Mama June Shannon, reality TV celeb of "Here comes Honey Boo Boo" says she's happy with a 100 pound weight gain after her big weight loss on "Mama June: From Not to Hot." I'm wondering is she happy or just excusing the return to obesity. And I also question how much more she will gain and still justify it? Since gastric bypass in 2016, June has steadily been regaining pounds lost and always has an excuse. I think this is just another of the myths she, people on "My 600-lb Life" and many of us who struggle with fat, feed ourselves. Busting these myths is part of how I lost 100 pounds.
Mama June, mum of "Toddlers and Tiaras" star Honey Boo Boo, may actually be or think she is happy being morbidly overweight. The pageant mom rose to fame with her larger than life persona. It's her stock and trade. She might also just be more comfy bigger. But I suspect that's not it. I think people say they like themselves "fat" because they can't (or more often won't) lose weight. This self-delusion I call "fattitude" (Al-Anon calls it stinkin thinkin) crops up in many forms on every episode of "My 600-lb Life".
Mama June Shannon, the folks on "My 600-lb Life" and many of us who've suffered with obesity try to spin weight gain as something positive. We say we feel better. We cry body positivity and anyone who says otherwise is body shaming. Fattitude (stinkin thinkin) and food addiction drive us to defend overeating and euphemize it away. And fattitude and food addiction are every bit as baffling, cunning and dangerous as drug or alcohol dependency.
Genuine long-term, sustained weight loss is a shit-ton of work. It's boring to count calories, follow a 1200-calorie diet, or keto diet or intermittent fasting (5:2 diet) or some other method of calorie restricting. It's easier and much more fun to eat like there's no tomorrow and make excuses about how we "can't lose weight", "nothing works", "you don't need calorie restricting, intermittent fasting, 1200- calorie diet, (insert diet name) to lose weight. (Truth is, we can, it does and we do).
Fattitude or stinkin thinking is also why gastric bypass is becoming so popular. It seems, when you are morbidly obese, that bariatric surgery only solution. Or (and this worries me most) that bariatric surgery or gastric bypass are seen some kind of magic carpet ride to skinny. You don't have to change anything and poof, weight loss! Oh so wrong. "My 600-lb Life" Dr. Now makes patients follow the 1200-calorie diet BEFORE surgery to get in the habit afterwards and to lose weight to make bariatric surgery safe enough to try.
Mama June Shannon, like so many others, defends obesity by saying it's only a little weight gain. Reportedly, she's exploring other types of surgery after having a gastric sleeve. But these are not procedures you can do repeatedly. So, yep, at first, it is only a few pounds. But those few add up and pretty soon you're very overweight, again. And if you've had surgery already you're now out of options, Except that is, for our old friend the 1200-calorie diet (or some other calorie restricting). AKA, back to square one.
I stumbled on that super slippery slope too after I lost 100 pounds. I began packing on the weight after shoulder surgery. I was damned if I was gonna regain all that fat, so I started calorie restricting again. And Poof, this really did work. It's the bike you can always pick and get back on. It doesn't let you down.
So all the best to anyone who trying to lose weight (or gain weight, or find a healthy weight--actually this blog is about finding that happy AND healthy place). You may actually find you feel better with a little more weight. There's wiggle room. But that's like 10-15 pounds, not 80 to 100. And I guarantee you that if you are willing to work the program, you can achieve your goals. And it feels much better than making excuses or justifying unhealthy choices.
Stay tuned for more on how I lost 100 pounds.
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