So apparently, since the requirements of many insurance companies restrict weight-loss surgeries to the very obese, some less obese people have, instead of trying to lose weight the good-old-fashoined way, resorted to eating more...That's right. If you don't qualify for a weight-loss surgery, the apparent solution is to get fatter so that the insurance company will pay for your surgery.
http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/26/8472045-desperate-to-qualify-for-weight-loss-surgery-some-pile-on-the-pounds
I have a few problems with this. First, it does nothing but enforce the problems that got you to where you are to begin with. Ya, sure, some of its genetic and all that, but a lot of it is lifestyle. Some people go into the surgery thinking it's a miracle cure that will make them eat less...and that's partly true. But if you continue the same habits of stuffing your face, the surgery, eventually, won't matter...you'll end up re-stretching whatever got stapled and back in the same boat as you began. You won't be "free" of who you were before the surgery until you change how you deal with food and lifestyle.
Secondly, it undermines the entire reason why you SHOULD be losing weight in the first place. Yes, we all want to look good, but in all reality, looking good doesn't count for much. If you look good but are out of shape, are depressed, or have sore muscles or joints, I would be willing to bet you "looking good" doesn't FEEL as good as you thought. If you feel like shit, who cares what you look like...you won't be playing the part and that will reflect more than a smaller waist and a bit of makeup. Looking good can boost your self esteem, but what happens when you don't look your best? What happens when no one's looking? What happens when something bad happens and you revert back to old habits to make you feel better? You'll realize that looks weren't and aren't the only problem...feeling better has much more involved than just looks.
Lastly, once again, it takes all responsibility off the individual. Oh, I can just continue eating like a moose and when I wake up in three weeks I'll be skinny? Hell ya, let's do that.
When I decided to lose weight a couple years ago, I set up a routine, changed my eating habits, woke up earlier and worked out every day. Every time I saw the scale go down I was happier, every time a mile time lessened I wanted to do better. Every time I upped my workout, I wanted to see what I could do next. It became less about losing weight and more about motivating myself, more about KNOWING that I could do better, more about confidence...IF i could have just "lost the weight" without the preceding 2 or 3 months of work, ya it'd be easier, ya i'd look better but I would also have no respect for what I had accomplished. I wouldn't feel better about my abilities, I wouldn't have been proud. Maybe most people either don't care or don't realize that they are missing that, but the confidence gained was less about weight-loss and more about knowing what I could accomplish. The confidence ended up being what I thought about, not the new-sized pants I got to buy...
I realize not everyone can up and go to the gym every day. Not every CAN push themselves to lose the weight, and sometimes, there's no alternative to weight-loss surgery...but for people who are
not morbidly obese,
can move, and
have the ability to fix things themselves, to purposefully eat more, gain more weight, and be happy with that choice as an alternative or equal to making hard choices that create an overall healthier lifestyle is just depressing and that attitude, frankly, is one reason why people are obese in the first place...
