Sorry- this is going to be a long one!
I am obsessed with ready people stories about WLS, it is how I came across this forum. I search in all my free time and try to find new pages and read, read, read. I want to hear the good, bad and ugly. Anything that could possibly go wrong. The best and worse case scenarios. Maybe to an unhealthy level. Haha.
Anyway, I came across “bariatric facts” website which ended up being a forum support group kind of like this. I don’t prefer it, everyone just thinks they know better than the last person and it is basically a pissing contest rather than a support system. (IMO)
Regardless, I did read around the page and came across a woman’s post that I found interesting. (And pretty annoying) She was “complaining” (for lack of a better term) that because she is/was a “heavy weight” (Yes, that is what they call it on that page, which is someone who starts out over 400 lbs) That her situation was “more important” or necessary than the “light weights”. That she weighs nearly 700 lbs and that her goal weight is higher than a lot of other peoples starting weight of 250-300 lbs. She listed all of the things that she was missing out on and all of the things that those smaller people never had to deal with. Stating that they can't have lived a life as hard as her own because they have never “outgrown a car” or had to find “creative ways to clean up after using the restroom because she could no longer reach”. She literally created a list of things as to why someone of 300lbs should be grateful for their weight and that they didn’t need WLS they just needed to go on a diet.
Anyway, I am bringing this up because it bothered me. Even as someone who is starting as a “heavy weight” (400lbs) I was just completely appalled that she had the nerve to tell other people that they should be grateful for not being 700lbs and they didn’t need surgery. Who has the right? This surgery is not only about weight, but health. And I feel more so health than weight! We all have some kind of story where we went through something that we likely thought, no one else has ever had to deal with this. We all have some reason to want to better ourselves. Everyone is different, everyone carries their weight differently. Some people at 400lbs can do things that 250lb people cannot do. For example, I can touch my toes, cut my toenails, tie my shoes. I can walk up a flight of steps and barely elevate my heart rate. I am also 5’11.5” so my weight is spread across a much larger frame than someone who is 5’2”..
Point of my rant is that NO ONE has the right to tell anyone what they need or do not need. We are all in the same boat, different shapes, different sizes, different reasons. But the end goal is all the same, we are all in this together, fighting for what we want. It will be just as hard for me as it was for someone who needs to lose 75lbs or someone who needs to lose 400lbs. At the end of the day, we all have to do the same thing to reach our goals and we all have to do it for the rest of our lives to maintain it.
I am obsessed with ready people stories about WLS, it is how I came across this forum. I search in all my free time and try to find new pages and read, read, read. I want to hear the good, bad and ugly. Anything that could possibly go wrong. The best and worse case scenarios. Maybe to an unhealthy level. Haha.
Anyway, I came across “bariatric facts” website which ended up being a forum support group kind of like this. I don’t prefer it, everyone just thinks they know better than the last person and it is basically a pissing contest rather than a support system. (IMO)
Regardless, I did read around the page and came across a woman’s post that I found interesting. (And pretty annoying) She was “complaining” (for lack of a better term) that because she is/was a “heavy weight” (Yes, that is what they call it on that page, which is someone who starts out over 400 lbs) That her situation was “more important” or necessary than the “light weights”. That she weighs nearly 700 lbs and that her goal weight is higher than a lot of other peoples starting weight of 250-300 lbs. She listed all of the things that she was missing out on and all of the things that those smaller people never had to deal with. Stating that they can't have lived a life as hard as her own because they have never “outgrown a car” or had to find “creative ways to clean up after using the restroom because she could no longer reach”. She literally created a list of things as to why someone of 300lbs should be grateful for their weight and that they didn’t need WLS they just needed to go on a diet.
Anyway, I am bringing this up because it bothered me. Even as someone who is starting as a “heavy weight” (400lbs) I was just completely appalled that she had the nerve to tell other people that they should be grateful for not being 700lbs and they didn’t need surgery. Who has the right? This surgery is not only about weight, but health. And I feel more so health than weight! We all have some kind of story where we went through something that we likely thought, no one else has ever had to deal with this. We all have some reason to want to better ourselves. Everyone is different, everyone carries their weight differently. Some people at 400lbs can do things that 250lb people cannot do. For example, I can touch my toes, cut my toenails, tie my shoes. I can walk up a flight of steps and barely elevate my heart rate. I am also 5’11.5” so my weight is spread across a much larger frame than someone who is 5’2”..
Point of my rant is that NO ONE has the right to tell anyone what they need or do not need. We are all in the same boat, different shapes, different sizes, different reasons. But the end goal is all the same, we are all in this together, fighting for what we want. It will be just as hard for me as it was for someone who needs to lose 75lbs or someone who needs to lose 400lbs. At the end of the day, we all have to do the same thing to reach our goals and we all have to do it for the rest of our lives to maintain it.
