Think Oprah has given up?

[Donna113 2]

I do agree that obesity can be a disease and much more needs to be learned about it but there are groups of fat people today that consider themselves fine as they are and do not want to feel like they should be attacked for being fat or forced to lose weight. This is part of what they call FA or "fat acceptance". It's a growing phenom and some have a motto which is "they are not broken thin people". I do not believe fat is a character flaw and find it difficult to believe Oprah would say that but I do not canonize the woman either by any means. Nancy.:smile:

I know I will catch a lot of flak for saying this but I think the movement you describe as Fat Acceptance is mostly comprised of people who've given up. If they could get rid of the fat, I bet they would. I don't think being fat is a character flaw. Living in denial, however, is another story.

[OH Juli 15]

Fat acceptance is a tricky thing to talk about. In theory I want to support the idea, but in reality it hurts my heart to remember when I thought it was okay to be fat. I was in denile that it was miserable to not be able to do what normal people did.

eh, go figure.

And let me agree with Nanook, I think if a group wanted to impact Oprah's thinking writing her letters is more effective than pissing and moaning on a website she'd never see.

I however enjoy a bit of pointless pissing and moaning.

[Donna113 2]

And let me agree with Nanook, I think if a group wanted to impact Oprah's thinking writing her letters is more effective than pissing and moaning on a website she'd never see.

I however enjoy a bit of pointless pissing and moaning.

Maybe writing Oprah would get better results but I bet her PR people actually do research things said/written about Oprah. In any case, I'm not really interested in hearing what Oprah has to say about this, I started this thread because I was interested in what others on this forum thought about Oprah's weight issues.

I do have to admit to a secret delight in pointless pissing and moaning from time to time. :smile:

[Nanook 2]

Donna,

I don't think you'll catch any flack here, lol. I think the fat issue is very complicated. I think it's a tricky thing to be happy as you are as even thin people have a difficult time with that. It's not a perfect solution but as a group that is discriminated against and constantly told they're not good enough because of their size a movement had begun, actually many years ago with the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. Others have sprung up to and there is a philosophy of sorts called HAES which is Health At Every Size. So there's a lot groups out there, some more "militant" than others.

I'd like to feel comfortable in my size but I also still have bouts of feeling good when pounds come off as I've been conditioned that way from a little girl. I also feel better when I exercise which is something that I believe is part of the HAES philosophy. Too bad I broke my toe because I'm at the part after surgery where I should be back to exercising and I can't get my shoe on!

So I'd say if you we see someone of size let's not criticize them, this is a general thing not directed to you personally of course. Treat people with respect even if you think they "should" lose weight. Not everyone can or wants to and the world is a diverse place and there should always be room here for everyone even if they too take up more space on our planet.

I wouldn't have even brought it up but the Oprah discussion took a turn as these R and Rs usually do. Otherwise I'm not trying to convert but just open it up for a bit of discussion as we're pretty damn good discussers at this site! Take care Nancy.:smile:

Edited October 24, 2008 by Nanook

[Nanook 2]

Fat acceptance is a tricky thing to talk about. In theory I want to support the idea, but in reality it hurts my heart to remember when I thought it was okay to be fat. I was in denile that it was miserable to not be able to do what normal people did.

eh, go figure.

And let me agree with Nanook, I think if a group wanted to impact Oprah's thinking writing her letters is more effective than pissing and moaning on a website she'd never see.

I however enjoy a bit of pointless pissing and moaning.

I agree with Pissing and Moaning and believe that they should make a new room for that header don't you?:smile:

[MacMadame 81]

There is some blogger who is into the Fat Acceptance movement. To her, WLS is what traitors to the cause do. But she, herself, is always going back to WW. So I say she's a hypocrite. (Plus, she's also a liar, but I digress.)

I believe in being as healthy as you can at the size you are and loving yourself no matter what your size, but that doesn't mean I was just as healthy when I was MO as I am now that I'm only obese. I wasn't healthy and now I'm healthier. That's just common sense.

[Fanny Adams 7]

Oprah's no role mode for health, although she is for other things. She doesnt accept her size. She's been the most public yo yo dieter of all time. She just isnt successful in controlling her weight - that doesnt make her some plus size role model who truly accepts and lives a healthy life at a higher weight. She's as warped in the head as they come over her weight.

If she managed to maintain her weight and her health even if that weight was still technically overweight, then she would be a role model for moderate, healthy living and being beautiful and successful no matter what your size. Yo yoing all over the place doesnt spell that for me.

It drives me nuts that any overweight celeb is automatically a "role model" for health. First being fat isnt healthy. Second, the fact that they're out there looking great (thanks to their zillions of dollars, stylists, make up artist and hair guys) doesnt change the fact that behind closed doors they're as prone as we are to swallowing boxes of laxatives, getting injections of horse urine, going on crackpot diets and running till they fall of their darn treadmill trying desperately to shed the weight. And in the meantime, they can make themselves feel better by filling their faces with botox and their chests with silicone. Oh, and having the right Chanel bag for the week. How is THAT being a role model"?

I feel for Oprah, to have publically espoused that you're anti weight loss surgery and to be as famous as Oprah would mean you cant really go back on your word. Which puts her squarely in the position of a lot of ordinary people, fat without a hope of doing anything about it long term.

I agree Mac, if she publically admitted that she was losing this battle, that she wanted to take responsible steps towards her long term health THEN she would be a role model.

I dont want to read about her latest diet and exercise regime, how this time she's discovered the secret, knowing that in a year, she's going to have regained it yet again. I dont judge her for that, we've all been through it, I'm just saying she's not really a role model for how to deal with obesity.

God I love it when you talk straight, Jachut! :wink_smile:

[lilith 6]

And that's just stupid. My blood pressure doesn't care how I lost weight. It didn't to refuse to go down because I didn't do it "the hard way". It just went down.

In every other aspect of our life, something being easier and more effective makes it BETTER. Being harder and less effective makes it WORSE. But in weight loss our society has twisted everything around until it's bass-ackward and tries to convince people that harder and less effective is somehow better. It's just DUMB!

This is sooo true! I just had this conversation with my "best friend" yesterday. She told me she doesn't care what I say I'm taking the easy way out, which I think is crap but I couldn't win that argument with her so I said fine, let's say it is easy, so what?! It's just like child birth, the first time you think you want to go natural because it makes you less of a woman if you take the drugs, but guess what, no one ever shows up with a trophy! If you can find a tool that makes your goals easier to reach GRAB IT!

And as for Oprah she should do a show on the positive outcomes of WLS, a few years back she did a show on it that scared me out of thinking I would ever travel down this road. She actually looked like she was really interested in it, I think if she weren't in the spotlight she would have done it already.

Edited October 24, 2008 by lilith
adding...

[Donna113 2]

Lilith, is your friend also overweight? It's been my personal experience that normal weight people have been more supportive of my decision to be banded than those who are overweight.

[lilith 6]

Lilith, is your friend also overweight? It's been my personal experience that normal weight people have been more supportive of my decision to be banded than those who are overweight.

Hi Donna,

Yes, she is. And she says she's jealous, but I think she's convinced herself that since she is being honest with me and saying she's jealous it's okay to say any nasty thing to me that pops into her head. She keeps telling me not to expect people to pat me on the back, what she doesn't get is I don't expect her to pat me on the back, but I do expect her to respect my decision and support me as her friend.

[snowbird 2]

Well, I've said this before, but I love to repeat myself. What in the world is wrong with the easy way out??? I don't wash my clothes the old fashioned way by banging them on rocks down on the river; I take the easy way out by using my washer and dryer. Why does losing weight have to be a moral issue? It's a health issue, and you should do it whatever way that works.

If the health community came up with a surgical way to cure alcoholism, no one would be complaining that it was the easy way out; they would berate those alcoholics who didn't get the surgery and "chose" to remain alcoholics. So why are we MO's supposed to always do things the hard way? No scratch that, the inefficient, usually nonworkable way?

[lilith 6]

Well, I've said this before, but I love to repeat myself. What in the world is wrong with the easy way out??? I don't wash my clothes the old fashioned way by banging them on rocks down on the river; I take the easy way out by using my washer and dryer. Why does losing weight have to be a moral issue? It's a health issue, and you should do it whatever way that works.

If the health community came up with a surgical way to cure alcoholism, no one would be complaining that it was the easy way out; they would berate those alcoholics who didn't get the surgery and "chose" to remain alcoholics. So why are we MO's supposed to always do things the hard way? No scratch that, the inefficient, usually nonworkable way?

You're right. We have remote controls for everything from the TV to the garage door but for some reason WLS is ridiculed for being "easy". I think (hope) it will be viewed differently in another decade. Why can't people understand that it's just another weight loss tool and not a magic cure? We still have to eat right, exercise and everything else that someone without WLS would have to do, PLUS we made the decison to have surgery on top of that... I want to know what the easy part is???

[snowbird 2]

My 23 year old athlete son watched me eating as a bandster for a week and remarked, "I guess I better be careful and not get fat, because eating like that looks awfully hard to me!" Easy my (now considerably smaller) ass!

[Donna113 2]

Snowbird, you are no longer obese, hell you are no longer overweight! You are in the "normal" BMI! Yay you!

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Snowbird, you are no longer obese, hell you are no longer overweight! You are in the "normal" BMI! Yay you!

Let me tell you, I've seen Snowbird and she is beautiful, she's done a fantastic job with her weight loss!