I feel like I need to save everyone. I wonder if it's legal to start a free weight loss support group?
If you want to really do something try looking into starting a TOPS chapter in your area if you don't already have one. Tops.org might be able to help you out. It's not free to join, but it is very cheap and the support is wonderful.
Yesterday was a day spent hanging out with boyfriend where we did a lot of driving. When we got back to town we were both hungry and craving pizza. I hadn't indulged in awhile so we decided to go to our favorite place and split a small pizza. The place had shut down, so we went down the road to this place we hadn't been before.
Turned out that it was a pizza buffet. I got a nice big salad and two slices of pizza, and then as I was eating I begin to notice the people around me. Almost everyone was obese and many morbidly so. Many of them had stacks of empty plates in front of them, which showed how many times they had gone to the buffet bar. It was shocking!!!!
We ate our dinner (yes off plan, but reasonable) and I said I had to get out of that place. I don't want to ever be looked upon as one of them. Today, I've eaten very clean and exercised really hard this morning. Those people have been on my mind all day.
i live in nyc and was (actually still am ) the fattest of ALL my friends and coworkers. My highest was 205.
I am about 170 and am still fatter then most people I see around and about.
I do think region and economics are a factor (economics which usually translates into access to education)
Times have also changed though. I recently saw an old episode of 'what's happening', and I remember rerun and shirley being absolutely huge. But now, not so much.
I have early teen cousins who live in a more rural area and are quite heavy for their age, or at least heavier then kids of my age group were when we were 13-17, but they are the norm, if not thin in comparison to their peers.
Last edited by thisisnotatest; 09-18-2009 at 08:11 PM.
Well, I am still one of those people, and I will gladly take any of your help.
Me too.
I wonder if there is a way to help the kids? Just educating folks about nutrition would be a start.
There's so much wrong with the food system--check around: there may be "healthy" eating initiatives underway who would welcome volunteers. In my mind, that's the first step. How many people truly know and understand the connection between what they eat and their health? And once they do, how easy is it for them to pursue healthier options?
Last edited by Alana in Canada; 09-18-2009 at 08:12 PM.
Loribell(mrs. America)~I have felt the exact same way!
But here is what comes to my mind~I wonder who had lost there weight and thought that same stuff one day when they saw me with all my junk food in my cart and could have passed the secret of counting calories unto me but didn't do it?
So here is what I do....I loudly say something to someone in the isle about losing a large amount of weight so far~Then if i catch the attention of the one I am after ~I explain it to them in detail~Even if they do not ever do anything with it I spead the word~I Hope I am helping someone I come in contact with.................By the way I Became overweight ~NO LONGER OBESE!!!! I wanted to share that with ya!!!
I just got 29 more lbs to go!!! 80 lbs lost~You are a true inspiration to me and I adore ya~So if you help noone else with it ever~You have definetly helped me~ AND I WANNA SAY THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!
This is such a good thread. I think I was always aware of other overweight people, because I was always comparing myself. Trying to see who in the room was bigger than me- it made me feel better in a sick way. I'm from Mississippi, so there have always been other overweight people around me.
I do have a weird fascination with overweight people now. And it's not just with people larger than me. I think it just comes with being more health conscious in general. Like I HATE seeing people give kids a bunch of junk food. My niece and nephews have developed HORRIBLE eating habits due to grandparents that spoil them and parents who just don't get it. My niece is a bit overweight, and I want to get her healthy now (she's only 10).
I've found that it does help a lot for me to share my changes with the people around me. It makes them more conscious of how they take care of themselves.
I must admit. I was laughing when I read some of the posts. I picture you all forming a renegade health education group knocking on people's doors asking them if they've "heard the good news" while handing out pieces of fruit and vegetable.
That is one of the main reasons I spend so much time welcoming our newcomers here. I see 3FC as the perfect place to help others.
As has already been said, you can't help someone until they are ready. Fortunately we have new folk that come here daily. Some aren't ready, but some are. And encouragement, advice, support, and sharing can really help them on their journey.
I picture you all forming a renegade health education group knocking on people's doors asking them if they've "heard the good news" while handing out pieces of fruit and vegetable.
I picture you all forming a renegade health education group knocking on people's doors asking them if they've "heard the good news" while handing out pieces of fruit and vegetable.
I have more time now on my hands than I have ever had. I knew I wanted to do more volunteer work. I started phoning around because one of my hopes was to help out @ an obesity clinic--I guess I was hoping to find something similar to Brookhaven or one of those you see on the Tv programs. I found NO such clinics in my area---many hospitals offering bariatric surgeries--but no clinics to help the obese in any other way. I was so disheartened to realize this.
For the poster earlier mentioning that you went out of your way to sit next to the obese person. I do the same thing in my life--whether to strike a conversation with someone left out or whatever. The sizism I see/hear and have experienced is pretty friggin' horrible!
I like the idea of deliberately making contact with the obese person/people in a room - I certainly know how it feels to be on the outside looking in, firmly believing that all the people on the inside are looking out at me and judging me!
I think this is true of most people who have "seen the light" whether it be weight loss, religion,sobriety...You know what they saw..."the worst kind of smoker is an ex-smoker.
mrs. America
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