SilentHeidi's Journal, 09 September 2013

For inspiration, a little motivation, to make myself feel better, or perhaps feel worse, I tend to read the Fit Nation stories online at CNN. If you haven't read them before, they're in the Health section and there's a ton of stories that have been submitted from regular people about their weight loss journey. They come from all walks of life and it is interesting to read their background and how they overcame the challenges/struggles of being overweight. Since I have insomnia, I'm usually reading the stories around 2:30 AM, on my cell phone, while doing the squinty eye in the dark. You'd be surprised how inspired one can be while in bed at 2:30 AM. Unfortunately, this does not carry over into the morning, when a mere 3 hours later I have to actually be out of bed and mobile -- for the real world.

During the day, I reflect on the most recent success story and try to apply it to myself and for the most part, I fail. This is not a bad thing, but I'll look back and think, "I lost 8 hours of sleep reading health articles for no reason." Then again, I wasn't going to be sleeping so is it still considered a loss?

The extra bonus of the article is, of course, the comments. Some stories are applauded, some are condemned, some are criticized to pieces. For what? Because the person made a choice to change their body? It seems the stories that receive the most criticisms are the ones that include surgeries. Many comments are about how getting surgery is doing it the easy way, the lazy way, and that the person didn't actually work for their weight loss. How is surgery the easy way? Is there an easy or hard way to gain weight? To me, if my flesh is being invaded by another human or a machine, I would not categorize that as easy. The person will still have to be mindful of what they eat, how often eat, the quality of the food, the serving size and if they want to have lasting results, they'll still have to exercise. To me, surgery gives certain people that little extra boost that they need mentally, and maybe physically as well, to start them on their path.

Would I ever consider getting surgery? Nope, but that's because it isn't for me. I, too, had the same viewpoint as the negative readers, that surgery was the quick way and the weight loss wouldn't mean as much if something else did the work for you. It wasn't until I became fat that I began to see and better understand what brings a person to that point, to consider surgery. When I was 14, I lived with my older cousin, she was 24 and had just had her 2nd baby. She was fairly active, played tennis, had great legs, decent arms, pretty face, but a perfectly round belly. Even a year after giving birth, she still looked like she was 8 months pregnant. She tried everything and had made the decision to get surgery. I talked her out of it, being the opinionated teenager that I was, but now that I'm older and have experienced watching my healthy body transform into a blob, I understand why she felt the way that she did.

That's not to say that surgery should be the only end-all option. As in, I'll just keep eating all of this unhealthy food and then get surgery. Or I won't make any changes in my life, won't add a little exercise or not eat less calories, until I have surgery. The main theme when reading the Fit Nation's weight loss is accountability. Each person held themselves accountable for their choices. It wasn't always overnight or a boom moment, but they all eventually arrived at the same place. If you have a few moments, you should read one or two of the stories, even if you cannot stand the viewpoints of CNN as an organization. It might help you on your journey or give you insight into another person's struggles, which could even mirror your own.

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