As anyone who has followed my blog (all 10 of you, thanks by the way) knows, I use a food logging website called myfitnesspal. There are some very interesting people on there. Very opinionated. And very rude. Especially when it comes to two subjects, calories under 1200 and bariatric surgery. Someone broaches the subject of surgery and the vitriol gets thick fast. The haters come out of the shadows to blast anyone who dares consider having surgery or admits to having it.
They act like it's some horrid evil. Like the people are akin to zombies who cheated. Who obviously aren't healthy. Who couldn't lose the weight on their own. Who didn't try or care. You had surgery so obviously you're lazy. This seems the common attitude. Not just on MFP but in society as well.
I fail to understand this. People don't like us when we are fat but then we do something to make ourselves healthy and get looked at like we did something horrible. We make a very personal choice to do something to OUR bodies that is designed to help us achieve a healthy lifestyle. It's a tool.
Yes, there are plenty of people who fail after surgery. But it's not the fault of the surgery. The same could be said of someone who has heart surgery and then goes back to eating fast food only to have another heart attack. Wasn't the fault of the surgery.
It seems to me, and maybe I'm just simple minded, that people would be more supportive, happy for the person, helpful even. They made a choice to be healthy. Why is that in any way a bad thing? It isn't.
People have different surgeries every day for thousands of different reasons. Many are elective, plastic surgery is a huge business. Fake boobs are all over the place but how often do you hear someone telling a woman they cheated and should have made those boobs on their own? People have joints replaced, should they have suffered in pain for the remainder of their life? I could write a very long list.
I follow several sports professionals on facebook. Women who work out for a living. They have amazing bodies they worked very hard for. And fake boobs. Are they any less impressive because of that choice? I'm not a fan of silicone, but I'm certainly not going to judge them for that choice.
Now personally I don't give one half a shit what other people think about me or my choices in my life. I don't live to make others happy and I certainly don't make my life altering choices for others. I make them for me. However, the level of vitriol leveled at those of us who make the choice to have surgery is disturbing. And pointless. Tend your own yard and worry less about that of your neighbors.
2 comments:
I don't understand the animosity. At all. I also don't understand having the surgery...but only because it would take away my ability to stuff my face if I wanted to. That's not a good thing. I wouldn't do it because I lack the discipline to eat tiny amounts of food for the rest of my life. How is someone making a choice to not only get healthier but have the strength required to focus on every bite of food, every sip of water they take, forever, weak? Having WLS forces you to put your health under a microscope everyday. Macros and micros take on a meaning I know nothing of. WLS, to me, is the hard way. I'm eating a bit less and moving a bit more. This is a walk in the park compared to surgery and I'm well aware that "this way" doesn't cut it for others. People can judge all they want. The fact is, WLS requires more strength and determination, focus and persistence than most of us could ever muster. Hugs, Jeanine theartichoke...in case my name isn't on this thing :)
Weight loss surgery is hard on your body. I'm not willing to put myself through it.
That being said, I've known several people that have been through it and are doing relatively well now and 1 that is really thriving. It's still a daily struggle for all of them. It will be for you too. It's just the reality of it.
I understand why some people need it but personally it's not for me but bashing someone for it? To me that's like bashing someone because they needed to lose weight in the first place. There shouldn't be a place for that on MFP.
Also, I wanted to let you know that I do know some people who had the initial consultation for WLS and started losing weight to get to the goal they had to reach before surgery would be allowed and once they got there decided that they liked what they were doing enough to keep doing it on their own. So, please keep an open mind about it.
~Erica (g00dm0rning)
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