Pet Peeves and an Update

I’m thinking about some of my pet peeves regarding a health journey today.
 
Some people are saying Oprah has lost way too much weight and gotten too skinny very quickly. Not true. She has been on a GLP-1 journey for a long time (as have I). Some of the videos circulating of her right now are obviously AI-generated. Fake. Recent real photos and videos of her show a different picture. She looks healthy, and when asked, she says she is feeling and doing great.
 
Our culture has normalized talking about women’s weight in ways that are harmful (and not just celebrities). In fact, why is it ok to talk about anyone’s weight or appearance at all? Stop that, please. There are many reasons for someone to be at an unhealthy weight. We don’t know the whole story, nor do we understand the physiology of that individual person. Going on about someone’s weight in a negative way is cruel (especially if it is to their face), and it is cruel gossip (if behind their back).
 
Let’s normalize NOT talking incessantly about everyone’s weight. Deal?
 
(Give a compliment? Sure! That is not what I mean. I think we all know what I mean!)
 
Whenever we gossip or criticize someone’s weight or appearance, we are criticizing an image-bearer. All humans are made in the image of God. That is all we need to know (or say) about anybody. That is what gives them value.
 
Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image…
 
I am one of the image-bearers who has had criticism of my weight and appearance directed at me, said to my face. And behind my back, I’m sure, but I don’t need to know that.
 
I have mentioned this story before, but I want to talk about it again so that anyone who can relate might be set free of the shame it produces. If you cannot relate, I hope you never have to hear anything like this. I hope you never say this kind of thing to anyone, too. And, shaming ourselves never lands in a good place, either.
 
It was a 1:1 meeting with my pastor at the time, who told me my weight was a concern to him because I couldn’t be a good role model for other women (in the context of leading a women’s health-related Bible study). I knew it was coming because he got up to shut the door before he said it, because the secretary was sitting nearby. I still struggle not to hear those words in my mind at times (it was years ago!). I know it was a lie. I know who I am in Christ. But I am human. I responded, “Well, I think they will find me relatable, which is more important.” He gave me the opportunity to lead after that, but it came with caution about his ongoing concerns about how my weight might affect the ladies I was there to serve. I went into a season of fruitful ministry in the years following that awkward conversation. I led the studies and I became certified as a counselor, too. Still, those words never left my mind and I carried that shame all the way through it until this health journey I am writing about began about 2.5 years ago.
 
Shame. Feeling ashamed. This is the kind of damage caused by criticizing someone’s weight. If it’s happened to you (from a spouse, friend, stranger, boss, leader, whoever) and you want to talk about it, I would be glad to. I have come a long way in not letting things like that continue to define me, but it creeps back in a little bit when I see others criticizing someone’s weight (like Oprah’s!). Thus, my thinking about pet peeves today!
 
Have you been shamed? Ashamed? Let’s talk about it. If you want to or need to, I’m here.
 
Now that I got that off my chest:
 
A little update on my journey now that I am 7 months post surgery on my right knee, and 3.5 months post-surgery for my second knee replacement.
 
Six months ago, I was clipping along on my GLP-1 at a steady, slow rate. I was losing about half a pound per week while maintaining my new normal A1c. Then I had my left knee replaced. When you have surgery, you stop your medication a couple of weeks before surgery. This is because one function of GLP-1 is to slow gastric emptying. Anesthesiologists don’t like to risk having too much stomach content when going under, so you stop it for a bit. You can get right back on it after surgery as long as you are doing well enough. I was hospitalized for 7 days, so I was off of mine for just over 3 weeks. I went back on it without any issues, except that I noticed I was not responding to it as well as before. I maintained during that time, and then 3 months later, had my other knee replaced. I was able to get back on Ozempic about 3 weeks later. The starts and stops, along with two difficult surgeries and my ongoing challenging recovery, have taken a toll on my system.
 
A couple of months ago, I noticed that I felt like I wasn’t even taking medication anymore. I barely felt any effects; it was different than before. A few pounds crept back on, which didn’t worry me because I know surgery wreaks havoc on our systems and it takes time to get back to normal. My doctor and I agreed to increase my dose. So I am currently on a higher dose, and it is going well so far. Only time will tell if my A1c stays stable and if the weight comes off again. I still have plenty to lose, and would love to get that accomplished this year. Not to be thin. But to be the healthiest my body is capable of becoming. My main motivator right now is my mobility. New knees are great, but they still feel very sore and stiff all the time, and losing a bit more weight will help alleviate the pressure on them. That is what my doctors and PT tell me, and I believe they are right. I take their advice to heart and apply it, and will continue to do so even on the hardest days (there are a lot of those still, to be very honest!).
 
Health journeys are not linear. I have heard that said so many times. It is so true, and something I’ve learned to accept. I don’t get freaked out if the scale moves up instead of down. I give myself grace and don’t set goals I cannot reach. I don’t expect perfection, and I let myself enjoy life, including all kinds of food. GLP-1 helps my body know when it has had enough and helps my brain stay clear and focused on things other than food.
 
If you have never had what we call “food noise”, you have no way to relate to the struggle. It is very real. And GLP-1 helps reduce (or at least lessen) the food noise. It is freeing and such a relief. All those years of feeling like a failure and weak, when all along it was never a moral failure at all. It is physiological. If you disagree, look at the science and listen to the experts. Some counseling colleagues I know say it is a choice, a spiritual failure, a lack of self-control, and a weakness of faith. Just pray more, read your bible, take your thoughts captive, and your tendency to rely on food improperly will go away. Food is your idol. They are wrong. I can say this firsthand. Believing those things and teaching others to believe them is harmful. I am speaking out about this because I know how much harm was done to my well-being over the years of believing and being taught that wrong approach. I am so sorry if I ever said any of these things to you, too.
 
I want this to change for others, and my story might help at least one person change their thinking about themselves or towards those who have the disease of obesity. (Is it a given that an overweight person has this disease? Maybe not. I don’t really know. It might be their idol, but that is not the point here. I just know my situation and what it has taught me.) Get good medical advice. No amount of therapy or counseling is going to fix the physiological problems, including the food noise. “You can control your thought life” (which is true if that is all the problem is) is not helpful for someone like me, who needed medication to address real metabolic deficits that led to obesity over the course of my adult life. The thoughts and spiritual/mental/emotional issues are resolving along the way, just like yours are as a human being who struggles at times, too. Metabolic issues blocked a lot of that work for me prior to a GLP-1.
 
If you are on a health journey, remember that it won’t be linear either, and that is okay! It is a journey, not a sprint, and it is meant to change you.
 
I have yet to process and realize all of the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical benefits that this journey has brought me. People ask me, “What have you learned?” and I hesitate to answer. It’s deep, private, personal, and a lot to sort out. So that’s all I can say about it right now. Maybe I will eventually have a more detailed and well-explained response to that question. And maybe I will write some blog posts about it in the future. My journey is not over.
 
For now, I just know that God loves me no more and no less based on my health or my weight. He approves of me based on His Son’s righteousness, not mine. That grace gives me the freedom to have ups and downs on this journey, to stop blaming myself for being “bad,” to make mistakes without fear of rejection or punishment, and to just live my life while using tools like GLP-1 to be a good steward of the body he has given me. We are embodied souls; you can’t separate the soul from the body or the body from the soul, so this journey is a mix of both. That is why I can say it is as much a spiritual journey as a physical one.
 
As always, you can leave a comment or message me anytime.
 
Ellen