Today I have been reading online about Kevin Smith (some Hollywood director-but I am too lazy to figure out who he is) and how he was asked by Southwest Airlines to get off of a flight over his weight. The story sounds strange to me, because the article states that Southwest has a policy that some obese passengers have to buy two seats. So I am not too sure if he refused to buy two seats, or why he was asked off the plane.
You can read the article here.
The article stated that the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance has called for a boycott of Southwest Airlines.
Honestly I feel very irritated with this entire episode.
I myself am over one hundred pounds overweight and I have started this blog as a way to try to come to terms with this issue and try to lose the weight. There is honestly very few reasons as to why people can't lose weight-even some of us with health issues have a variety of options that we can take to lose weight.
Over the past couple of years it has become increasingly hard for me to fit into a seat on an airplane. I can fit, but it is just uncomfortable. The day that they tell me that I am going to have to buy two seats instead of one would be so very humiliating-so much in fact that maybe it would wake me up and cause me to take control of my weight issues.
I know that overweight people are discriminated against because I have noticed over the past ten years that people treat me differently as I have gained weight. But I am no longer going to sit and cry about it, nor am I going to call in the National Association for Fat Acceptance to force other people to accept what is a serious health dilemma that is going to either kill me or sooner or later hurt my standard of life.
Maybe I am being intolerant, but perhaps it is because I am sick of making excuses for myself and listening to excuses by other people.
What do you think?
Update: Southwest makes a statement that he was asked off the flight because he did not buy two tickets due to flying on standby. You can read the article here.
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I understand your reaction. It's tough enough to face major weight loss without seeing one more reason for not losing it, for accepting yourself as you are. Sometimes it seems that down that path lies the endless status quo. It is obvious you want to change and need to challenge whatever may impede that journey. I say "go girl," don't let anything slow you down - literally or figuratively. Enjoy the journey and keep moving.
ReplyDeleteExcept for a couple of years in college where I had to walk everywhere, experienced many periods where I didn't have enough money for food, and was very active in dance and martial arts, I have always had a tendency to be overweight. However, for those years I was slim. It was also the period when I met and married my husband.
Now, weight from childbirth, from buying and making foods to fill us (read not having a lot of money to spare, therefore depending upon carbs instead of proteins and expensive veg), from several long bouts of having to take steroids for painful back and hip injuries has left me over a hundred pounds overweight.
Each round of brought new challenges: during the first I gained over 70 pounds. Then I struggled mightily to lose half of it. Later, I gained over 50 pounds during another six months of prednisone. Having a doctor who said, "Well, steroid weight is almost impossible to lose," didn't help.
Thankfully, I changed doctors and now have a positive, supportive internist who is also certified in integrative medicine who says "you'll do it, just get active doing things you enjoy. You've survived so much, you will be able to do this. I believe in you."
Well, that's working better than starving myself or feeling depressed that no matter what I try diet-wise nothing happens. No lectures, no grave faces, no tisk-tisk yet no acceptance of the status quo either. Just a positive belief, and a positive path. Action is the key for me. I just needed to stop and remember, stop and allow myself to return to center.
So, like you, I feel as if empowering myself is key.
I just found your blog today and will be reading it on a regular basis not just for inspiration but also for a sense of companionship - knowing that I am not alone on this particular path. I have to admit it makes a difference to know that. Not sure why exactly. It just does.
Thanks for investing time and energy into this blog because it is important for yourself and your goals, but it might also make a difference for those of us who read it.
And to address your question about whether or not you are being intolerant. I don't think so - impatient and perhaps a bit defensive, but hey, who isn't? Being overweight in this and many other cultures isn't a pleasant experience and sometimes it just gets to the point where you want to shout "enough already" to those who point and prod us to lose weight as well as to those who through their actions or words tell us that we'd be better off fighting for our rights and accepting our fate.
So, it's natural, I think, to react as you have - to say 'you know, I am going to do this for me my way. I don't need you to harp at me either for or against the issue. If you can't be supportive and understanding, then just let me be."
This is such a personal issue, a personal goal, a personal experience that when it comes down to it, that we don't need complications either way.
So congratulations on your decision. I feel good about my decision, too, but I am taking baby steps in changing my habits and levels of activity.
Thank you for sharing your experiences, thoughts and reactions. You are giving us the opportunity to think about what we want and need and to share our progress through your blog.
Thanks for telling your story and I am looking forward to getting to know you!
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by your formatted blog,really advantageous for all of us for the healthiness related matters.Thanks
ReplyDeleteThe story was very good and inspiring. Thanks!
ReplyDelete