Monday, January 29, 2018

What I Learned From 'My 600 Lb. Life' + #MyPostMonday The Week's Best Original Content

I don't watch T.V. that much because I've got work, husband, house, dad, pet, blog, church, and service projects to keep me busy. (Not necessarily in that order). So it's kind of amazing that I found a couple of new shows to watch or binge-watch, as the case may be. One of them is "My 600 Lb. Life", a documentary-style show about the lives of people who are morbidly obese and how they must either change or essentially die. 

There are a few similarities that I see with almost all of the subjects on the show. For instance:

1) They use food to medicate - Most of these people haven't learned to face what is really bothering them so they turn to food. They use food to numb the pain of what is eating them from the inside. It's like a drug, except it's food.

2) They have had traumatic events that happen in their childhood. Almost every single one of the people on the show have had something really bad happen to them when they were young. Many of them were molested as children by people they had trusted, or had to raise siblings because of irresponsible parents, or had to endure turmoil in their homes. 

3) They use food as a barrier. As mentioned, many of the subjects on the show have been mistreated,  bullied, and preyed upon by predators. Many times they throw aside their desire to look good or be healthy, using food to make them repulsive to the very perpetrators who once victimized them. In this way, they somehow rationalize they will finally be safe.

4) They have no life other than food. Just moving from one room to the other is a major life effort that tires them out for the duration of the day. They also isolate themselves from their friends and loved ones, mainly because they are ashamed of the way they look.

5) They live in smaller homes or apartments. There are no brick, stone, stucco, or log structures. They are all made from boards and they are small. For such big people, I find it interesting that they live in such small dwellings!

6) They live with enablers. Many of them have caretakers that actually enable their behavior around food. Whether they realize it or not, these supposed loved ones are helping them eat themselves into an early grave.

7) They live without hope.They truly don't have any hope to get out of the situation they are in, unless someone from the outside steps in and offers them surgery, on the condition that they first can get their eating under control.

As I watched the struggles of these individuals, who have fallen into the trap of eating for anything but what food is actually designed for, I think of some of the things I do myself. I do use food for much more than sustaining life. I use food for comfort, I use food for medication, I use food as an excuse, and I don't take accountability for many of the things I eat. 

It's crazy to see them wrestle with the decision to either keep going down the road of  morbid obesity, probably dying before age 40, or turn it around by seeing Dr. Nowzaradan, the star of the show, and complying to his orders. I think of myself struggling with that extra 10, 15, even 20 lbs. and wonder why I can't make it happen when once these people become motivated, they can drop 50 lbs. in 2 months. I'm sure it's because they are so overweight that 50 lbs. is like 2 lbs. to me. But still, once they become motivated, it's inspiring to see! I look at them and think, "If they can do it, so can I" and I find that my reasons for sticking to my own diet become much clearer and I'm able to do it. So, thanks "My 600 Lb. Life" cast members! You inspire me! 


 Today is "My Post Monday!", a curation of the week's best original content. It's all about posts from Crafts to Camping, Wellness to Wealth, Fashion to Food, and whatever else is on the brain!  I  open up with a post of my own and then follow it up with a linky of the week's top original blog posts! It's all about what the writer thinks, believes, and knows--in other words, they are active, writing blogs. If I happen to find a great original, non-sponsored post, I'll link it up and share it with you here and on Twitter via the #MyPostMonday hashtag!  I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!  So, in addition, if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too!  I'll visit your site, comment, promote and publicize! (Affiliate links welcome!)     

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