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I am *so glad* you're not my doctor.OSUdoc08 said:It has nothing to do with success rates and relapses and all to do with SELF-CONTROL.
The relapse occurs when you decide to buy Little Debbies at Kroger.
Just don't.
To add a somewhat more constructive comment to the OP, I agree with people who have said that having struggled with your weight might actually make you more effective with patients.
I gained weight after college, when I went from walking miles between classes and getting outside on the weekend to commuting to a depressing job where I sat on my butt all day and still felt exhausted when I got home. At the time, I saw an NP who was thin - not anorexic or psycho-athlete, just a naturally small frame - and she more or less said "can't you just, like, eat better or get some more exercise or something...?" Yeah, thanks. Guess what I did about it? Diddly squat.
I regained my active lifestyle early in grad school and lost weight. Now I spend 10 hours a day in lab, 7 days a week, and have re-gained some weight despite eating well. I recently saw another NP, who happened to have some noticeable tummy overhang. He commented on the upward trend in my chart, then gave very gentle and practical suggestions from the "this is what I do to maintain control with my own hectic schedule" perspective - drink more water, take the stairs, pick someplace out-of-the-way to walk for lunch, make sure to eat during the day even if you're busy rather than starving all day and over-eating in one big meal, etc. And I took those suggestions well, because they were practical and given from experience.
Now, my 15 pounds is way different from a patient who needs to get rid of 150. But even so, you're going to be able to say "look at me, I eat pretty well, work out, get regular checkups and know my blood pressure and cholesterol are OK. I know I'm healthy so I don't worry so much about the rolls around the waistband." Which is going to get a way better response from the patient than "I run 5 miles a day and only eat lettuce" or - god forbid - "well you obviously just don't have enough self-control."
That said, I also agree that you're not obese. I have also had experience with nurses and doctors who are clearly, grossly, obese. With these people, I'm sorry to say, I have exactly the reaction you fear - this person is *not* in control of their body (whether that's eating too much or having an undiagnosed medical problem) - and they do lose some of my respect. So I think they key is knowing you're healthy and in control despite being "fat" by Playboy standards, and being able to project that.