Every morning, I log into the website www.obesityhelp.com. I must admit, at first I bristled at the name. I hate the word "obese" or "obesity." My experience has been that a lot of doctors use that word to avoid taking care of a problem, no matter what the problem is. High blood pressure? You're obese - lose weight. High cholesterol? You're obese - lose weight. Pain anywhere? You're obese - lose weight. I fully understand how excess weight can aggravate a lot of medical conditions. But I have always adamantly felt that there is MORE to me than just my weight - and been so frustrated when I felt like that was all a doctor could see. I get absolutely crazy when a doctor looks at me and ASSUMES high blood pressure and high cholesterol. (My normal blood pressure is 95/70 - there is nothing high about that - and my total cholesterol hasn't been over 150 in years.)
Nevertheless, I DO log into this website every day. If someone is considering weight loss surgery (WLS), it is an excellent resource. If someone had just had WLS, it is a wonderful support group - comprised of a caring group of people who have "been there." There are answers for just about any question. There are helpful suggestions for recipes and ways to exercise. And if you decide to open an account - look for me - my user name is sonatasmom1.
But my very FAVORITE part of the website is the before and after pictures. I especially like looking at the people who were my size or bigger, and then seeing where they are now. The weight loss is always dramatic, but it helps to see that sometimes it has taken quite a while for them to get where they want to be. And I think to myself, "I cannot wait until I post my before and after pictures..." I could post now - and truthfully, the change has been dramatic already. But I'm so not where I am GOING to be, and I think it will be worth the wait...
No comments:
Post a Comment