I don't know pennink. I think yes if you have 'normal' hunger. Like if you only eat when your stomach is empty and stop when you feel full. But I don't think that's how a lot of us are wired (physical, psychological, emotional or whatever else).

I don't think I'd be a good candidate for the surgery b/c my hunger is so affected by eating too many carbs and the type of carbs, too. Also driven by stress/emotions and bad habits (all of which I'm trying to address now) If I don't get a handle on that aspect of eating before the surgery what makes me think that I could do it after the surgery? I think if I did it right now I'd be like one of the three people who gained it back and then some....depressing as that thought is.

ya, he seemed like a sweetie ! i too hope he succeeds! and yes, a little to close to his mommy hahaha.

the Methodist Hospital where those docs reside is right up the street from where i live......well not right up the street.... that is just what us Texans say. its not too far though hahaha.

You know, it's interesting to hear people on here (TDC) talk about this show. I saw another BB talking about this show and it was a very non-TDC board. The things they said about this show was so mean spirited and just absolutely horrific. It was pretty much all of the stereotypical responses you would expect. They were along the lines of these people should just exercise and eat less. They also called them fat, lazy, slobs and things like that. The word "gross" was bandied about MANY times. I was thoroughly pissed. In addition, these people on this board felt like people that were obese didn't deserve treatment or humane treatment. I think that was what really pissed me off the most!! By the way, it wasn't just a couple of comments either. It was pages and pages of this. I really just couldn't believe that not even ONE person could garner an ounce of empathy for how difficult it is for a person to be morbidly obese.

southbel- sad, isn't it?

It's why I don't go to a lot of other boards, and at times I just need to hide out here. There's nothing like a person who has never struggled to stand because of their weight telling you they know JUST how you feel because they couldn't zip their size-5's once. Even some who've made great strides and lost tremendous amounts of weight have forgotten where they came from and lack empathy. The religious zeal of the converted drives them to "You just have to..." and "You shouldn't think that way" themselves into being tuned out.

We all have our crosses to bear and part of the journey is to step back and think before we judge, before we say "I never will..." and before we presume to know what someone else has in their heart without taking the time to know them.

If I were to go to a board where the nasty judging runs unchecked, it would do me in these days. My skin is thin as my butt is thick.

/soap box

It's very true. The TDC is special because, for the most part, we don't judge. We've all been there are know that it's not that we didn't want it bad enough, that we were weak-willed or that we were lazy, there is something more than that.

I was just talking with my sister the other night and she was telling me that everyone she's talked to that knew me pre & post weight loss has commented on a change in my personality (for the better ) since. Apparently, I'm more positive than I used to be. I'm not surprised. I don't think I'm a different *person* than I used to be, but there is something about failing each and everyday at something you desperately want to accomplish, losing weight, that was killing that light inside of me. Everyday, I tried, and everyday I couldn't find the key to make it work and it sucked the life and joy right out of me.

I don't think the general population would understand that feeling, but I know most of the people here at the TDC understand.

Val- you seem to be very grounded and still in touch with how you felt before you lost your weight. I think that's why you can communicate you points so well, and I've never EVER felt judged by you.

Yikes....that is scary to me and sad at the same time.

It happened to me recently when I went to a SBD board and told them my success story. they were not impressed at all....as a matter of fact, I was told by one member, after she announced her astounding 15 lb loss and all the glory she took from it...that people who allow themselves to get into that situation....blah,blah, blah....I felt so judged!! and offended.

They don't have a TDC there and do not see that there is a big difference for those with over 100 to lose....I feel for those there with 100 to lose!!

It was this very TDC where I came when I began...I've said this before and will repeat myself....I was too afraid of that kind of statement and its sting when I first came here...so I would only post in here. I felt safe in here.

I'm so thankful to have found this piece of the forum. It saved me!!

i too feel "safe" here ! its good to know that i can voice my opinion about weight and other issues and not get judged ! it is really sad that there are so many people who are prejudiced against fat people. there are some truly mean people out there, and i am sure we have all felt the brunt of them in one way or another. i hope that once i reach goal, that i still have a connection with what i used to look like and feel like as an obese woman....i mean how can one forget really....

I know that TDC is the place that I finally felt comfortable for the first time to actually share with people about my struggles with my weight. It is also the VERY first place I ever admitted my weight. That was a VERY VERY hard thing to do. Even though I am not at goal yet, I have lost quite a bit of weight now and I still carry with me the memories of what I have experienced for so many years. I think it allows me to understand empathy and I want to cherish that forever because I don't want to forget the journey I have taken or the struggles that I have had to endure.

I always want to remember the first time I could cross my legs, the first time I could sit in an airplane seat with both arms down, and so many other firsts! I will always remind myself of those firsts so I will not become one of those people that looks down on someone else that struggles with their weight just as I did!!

I was thinking about this while watching a commercial for that stupid movie, Norbit. WHY??? Why is okay to make fun of someone who is heavy, but if we dare speak of them as to their ethnicity it makes CNN? The gay people were at least pro-active, they took the control back.

It makes me furious to see it's ok to still have fat jokes!

I still laugh at fat jokes sometimes. When I get the chance to laugh at myself, it makes me feel better sometimes.

<shrug> I'm weird.

I had the same feeling when Donald Trump kept bashing Rosie O'Donnell. He kept saying she was a fat, digusting slob. And I kept thinking, how come society goes nuts and it makes the news if someone hurls insults or slurs at people based on their ethnicity or sexual preference but it's okay to call someone a fat slob over and over and OVER??? In my opinion, that is just every bit as hurtful and destructive and just plain WRONG. And yet Trump got away with it without so much as a slap on the wrist.

Cathy B.

its an "easy" attack and most overweight people just hang their head in shame and don't fight back. i am speaking from experience here.... i have hung my head and silently prayed that they would stop saying the things that they were saying. now that i am older i just get this sh** eaten grin on my face and say "thank you" ...and mean it, because they just added fuel to my LC fire

I would just like to echo other people's sentiments about what a gift the Triple Digits Club is to me. The LC advice and support is wonderful, but it is also so much more than that. It is a place where we can come and feel safe and accepted without fear of feeling embarrassed or ashamed or inferior. We don't have to prove ourselves to anyone here. This is the only place on EARTH where I have EVER felt that way.

We live in a society that hates obese people. They make no accommodations for our size in any public facilities or public transportation. I think we should fight for legislation that accords us the same kind of consideration that is made for the disabled. Just as they are required to install ramps and handicapped parking, they should be required to have a certain number of chairs suitable for obese people in public facilities and on public transportation. Instead, they make us pay for two airplane tickets or deliberately seat us at a booth that is three times too small for us and then stand back and watch the "show".

Because of this group, I am starting to hold my head up a lot higher and I am feeling much less "apologetic" and ashamed about my obesity. And I owe that to all of YOU! Thank you all!

Cathy B.

It's really sad to find prejudice against obesity in places that are designed to help people to lose weight. Being cold and heartless to someone who is open and vulnerable (as we are when talking about our weight and how hard this is) just shows lack of charactor on their part. Too bad they hurt others in the process.