https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/01/weight-loss-essay-tomlinson/579832/

Interesting but also a little curious - I think he nails the sensation of being fat in our society, and he knows the science that frustrates weight loss... but two-thirds through the article he discounts WLS. I’m sure there are plenty of personal reasons to do so, but I’ve never seen someone lay out the case for WLS so clearly and then choose the diet-and-exercise path regardless.

I wish him luck, obviously, but would have liked to hear a lot more about why he decided against surgery when he’s got all the success data in front of him.

Thank you for sharing this. So much of the article resonated with me except his dismissal of WLS as giving up.

I'd like my broken leg to heal, but putting on a plaster-cast feels like giving it up, taking the easy way out. No, I'll wrap it in bandages, and try not to walk on it as hard as I can.

9 hours ago, sideeye said:

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/01/weight-loss-essay-tomlinson/579832/

Interesting but also a little curious - I think he nails the sensation of being fat in our society, and he knows the science that frustrates weight loss... but two-thirds through the article he discounts WLS. I’m sure there are plenty of personal reasons to do so, but I’ve never seen someone lay out the case for WLS so clearly and then choose the diet-and-exercise path regardless.

I wish him luck, obviously, but would have liked to hear a lot more about why he decided against surgery when he’s got all the success data in front of him.

Great article.

I respect his decision not to have surgery. It's not for everyone.

He said "to me surgery feels like giving up" "12 step program is admitting your powerless over your addiction. I don't feel powerless yet" He has not found a point he feels powerless over obesity after fighting it from childhood into his 50's. Everything he said describes powerless to me.

Edited January 10, 20197 yr by Healthy_life

Let me tell. you a quick story. I was fishing,one day, stepped into an animal hole, foot got caught, wrenched it badly removing it. This was on a Saturday evening so had hubby take me to the nearest. Urgent Care, X-rayed it, said a bad sprain, and wrapped it in elastic bandaging. The next Monday morning, radiologist called from the main hospital that the Urgent Care was a satellite of, asked how I was getting along with my cast. Cast-what cast, don't got no cast- why would I have a cast? Because my dear, you broke the ends off both lower bones, the tibia and fibula as well as a small bone in your ankle. Asked if I should go somewhere and have a cast put on? Nope, had been more than 48 hours and it wouldn't be worthwhile. That ankle when it finally healed, healed stiff, can't get up on my toes so no sprinting or running. And maybe when I win a sweepstakes or lottery, I can afford to private-pay to have it repaired with bolts and hardware. My insurance would call it cosmetics or a "vanity surgery", and avoid paying for it, after all I can still walk, albeit with a limp?.

27 minutes ago, Healthy_life said:

He has not found a point he feels powerless over obesity after fighting it from childhood into his 50's. Everything he said describes powerless to me.

Exactly - it's an interesting gap in his thinking, and he doesn't really address it. It's okay to say "I consider the surgery too risky, so I'm not going to pursue it" but he didn't. He just did this weird narrative 180 and said "now I'm going to pursue the path I've just spent 2000 words describing as almost futile".

Denial is a strong state. And no one will fight so hard to defend a paradigm shift as someone who is committed and believes their present position. They will often defend, deny, and rationalize to death. Literally. It's part of why debates can turn wickedly brutal--very quickly.

Edited January 10, 20197 yr by FluffyChix

See, to me, I get the idea of "to me surgery feels like giving up". Because I felt like that before, and, frankly, I still feel that way. I did have to give up on the fact that I could do it "alone" (or, more correctly, without this additional tool). I had to give up on a lifetime of being told you can do anything if you really try with just a little elbow grease. I had to give up a lot of the way I used to think. It's not that I had to give up on myself - I just needed to let go of a lot of what my brain and my social conditioning had ingrained in me for many, many (many) years. And I'm OK with thinking of it that way.