IGNORANT PEOPLE
arnfolly
Posts: 79 Member
About a year 1/2 after my gastric by-pass a man complimented me on how good I look. I thanked him and to my surprise my boss piped in "yeah, well, it doesn't count, she cheated". I was amazed he said this! I had gone from 252 to 148# and had worked my butt off to get there! So, my reply was this:
"you know, you may feel that way, but after years of struggling to keep my insulin dependent diabetes under control, logging my food, getting up @ 3:30 EVERY DAY 6 days a week to go to the gym, work out HARD for 2 hours with a trainer, including weight training, not drinking alcohol etc I can see where you think I cheated. HOWEVER, when you all here in the office were eating bacon, omlettes, donuts etc I was eating low fat cottage cheese with berries, when you were eating McDonalds, high fat subs, cookies, I was eating vegtables with low fat dip, lean quisines. When you were out in the pm with friends drinking and eating bar food I was in bed, because I get up @ 3:30 to go to the gym while you are sleeping in. I made the decision to get HELP with my weight loss because, unlike YOU (to my boss) I suffer from ailments like osteoarthritis, spondylosis, I have had 2 knee surgeries (partial replacement) 2 shoulder recections to relieve impingment syndrome I had spinal surgery to remove 3 ruptured disks and fused 3 of the vertabrae together. My hips are shot, I have tendonitis in my elbow hand and fingers which make doing ANYTHING very painful let alone weight training. I have plantar facitis which makes walking on the treadmill EXCRUCIATING. Not to mention, try to lose weight when your pancreas does not work and you take insulin? Not impossible but much more of a challenge. yet, every day, I get up, face the pain, make GOOD DECISIONS and STILL STRUGGLED. So, you call it cheating, I call it LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD." My boss's face turned BEAT RED and he for the first time in our working relationship said NOTHING. The man that complimented me said "I think I agree and Michelle, I don't care how you did it, but you look fabulous and I can see you have lifted weights because you have great muscle tone". He also began to point out a couple people that we knew mutually who had underwent this same surgery and gained all their weight back after less than 2 years. So, I ignore the ignorant people who think that gastric by-pass is a free cake walk to weight control! I worked my BUTT OFF for EVERY POUND I have lost and continue to work hard to keep it off and lose even more in a healthy way. So, if you encounter people like this, ignore them because we know the truth right?
"you know, you may feel that way, but after years of struggling to keep my insulin dependent diabetes under control, logging my food, getting up @ 3:30 EVERY DAY 6 days a week to go to the gym, work out HARD for 2 hours with a trainer, including weight training, not drinking alcohol etc I can see where you think I cheated. HOWEVER, when you all here in the office were eating bacon, omlettes, donuts etc I was eating low fat cottage cheese with berries, when you were eating McDonalds, high fat subs, cookies, I was eating vegtables with low fat dip, lean quisines. When you were out in the pm with friends drinking and eating bar food I was in bed, because I get up @ 3:30 to go to the gym while you are sleeping in. I made the decision to get HELP with my weight loss because, unlike YOU (to my boss) I suffer from ailments like osteoarthritis, spondylosis, I have had 2 knee surgeries (partial replacement) 2 shoulder recections to relieve impingment syndrome I had spinal surgery to remove 3 ruptured disks and fused 3 of the vertabrae together. My hips are shot, I have tendonitis in my elbow hand and fingers which make doing ANYTHING very painful let alone weight training. I have plantar facitis which makes walking on the treadmill EXCRUCIATING. Not to mention, try to lose weight when your pancreas does not work and you take insulin? Not impossible but much more of a challenge. yet, every day, I get up, face the pain, make GOOD DECISIONS and STILL STRUGGLED. So, you call it cheating, I call it LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD." My boss's face turned BEAT RED and he for the first time in our working relationship said NOTHING. The man that complimented me said "I think I agree and Michelle, I don't care how you did it, but you look fabulous and I can see you have lifted weights because you have great muscle tone". He also began to point out a couple people that we knew mutually who had underwent this same surgery and gained all their weight back after less than 2 years. So, I ignore the ignorant people who think that gastric by-pass is a free cake walk to weight control! I worked my BUTT OFF for EVERY POUND I have lost and continue to work hard to keep it off and lose even more in a healthy way. So, if you encounter people like this, ignore them because we know the truth right?
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Replies
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Fantastic comeback. You go girl!0
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this is why I told so few people. I applaud you for standing up for yourself! It's true though, if you work at it, if you make the changes that are going to last, it's not cheat. There are those of us who don't listen to the rules who look for ways around them and do in fact gain it back. Like you I don't plan to be one of them, I did this for me, my health and my family. Thank you so much for sharing.0
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Amazing response! What an ignorant *kitten*! Would he also not recommend getting help for a heart condition? diabetes? depression? Alcoholism? All are diseases that need medical intervention, including obesity!0
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love it very well spoken cograts0
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Great response back. This is also why I didn't tell many I had sleeve surgery back in 6/11/12. I didn't wanna have to deal with the stupid comments of saying I took the easy way out. There is nothing easy about WLS! I don't know why people think it is. They are uninformed people about the process I guess.
Congrats on all your hard work!0 -
Exactly why I have told only a small handful(can count them on two hands only :happy: ). I have had comments made that diet and exercise is the ONLY way to lose weight. That 'those' who took the easy way out didn't count. I chose the LapBand because I have faught with my weight since almost birth. I have always been the chubby kid and then in my late teens and on - obese. I have easily lost a person or two over my lifetime. I have lost weight but always gained it back. This is a tool and like a a couple of my friends who had a tool - I can gain it back but I do not intend to do so. I will continue to use my tool to assist in getting these last 30- 40lbs off and then to help me maintain.
I love your response to your boss. I wish I would have that courage to say it and then to say it so elonquently. Very well done! And congratulations on a job well done!!!0 -
Wow, you dealt with that really well! I would have thought of all of that later on and wished I had said it! Probably at 2am when I was too seething to sleep....
I have to say, I have told everyone about my gastric sleeve - colleagues, friends and family and they have all been amazing. I haven't had a single mean remark and I think because I told everyone about it, what I needed to go through, the changes I had to make, etc, no one thought it was an easy thing to do.In fact, a lot of people said to me that they could never do it. I don't know how I would have managed without the support I have had from family and friends or how I would have managed at work if people didn't know. I feel really proud I have made a good decision for my health and hopefully that comes over. I know it is not the same for everyone and there is plenty of ignorance out there. I only hope that when I do encounter an unhelpful comment that I respond as well as you did
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Bravo to you, you sure told him a thing or two and I hope he felt like a horses *kitten* when you were done...hopefully he offered up an apology for such an ignorant comment?? I have only told a couple of people in my family, even my closest friends do not know. I just do not want to hear all the uninformed judgement. Maybe over time I will share on a very selective basis...but not now. My op is 3/19 and I need to stay focused on the fact that this is all about my health, nothing more-nothing less.
Cheers to you!!0 -
I had someone tell me I cheated. She was a 17 year old girl in my church and she just said it over and over. Unfortunately the law prohibited me from B%tch slapping her across the face. Way to go for standing up for yourself.0
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Thank you everyone! I had so many people that judged me before and after my surgery and I was amazed. These were people that KNEW me. KNEW how I struggled, I mean, they never got their sorry buts up @ 3:30 am every darn day and went to the gym. They did not have their joints ripped apart surgically and STILL went to the gym DESPITE the pain. THEY did not have diabetes despite never eating carbs and tracking foods. I remember being out in a restaurant @ 2am and everyone was ordering pancakes, hash browns, etc. Me, I ate cottage cheese. THAT is what I had to do and STILL was gaining weight (my doctor said it was my diabetes). so, after my knee went out, I had enough and it was time to make a change. The definition of insanity is to repeat somethign over and over with the same negative result. I am not insane. Now, people look at me and have NO IDEA I was even heavy because I exercise as much as I can considering my joint issues! I am fairly toned and if people ask, I now proudly tell them my journey and recommend it to ANYONE who struggles like I did. This was a LIFE CHANGER for me. A GOOD ONE I would do again. 0
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*applause* you go girl...
:flowerforyou:0
