Yeah, I imagine she’s been estranged from her family. She spent her childhood telling everyone about this and nothing ever came of it.

I gained weight when I stopped playing sports, true, but I also gained weight because I stopped caring as life was a bleak mess. Yet every doctor has focused on “why don’t you find a rec league?” or “you should start running again.”

Totally with you, but really skeptical that the average PCP can recall what an ACE is. Mental health has nowhere near the attention it needs in the medical establishment.

My Mom fluctuates (and has fluctuated my whole life) between being about 20 pounds heavier than she wants to be and being a weight she feels is ideal. She also fluctuates between calling herself “disgusting” and throwing a tiny celebration for herself daily when her weight is in check. Unfortunately, that tiny…

I dread going in to the doctor because of the weigh-in ritual and then the “terribly concerned” face from whoever’s doing the exam (my favorite part is when I tell them I ride my exercise bike 4 times a week and watching the clash of ‘but!but!’ on their faces.) But the last time I was in they had a great set up where…

Your last paragraph is why I’ve intentionally stopped commenting on weight loss of folks. If they bring it up and are looking to be celebrated, that’s one thing. I don’t know someone’s story and have been wrong in the past. My “favorite” was when someone complimented me on my weight loss and when I responded that I…

Years ago I used to work at a children’s hospital that had a nutrition unit and I was talking to a mother who was born in Mexico before moving here. She said that where she grew up was a very poor neighborhood and they didn’t always have food for 3 meals a day. When they moved here fast food was so cheap, she over…

Too late to edit:

i’m so sorry that happened to you. my best friend got into a car accident years ago that compressed his spine, causing him to be a full two inches shorter and in near-constant pain. he’s also fat. he was getting treatment for his back issues from the date of the accident, and it’s still always been attributed to his…

This. Emotions play a part in our physical well-being. Stress can cause cancer. Shame can cause diabetes. We are more than our body. 

I have terrible knee, hip, and back problems. I’ve been told repeatedly that I should lose the weight to make things better and that my weight is the cause of my problems.  No doctor has listened to me when I have told them that I have had knee issues since I was a skinny 12 year old or that the hip and back problems…

Yeah I’m not loving this photo, mostly because it seems like it was likely taken without that woman’s knowledge and consent as a “lol look at this fat person at the beach” thing.

I wish more people understood this. It’s like night and day, and not just in the doctor’s office, though that’s another can of worms.

Being fat shamed by the doctor is one of the reasons I’ve put off making appointments lately. Which as a public health person, I know is bad, but after having a nurse at the student health center spend most of my appointment time talking about my weight instead of what i actually went there for (birth control), I…

I used to think that weight was between a person and their doctor. Then I had sciatica about 10 years ago. My first neurology appointment the doctor shamed me for 45 minutes about how my weight was causing my sciatica. Fast forward 9 years and 50# lighter.... I still fucking have that sciatica and wish I could scream…

Really, with the picture? It’s one step up from the “headless fatty” pics used to dehumanize fat people all the time in the media.

For me, the most infuriating thing is the clear data that’s been known for decades linking trauma to higher risk of developing obesity, cancer and mental health issues.

Why is it so hard for so many people to just not be an asshole to (fat) people?!?!

I don’t recall where I heard this - but recently I came across the phrase “fat is something you have, and not something you are”. I am not trying to take away anyone’s right to a phrase or word they rightfully choose to identify with. But that sentence made me feel less like a thing and more like a person again when…

I’ve been not fat, I’ve been fat, I’ve been all over the ED spectrum. I’ve never been treated with the amount of incredulity, dismissal and disrespect as I was when I was fat. The actually serious medical problems I had were chalked up to my weight over and over, and I was sent home without any further investigation.…