Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the world.

Special Treat – Cheryl Williams

November 26, 2007

Don't Let Your Weight Keep You From Going to the Doctor

Cheryl Williams

For those of us who struggle with weight, there is no more intimidating place than a doctor’s office. We can dress our best, but those clothes come off to reveal every bulge we own. We can look ten pounds thinner than we really are, but the scale does not lie. As a result, far too many of us are neglecting our check-ups. Not only are we neglecting our check ups, we do not even go to the doctor when we are sick unless we are feeling it is extremely urgent. By that time, it is very often too late.

It is very easy to feel shamed when you step on a scale and it reveals that you are fifty or one hundred pounds overweight, and very often the person weighing you makes a comment meant to be helpful, but one that only makes you feel even worse. I remember sitting in many a doctor’s office with my heart pounding and my stomach churning as I would wait for the nurse to call my name. Just thinking about it now makes me feel sick. I would step on the scale, never looking at the number, for I really didn’t want to know. Then she would take my blood pressure, which was often too high. She would usually comment on this and start writing furiously on my medical chart. After this, she would usher me into the exam room, hand me one of those lovely backless gowns, and leave.

I would put the gown on, and it was usually too tight, which meant that more of my backside was showing than I wanted or needed. Then I would wait in anxiety for the doctor to come in. He would always come in, smile, shake my hand, and ask how I was doing. Of course, I would smile and engage in some small talk, trying to distract him from noticing my weight and blood pressure.

And then the comments and questions would come:

You know….you have quite a bit of weight to lose. (NOOO…REALLY?)

And your blood pressure is in the danger zone. If you would lose some weight, that would most likely drop significantly. (YOU THINK?)

To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you take in. (REALLY? THAT’S IT?)

Also, due to your weight, you are now classified as morbidly obese. (That sounds totally disgusting…Am I totally disgusting?)

If you eat a healthy diet, and cut out the sweets and the snacks, you will lose weight. (WOW…I didn’t know that!)

The thing is, I did know that. I do know that. And so does the majority of overweight people in this world. As a matter of fact, we have lost so much weight over the course of our lives, we could write a weight loss book.

Our problem is not how to lose it. Our problem is how do we keep it off, and this is something that is seldom addressed by the medical profession. This is quite puzzling since constant yo-yo dieting is one of the major reasons for the drop in one’s metabolism, which leads to weight gain.

Yes, there’s a problem with the medical profession’s means of dealing with those who suffer from obesity. But their problem is not nearly as dangerous as the problem we have…that of ignoring our checkups because of embarrassment.

Is death more preferable than embarrassment? I don’t think so. But that is what is bound to happen if we ignore the preventative measures of staying healthy. So many diseases, such as cancer, are treatable if they are caught early enough. How sad to be diagnosed with cancer that has progressed too far just because you did not want to feel embarrassed over your weight.

At one point in my life, I went seven years without a checkup. I was absolutely mortified of going to the doctor. I was so tired of feeling inadequate and stupid. I was so tired of feeling like a person who had no will power because the doctor always made it sound so easy. I was so tired of feeling like a failure every time I walked into his office.

Years have passed, and I came to the realization that doctors are not perfect, and that I need not expect that from them anymore than they should expect it from me. Perhaps they need some enlightening on the subject of emotional overeating or food addiction. Doctors come from a very scientific place where everything must be measurable in some way. Should we be surprised that they are not really prepared to deal with anything other than the numbers and the data?

Doctors are only doing the job they are meant to be doing. It is their job to weigh us, and to inform us. They are not trying to shame us. They need the information for insurance purposes as well as to classify us so that they can treat us to the best of their ability. Perhaps just as they need to have a bit more grace with us, we also need to have a bit more grace with them.

We can learn from each other. Who better to open the eyes of the medical profession in regard to obesity than the ones who suffer from obesity? Who better to explain that it isn’t always about the number on a scale, but very often about the pain we tend to hold inside of us? Who better to explain it is about much more than willpower? It is very often about using food to numb our emotions that are not always so pleasant.

And who better to open our eyes to the way our bodies work and respond to the food we eat than the doctors? Who better to share with us how miraculous these bodies of ours truly are and that food can be a healing force in our lives rather than a disruptive force?

We need to work with the medical profession, and in order to do that, we need to make sure we get our yearly check-ups. It may be the best gift we ever give to ourselves and to our families.

Cheryl Williams

Politicalgirl04@aol.com