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Excellent Article!

Brenda2010

Brenda2010

Member
Excerpt: "What no one tells you about major weight loss is the way that everyone treats you differently. Strangers will meet your eyes, smile back, laugh at your jokes. You will face a wave of compliments, often linked to the silent horror that your body was assumed to be for so many years. “You look great! I was worried — you looked rough before.” Accepting these compliments may come with ease. It may also feel like a betrayal, a sacrifice of the body that brought you this far, and the self that still lives within it".

The Magical Thinking of Weight Loss
 
It is astounding how differently people treat you once you are no longer obese... really incredible. Suddenly you are human to people that would treat you like a dog before. The assumption that because someone is large they are less than is one stereotype that is so hard to change. I would say I am the same person, but I really am not - the journey changed me, as it should. Not just physically, but emotionally and mentally. But I was no less valuable when I was 308 pounds than I am today. Thanks for the article link!
 
eladams2015 said:
It is astounding how differently people treat you once you are no longer obese... really incredible. Suddenly you are human to people that would treat you like a dog before. The assumption that because someone is large they are less than is one stereotype that is so hard to change. I would say I am the same person, but I really am not - the journey changed me, as it should. Not just physically, but emotionally and mentally. But I was no less valuable when I was 308 pounds than I am today. Thanks for the article link!
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Couldn't agree more! I noticed towards the summer that men were holding the door for me again... was I not worth the same courtesy because I was fat? Unfortunately, discrimination of the obese is still considered acceptable in society.
 
Brenda2010 said:
Couldn't agree more! I noticed towards the summer that men were holding the door for me again... was I not worth the same courtesy because I was fat? Unfortunately, discrimination of the obese is still considered acceptable in society.
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Ha ha I’ve noticed women who I’ve known for along time that have just seen me recently were a lot nicer and talkative to me now that I lost some weight.They used to ignore me.
 
Brenda2010 said:
Excerpt: "What no one tells you about major weight loss is the way that everyone treats you differently. Strangers will meet your eyes, smile back, laugh at your jokes. You will face a wave of compliments, often linked to the silent horror that your body was assumed to be for so many years. “You look great! I was worried — you looked rough before.” Accepting these compliments may come with ease. It may also feel like a betrayal, a sacrifice of the body that brought you this far, and the self that still lives within it".

The Magical Thinking of Weight Loss
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I've been watching some YouTube videos by people who had surgery. Feelings about this issue came bubbling up with some people many months after their surgery. I like getting all this info before hand so I can be prepared.
 
Brenda2010 said:
Couldn't agree more! I noticed towards the summer that men were holding the door for me again... was I not worth the same courtesy because I was fat? Unfortunately, discrimination of the obese is still considered acceptable in society.
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Boy amen to that. Try riding a bus being fat. When you board everyone looks at you then the set next to them. As though too say, you are not going to fit.
 
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I haven't noticed any real change in how people treat me. I still get called "big guy," which I hate. However I am 6'3, so there's a possibility that I might always be called big guy, even if I was skinny. But I think a lot of that has to do with my geographical location. I'm in the NY metropolitan area, and people are pretty much rude, and disconcerting 24/7. But one strange thing I noticed is how I see people now. I like to think I treat people the same. But I often wonder who has had the surgery, and who hasn't. If I see a fat person, I often wonder if they had the surgery, and wonder why they are still fat. Of course I don't ask random strangers those questions. But it's something I never thought about before.
 
Nicelady said:
Boy amen to that. Try riding a bus being fat. When you board everyone looks at you then the set next to them. Ask though say, you are not going to fit.
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It's despicable the way the overweight are treated. Even if I'm not physically obese anymore, I'll always identify as part of the community.

My heart breaks for the overweight children out there getting bullied everyday... I was one who got it at school and at home, it destroyed my self-image. So I ate & ate... it became a chicken and egg scenario for sure. Kids don't have the emotional maturity for impulse control and use whatever they can for comfort. Hell, most adults can't stop themselves from overindulging.

It's just sad that in today's society, it's still completely acceptable to judge someone solely for their size.
 
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