Lisa, that is really sad that the show misrepresented you and your beloved son. What a horrible thing! I mean we get upset when gossip travels among our tiny circles, but sheesh, to be on national TV and feel you were misrepresented is really attrocious. I didnt see the show and now I'm glad I didnt!

But I do think a lot of people on 3FC are incredibly sympathetic with your plight. Not being misrepresented on national TV, but with being overweight. We could all use support in our weight loss efforts, and we hope you will join the network here and try to get that weight down. Your health obviously depends upon it!

Thank you so much for your warm welcome. I'm sorry if I sounded angry--I was just sad. I feel foolish that I was so naive and foolish to have even been involved in the whole thing. I just wanted help.

You all seem very nice and I do appreciate your offer of support. As I mentioned in my previous post, I lost 200 lbs a few years ago. I had actually dropped down to 417 in a matter of 6 months. My dr had prescribed phentermine and I ate low carb. After a while, the pill stopped having any efftect--it is for short term use only anyway. My therapist put me on high doses of prozac which was supposed to help me lose weight. If anything, it did the opposite. I became a zombie and the weight began to come back fast. It's such a horrible cycle--you are depressed by your weight--you eat because you are depressed.

I have been doing better the past few months. I made a New Year resolution that I would stop eating candy. I have only had candy one time since, on Valentine's Day. Candy used to be what I craved most. I have almost totally stopped my nighttime eating.

Anyway, I have to get back to work. I think I would like to stay around. Thank you all!

Lisa

Lisa~we want you to stay around!!!!

Glad to hear you plan to stick around. I'm pretty new myself, but it's a very supportive place - I'm becoming addicted. Oh well, it's a lot better for me than my sugar addiction!

Lisa - I have just finished reading this thread and although I have never seen the show, I am so angry at the way they misrepresented you!

There are many great areas of 3FC, but I wanted to invite you over to the 300+ section (under support groups). While the whole site is fantastic, sometimes it really helps to be able to talk to others who have a lot to lose.

Hi Lisa!

I know what you mean when you say that you are depressed by your weight so you eat and that causes you to feel MORE depressed! That's pretty much the theme for many of us around here!

Please don't feel bad about the show! You can't beat yourself up for something that you couldn't control. You didn't know how they would edit the final piece.

What you DO need to know is that the show struck a chord with many of us! We saw ourselves in the show or at least the potential for us to be in the same situation because of our own eating habits. There are many similarities between people who are heavy -probably more similarities than differences!

Each of us have triggers. For you it's candy; for me it's cheese! Of course I have OTHER triggers, but cheese is my biggie! Congratulations on handling your candy and on handling the night eating!

Glad to hear that you would like to stick around! I'm looking forward to having you as a part of our team!

Cheryl

Im fairly new here too, and glad your sticking around.. isnt it great here?! Im so glad you had the courage to say something. -- i know with me, i have the hardest time sticking up for myself. so KUDOS to you for doing so!! i hope you become an integral member here, as it seems you have some important info you can share..in the past you've had 200 lbs lost thats incredible!! not very many people can say they have done that -- anyways.. a big warm and i hope to see you around!

Lana

Lisa, I am glad you are sticking around. I also encourage you to join us over at the 300+ group. They are a bunch of great people who are so supportive and thats where I RUN when I am feeling like diving off plan.

Just so you know, I saw the show on TLC. I want you to remember that most people realize that shows on TV are there to bring ratings up. They don't care who they hurt in the process and sure they take things out of context and sensationalize *everything*. The general public is not stupid. we know that. I am so sorry that they essentially victimized you, but why not take this and turn it around to help yourself with a little help from some new friends here on 3FC?? Success is the sweetest revenge. Remember that!

Hang in there sweetie and have a great day!!

Lisa - and all,
Sometimes I think it's the depression over our weight that triggers everything else - the "what difference does it make?", the "who cares?", the "why even try?" kind of thinking. And it IS a vicious cycle, because the more we give in to our cravings, the worse we feel, and the worse we feel, the more we give in to our cravings. I'm one of those people who tends to see the whole medical profession as a giant leech - dependent on our being *sick* in order for it to flourish. My attitude is a little extreme, I know, because in many instances, medicine really is neccessary; it's just that I saw my mother become increasingly dependent on huge numbers of pills - many of which were prescribed to counter the side effects of the others that she was taking - until she became totally convinced that without taking these umpteen thousand pills a day, she would die. My mother wasn't obese - just on the *plump* side - probably weighed about 180 at 5'6. But she was very definitely a hypochondriac, and her doctors fed right into it. ANYWAY, somebody in this thread mentioned the psychological triggers for obesity, and I have to agree that it isn't all about the physical. Sure, there may be some people who have some sort of internal chemical imbalance that flashes "I'm hungry" all the time, but I doubt that that's what's up with most of us. I've seen some of you - especially those of you who have lost amazing amounts of weight - say that at some point, something in your brain says "ENOUGH!" I know for sure that that's what it takes with me. If that little "click" hasn't clicked, I can try my hardest to diet, and it never works. At some point, we manage to decide that we're worth it - worth all the effort it takes.
And sometimes it takes a healthy dose of annoyance to overcome the feelings of depression.
I'm sixty years old. I don't know how I got here; can't imagine being sixty, but that's what the calendar says, so I guess it must be true. I'm looking in the mirror, I see a few more wrinkles, and a little more heft. Surely that's not age-related? Okay, fine. I just need to adjust being older, right? Your looks decline. You get heavier and have a bigger lap for the grandkids to sit in. Nothing wrong with that.
But, here I am, looking at ads for those upscale retirement communities (not that we'd ever even consider living in one of them), and all the women in those ads look thirty years old - except they have silver hair!
This is soooooooooooo like Lane Bryant using skinny models, you know?
BUT, that made me re-evaluate! It really did! How weird is that? And then I felt the *click*, and here I am.
You never know what's going to motivate you, but with me, it took being incensed at the way the media twists and misrepresents things to thier advantage.
I'm not buying into their danged retirement community, but I AM going to take off this weight!
So, hearing that this show about the 33,000 calories a day (I didn't see it) was a gross misrepresentation doesn't surprise me a bit.

To heck with them, Lisa. Hang out with us here at 3FC. I really think you'll like it.

Bye for now,
Ella

Welcome to 3FC, Lisa...

I'm sorry that so many people have said such not nice things, based on the drastically exagerated situations they have seen on this low rate TV show. But, in this case, they were just commenting on the information that they saw on a TV show. They didn't know the whole story. I've never seen the show, but I am assuming that it was not pleasant. These people don't know you, and didn't know how exagerated this show really is at the time. They just see people, exagerated or not, that are eating uncontrollably. The show made you and the others look like you just eat and eat, and you just don't care. Now we know that is not true, and I, for one, am glad to know that we were wrong.

I'm sure that if you had known that they would show you in that light, you would have never agreed to do the show. You had good instincts when you wanted to refuse them. They lied to you and exploited you, and made you look like what you feared they would in the beginning. You have been humiliated by them. Have you ever though about suing the people who filmed this show? Maybe you should go and talk to a lawyer, maybe find out exactly what you signed, and where you stand legally with this situation. Also maybe find out how to contact the others filmed, and get them involved.. You have all been seriously wronged. I would take it to court....

Lisa-

I too saw the show... and wanted you to know that not everyone who watched it believed everything they were trying to feed us. Particularly you and the British lady... it was obvious things were very set up and manipulated... there was more to the story than they were showing and it was obvious.

I'm glad you came here to tell your story. It makes more sense than the story they told... I think that is why alot of people in the thread were questioning the whole situation so much... it simply didnt make sense the way they told it.

Just wanted you to know the first thing I thought of you when I saw you on my screen... I thought you were very pretty... you have a sort of 1920's classic beauty to you. Even said so to my fiance.

Hi Lisa

I did see the show and I agree with CHeryl in not beating yourself about it. I was wondering from the getgo about follow up help and I see that something very wonderful came out of that show! : ) You found this site and you found us! THe support is unbeleivable here and we can get it daily, as often as we want! how great is that? I am happy you posted and reached out on the site, I just wanted to say also, congratulations on your progress with the candy and late night eating, keep up the awesome work and stick around

Lisa, thank you so much for coming forward. That was truly brave of you.

After reading your posts and the details behind your story I am SHOCKED and appalled by the way TLC and the UK film company treated you and misrepresented your story. I had no idea how manipulative and deceptive the production company was. In fact, I have to call into question their portrayal of all the other people on the show as well. This certainly puts things in a totally different light. I would urge you to tell YOUR side of the story in some other media forum, if and when you feel you are ready, because I think it's a story that should be told.

That said, 3fatchicks is a wonderfully supportive site for people who have struggled with weight issues their whole lives. I am one of the people in the 300 lb club, and though I weigh less than that now, I still deal with size issues. We've all walked several miles in each other's shoes. There is no one on this site who hasn't experienced in some way the pain and embarrassment that comes with unwanted weight gain. This site is filled with helpful information, great tips, and most of all -- tremendous support. Keep coming back. Let us know how you are doing.

I wish you good luck in your new journey. And thanks again for having the courage to come forward.