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According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 39.8 percent of U.S. adults are obese. Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30. The problems with being obese include many social and medical issues, like fitting into a movie theater seat and being at a greater risk of heart disease. When you lose weight, there are also difficulties, like making time for exercising and revising lifelong habits. Weight loss surgery can help make these issues easier. It’s not always the answer, and I understand it doesn’t solve any of your problems. Being thin doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be happy. However, losing weight can help you gain life. While the problems with being obese and losing weight are numerous, bariatric surgery can help give you back your life.
The Social Problems with Being Obese
When you are obese, life is a little bit harder. You receive constant judgment from others, and you can tell by the way they treat you and look at you. You also have to worry about things that thinner people never have to worry about, like is the seat belt on the plane or in the car going to fit? Is that chair going to hold me? Is there going to be clothing that fits me?
If you grew up fat, as I did, you might feel constantly left out of certain social situations. For example, never having a date to a school dance because no one wants to date the fat girl. You might be worried about even finding a dress that you like and fits how it should. I once had someone tell me in high school that I shouldn’t go to a homecoming dance because I’m too fat to wear a dress. Your friends might all be sharing clothes, but you can’t because none of them fits you.
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Judgment from Others
People judge you based on your appearance, whether we like it or not. We’re constantly judged based on our skin color, hair color, weight, height, if we wear glasses or what clothing brands we wear. It’s sad to live in such a world where you’re written off based on superficial aspects of who you are. Your drive, determination, humor, attitude, work ethic and personality don’t even get a second glance because someone has already decided that you don’t measure up. I have news for them. You do. You are worthy. Don’t ever let anyone else decide your worth.
Obesity is a disease that everyone knows you have. Unlike other diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease or hypertension, you can see when someone is obese. You can’t tell which people in the crowd are diabetic, but you can tell which people have obesity. Because this disease is out in the open, and there’s no hiding excess weight no matter how hard we try, many people feel it’s OK to comment on your weight. If we can start advocating that obesity is a complicated disease that isn’t just necessarily because a person is a lazy pig, but rather that it has social, ethnic, mental, gender and physiological causes, perhaps we can change the script when it comes to addressing and helping people with obesity.
You Decide Your Worth
Helping people with obesity begins with helping people realize that their worth is not tied to their weight. Oftentimes, our weight holds us back in ways we never imagined. Now that I’ve lost the weight, I can look back and see how many times my weight held me back – how I didn’t have the confidence to do things that were deep inside my heart. Now, I feel the confidence in me to go after what I want.
Yet, I know what it feels like to feel like you don’t measure up. You feel hopeless, tired, sick and like you don’t matter. It took me losing half of my body weight and taking back my life to realize my worth. When you realize your worth, your problems with being obese suddenly shrink. You know how amazing you are, and you don’t allow anyone to take you for granted anymore. Once you realize how strong and powerful you are and start taking back your life, you will become unstoppable.
Medical Problems with Being Obese
When you’re obese, you also get constant criticism from your doctors. One of the problems with being obese is getting proper medical care. For example, I could go to a doctor for a bad sinus infection, and they would tell me to lose weight. All of my problems, whether they were caused by a virus or bacteria or not, were because of my weight.
There’s also the issue of fitting into the diagnostic machines. There’s a weight limit on those machines. What if I break a super-expensive machine because I’m too fat? I once had to go to a hospital an hour away because they were the only ones in the area that had the machines that would accommodate my weight. I was not only embarrassed, but I came up with excuses on why I chose that hospital instead.
Obesity does indeed cause some health issues. The National Institute of Health states that being obese puts you at
- Type II diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Certain types of cancer
- Sleep apnea
- Osteoarthritis
- Fatty liver disease
- Kidney disease
However, obese people shouldn’t be ashamed to go to the doctor when they need an antibiotic to treat a sinus infection because they don’t want to be fat-shamed. Obese people deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and have their concerns heard. I understand that excess weight can cause medical issues, as discussed above. However, sometimes our weight has nothing to do with the medical issues we are experiencing. No one should be ashamed to see their doctor because of their weight.
Difficulties of Losing Weight
Another one of the difficulties of being obese is losing the weight that made you that way. You have to constantly choose to make healthier choices over unhealthy ones.
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Some other difficulties of being obese and losing weight are measuring and tracking your food. While I believe that doing so is a cornerstone of healthy weight loss, it’s not easy! It takes a lot of internal force to measure a tablespoon of peanut butter for the 1,349th time.
Forcing Yourself
Because nothing about losing weight is easy, no matter which path you take, you sometimes have to force yourself to do the things that are going to help with your weight. Sometimes you have to force yourself to attend a pre-op requirement. You know you need to do it, and you want to get surgery, but you’re so sick of doctors and hospitals you could scream.
Sometimes you also have to force yourself to work out. Especially if exercise isn’t one of your favorite things, making appointments with yourself to workout can be a drag. Sometimes, every step of your workout is forced. But you get the job done anyway because you are tired of all the problems with being obese.
Weight Loss Surgery Can Help
Because you’re tired of the problems with being obese, you still get done what you need to do. Bariatric surgery is life-changing. There are so many benefits to it. When you lose weight, you start gaining confidence. You gain a purpose in life. Life is going to happen whether you are obese or if you’re losing weight. You have to stay the course to reap the benefits. Stay focused on your goal, so you can stop making your life more difficult and start enjoying life again. If you need help in deciding to have bariatric surgery, please feel to reach out to me. Email me at nicky@stopweightingstartdoing.com. I also suggest you purchase this book and go through it. It helped me so much in deciding on surgery and figuring out what to expect.
The weight didn’t come on overnight, and you aren’t going to lose it overnight either. It will take time to lose weight. Your body is going to have adjustment periods where your weight will stall, or you may even gain a few pounds. However, if you stick with the lifestyle changes you made, in a few weeks the weight is going to start melting off again. You’ll be thrilled because your knees and joints won’t ache as much. You’ll have more energy, and you’ll sleep better.
Skinny Does Not Equal Happy
Your mental health is going to get better as you lose weight. I’m not saying that being skinny is the secret to happiness. Not at all. However, loving yourself is going to bring the happiness you didn’t know existed. Obesity didn’t cause my unhappiness, rather my unhappiness caused my obesity. Once I started following my God-given purpose, the happiness I longed for returned.
When you feel good about yourself, it helps your mental health. Bariatric surgery can help you feel better about yourself. You’re going to feel more comfortable in your clothing, and you are going to start to like the way you look again.
Losing Weight, Gaining Life
Being obese is hard. Losing weight is hard. Maintaining your goal weight is hard. Choose your hard. While the problems with being obese and losing weight are numerous, bariatric surgery can give you back your life. As you lose weight, you gain life. It’s my tagline here at Stop Weighting, Start Doing: Losing Weight and Gaining Life Through Bariatric Surgery. It’s exactly what bariatric surgery does. Fear of fitting places, like movie theaters or amusement-park rides, no longer applies. People treat you better. It’s true, being thinner doesn’t mean you’re happier. But the whole weight loss surgery process allows you to explore what makes you happy and eliminate the rest. Life is too short to be unhappy. Take action today.
If this article gave you some great ideas to incorporate into your life, just imagine what other amazing strategies I have for you! Share this post on social media by clicking one of the sharing buttons, and don’t forget to join my email list! You’ll be the first to get updates, access to my new products and lots of tips, inspiration and motivation to help in your bariatric surgery journey. Just for joining, I’ll send you a free eBook with the 10 Habits to Change Before Bariatric Surgery, as well as some other pretty awesome goodies to keep you motivated. Join today!
In Summary
A higher risk of developing serious medical conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and fatty liver disease. You’re also constantly worried about fitting places, or if you’ll be able to find clothing that fits. It’s difficult to always feel left out because you can’t participate in something because of your weight. Being obese can be extremely hard.
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