All right...but come over here and let me give you a noogie.

I read the TDC with interest a lot of the time. I think there are some great discussions here

However, I almost always (this being one exception) refrain myself from posting. This is a TDC forum, and while I may have opinions, comments or something to say - this is not a place for me, and they are happier if I just don't post here. I cannot relate to the TDC struggle and as such, I should leave them in the company of others who DO understand. This forum should be a sanctuary for TDCers. The rest of us have the whole rest of the board to post in.

So I implore the rest of you non-TDCers - for the respect of your forummates, please resist the urge to post here

And congratulations on your accomplishments--you look great!

Thanks, Paleoanth. I hope there are more people who feel the way you do about it. I think your comparison hit the nail right on the head. It was like all the non-smokers telling me how to quit smoking. There are some things we can know a lot about, and information someone who hasn't "walked a mile" can know, but it's not the same as actually having BEEN there. There'd be no way I could tell you I know what your life has been like, and you respect others by not presuming to know what their journey should be.

It got me thinking... (dangerous, I know ) There just seem to be people who have to join in whatever the topic and be heard, no matter what. It reminds me of when someone posts about having their husband say something cruel, and there's always a few posts from people who have to chime in about how wonderful THEIR husband is. Someone posts about terrible food cravings, and there's always somebody who posts how they NEVER have cravings... I guess there will just always be people who post how they understand how it feels to be obese because they can't zip their size-six jeans. <shrug>

I do feel 100 lbs is an arbitrary number, but I think common sense should dictate whether it's appropriate to give advice or commentary or not. After all, I have far different issues than someone twice MY weight, and I would feel pretty stupid trying to tell someone I knew how they felt, or tell them what to do.

I have basically been told by thinner people that I'm really too fat to relate to them, but the difference IS...I used to BE thin. I remember what it's like to feel like 20 lbs was the end of the world. Trust me, I had NO clue.

Actually, it's obese, not morbidly obese.

You're right, Diane, at my height (4'11 1/2), it is only 34.3 in BMI, not 35 with health problems (like mine) or 40 without them, which is the clinical definition of morbidly obese. I would have had to weigh 173 to have met the definition.

vicki

For the first time in my life, being hugely overweight makes me fit in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's extremely easy to calculate. Just follow the link in my signature

Given that you weigh 110 now, it's not much of an issue!

I guess I was trying to protect my self esteem, since at approx. 170 and 5' tall, I have not thought of myself as morbidly obese for a while. I certainly do not experience any significant physical limitations or embarrassments at this weight, compared to where I started.

Diane, you have made a huge effort and gotten really, really fit. At your weight, my very much inactive self felt a whole lot better than when I started, at 235, but I was still big and unhealthy enough for it to be truly problematic.

I guess that really points out how different we all can be from each other. I didn't have much in the way of choice in terms of my activity level a year ago, and I am trying to correct that now that I can be active again, but height, weight, clothing size etc. can never tell the whole story.

Yup… *nods* I was basically one of those emotional eaters who “ate themselves fat”. I spent all of my life up until 18/19 as a “normal sized girl”, with at most 20 pounds to lose. Trust me, I thought I was miserable then… I had no clue what it would feel like to top out at 270 (and I stopped looking at the scale, it may have been more)… I ate to cover up my depression and ballooned up to my highest, but I spent most of my life “normal”.

The shoe is on the other foot for me now, because now I know what it is like to be “normal” and also morbidly obese… Both ends, and they are both extremely different. It isn’t a putdown to slender people, but when I weighed 150 I had NO CLUE how much my knees would hurt at 270, or how bad my back could ache… Just no concept of it, and how could I have had one?
I also had no clue of how differently people would treat me. I was ostracized when I was 270 and I wasn’t even all that big (I only wore a 22/24 at my highest, which yes, it’s fat, but I carried my weight well)… When I was 150 I had a ton more friends, went out all the time, could party three or four nights a week with no energy drain… It never occurred to me that people would stop calling me, or I would have steadily less and less dates the bigger I got… Well it happened… And now that I’m back halfway to my goal, it’s started going the other way- I go on dates all the time, have made a ton of new friends… Very few people ever make reference to my weight now and they used to all the time…

I find it a comforting thing that the founder of this forum website is actual a member of the TDC. I think part of the reason why we have this sub-forum is because of that! (Where's the mens forum! LOL I don't wanna bring that up again)

I think those non-TDC'ers that are genuinely upset by not being 'in the club' - well I don't think us TDC'ers fell that sorry for you! Look at it from our perspective! It's not like we think we are better than anyone else - it's more the opposite feeling!

And let's not forget the ones that have 200 pounds or more to loose. That's a whole new category in itself!

Dave, you have really started something here! Not only has this thread taken off but I am seeing a LOT more activity in TDC as well. Wow, you got people to wake up and take notice.

LOL, I don't take credit for any of that!

Plenty of great TDCers here!

Now we now where the TDC is going!!