KristinaRnY

Thank you all for the support. I guess the holidays don't make it any easier. Feeling a little more confident today and def staying away from the ppl who always throw me down until I can fully stand up for myself. I need to stop being so hard on myself, I had a bad week but that doesn't need to turn onto two. Brushing myself off and continuing on my journey to a healthier life

Most overweight people face bias against their weights the entire time they are overweight.
As an overweight school child: your classmates probably teased or shunned you.
As an obese college student: you might have skipped group activities because you were not invited or you knew you would be mocked.
As an obese adult: getting a job was probably more challenging, and you are probably judged daily at work and everywhere you go.



Without a doubt, obesity is stigmatized. The unfair bias that you face may be a major factor in your decision to consider or get weight loss surgery. Unfortunately, you will probably find that the obesity discrimination continues even as you try to use weight loss surgery to get healthy. Obese patients are blamed for their conditions, healthcare providers are not always sympathetic, and coverage for weight loss surgery is not guaranteed.
Why Do Obese Patients Get So Much Blame?
People are increasingly sympathetic to diseases that used to be stigmatized. Examples include cancer, many mental health conditions, and sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS and syphilis. Now, treatment for these and other conditions, such as diabetes, is widely accepted as normal and an entitlement. Each of these conditions is largely the result of lifestyle choices, such as diet, use of tobacco and/or alcohol, sexual behavior, and physical activity levels. More than 80% of cancers are likely the result of lifestyle choices.
Ironically, though, many people in our society remain unsympathetic to obese people. They are quick to blame obese people for having no self-control, for refusing to follow a diet, and for not wanting to be healthy. You know, though, that those accusations are far from the truth. If you are considering weight loss surgery, you are confident that you have the self-control for the weight loss surgery diet, that you have tried to follow numerous diets but none have worked for you, and that you desperately want to be healthy!
You Did Not Ask to Be Obese: Some Factors are Outside of Your Control
More than one-third of American adults are obese, and another third are overweight. That in itself should remind you – and the people who judge you harshly – that fighting obesity is hard! The food environment includes fast food, vending machines, restaurants, food-focused social gatherings, and inexpensive snack foods.
There are also biological and family factors that you cannot control. Skinny people have no idea that you may be feeling extreme hunger all day, every day, or that your metabolism may be slower. Your family might have raised to choose high-calorie, high-fat foods, or even driven you into unhealthy emotional eating.
Research shows that some obese patients’ brains even respond differently to food compared to lower-weight individuals. Obese individuals, for example, tend to get less pleasure out of food, meaning they need to eat more to get satisfied. Furthermore, high-calorie foods like sugar can be addicting, leading to the same brain responses as cocaine does. But nobody blames cocaine addicts for their situations! Instead, they encourage counseling and intensive program to help them overcome their addictions, not punish them.
Discrimination in Obesity Treatment: A Look at Weight Loss Surgery Versus Dialysis
Just as unfair is the fact that the healthcare system continues the discrimination against obesity. Compare weight loss surgery as an obesity treatment with dialysis as a treatment for kidney failure (end-stage renal failure).
Far from being blamed for their conditions, kidney failure patients who need dialysis are provided the respect that all people deserve and the medical care that they need. Dialysis patients of all ages in the United States are able to apply for Medicare, the government’s health insurance program normally reserved for older adults. Dialysis treatments can cost about $40,000 per year, not including This is not to mention human factors such as reduced quality of life (the vast majority of dialysis patients are too sick to work) and early death (the life expectancy of dialysis patients is about 5 years). In comparison, a typical weight loss surgery procedure in the United States can cost $20,000 to $40,000, although it can be less, and successful patients are healthier and have more energy than before surgery.
The irony increases. The fact is that kidney failure usually results as a complication of type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure (hypertension). Both of these conditions are often caused by obesity; losing weight after weight loss surgery can prevent, eliminate, or reduce these conditions. In addition, it takes years for kidney failure to develop once you have high blood pressure or diabetes – years during which patients are likely to be on costly medications and inconvenient treatments.
Targeting obesity through weight loss surgery could prevent cases of diabetes and high blood pressure, reduce their effects in people who already have them, and prevent kidney failure, the need for dialysis, and early death.
Searching for Fairness in the Medical Treatment of Obesity
Your first barrier in your path to weight loss surgery may be your primary care physican (PCP). Some PCPs do not know much about weight loss surgery, or may be against it because they think obesity is your fault. Some PCPs take a narrow view of obesity, and feel that the only way to lose weight is for patients to “decide they want it badly enough” and “just eat less.” You already know that doesn’t work, so don’t let your PCP discourage you from learning more weight loss surgery if you think it might be the solution to your obesity struggles.
Insurance coverage has improved for obesity treatments, especially for weight loss surgery. Medicare and many private healthcare coverage plans cover weight loss surgery if you meet their predetermined weight and/or health criteria. Some private insurance companies, though, take a short-term view because they want to make profits within 3 years. Since most weight loss surgeries do not pay for themselves within 3 years, some private insurers do not cover weight loss surgery despite the likelihood that they would pay for themselves within 5 or 10 years, and in addition improve your health and quality of life.
Chance of Reduced Discrimination in the Future?
The majority of Americans believe that health insurance should cover weight loss surgery, in addition to other obesity treatments such as dietetic and mental health counseling. The Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), though, is not the ultimate solution. In nearly half of states, obesity treatments are not required to be covered by plans sold on the health exchanges. This determination is based on the available competitive services in the region. Since the most obese states are the ones least likely to have competitive anti-obesity care, these states are also least likely to have obesity treatments covered under the Affordable Care Act.
Overcome the Discrimination
Discrimination is an unfair fact of life as an obese individual, and it unfortunately does not end when you decide to get healthy using weight loss surgery as a tool. These are some of the ways that you can keep going strong and overcome the barriers you encounter as you work to get healthy.
You have the right to a second opinion if your primary care physician recommends against weight loss surgery but you would like to find out more.
Do not take “no” for an answer from your insurance company if you know you are entitled to reimbursement for surgery.
Do not listen to negative family members or friends who do not understand your obesity or interest in weight loss surgery. It is your life and health.
Educate others as much as you can to try to reduce the discrimination. Chances are that they are only being discriminatory out of ignorance, not out of true mean-spiritedness.

Like it or not, some discrimination remains as you go through your weight loss journey. You cannot prevent it, but you can change how you react to it. Expect it and respond as positively as you can, keeping your own health and goals in mind. Over time, as you and others prove that weight loss surgery can be a worthwhile treatment for obesity, discrimination by insurance companies, healthcare providers, and the public will decrease.

Kpatnode90
I had the same goal! soon I will be under 300 so need to set new goal to be under 280 day of surgery.
HW 347
Pre-op start 337 9/16/13
CW 306 12/20/13
I hope to have surgery end of April 2014.

Thank you so much! I appreciate you taking the time to relay the information to me! Really I'm incredibly grateful.

You look great! Dang 11 weeks! You go lady! Keep kickin butt

I'm still pre op but am trying to lose as much as I can before surgery, HW 343 CW 323

I have seen you use foul language and say so many hurtful and negative things to people on this site that they don't "need". Your negativity is unwanted here.

I'm still pre op but am trying to lose as much as I can before surgery, HW 343 CW 323

I'm still pre op but am trying to lose as much as I can before surgery, HW 343 CW 323

I'm still pre op but am trying to lose as much as I can before surgery, HW 343 CW 323

The 24th will be 12 months for me and by the time I have surgery it will be about 15 months and that is doing everything in my program as soon as the classes were available and scheduling the next step as soon as I was walking out of a completed one, I have kaiser though in the Pacific Northwest.

I have seen you use foul language and say so many hurtful and negative things to people on this site that they don't "need". Your negativity is unwanted here.

I have seen you use foul language and say so many hurtful and negative things to people on this site that they don't "need". Your negativity is unwanted here.

I live in Oregon and have traveled to many places and I too agree that the beaches here are some of the most beautiful and peaceful I have seen, however, they are never warm. It's not warm here long enough to ever get the Water warm enough to play in so I'm not sure it would be the best beach or most fun for a kid. But the wax museum, sea lion caves, aquarium, and ripleys believe it or not are right on the beach and are so much fun!

I listen to pandora and i like to work out to the Avicci station

I also have kaiser here in Oregon and am getting the RNY, my bmi is over 50 and they still wouldn't give me anymore options. Originally I wanted to go with the sleeve. I have 6 family members, 5 with rny and 1 with DS, I'm happy with getting the RNY for several reasons but looking at all of them and they are 4-16years post op, everyone with RNY is maintaining there weight much better, over the long run.

Yeah it works particularly best when I'm at the gym running stationary instead of on the street otherwise I'm more prone to that annoying buffering.

I listen to pandora and i like to work out to the Avicci station

My NUT informed me that "starvation" mode never actually occurs unless you have 7% body fat or less. And that it's not something that should be worried about, but it's helpful to keep your body guessing, if you aren't losing eat a few hundred more calories. For example day 1&2 800 calories per day, day 3 1000-1100 calories then back down to 800 and so on.

My NUT informed me that "starvation" mode never actually occurs unless you have 7% body fat or less. And that it's not something that should be worried about, but it's helpful to keep your body guessing, if you aren't losing eat a few hundred more calories. For example day 1&2 800 calories per day, day 3 1000-1100 calories then back down to 800 and so on.

. I just had all my bloodwork done for surgery today and a urine analysis, I've met with the nutritionist several times and she honestly just looks at me like I'm disgusting, she hardly says a word and didn't even want to see my food journal they required me to keep for the past 6 or so months. Unfortunately I have kaiser insurance and she's the only one in the bariatric department in my area. I've asked her about post op foods and she said i will get that information in my pre surgery conference where they will have me try shakes

hey everyone I am 3 months pre op, my surgery is in march. I was just wondering how many of you are post op or are even at your goal and did not have to surgery to remove excess skin. I want to know your secrets! :-D right now I walk 2 miles a day to and from the gym 5 days a week where I do 2.5 miles on the elliptical on the weight loss setting, and 2-3 days a week I'm doing zumba toning with sticks. I drink lots of Water and eventually as I start losing more I'll start toning more. Just wanted to know what your exercise regimen looks like