Lost It, Gained It, Losing It - Thoughts on Weight Loss, Weight Gain, and American Obesity

Over the past few years, I've been on a few different meds (mostly anti-psychotics and antidepressants) that have caused weight gain. I'm not talking just a few pounds, either; in the neighborhood of 80 or 90 lbs of weight gain. That's not exactly healthy, and as you can imagine I've been pretty miserable with myself for being so fat. Even though I know the meds were the catalyst, I still beat myself up as if it were my own fault. Sadly, when people look at me, they don't know why I'm fat. All they see is, "Ew, lay off the donuts and hit the gym!" You see, although there are plenty of overweight and obese Americans out there, there are also plenty of judgmental and unsympathetic Americans who simply don't understand how weight loss and weight gain works.

First of all, weight gain is not always your fault. In fact, most of the time, it isn't your fault at all. Quit blaming yourself, please, because no matter how many times you tell yourself, "But if I hadn't eaten that," or, "If I exercised more," it won't change the fact that our culture and our genes have a good portion of us set up for failure from the start. Add to that things like medications, and some of us are simply in a bad spot to begin with.

It got to the point where I honestly thought I had to choose between being fat or being sane. Over half of all bipolar patients are obese for the same reason - we have to take these meds to function, even if it means putting our physical health at risk. I've been lucky - after some blood tests, some med changes, and a referral to a weight management clinic, I'm on track for the moment.

For the moment, anyway. This is another aspect of weight loss that nobody ever seems to grasp: losing weight is only half the battle. We always see and hear "success stories" about folks who've lost massive amounts of weight. Congrats to them, but the truth of the matter is, only 10% of those who lose the weight keep it off for more than a year. The fast it goes off, the fast it comes back on, too; if you need any more evidence of that, do a little research online about the people who've been on The Biggest Loser and what happened to them after they went home.

My suggestion for those who want to lose weight: go see a doctor. Seriously, having that "doctor's order" to back you up really, REALLY helps with the motivation. I would never stick to this otherwise. They can help you figure out exactly how much you need to eat to lose the weight, or if it just won't come off (as was the case for me before I changed my meds) no matter what you do, weight loss surgery is nothing to be ashamed of! Medical science is something we need to embrace with open arms rather than shunning it because it isn't "natural" - pssh, since when are things like Vitaminwater or ellipticals natural?

For those of you who are happy with your weight: stop judging. Stop telling people what they need to do. You don't know what's going on in their bodies or their lives. Societal pressure isn't going to fix the obesity problem. If anything, I think it makes it worse for some of us, as it can trigger emotional eating.

I like what First Lady Obama is doing by focusing on kids, because if there's one place where these problems can be stopped before they start, it's the freakin' lunch line! I know my fellow Millenials can attest to the atrocious state of our public school lunches. French fries are not a vegetable, and pizza should not be an option every day because guess what? Kids will eat pizza every day if given the option! Oh, and the "fruits and vegetables" the schools claim to offer? They aren't edible. No, really, they aren't. The salads are made from iceberg lettuce, which has no nutritional value. The apples are Red Delicious, which are bitter on the best of days and bruised and rotten others.

Obesity certainly isn't something to be taken lightly, but at the same time, we can't really think that shaming people is any real motivator. We need to show each other a little compassion, because there are those of us who do have a legitimate reason as to why we simply cannot lose the weight. Each person has to do what's right for their own bodies, because nobody else knows what it's like to live in your skin but you.