Weighing in...in front of others

[AnyDream]

Trill I know what you mean. In fact we've been watching that show "Life on Mars" (the BBC version) where this guy is vorpaled back to 1973 and the way they all talk to each other is nothing short of multiple-cringe-inducing. But none of it meant with any malice - that's the weird part.

Can i just add to this I've had plenty of public weighing moments over the last year ... alongside medical treatments. Yeah pretty excruciating (given that I'm in the 3-figure range) but every time I was surprised because the staff deal with it purely as a number (without judgement) on a continuum, and then you realise they deal with ppl of *every* size and shape. My surgeon once (and only once) expressed surprise when I told him how much I weigh (obviously I carry it well???). AND It's much better to be a fattie on the oncology ward than a skinnie...the skinnies suffer worse side effects and tend to lose a lot of weight in a really unhealthy way, whereas the fatties have a buffer to draw on.

Berenice - I have never watched Biggest Loser (until this year) for that very reason - because I thought it was a process of public humiliation. But I've seen a few eps this year and you have to understand it is done in room that is full of people who are fully supportive. And I can't imagine the general public tuning into a program like that just to laugh at the "fatties" - I think the ppl who watch are the ppl who are interested in weight loss for themselves so it tends to be a sympathetic audience for that reason. I saw the ep where each person gets up on a stage and tells the story of why they are there - not a dry eye in the room. You've got to admire their courage to embark on the weight loss program in front of the tv-viewing nation.

I think one of the really important steps to losing weight is getting real about how much you do weigh (a lot of people are in denial) and seeing your figure on a calibrated scale with another person there to see it (In my case, a dietician) helps to objectify the number...rather than all the usual subjective judgements we make (you know, one week you feel really bloated and down so you feel really 'fat' and another week you're having a good week and the particular clothes you're wearing feel good and so you feel thinner than usual). It's just a number, kwim?