I can remember a time in the early 90's when there was not a bathroom scale that went high enough to weigh me, most maxed out between 300 - 350 pounds, and even the doctor's office did not have scales that would register my weight.
In my early 20s I was probably
well over 400 pounds...but I could not tell you for sure because there were no scales around to weigh me. What I do remember is that I could not buy pants to fit me. I had gained the bulk of my weight in my waist, hips and thighs, so to keep myself clothed I would go to the fabric store and purchase three yards of fabric and my sister in law would sew the 108 inches of fabric into a skirt and add an elastic waist. Like thousands of overweight Americans, I had maxed out of the obese & morbid BMI categories into the SUPER obese - A BMI of ≥ 45 or 50.
Fast forward 20 years and the world is striving to accommodate the SUPER obese!
Thanks to plus size mail order catalogs we can easily order clothes for our ever ballooning figures. The wide array of plus-size clothes range from XL to 8XL and up! Now don't get me wrong when I moved into the 6XL size category I was glad to have nice clothes to choose from, but what good are stylish clothes if my mobility was decreasing to the point that I was on short term disability and spending the vast majority of my time in my house because it was too painful to walk?
With a plethora of greasy fast food takeouts & home delivery options, plus the calorie-laden junk food snack options available via Amazon for front door delivery....we can satisfy our unhealthy food cravings without even leaving the confines of our oversized power recliners. And while convenience is an expected way of life in the 21st Century...what we blindly ignore is that shoveling copious amounts of fatty, sweet and salty convenience snacks into our mouths will soon leave us unable to freely move and care for ourselves!
When an individual is super obese life soon becomes a great inconvenience and not only for ourselves but for our friends and loved ones whom we start to lean to aid us in our daily tasks; such as grocery shopping, walking the dogs...etc. It is an escapable consequence that with a BMI > 45 our weight-laden frames will wear out and give under the weight. Our joints will no longer be able to support the mounds of fat and movement will become agonizing and arduous. Additionally performing the simplest tasks such as showering and cooking will become exhausting!
While some SUPER obese individuals might limp along for years, fooling themselves that they can have their cake and eat it too...it will only be a matter of time before they are stopped dead in their tracks...and most will not have years before the effects of the weight exacts its toll and the body gives out. No matter how "lucky or healthy" we think are....we will all pay the piper and before we even know what happened we will either be house bound or living a very limited and pain filled existence.
A couple of months ago I stepped away from convenience food and embraced a healthy vegan/gluten free lifestyle. I actually cried the night before I started my healthy lifestyle as I ridded my kitchen of the unhealthy food items. I was freaked out about the thought of giving up my favorite junks. Would I fall of the diet wagon as I had done millions of times before. Would the eating plan be impossible to maintain? However, as I got into the groove of the new lifestyle, the opposite occurred, I realized it was much easier than I anticipated! Now when I am hungry for a snack I reach for an apple or carrots with a small side of hummus.
I have since lost 40 pounds and I am feeling the positive effects. And most of all, I am starting to understand that true convenience is being able to properly care myself!
Wishing you prosperity in your journey!
Sharon
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