Yeah - I sometimes watch Oprah. Not sure where that lands me on the "hipster" scale. Not very high, I imagine. Most of the time I really respect what Oprah has to say and when she is doing something very responsible, like featuring Al Gore and his global warming documentary or taking a whole hour to interview Barak Obama, I applaud her. I appreciate her recent efforts to expose truths in our society that both the Government or the mainstream media don't present to us.
However, tonight Oprah reminded me of her tendency to believe she's God. Yes, I said that. Sometimes I think she believes she is all-knowing and what we really hear from her is her own agenda. Granted, I usually agree with it, but it is hers and not necessarily all truth. She is the most important woman in the world and she uses that status to influence her millions of viewers. And, of course, lots of these people actually believe Oprah because...well..why would she lie?
So tonight's show was on a "phenomenon" (her words) that is happening with people who've had weight loss surgery (WLS). There were lots of bad stories about woman trading their food addiction for another addiction; alcohol, sex, gambling, drugs, whatever. Since those who've had WLS can no longer feed their addictions with food, they turn to new sources. She calls it "addiction transfer". Totally makes sense. It happened to my mom when she quit smoking (cigarettes became food). This is not news to me, but then - I have (had) addicts for parents. I know about this crap.
But MISS O presented this topic as if WLS will lead you to addiction. She showed a couple of bad cases as the norm for WLS. And, of course, millions watched so millions will believe her. She even showed a graphic of how gastric bypass surgery is supposed to work; but she GOT IT WRONG. The misinformation totally supported her theory, by the way. I have a feeling she knew what she left out and knew that her viewers would believe her anyway.
Now - I understand Ms. Winfrey believes WLS is the "easy way out". She will say it the rest of her life because she did not have surgery to lose her weight. I also applaud her for this. She also points out - quite frequently - that being obese is only a result or manifestation of the real problem, whatever that may be. I also agree with this. We didn't get fat because we just loved food way too much. We got fat because something was/is hard to deal with or out of control.
What Ol' Opey doesn't get is that not everyone is fat for the same reasons she was/is. Sure - it really is a simple equation of calories in vs. calories out, but the way we get fat and why we gained weight in the first place is as unique as we are. Okra seems to think that since she's found her way to lose weight, that it must be The Way to lose weight. Again with the God complex.
She applies her personal experience with weight loss to everyone. She shows one side and presents that side as the norm. This is what I hate. I hate that she stereotypes fat people and WLS. So now the world believes that anyone who's had WLS did not get counseling, did not try diet and exercise (or 40 diets in my case), or did not try hard enough. What? How can anyone begin to understand what "hard enough" is for me? Sorry - no one can.
I am not stupid. I knew exactly what I got myself into. Though I present a cavalier attitude about my eating and health, I actually pay very close attention to it now. I know when I'm making bad and good eating decisions. I will struggle with that for a very long time. Eating right will be hard for the rest of my life. More admissions (this is hard for me because I still don't like to talk about it):
I did see a counselor (prior to surgery) about my weight problems. I was very unhealthy, though I lied about it a lot, for many years. I was constantly on a diet. I am not addicted, but I do have a harder time dealing with life now that I can't eat my problems. I don't really do anything excessively anymore (maybe hug my kids, but hey). I get drunk on 2 glasses of wine. I have never had an urge to gamble, do drugs, seek extra male attention, or any of these other self-destructive behaviors that Oprah says I have done since WLS. I didn't do that before surgery, so I didn't do it after. Duh.
Fact - I am one of the lucky ones with the weight loss. Most WLS patients don't lose all their extra weight. I did. Most gain some or all weight back. I have not gained (or when I do, I lose it pretty quickly). I had some minor side effects: hair loss (some still say it was from the anesthesia), nausea early on, and severe infected gallbladder (the worst one). I try and get my nutrition levels checked on a regular basis which shows I am occasionally slightly anemic. Actually, I've been anemic since I was 14. I <usually> take supplements twice a day. Surprisingly, I would not recommend WLS as a good means to lose weight. It was right for me, and that's the only person on whom I can make such a judgment.
So why am I worried about what Oprah said? Don't know. I guess it's because I don't want those who know me to believe her hype and start worrying about me. Most people take her word as gospel and they're wrong to do it. At least on this issue they are.
Hopefully one day O.W. will stop being so judgmental towards fat people. Maybe when she finally gets over her eating issues, hah? Until then, I think I'll skip the weight loss episodes. Uh...yeah.
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