How did your doctor tell you you're fat??

gretlarson

I went in to my doctor about my blood pressure it was high. She said if you lose weight, your blood pressure will go down. Then she said, " Do you want a prescription for diet pills?" I asked if they worked and she said no. I haven't gone back to that doctor. I knew I needed to lose weight, I didn't need another pill that didn't work.

ElyseL1

I went in for a papp, she touched my stomach and said you should really do something abt this dear. your in good shape otherwise. I kind of laughed because it was the most awkward way in the world to tell me to loose weight.

yesterdayusaid2morrow

In November 2013, I weighed 384 pounds at the doctor's office. My doctor sat down across from me and told me I needed to lose some weight, the same talk we had had 6 months earlier. She told me I should work on not gainning anymore by our next appointment, that in itself would be an accomplishment.

In May 2014 when I returned to the doctor I had gained 16 pounds, 400 pounds. I know she saw in my eyes the hurt and humiliation I felt.

She sat down across from me, took my hands in hers, and asked how could she help me. I cried and we talked for awhile.

She told me about this awesome website called MyFitnessPal.com. I've logged on everyday since, good days, bad days all days. I'm so glad she did. I'm eatting healthier and I've lost some weight. I know this journey will be long and sometimes difficult, but I will succeed.

Just watch me :-)

???? Love this! Made me cry but in a joyful hopeful way.

That is awesome! Good for you. It seems like she really touched your heart with her compassion.

morehealthymatt

After performing all the diagnostics, my doctored advised me that the HBP was a result of me being overweight...which of course, I knew. He never once insulted me either inadvertantly or on purpose. He provided suggestions on how to lose weight, nothing that I didn't already know or wasn't common sense.

He presented me with what the health issues are and how to go about combating them....which was to lose weight. All fact based.

Overweight folks know they're overweight.

Bownzi

He didn't...he was as big as me....I just came to the conclusion that I needed to be thin..:bigsmile:

Calliope610

I recently switched family doctors. Why, you ask? Well, I went in for an unrelated issue - one that still had me wearing the paper gown - and my doctor said to me when she lifted it up "Oh wow, you have a small face but such a big body". Then proceeded to prescribe me weight loss pills (which I never filled the prescription for). Unbe-freakin'-lievable. I am obviously quite aware of the fact that I am 50 - 60 lbs overweight. I found this to be quite rude and made me feel absolutely horrible and ashamed. I'm just wondering how other people's doctors "broke the bad news". Ha

So, you know you are overweight and your doctor stated the obvious. What did you want your doctor to say?

My doctor has talked to me about my weight, suggested a diabetic diet, suggest that I limit my salt intake and watch my cholesterol. She has prescribed medication to help manage my hypertension, my pre-diabetic condition and my high cholesterol. The only thing she didn't do for me was do my eating and exercising for me. She said that was up to me. That was 2 years ago.

Now when I see her, she gives my "high 5's" and hugs because she is so happy (and impressed) to see my weight gain.

But I still fail to understand why people get so upset when someone states the obvious. You know, they know. Why keep avoiding the elephant in the living room??

aedreana

The doctor who prescribed me diet pills off-and-on over the years, first prescribed them for me when I was 15. He said any time I weighed 125, he would prescribe them for me. He said the ideal weight for me was 108-110.

BlueLadyBug22

They were always blunt with me, some even suggested pills. I have always been overweight, and I started going to a psychiatrist when I was pretty young, and had seen various ones throughout my adolescence. It never failed that they would tell me "you should lose weight, blah blah blah" or my favorite "you are such a pretty girl, If you would just lose weight, you probably wouldn't be so depressed etc"

veggieluvr45

I was always overweight growing up (as was my entire family) and I will NEVER forget a comment made by a nurse at my Dr's office when I was about 10 or 11. I got on the scale and weighed about 160 and she exclaimed "Wow, you weigh as much as my husband!" I was shocked and embarrassed. I never told my parents what happened, I just told them I never wanted to go back to that doctor again. Which was a shame because he was a great guy and I'm sure if I would have said anything about how his nurse treated a CHILD, he would have done something. Forty-plus years later, I can still hear her saying that.......

My current doctor is very fit, and he always has made it clear in a nice way that he pays attention to my weight on my chart. He never really pressed the matter though until I was getting close to 200 lb. and he very kindly asked if I wanted him to recommend a diet or a dietician. He recommended Weight Watchers, which is how I lost most of my weight so far before starting here.

losingforgood120

I was 24 and healing from a knee injury. My doctor said "you wouldn't have so many knee problems if you lost weight". At the time I was about 20 pounds overweight, 10 of which I put on because of my knee injury.
My doctor now brought up my weight after my first was born. He brought it up gently, suggested I try substituting healthier foods for the foods I already eat and to make sure I get at least 5 servings of vegetables a day.

I went to an othropedic doctor because of knee pain. He told me- there's a reason knee replacement surgeries have been steadily rising, it's because obesity is going up too. If you lose weight your knees will last you longer.

That was motivating.

goldmay

My primary care doctor's never brought it up, even when I was close to 200 pounds and had some issues related to my nutrition. She didn't say anything either when I did lose weight, but at least my specialists noticed. I didn't need anybody to tell me I was overweight, but I think having someone actually be honest with me about it would have motivated me to get fit sooner.

DomTre1990

Whenever I go to the doctor for pretty much anything, he says whatever I'm suffering with "could be made better if I lose a bit of weight" and the last time he just randomly asked me to get on the scales, he made a face that said it all

TheFrugalFatass

I had the same doctor for about 10 years, then moved. My previous doctor never really mentioned my weight until I was at my highest (272 lbs) and had borderline high blood pressure as a result. Even then, he only suggested losing 20 lbs.

I once saw another doctor in the same practice for my yearly pelvic. I was about the same weight and it was the middle of summer and I had what I thought was a serious case of chafing. Turns out it was actually an external yeast infection growing the the perfect, humid environment of leg-meets-body. She asked me if I knew why I had it and I headed her off at the pass by replying, "Yes. It's because I'm a fat girl living through a Mississippi summer." Kinda took the wind out of her sails, I did...

My current doctor never out-and-out asked me about my weight, but she did ask me about exercise and eating habits and took a particular interest in my recovery from compulsive overeating. I went a year between visits once and had lost about 25 lbs over the course of that year. She was so excited and proud of me! You have thought I'd won the Nobel Prize or something! It was very encouraging - so encouraging that I've managed to keep that 25 lbs off for about two years now.

wertgirlfor

Since high school I've always been like 15-20 pounds overweight for my age and I've been a vegetarian most of my life. Well, I went to a new doctor while in high school that told me I should really lose weight and suggested I should start eating meat to help with that. When I refused, he suggested I start eating fish at least. Like what? lol. None of my other doctors have mentioned it at all,

TheFrugalFatass

Your doctor could have a point. White bread and white flour are both highly refined and your body metabolizes them pretty much like it would if you ate sugar. White carbs are known to cause blood sugar spikes, and the Type I diabetics I know (6 at last count) rarely eat "white foods" because of that.

Jerrypeoples

i dont remember a time in my adult life i havent at least been husky and my dr would always say i should try to lose weight. nothing mean spirited about it and nothing condescending. finally at age 41-42 i started logging in here and it slowly came off. i had a drs appointment just before i did this and my BP was high.

6 months later on a follow up i had dropped probably 30lbs and he remarked what an improvement and has done so with each subsequent follow up. ill see him in sept and hope to be around 220 by then

mmd575

My doctor didn't need to tell me. I already knew. When he put me on Metformin that was the red flag to do something. having diabetes in my family history along with heart disease, I didn't want to be my grandfather dying at age 58 from his diabetes. :bigsmile:

Same here! I got recently diagnosed as a borderline Type II and my doctor wanted to put me on Metformin, of course I didn't want to take that cause that is what my mom (full blown Type II takes along with another pill I can't pronounce). My response was "How do I get rid of this? I don't want this!" She told me "Go to a nutritionist and lose the weight and your sugars will go back to normal since you aren't that far off." Like you this runs in my family my mom has it and my grandmother passed away from it. I have been able to lose 55 lbs so far and my sugar is back in the normal range. It took me 4 months to get my sugars back into the normal range. I still have over 70 lbs to go, so the battle isn't over yet. But this was my wake up call! I have been living a healthy lifestyle and exercising pretty much every day, just walking since it is all I could do. My doc didn't need to tell me I was obese my A1c pretty much let me know I wasn't taking care of myself.

CMB1979

I think it went something like "I'd like to see you lose a little weight. Getting under 200 lbs would be good for you." I don't remember who said it because I don't think I've any one doctor more than twice in my life.

BeautifulChaos27

I don't go to the doctor anymore because if I go in for ANYTHING she'll go on an HOUR long rant about how being overweight is a terrible thing and how I need to see a nutritionist. I'm not the one who buys the food, how would that help? I've been overweight since I was about 8. I'm 20 now. If that tactic hasn't worked yet, don't think it ever will.

Leah_62803

I recently switched family doctors. Why, you ask? Well, I went in for an unrelated issue - one that still had me wearing the paper gown - and my doctor said to me when she lifted it up "Oh wow, you have a small face but such a big body". Then proceeded to prescribe me weight loss pills (which I never filled the prescription for). Unbe-freakin'-lievable. I am obviously quite aware of the fact that I am 50 - 60 lbs overweight. I found this to be quite rude and made me feel absolutely horrible and ashamed. I'm just wondering how other people's doctors "broke the bad news". Ha

So, you know you are overweight and your doctor stated the obvious. What did you want your doctor to say?

My doctor has talked to me about my weight, suggested a diabetic diet, suggest that I limit my salt intake and watch my cholesterol. She has prescribed medication to help manage my hypertension, my pre-diabetic condition and my high cholesterol. The only thing she didn't do for me was do my eating and exercising for me. She said that was up to me. That was 2 years ago.

Now when I see her, she gives my "high 5's" and hugs because she is so happy (and impressed) to see my weight gain.

But I still fail to understand why people get so upset when someone states the obvious. You know, they know. Why keep avoiding the elephant in the living room??

I'm pretty sure no one here has been upset with their doctors stating the obvious. The OP was upset by the unprofessional way her doctor said it. IMO, a doctor should say something in a kind way and be prepared to back it up with healthy advice.

For instance, I work at a bank and deal with several "problem customers". When they bring me their statement and ask me why they are overdrawn I say "It would be very helpful if you kept a ledger and maybe used a calculator." I would love to say "Because you're spending money you don't have and lack basic math skills, Idiot." But I don't. Because that would be unprofessional.

carliekitty

My doctor never really said it cause we both knew. I gained it by myself and have lost it myself. My doctor told me 20 lbs ago " whatever your doing just keep doing it" , and also " what made you WANT to loose weight". I have a very good non judgmental compassionate Dr.

pobalita

My doctor never said a word about it. When I lost 70 pounds, she never even noticed and I had to call attention to it.

Interestingly, when I lost another 10 pounds, she said I was getting too thin. Nope, never even mentioned possible health problems when my BMI was almost 35, but told me I was too thin at 20.5. I don't go to her anymore.

sweetiebelle

Ya I know how you feel. My doctor looked at me and said your fat what are you going to do about it!
I was so sad but, she was the one that got threw to me. I was 158 lbs and heading to have high blood pressure and other things. I didn't want to be headed down that path.

icrushit

Most doctors skirt the issue of a patients weight, even when its unhealthy, and I wish they wouldn't. Obviously they should not be rude about it, but raising the topic delicately would be something I would expect for any doctor fulfilling their remit. Of course the irony in what I just said, is that doctors have really big blind spot in terms of knowledge when it comes to nutrition, so while they might be well placed to flag/ identify the issue, I certainly would not regard them as the most capable in suggesting specific measures of any use in order to address the issue.

LeeLee6184

I recently switched offices but not because of any bad experiences. My previous doctor has since retired; plus, I moved 45min away so it was more convenient for me to find a new PCP here in Orlando.

My previous doctor has been pretty blunt and told me that I was considered "obese" and that I will not live a long life if I don't get my weight under control. I don't think he was necessarily rude about it, just blunt and to the point. He gave me a pamphlet on foods to eat/avoid to try to get my cholesterol level down and told me that weight loss is 80% diet, 20% exercise. It didn't "sink in" til recently and I finally realized that I really need to crack down and do something about my weight, not just for my appearance, but for my health as well.

MelisRunning

This was after I had lost about 130 lbs and was ready to begin training for my first full marathon last year.

I went in because my foot was bothering me and I wanted to make sure that the extra training wasn't going to cause me any problems...she (a rather pudgy lady) looked at me and said, "Marathon!?! Well, you're none too thin!" (I was wearing a size 4 at the time and she was probably no where close to a 4.) Then, she said, "I could do a Marathon. Not too sure about you though."

I said, "Uh-huh." and left.

My foot held up just fine and my race went great!

LeeLee6184

This was after I had lost about 130 lbs and was ready to begin training for my first full marathon last year.

I went in because my foot was bothering me and I wanted to make sure that the extra training wasn't going to cause me any problems...she (a rather pudgy lady) looked at me and said, "Marathon!?! Well, you're none too thin!" (I was wearing a size 4 at the time and she was probably no where close to a 4.) Then, she said, "I could do a Marathon. Not too sure about you though."

I said, "Uh-huh." and left.

My foot held up just fine and my race went great!

Wow. She should have been encouraging you, not trying to tear you down!! Geez!! And comparing herself to you...:mad:

Missjulesdid

He told me to stop eating so much bread and not to eat peanut butter. I was six years old.

aedreana

While dieting, I steer clear of all foods that I cannot determine the caloric value of. I know that the side salads at McDonalds are 20 calories. But I won't eat a non-pre-packaged, non-portion-controlled salad in a restaurant; to estimate the calories would be too chancy. I don't like to estimate. I primarily eat food that lists the calorie count on the label. Only occasionally will I eat a piece of fruit, and then I probably underestimate to be safe-- such as, I call a small apple medium. Edit: I meant to post this on the What Foods Have You Given Up thread! Guess I need to cut on the light in this room! :happy:

mathandcats

I went to the Dr. complaining about heart problems. I knew I needed to lose weight, and I expected him to tell me. After examining me and having the pertinent tests, he just said "About the weight... it's bad for your heart. I want you to try an app called MyFitnessPal, eat 1500 calories, and start jogging 30 mins/day 5 days per week." I was still embarrassed, since I'm pretty shy and have always been self conscious about my weight, but really he was pretty nice about it. I'm extremely grateful to him for recommending MFP, and it was exactly the push I needed - it's no longer some potential health problems down the road for me, it's health problems now (and I'm only 21!)