Leaderboard

This is really a repost of something I said yesterday but thought it was worth a blog entry Watching my 600lb Life on TLC can be inspirational, aggravating and downright annoying. Many times I want to reach through the TV and slap patients but more importantly the non-supporting people in their lives. I will admit I have only seen a handful of episodes. One thing I can tell you from being a 5'6 488 pound morbidly obese person is it was just a struggle to wipe my butt and it was to a point where I showered after to make sure I was clean and the shower alone was a task because of the aches and pains in my muscles and joints. Walking from my car to my office even with the use of an elevator took a lot out of me. I would last 10 minutes walking the grocery store with my wife and would end up going out to the car and wait for her to finish because I was out of breath and legs ached so bad. I don’t recall eating food and gaining weight simply because I was lazy or didn’t care about myself. I didn’t eat with the intent of becoming morbidly obese to a point where I couldn’t do those simplest of daily life tasks. I have a serious junk food addiction and I loved it. I ate from the moment I wake up to the moment I went to bed. I am not making excuses for myself or anyone else but keep in mind you’re watching an edited reality t.v. show. Do we really know what is going in these people’s lives? They edit the crap out of these things to create the draw and because everyone loves a train wreck and more often than not they will put those things front and center. One thing I am certain about is I will always remain humble and will make sure I never become like the people who used to judge me. I was a terrible mess physically and eventually mentally and I am lucky to be where I am today. I absolutely refuse to forget my 488lb self. Sometimes I wonder why me? Why was I successful? Just because someone doesn’t care about themselves doesn’t mean they don’t WANT to care about themselves. Hope is a very powerful emotion and it can make or break you

Jim you are so right.. I was so aggravated with Penny on the 600 lb life show.. I wanted so much to see her succeed. I know about being obese (not morbidly) and I know she has a very difficult and long road ahead. I sometimes forget that I was also in denial and did not want to follow the rules . Being humble is a good thing and thank you for reminding me. I think I want everyone to have the best outcome with their WLS. I am praying that they have a follow up segment where Penny gets it and is on a path to success...

Old saying goes you can lead a Horse to water but you can't make them drink it. It has to be on the individuals terms. For me personally I was so lucky because yes I was very very large and I had no health issues aside from Sleep Apnea which I had a machine for and a touch of arthritis in my knee. For me it was enough knowing the the path I was going down it was enough to scare me and make me act.

Thank you

such a smart man and inspiration to us all banders and other WLS people alike.well said Jim.