Last month Coach Nicole sent me a link to an article from the LA Times she thought I would find interesting. After reading the article I knew this was a great topic for me to blog about. In a heartbeat I jumped at the opportunity to give my own personal insight regarding the reaction I experienced in my own life-long journey to overcome the stigma of being overweight, especially from a few not-so-sympathetic health-care providers.

In the article Rebecca Puhl, director of research at the Rudd Center of Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University is quoted saying, "overweight people are often stereotyped as lazy and undisciplined." However the article also states that adjectives such as "mean, stupid and unhappy" can also be equated to those overweight/obese individuals. And these labels aren't just from doctors and nurses, but teachers, employers, classmates, even our own family members. While others may have viewed me that way, that was not the way I viewed myself, EXCEPT when I was around those people who made me feel that way.

Back in 2003 researchers at the University of Pennsylvania "surveyed more than 600 primary care doctors and found that more than half viewed obese patients as awkward, unattractive and non-compliant. One-third characterized them as weak-willed and lazy." And that doesn't surprise me as I experienced this trend in my own life.

I recall three months after giving birth to my daughter going to see my OB/GYN for my follow-up appointment. I had lost 30 pounds and was quite proud, that was until I was berated by my doctor for being lazy and undisciplined. He insisted that I go on a diet to get the weight off , now. Keep in mind I had gained closed to 50 pounds when pregnant and was quite proud of my accomplishment considering I had to have a Caesarean delivery and was still adjusting to the role of being a Mom.

After that day in May of 1988 I came home in tears feeling like a total failure. The thing was, I did not feel like a failure when I went into my appointment--in fact I was quite proud that I was doing as well as I was. And the sad reality is, I was watching my diet and doing as much activity as I could. No I was not running, but I was active. But in the course of a few minutes my balloon of enthusiasm was deflated and this put me on a diet roller coaster for the next 17 years. I allowed judgment of others to affect how I felt about myself.

Finally, after years of doctor hopping I found a wonderful female physician who diagnosed me with hypertension and offered me ways to change my lifestyle. I must confess that I had every good intention when I left her office in January 2004 to get my act together. However, it still took me another year to finally decide I was worth the effort to reclaim my life. In January 2005 when I was having my yearly physical my doctor laid out the worst case scenario--my risk for stroke, heart disease and type II diabetes was going up each passing month if I did not do something to change my path. She stated just losing 10% of my weight could do wonders for my health.

I went home and laid out a plan for me to get healthy. Not lose weight per se, but to become as healthy as I could. It took me a good 3 1/2 years to lose 80 pounds, but I found a sympathetic doctor who understood my plight. We worked together as a team and I no longer fear going into the doctor's office.

One thing I have learned in life is compassion goes a long way. While some people will respond to the tough love approach, it isn't a one-size-fits-all scenario. For me having support and encouragement from others is what has given me the power to say no to the donuts or yes to working out when it would be so much easier to skip it. But I had to discover my own self-worth before I could take that leap into change.

What role do you feel a health-care provider should take in helping us acheive our healthy fitness goals? Do you prefer a doctor sympathetic to your plight or one who takes the "Just Do It" approach?