This weekend I was shopping and told a few strangers about my upcoming surgery and they were so excited for me. I even had one woman hug me!
And then today I told someone I know about the surgery and the look on his face was completely negative. He judged me and said "can't you just lose the weight the normal way with diet and exercise" like it's SO easy. I said I've tried but I've been unsuccessful. What I really wanted to say to him was...what's wrong with you? Do you think I just sit on my couch, eat ice cream and watch my stomach grow?
Obesity is an addiction. And it's the worst one to cure. If you are addicted to alcohol, you go to rehab, stay away from bars for the rest of your life and you're cured. If you are addicted to drugs, you go to rehab, stay away from drugs and you're cured. If you are addicted to food, you go on a diet but you still have to eat EVERY SINGLE DAY. You can't stay away from food!
Obesity is failure. And it's public failure. If you fail your drivers test over and over, you can just take the bus and tell people you really care about the environment. But if you fail at weight loss, everyone knows. Everyone can see it. And so many people feel it's their right to judge you and tell you that you are a failure...over and over. It's no wonder that obesity is an epidemic. It takes a seriously strong person to overcome the hate and judgement and do something about it.
So for the negative people out there...and to the guy I told today about my choice...I say I'm stronger than you because I recognize my weakness and at least I am doing something about it!
Everyone has weaknesses and when your weakness is food, annoyingly it is hard to hide. As someone who trained beside you for months to be able to walk 60 miles in 3 days and saw you achieve that with little to no weight loss, I can vouch for your hard work and attempt to do it the "normal way". I'm so excited for you and proud of you as you take this step in conquering it.
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