is to NOT overeat. And also now that I accept and monitor my weight I realize that probably 2 out of every 3 people you know is technically overweight. That somehow is helping my self-esteem. I'm about 272 now and before the surgery I wanted to get to 165 and now I think I'd be happy with 200. That's because I've finally and honestly come to accept the fact that it's what you can do with your body that's important - not a number. I have a friend who weighs 200 and I never would have guessed that fact because to me she looks completely normal/healthy. Ok, I'm rambling, I'll stop. Short answer - my new view on obesity is that the "world" has made it to easy to be obese and thusly feel bad about themselves.
   — Pamela R.