Are you a fan of the TV show "Fat Doctor?"

[JustMe]

I will watch the very last two episodes tonight. I don't tend to watch too much TV, let alone documentaries, but since I'm on my own health and weight loss journey, I gave this show a try. It's on Amazon Prime. There are 5 seasons. It takes place in Britain. The episodes were all made before glp-1 medicines were part of peoples' stories. Dr. Shaw Somers and his colleagues helped people who were morbidly obese. We get to see each person's story before, during, and after surgery. I have so much compassion and empathy for each one of the patients; moreover, I learned from every person, each situation, and the doctors on this show. It's been heartbreaking, motivational, and helpful.

I was so inspired, I looked up Dr. Somers. He and his colleagues continue to do surgeries, teach others, and help people each day. I signed up for their newsletter on their website. Now, I get stories about many of their patients, so I continue to learn, be motivated, and feel connected to others who struggle with their weight.

If you don't mind watching real surgeries and seeing inside of people's abdomens, you may also like this TV show.

I'm grateful for doctors like Shaw Somers and his colleagues for helping so many people, for educating people about obesity, and for showing the world that people who struggle with their weight matter just as much as everyone else.

It's a wonderful TV show.

Fat Doctor

Streamline

One of many videos that they make for people

Helpful Stones to Pounds Conversation Chart

 

[dianeseattle]

I will watch the very last two episodes tonight. I don't tend to watch too much TV, let alone documentaries, but since I'm on my own health and weight loss journey, I gave this show a try. It's on Amazon Prime. There are 5 seasons. It takes place in Britain. The episodes were all made before glp-1 medicines were part of peoples' stories. Dr. Shaw Somers and his colleagues helped people who were morbidly obese. We get to see each person's story before, during, and after surgery. I have so much compassion and empathy for each one of the patients; moreover, I learned from every person, each situation, and the doctors on this show. It's been heartbreaking, motivational, and helpful.

Thank you SO MUCH for this post. I didn't know anything about the show and would have missed it if you hadn't mentioned it. It is everything you said it is, and I'm only in the first season! It is such a well-made documentary and to see these peoples' lives saved is inspiring. I've never known a super-morbidly-obese person, but I've seen them in my travels.

One really shocking moment I witnessed was at a lake, where I was sunbathing in my bikini back in the 1970s. Across the park I saw a woman being helped out of a van, and she was huge. She lumbered over to the water and got in, where she swam and floated and turned into a ballerina. I remember thinking, in the water, this is the only time when she's free. She can move and twist around and feel joy.

But the pre-op patients in the documentary can't even do that. My heart goes out to them and am so grateful there's a safe medical procedure that can change their lives--the one that's saved many lives here.

So again, thank you for sharing this. I hope a lot of people in our group get a chance to see it.

 

[JustMe]

Diane,

I'm so glad you love it, too! Every episode is wonderful, educational, heartbreaking, and so important for people to watch. Not only is there real hope out there for people, but society as a whole needs to realize and accept that people with obesity are just as important, smart, deserving of love and help and respect, and capable of setting goals and reaching them as everyone else! I hope you enjoy the show! I have no idea what I'm going to watch on TV tonight!

 

[dianeseattle]

I was so inspired, I looked up Dr. Somers. He and his colleagues continue to do surgeries, teach others, and help people each day. I signed up for their newsletter on their website.

Is the newsletter on Facebook? I ask because I don't have any social media anymore. It was having several extreme effects on my psyche and I'm thrilled to be rid of it. No Instagram or any of the others, ever again. But if he has a downloadable or email newsletter, I'd love to read it.

I do want to say, to anyone who wants to follow the show, it's basically the same thing every episode. The various forms of surgery, patients before and after, health conditions, and video of the surgical technique being performed. I don't mean that in a critical way, but it's hours and hours of repetition, sitting and watching it, learning one or two little nuggets of education in each episode. That's good in terms of learning by repetition, but if you've been around the block, it may get tedious. For me, for sure, I'd be better off getting off the couch and going for an episode-long walk!

Also, because it is British, the measurements are metric and euro, not in cups and pounds. I keep having to stop and convert their weight from stones to pounds (14:1) in my brain so I can appreciate their size.

Still, you are absolutely right. It's a fabulous show. If the newsletter is available to someone like me, I'd like to get it.

 

[JustMe]

Hey Diane,

Click on the Streamline link above and sign up for their newsletter! I, too, use no social media. They do not send too many emails which is a huge plus. I'm really happy to receive their newsletter. It's motivational and educational.