My 600 lbs life
I've been binge watching this (no pun intended), the people who appear on it, I don't know if I should feel sorry for them or not, but is there every any legitimate excuse to get that big? These people don't have any medical issues, just ate too much and never move, even the doctor on the show tells them that.
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That show frightens me0
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It's just crazy how big people get, but even their family members are huge.
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I have a relative who is almost that size. I want to avoid that fate at all costs, I'm built just like her.0
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They have to have a crazy level of enabling by family / whathaveyou to be able to get that big. It's really so sad.0
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In most cases there is a psychological issue underlying their weight. The folks on that show tend to eat as a coping mechanism. While there are many, many coping mechanisms, many of them are negative. If a person never learns healthy coping mechanisms and healthy self-care tactics, they will continue in a cycle of negative coping.
Whereas these folks on 600lb life use food to cope, some people may use alcohol, or drugs, or sex. They can all be dangerous, deadly coping mechanisms. Healthy coping mechanisms might include choosing exercise, deep breathing, or reading a good book.
In summary, yes, you should feel some pity for these people. They all went through some deep trauma and turned to food for comfort (in most cases as children) and need serious help finding and embracing a healthier coping mechanism.0 -
But really though, isn't there a point, maybe half way to that weight you think *kitten* I need to do something about this, it's not like it's over night thing.0
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alyssawentland wrote: »That show frightens me
Me too.
Saw one episode once where a girls mom would get her fast food and bring it to her in her bed because she couldn't walk very far. If she couldn't walk and get the food herself then why wasn't the mother fixing her nutritious meals at home and serving them to her? I think a lot of these people have others enabling them. It's too sad to watch.0 -
But really though, isn't there a point, maybe half way to that weight you think *kitten* I need to do something about this, it's not like it's over night thing.
Good point. I'm an avid watcher (they make me want to put down the chips- ha!), and I absolutely couldn't do that to myself. At 300lb and a size 24, I had a scary wakeup call and said it's time to change or die. I can't imagine doubling or even tripling that weight.0 -
Hmm, true to a certain extent I suppose, but above all to me they are irresponsible human beings, selfish, most of these are parents with youg kids, your stuffing your face, you could die tomorrow, and leave these kids orphaned, when they are "coping", do they spare a thought about loved ones, they are already unable to be parents on the basis they can't even get out of bed, they jump at the chance of an easy fix(band) but can't even commit to a healthy life after that.0
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Hmm, true to a certain extent I suppose, but above all to me they are irresponsible human beings, selfish, most of these are parents with youg kids, your stuffing your face, you could die tomorrow, and leave these kids orphaned, when they are "coping", do they spare a thought about loved ones, they are already unable to be parents on the basis they can't even get out of bed, they jump at the chance of an easy fix(band) but can't even commit to a healthy life after that.
Ofcourse any addiction can be considered selfish and irresponsible.0 -
Hmm, true to a certain extent I suppose, but above all to me they are irresponsible human beings, selfish, most of these are parents with youg kids, your stuffing your face, you could die tomorrow, and leave these kids orphaned, when they are "coping", do they spare a thought about loved ones, they are already unable to be parents on the basis they can't even get out of bed, they jump at the chance of an easy fix(band) but can't even commit to a healthy life after that.
We can die at any minute but I agree with you. I have oftentimes thought about how someone can't realize they are probably gaining a little too much by the time they hit 200 or 300 let alone get past that, but if they have emotional problems or underlying issues then I guess that's probably why it happens. I just can't imagine someone not pointing it out to me if I let myself get that way but maybe if the whole family is big then it's just accepted as how they are supposed to be. :-/0 -
Does an alcoholic think of his/her family when spending their last dime on booze?
The coping mechanism has, in these cases, spiraled out of control and become an addiction. There are many models of psychology which view what addiction is (and how to treat it) differently. I tend to gravitate towards the conditioning model, which states that behavior that is rewarding or rewarded will be repeated.
If a child is depressed, eats something yummy, and feels better, won't that child reach towards yummy food every time he/she is depressed? This continues into adulthood, and for some, becomes a deadly problem. Once addiction sets in, I think selfishness is out the window. They're addicted to the food and having trouble controlling that addiction, rather than actively saying "I'm going to eat to get fatter".0 -
perkymommy wrote: »I just can't imagine someone not pointing it out to me if I let myself get that way but maybe if the whole family is big then it's just accepted as how they are supposed to be. :-/
Sometimes family members think they're expressing love by not saying no. They think that to deprive the person of their desires would be to say they don't love them. At the heart of these types of addictions is almost always a dysfunctional family unit.0 -
Panda_Poptarts wrote: »Does an alcoholic think of his/her family when spending their last dime on booze?
The coping mechanism has, in these cases, spiraled out of control and become an addiction. There are many models of psychology which view what addiction is (and how to treat it) differently. I tend to gravitate towards the conditioning model, which states that behavior that is rewarding or rewarded will be repeated.
If a child is depressed, eats something yummy, and feels better, won't that child reach towards yummy food every time he/she is depressed? This continues into adulthood, and for some, becomes a deadly problem. Once addiction sets in, I think selfishness is out the window. They're addicted to the food and having trouble controlling that addiction, rather than actively saying "I'm going to eat to get fatter".
Again, your right,however booze and drugs can be purchased by the addict without the knowledge of loved ones,away from the home, in a sense they are not at the mercy of anyone, however it seems these big people are, so really we should blame their families, cos most of them can't literally get out of bed to eat the food, problem solved!0 -
But seriously though I know it's very very complex, and it's not as easy as just blaming the family or the individual0
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Again, your right,however booze and drugs can be purchased by the addict without the knowledge of loved ones,away from the home, in a sense they are not at the mercy of anyone, however it seems these big people are, so really we should blame their families, cos most of them can't literally get out of bed to eat the food, problem solved!
Totally agree. One caveat - keep in mind that there is typically a dysfunctional family at the heart of these issues. You don't often see just one obese individual - they come in groups. The solution, then, is to provide both therapy and education to the family unit as a whole, rather than focusing the attention 100% on the individual.0 -
Panda_Poptarts wrote: »
Again, your right,however booze and drugs can be purchased by the addict without the knowledge of loved ones,away from the home, in a sense they are not at the mercy of anyone, however it seems these big people are, so really we should blame their families, cos most of them can't literally get out of bed to eat the food, problem solved!
Totally agree. One caveat - keep in mind that there is typically a dysfunctional family at the heart of these issues. You don't often see just one obese individual - they come in groups. The solution, then, is to provide both therapy and education to the family unit as a whole, rather than focusing the attention 100% on the individual.
Agreed!
Any good night all!! (UK time)0 -
Btw, my favourite episode is the one with the woman, who gets stuck in the supermarket door, and causes a queue, I think her names dot.0
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I'm not sure I have a favorite. Hmm. I like the ones who are really deformed by their fat. I find it fascinating how many shapes the human body can take when stretched past its max.
Being a psych major, I get really hooked on these types of shows. Hoarders is good, too. Much to my husband's disgust... lol0 -
@ Panda_Poptarts.
What a wonderfully understanding and empathetic person you are. Everything you have said is true and having used food as a coping mechanism myself in the past (and occasionally still do) I can understand how you can get to a point where you either have an epiphany and do something (I did) or you just give up and spiral on until you are bedridden.
However I also agree with NA1979 that it would seem to be the obvious answer for the family or carer to deny their loved one the food that is killing them and they could at that point take control of the diet and impose a healthier eating regime.
I have no idea how hard that would be though. If someone you love is in pain you will do whatever you can to relieve that pain and emotional pain is just as difficult to see and deal with when it is happening to someone you love.
If your mother, for example was crying and begging, or screaming at you for food could you steel yourself to keep saying no. If they begged and pleaded and cried all day, every day, even after they had eaten their healthy food, could you sit there and just ignore them? Or would they eventually wear you down so you give in just for some peace. Not easy, no not easy at all.
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manderson27 wrote: »
If your mother, for example was crying and begging, or screaming at you for food could you steel yourself to keep saying no. If they begged and pleaded and cried all day, every day, even after they had eaten their healthy food, could you sit there and just ignore them? Or would they eventually wear you down so you give in just for some peace. Not easy, no not easy at all.
Great analogy. I think I'd be able to avoid giving in for awhile, but after a certain amount of time, I think folks get tired of fighting.
For me, I'd push for therapy. But, being a future therapist, that's of course the expected response. While at once there is blame with the family members, I can't blame the family members 100%. I think there must be accountability both for the enabler and the addict, and similarly, there should be resources and help offered for both.0 -
Love that show!0
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I've been binge watching this (no pun intended), the people who appear on it, I don't know if I should feel sorry for them or not, but is there every any legitimate excuse to get that big? These people don't have any medical issues, just ate too much and never move, even the doctor on the show tells them that.
As others have said above. Enabling and addiction. Parents who look at their kids and think 'Tommy is just big boned' or significant others who use unconditional love as the blind eye.
The failure is how much a person loves themselves, their kids, their significant other, to make a change.
I will always be over weight, I am on meds that make it hard to lose weight, but I'd rather try every day and eat healthy and go for a run or to the gym than ever look in the mirror and find hate for myself.
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NA1979, I've never met a 600 lb'er, but I once had a work colleague who was way past 400 lb. He was quite intelligent, a Libertarian, and better at the job that we both did. All the time he and I worked together, I was close to 300 lb. We could talk, fatso to fatso. Here's the way he explained it. He hated, rejected, and despised authority. I believe it was a psychological disorder. Still, his particular way of rejecting authority was to act contra the government's concern that the citizens be healthy. He was devoted to the notion that he could earn enough money to buy enough calories to be large enough to be sick enough to be a burden on the government he hated.
His devotion to obesity was such that when the company once gave us all a grocery voucher worth $50 for Thanksgiving, he went to the grocer and bought $50 of the cheapest carbs he could find and ate all of them before he got home. His daily lunch included a gallon of potato salad.
His knees and ankles were severely damaged by the strain of bearing his weight even while he was in his 30's.
Despite the obvious and painful self-harm he had done, he never expressed an interest in reversing his course.0 -
same here, have been watching this tonight--it is a GREAT show and that Dr NOWZARADAN is a wonderful person--he has helped so many ppl.0
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same here, have been watching this tonight--it is a GREAT show and that Dr NOWZARADAN is a wonderful person--he has helped so many ppl.
In my opinion, the doctor is irresponsible, prescribing gastric bands to people who clearly are not going to benefit from it, how many were successful after they had it? Hardly any, in the end it's about ratings and money, and the patients are just being taken advantage of. He had proved with most of them they can lose weight without surgery, why not encourage that for a year and see how they get on instead of risking their lives with surgery which won't work?0 -
same here, have been watching this tonight--it is a GREAT show and that Dr NOWZARADAN is a wonderful person--he has helped so many ppl.
In my opinion, the doctor is irresponsible, prescribing gastric bands to people who clearly are not going to benefit from it, how many were successful after they had it? Hardly any, in the end it's about ratings and money, and the patients are just being taken advantage of. He had proved with most of them they can lose weight without surgery, why not encourage that for a year and see how they get on instead of risking their lives with surgery which won't work?
But by the time they get to Dr. Now they are at the stage of you have to have this surgery or you will die. I am pretty sure most of these people don't go for yearly check ups much less have seen a Dr. for a long time. I say that because any Dr. should have intervened long before they get to the point of 600lbs0 -
JeromeBarry1 wrote: »NA1979, I've never met a 600 lb'er, but I once had a work colleague who was way past 400 lb. He was quite intelligent, a Libertarian, and better at the job that we both did. All the time he and I worked together, I was close to 300 lb. We could talk, fatso to fatso. Here's the way he explained it. He hated, rejected, and despised authority. I believe it was a psychological disorder. Still, his particular way of rejecting authority was to act contra the government's concern that the citizens be healthy. He was devoted to the notion that he could earn enough money to buy enough calories to be large enough to be sick enough to be a burden on the government he hated.
His devotion to obesity was such that when the company once gave us all a grocery voucher worth $50 for Thanksgiving, he went to the grocer and bought $50 of the cheapest carbs he could find and ate all of them before he got home. His daily lunch included a gallon of potato salad.
His knees and ankles were severely damaged by the strain of bearing his weight even while he was in his 30's.
Despite the obvious and painful self-harm he had done, he never expressed an interest in reversing his course.
This colleague of your sounds like he just disturbed. To want to destroy his body and health just to punish the government is sick. No matter how much you hate authority and the government. In the end he is only hurting himself.
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At the 600 lb point it is an addiction, and needs to be treated as such..... mind, body and soul treated. Would you give cocaine to an addict, no.... you'd get them help. Same deal.0
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If you continue watching the show, you will notice that all of the people have dealt with incomprehensible trauma and/ or neglect in their lives which they have been unable to cope with in a healthy way. The comment I keep hearing on the show is "food is my comfort". Most of them live near or below the poverty line, are uneducated, and have little positive influence in their lives.
While most of us here cannot fathom letting ourselves get that big, I am very empathetic to their situation. I cheer when they reach their goals and start their lives anew.0
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