OK, I'm having a moment of being totally bummed out. I had a doctors appointment this afternoon, follow up visit from my August 8th visit. At that time the doctor told me I needed to lose weight (duh) and to find something that worked for me. I started WW that day, and I've lost 47 pounds in just 4 months and 3 days....

I don't know what I was expecting. I did not expect her to jump up and down or anything, but I guess I did expect a little bit of enthusiasm on her part! I was actually excited to go in for my checkup! I left the doctors office down in the dumps. Her response to my weight loss was "It's a good start (that's how I felt too, so far so good....) but when you hit 190 you'll plateau!" What?!?! Is 190 some magic number or something? Is it in the secret medical journals that Kelly will make it to 190 and then bottom out and not be able to lose any more? UGH! I said to her, "well, I feel good and I'm following the plan set by WW, so I'm sure it'll work the way it's supposed to, and that over time the rate of weight loss will slow down." She then said, "Well I don't want you losing 100 pounds in a year!" Wait a second, if I'm going to plateau at 190, she has nothing to worry about!!!! Another thing I've been thinking about since I got home was that when I went into the office in August, I felt like a cow. I felt huge next to anyone at all smaller than me. I took action and have been working on my weight consciously, every day! Today when I was there and she was not offering encouragement, I actually took a good look at her, and you know what? I don't know how much she weighs, but realistically I'll bet she's a size 14 or 16...and hey, I'm a 16 now. Is she a bit annoyed that suddenly we're the same size, when she was the one telling me to do something about my size just a couple months ago?

OK, I'm off my soapbox. Sorry for the rambling post, I just needed to put it down on paper (or screen) to get it off my chest and be done with it. She wants another follow up visit in 4 months...April, 2007. I'll show her what can be done, with our without a plateau!!!!

Kelly,

You've done something amazing for yourself, your health, your appearance, and your self-esteem. Do NOT let ANYONE steal your joy or your commitment! When I lost weight to my goal (which I subsequently regained some of, but anyway...) it was incredible how many people were NOT well-wishers. Some people who were close to me (like my Mom, my Sister-in-law, etc) were very negative in a lot of snotty ways. Losing weight is SO HARD and many people who don't have success with it (and especially people who aren't willing to try) as well as people with low self-esteem tend to be critical. Trying to show your Dr. that it can be done might be a good motivator. Or, you may just want to skip that route and find a new Dr. who values your health and encouraging you in healthy living. You don't deserve to be treated like that (although, you certainly may face more of it in life, unfortunately).

Anyway, I'm glad you aren't letting it slow you down! Way to go!

Lindy

Three words, Kelly...GET ANOTHER DOCTOR!

Your efforts at weight loss SHOULD not only have been acknowledged in a big way but SHOULD also have produced a lot of positive comments about the health benefits that you now have earned due to the weight loss.

Female doctors are often pretty snotty. One that I had actually told me that I wasn't doing a good enough job of pushing. After nine hours of induced labor and an hour of pushing following a week in the hospital with toxemia BELIEVE ME I was DONE after she said that! I just QUIT! When my other doc came in I just said, "Do a C-section! I can't do any better than I have been doing!" To this day I wish I would have shared a few expletives with Snotty Doc that day!

TRY not to let this head the wrong way and put weight back on. I think many of us get really down on ourselves when something like this happens. We turn on ourselves and use food to medicate ourselves. Don't let YOUR Snotty Doc get to you!

Go Kelly!

Cheryl

There's just no excuse for it, she was insensitive and extremely unsupportive. She should have been praising you left and right, up and down. Her mouth should have hung open in amazement. She should have been so excited for you. You've taken her advice and ran with it and she was wrong.

Before I started my weightloss journey I too went for a physical, and my doc, also a female by the way, and I discussed weightloss surgery which I nixed, and at that point she told me "Well, that's a lot of weight to lose without surgery" That was just a little over 3 months ago. I'll show her. And I am do for a follow up as well, so yes I will indeed show her.

And come 4 months from now, you show your doc too. Fooey on that plateau.

Unbelievable! It really sounds like she was trying to sabotage your efforts. Though why, as your doctor, defies reason... And what's wrong with losing 100 pounds in a year? If you lost a sensible 2 pounds per week for 52 weeks, that is 104 pounds. If you had that much to lose, any doctor would tell you that's reasonable. Argh! I'm so mad for you!

Kelly,

First off, super job!!! You are doing GREAT!

IMO, your doc is a putz. There is no reason to plateau at exactly 190. No one knows when one will hit. I've heard though that they can pop up if 1) a lot of exercise is dramatically introduced into a diet or 2) you hit a weight that was your lowest of the low before and you are trying to get beyond it. But they can pop up anytime really and it can be tough to sleuth out what's causing them. And if you stick with your WW plan, you absolutely will get through them regardless.

And 100 pounds in a year is not insane or dangerous. That's less than 2 pounds a week, or a safe rate of loss. It might not work out that smoothly (sometimes our bodies can be a bit stubborn) but I don't think you are in any way endangering yourself.

Yes, I would do some doc-shopping too.

p.s. Awesome job again!

I agree.... find a new doctor!! How many people actually listen to the doctor when they say they need to lose weight??? For the most part this advice falls on deaf ears and doctors will repeat the same advice to the same people year after year. Your doctor should have been dancing when you walked in the door!! Finally, someone who is taking their health seriously!!

I'm sorry that you got a negative response from your doctor. I swear I think there are too many people in the world that depend on the misery of others to make themselves feel good. You need to fill your world with positive people who encourage you to be your best..... and that includes your doctor.

I am thrilled for you..... and I don't believe for a second that you won't just sail right past 190!! Keep it up, you're doing great

I just wanted to stop in and check the site on the way through my basement to the elliptical machine...hehehe...I'm feeling so much better after all your responses. I know when I need a cheerleader where the most incredible ones can be found...right here at 3FC!!! Thank you, thank you, 100 times over!

As many people do, I go to a group of doctors. There are two docs out of the group that I see, both of them women. The one I saw today was the same one that I saw in August, but I had seen the other doctor probably the 3 previous appointments. Wow, sounds like I go a lot, but that's been over the last couple years! When the doctor told me she wants to see me in April, I scheduled the appointment, but I did it with the other doc that I see there, not with her. This one will not have seen me since my very highest ever, and it won't be until April, when I'd like to be at least another 20 pounds lighter than I am today. This will be her one shot at it! If she's not doing cartwheels, I'm moving on! It's all about ME now!

Thanks again....you guys are awesome!

Oh.... my.... god...

What an idiot!

My doctor told me to lose weight. I came back like 6 months later and I lost like 12 pounds and he estatic! He gave me compliments all over the place. I was annoyed because I had lost 30 pounds and gained more than half of it back, so I was all rolling my eyes and making fun of him. He simply said, "I tell most of my patients that they need to lose weight. I do it everyday and very very few of them actually lose weight."

Seriously, get a new doctor. What was she hoping to accomplish?

I honestly think you are on the right track with your analysis of her. I bet she plateaus at 190 and can't get past it. But yes, I'm a vindictive B**CH so I would totally keep her until you're past 190, do a follow-up visit and then, give HER some advice on losing weight.

Jessica, I won't give her the satisfaction of being right. And yes, I fall into the vindictive category too, so she better look out!

Your doctor should definitely be supportive of your new healthy lifestyle. She should have been very complimentary. Don't let it get to you, just use a different doctor. That's what I'm going to do because my family Dr. told me that he thought I used drugs to lose weight. I was totally offended and won't go back to that Jerk. My specialist that follows me has been greatly supportive of my wt. loss.

That really makes me mad that she says "you'll plateau when you hit 190". I'd have asked to see her crystal ball. That is just stupid for her to say that.

I agree, get a new dr. I haven't lost hardly anything and yet my dr is still totally 100% supportive and encourages me and never ever makes me feel bad about myself. Its like my MIL says, "You hire/fire drs just like you do plumbers and other service people. They provide service to you and if your not getting what you need, then its time to "fire" them and get a new one." My mil is also a retired ICU nurse of 31 years so she certainly knows all about drs and all their "quirks."

I think you are doing an awesome job!

Good for you!!! You don't deserve a Dr. that cannot see the hard efforts you have done to make yourself healthier.And for losing 47 lbs. in 4 months....a huge CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Congrats on your losses, that is so fantastic!

I agree that this doctor was a complete twit in not being more complimentary in your weight loss. My doctor would likely give me a resounding cheer if I went in with that kind of loss. Is it possible for you to see the other doctor and not this particular one for your next visit? Do you get the opportunity to choose which doctor you see? Family doctors are hard to come by where I live so I'm not jumping on the get rid of your doctor bandwagon. Instead I would sit down and write a thoughtful letter to this doctor. Maybe she doesn't realize what she did was wrong. If she is like this with other patients you might be doing a lot of people a favour by letting her know she needs to improve her bedside manner. If you just up and leave this practice without saying anything how is she going to know she needs to change?