For years I have been fascinated by super-morbidly obese people. You know, the ones that have to have their wall sawed through in order to remove them from their house. I recently watched “World’s Fattest Man” – a story of a man, Manuel Uribe, who lives in Mexico and is cared for by his girlfriend and his mother. His starting weight was 1200 lbs. and his current weight is around 800.
He lost 400 lbs. using the “Zone” diet. He has not left his bed in 5 years and is washed by an array of nurses, etc. and seen by the public and doctors (he even runs a clothing business from his bed) – this dude has turned down the offer of gastric bypass surgery and has opted to keep up w/the diet/bed exercises even though he has not lost any more weight over the past year.
I think most people have a variety of feelings for individuals like this, my guess is it ranges from pity to disgust. I go back and forth myself. The biggest benefit of me watching these shows is to aim to NOT become like that and stay on my weight watchers program, I’m down 37 pounds so far and have 70 to go to reach my goal weight.
On one hand, you have to recognize that something must be pretty wrong in his head for him to not only get to this point (not leaving his bed and just getting bigger and bigger) but also to STAY that way for so long. I think any overweight person can recognize the part of their personality that would like to just chill in bed with some bon bons and watch t.v. The difference between the super-morbidly obese and regular fattys is that us regulars continue to live life, out of the need to watch kids, pay bills, etc. Duty calls, either get up off the couch and answer it, or look forward to the fire dept. sawing you out of your house.
Both the original show and the updated show of the World’s Fattest Man made me feel compassion for him and a sadness at realizing that his life is slipping away day by day while he watches it from his bed. I don’t even know this person and that depresses the hell out of me. I can only imagine he MUST feel a fraction of that sadness and loss. Just when I focus on that aspect of it, I swing back the other way and go “come on! you did this to yourself and you are refusing any kind of help!”
Meanwhile I have an episode of “half-ton dad” to go watch…what I would like, is for someday to have obesity be a thing of the past and then there will be no need for these documentaries that I can’t seem to quit watching.
