so my surgery is exactly one week from today! im kinda nervous but im so excited!!!i know i will do well on this attempt to loose weight.

but i have a sad story...to remind us all of how bad we sometimes have it being overweight.

my girlfriend and i work at the same place. we work at a park giving out directions and information. a heavy set woman came up to my friend this morning and asked where the cafe was. my friend pointed it out. she told me this woman was really nice and was goooorgeous.

there was a father and his son (maybe 15 or 16) bhind this woman. the boy said (laughing) "ohhh now there isnt going to be any food left" the woman heard and my friend stephanie said she was about to cry. my friend looked at the boy and said "why would you say something like that?" and the boy had no response. the father started laughing. then stephanie turned to the father and said "and you're his father and this is what you're teaching your son to say? nice fucking parenting."

when she old me this my heart dropped because i know what it feels like..just a little reminder of one of the reasons we are all here..to get support from one anothe and because we are tired of people who dont understand why it is so hard to loose weight. people have told me "just stop eating!!!" well..i eat less than some of my skinny friends..so explain that!

well let me tell u! i was in the grocery store behind this lady pushing her daughter in the buggy & there was a lady who was more overweight than me directly in front of them. the little girl pointed & said "look mommy! that lady is really, really, really, really FAT!" i was embarrassed for both of us! nobody said a word, not the mother of the child nor the lady who was insulted! if i had been in the childs line of vision perhaps it would have been ME she was referring to...:thumbup:

see that's what i dont understand..why do parents not say anything? its the same when a little kid is in the store and they say "look mommy its a chocolate person" ive been with friends who are black when this has happened and they arent really offended because the child is little and they dont understand the difference because there family is a white or spanish or whatever. but you have to learn the word "fat" from somewhere. and no one is teaching the child that it is wrong if they think its ok to say it.

Bravo to your friend. I can't believe fat is one of the last acceptable prejudices.

Trully unbelievable. This is the last form of predjudice that is totally openly accepted and almost encouraged by our culture. Other forms of discrimnation, I am aware still occur, but there is not such a blantant acceptance of them. People who have never struggled with weight or food issues have no idea what it is like to have to get up everyday and deal with the world and act as though it is really no big deal that we are treated like second-class citizens because of our struggles. In fact, I know many of us are over-achieving super-responsible individuals who have accomplished a great deal, but have not been able to accomplish this for ourselves...maybe because, in part, we have given soooooo much to others.

It is such a relief that we finally have a medical solution to a medical problem. For me, it has helped take some of the stigma away. Most of it will remain forever because of the way we are treated. But at least we are finally taken seriously by the medical community.

well let me tell u! i was in the grocery store behind this lady pushing her daughter in the buggy & there was a lady who was more overweight than me directly in front of them. the little girl pointed & said "look mommy! that lady is really, really, really, really FAT!" i was embarrassed for both of us! nobody said a word, not the mother of the child nor the lady who was insulted! if i had been in the childs line of vision perhaps it would have been ME she was referring to...:thumbup:

just in defense of that little child. he/she doesnt know better shame on her mom for NOT telling her that God makes us all different but he/she is a child and doesnt know better.

i was almost 300 pounds and my kids have said that about other people not knowing it isnt nice (now keep in mind my kids are about 4-5 when they say something). so i simply tell my kids in plain hearing of the person that it wasnt nice what they said and we dont talk about people unless we can say something nice. and then if that person is looking at me i smile and tell him/her i am sorry.

just in defense of that little child. he/she doesnt know better shame on her mom for NOT telling her that God makes us all different but he/she is a child and doesnt know better.

i was almost 300 pounds and my kids have said that about other people not knowing it isnt nice (now keep in mind my kids are about 4-5 when they say something). so i simply tell my kids in plain hearing of the person that it wasnt nice what they said and we dont talk about people unless we can say something nice. and then if that person is looking at me i smile and tell him/her i am sorry.

I agree with you shame on the parents they should be teaching there kids properly..

When my kids were younger and made a comment I would correct them and tell them thats not nice. We are all different and have our own special sizes, colors and hairstyles or accent. God made us all speacial.

So shame on the father for laughing with his son this shows how imature he is one day he may be overweight...

i recently took my 11 yr old niece and 8 yr old nephew to a Water park for an afternoon of fun. at one point my nephew asked me why there were so many fat people at the water park.

i stopped walking and told him that just until recently i looked like the people he was talking about. he responded with "well you don't know". so i had him look... really look... at the people around us. i made him turn around in a full circle to show him that each and every person is different... no one is the same size... some are tall, some are short, some are skinny and some are overweight. i also pointed out that no one has the same exact shade of skin either so it's not right to compare people.

i hope he understood.

it wasnt a child he was 15 or 16 he knows right from wrong

Hats off to your friend! I am glad she said something to Jerk 1 & 2. I would never allow my children to have said anything like that or much less have laughed. But I am also the parent that will force children to apologize for their behavior or comments. It is sad that some people teach this hate to their kids.

it wasnt a child he was 15 or 16 he knows right from wrong

yes in that case it is totally uncalled for!!!!!! and he had to learn it from somewhere obviously the father.