I can tell you firsthand that the approach by the doc is totally out of line and counterproductive.

I used to be that obese woman. I've had a doctor reduce me to tears because of their insensitivity. It did not make me motivated to lose weight. I was humiliated and my psyche was further eroded (it was already at a bad place.)

While I agree that obesity is a huge problem (pun intended), there are better ways of motivating people to lose weight. Calling someone a fat cow just ain't gonna git the job done.

Weight to women= the size of your "member" to men. How would you like the doc to call you "Shrinky Dink". Probably make you feel rather inept, doncha think? Worst part is, you can't do nothing to change the size, unless you have an Austin Powers' Swedish-made Penis Enlarger.

Obesity is not just a "food" issue. Think of all the messages re: food=good living that we are bombarded with every minute of every day. Just telling someone to "push away from the table" is insulting and shallow. There is more to the issue than "Stop doing that!" (from a Mad TV skit with Bob Newhart...really funny but sad at the same time.)

There are a few men who understand the weight/obesity issue. A Few. There are too many emotions caught up in eating that can be addressed in this post. Suffice to say, when you find out what's eating you, you stop eating whatever. I am living proof of that.

My comedy skit goes something like this:

"Yep...I used to be reeeaallly fat. Ever since I was a kid. Eating was my way of coping with life. If something made me mad or upset, I would just prepare a whole box of Mac and cheese and I was FINE!. My other favorite was Minute Rice. Yeah, baby! 3 cups of that fluffy stuff with gobs of butter on it...oh, yeah. Always hit the spot.

I felt really smart to be an overeater, actually. You ever think about how other people use drugs or alcohol to cope? That shit messes with your head! Totally fucks up the way you think. I can honestly say, I have never been pulled over by a cop for driving while full."

(laughter)(applause)(throw money)

"Thank you all for coming tonight. You've been a great audience. :-D"

I finally figured out why I was overeating. It's a long story, so I won't bore you with the details. But when I finally figured it out, guess what happened? I lost weight! Tons of it! Like a miracle, it just started to melt off. Suddenly, I was the "thin me who had been screaming to get out". I still have some spare change to lose, but considering the starting point...I look and feel exponentially better.

There is more psychology to obesity than just, "Get off your lard ass and lose weight." The sooner the medical community recognizes that, the sooner they will see better results with their patients.

And, the sooner the nutritional guidelines people stop sleeping with the US Dairy Assn, or other such huge corporate interests, the sooner we can have nutrional guidelines that are actually healthy for us, not the Flavor of the Year. Remember what a healthy meal used to look like 20 years ago? and look at one now.

So, yell all you want to, you inconsiderate ass clowns. Thank your God that you don't have a weight problem. Just don't tell me how disgusting I look to try to make be a better person. You can all have a nice steaming cup of STFU.

Oh,and Slice me a piece of pie, will ya? :-P
Amy

Created as new thread #220983 titled [link|/forums/render/content/show?contentid=220983|I love it.]