LovebirdsFlying
My husband drew this cartoon of me.
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But I've got to vent this somewhere.
I belong to a weight loss support group on Facebook. Won't say which one. Confidentiality. So a new member comes in, all upset because after doing very well with eating right and exercising for the past week, she weighed herself and found she had gained a small amount. She's very discouraged. Says her husband came home to find a withered puddle of tears curled up in a ball on the couch. I responded by pointing out that many things can cause a gain that have nothing to do with how well we did or didn't do. Water weight, time of month, etc. Loss doesn't happen in a straight line--more like a seesaw, as my hubby puts it--and real long-term change takes time. If she's exercising, she could even be building muscle, which is good because blah blah blah. Anyway, I really tried to encourage her.
Then I went to her Facebook page to look for clues as to what more I can say to help. Saw several of her photos that she had posted.
Guess what?
She doesn't even look overweight in the first place.
Sigh.
She could be vain. She could have unrealistic expectations. She could have a warped body image. She could be the victim of other people abusively telling her she's fat, when she isn't. I have no way to know any of this, and frankly it isn't my business. But I do feel like my advice was probably wasted.
As someone who has battled obesity, who is still in the "obese" range, but no longer the "morbidly," I suppose it's difficult for me to be patient with people who stress about their weight, when they really have no reason to. I want to scold and lecture and one-up. "You think YOU have a problem?" But that isn't helpful. I don't know what is.
Do you?
I belong to a weight loss support group on Facebook. Won't say which one. Confidentiality. So a new member comes in, all upset because after doing very well with eating right and exercising for the past week, she weighed herself and found she had gained a small amount. She's very discouraged. Says her husband came home to find a withered puddle of tears curled up in a ball on the couch. I responded by pointing out that many things can cause a gain that have nothing to do with how well we did or didn't do. Water weight, time of month, etc. Loss doesn't happen in a straight line--more like a seesaw, as my hubby puts it--and real long-term change takes time. If she's exercising, she could even be building muscle, which is good because blah blah blah. Anyway, I really tried to encourage her.
Then I went to her Facebook page to look for clues as to what more I can say to help. Saw several of her photos that she had posted.
Guess what?
She doesn't even look overweight in the first place.
Sigh.
She could be vain. She could have unrealistic expectations. She could have a warped body image. She could be the victim of other people abusively telling her she's fat, when she isn't. I have no way to know any of this, and frankly it isn't my business. But I do feel like my advice was probably wasted.
As someone who has battled obesity, who is still in the "obese" range, but no longer the "morbidly," I suppose it's difficult for me to be patient with people who stress about their weight, when they really have no reason to. I want to scold and lecture and one-up. "You think YOU have a problem?" But that isn't helpful. I don't know what is.
Do you?