watching people stuff themselves at a chinese buffet

It's weird..I have gained and lost (and gained back)100lbs with every child I've had (which is 4)...lost it without surgery...and I too would get so self righteous everytime I was "thin". I would judge others and think the meanest things. This journey is not easy for anyone. That's why we're all here. It's hard enough that the world judges us for being over weight..or worse yet..ignores us. We shouldn't be judging eachother, but rather feel love and compassion for those in the struggle for their LIVES.

Thanks for sharing that was really well said and a great message

I know exactly what you mean and also that you did not intend this post to be judgmental in any way. I posted a very similar thought last year after going to Golden Corral and got blasted by the self-righteous. I had not meant it as criticizing those with the full plates, just that I was surprised at how much this grossed me out to watch people eat so much food. And many of them were very obese, and I felt so bad for them, because I knew exactly where they were coming from, having been there myself at one time. I had to get up and leave, and I have not been back to a buffet anywhere since.
-Wanda

How would we feel watching someone suicidal with a gun to their head? discusted and judgemental or compassionate? Watch the shows INTERVENTION...when i see a Heroin addict shooting himself up...I don't feel discust..I feel sadness. Obesity is a result of a food addiction...just as deadly as any other addiction. We have to view it with compassion and understanding. Just because it is a reminder of what YOU USED to do..or what YOu USED to look like at the Buffet or your own dinner table....we've lived our lives building barriers...using food as the building material. Now as you've gone through ur journey it's time to let people in.

And how do you think we should go about "letting people in"?

Yup, food as barrier, food as medication. Very good analogies.

...well we start by not looking at others whom remind us of ourselves or who we used to be with such animocity. It's hard enough that the world judges us solely based on our weight....why go around judging one another? we're all on this journey together.

I like that :-).

I really like this post. My dad is MO, and he eats like a ******g bird compared to me!!!! Granted, he doesn't always make the right choices, but he doesn't stuff his face either. We went to a buffet together about a year ago, against my judgment, but that's what he wanted, and being the good daughter, I took him. He ate ONE plate of food, and one dessert. Hell, I had 3 plates of food. Granted, I picked at them all, but for him, one and done. He got a reasonable meal and that was that. I so wish he would look into WLS, but he is a heavy smoker with heart problems, and quitting smoking is not anything he's willing to look at right now, so........you know most docs won't do surgery on a smoker. I don't know what surgery would benefit him most, except, I KNOW the lapband wouldn't. He honestly doesn't eat that much, so I do feel he has a metabolic issue, but I don't think he would be pro-active about supplements, and probably can't afford what he'd need for a DS, but I do wish he'd consider it.

 I have had the same experience recently.  The choices of what to eat at a Chinese buffet, ( or any buffet...) are limited, but so is my capacity. I can usually find some shrimp and beef or something along those lines to eat, but I still am frustrated at all of the carbs that surround the protein. 

I used to go back and  get a new plate 3 or 4 times before WLS. Now, I know 1 plate is all  I can do, and only sparsely covered.  Eating with others and seeing what they eat is eye-opening.  I am sure without WLS  I would still be right in there with them filling and refilling until stuffed.  The forced food-sobriety of WLS makes it really apparent how many people commit death-by-food slowly over time.  I was one of them and it is easy to forget my old eating habits.  This new way of eating has become second-nature.  

I do not see anything offensive about your post.  It seemed to be written in good spirit  and I bet it is a common experience that many of us post-WLS'ers share.  I am also grateful that I am no longer able to eat like that and even though it is not a place I enjoy going to much, I agree that eating at a buffet is a good reminder of how we once were.  Seeing others eat like that Is disturbing.  It kinda makes me want to tell them to stop, but I know it is not that easy.  I could not just "stop" and very few people can, (if any).  

Thanks for your post.  I am very grateful for my WLS!!!!  

I don't think Patrick meant his post as a dig against over-eaters.  I myself want to cringe when I think about how I ate when I didn't have the help of my sleeve.  It seems insane now.
But, I can see how some folks might take offense.  Sometimes there are things that all of us are very sensitive and passionate about.  
Most of the offended people were able to convey their point of view in a civilized way.  But, isn't there a way that we can convey that we are offended without using words like "****ty"???  Jump down my throat if you want, I don't care.