I.M.120 Helping you to BE YOUR BEST SELF

I have a patient in my practice who currently weighs 260 pounds and has a body mass index of approximately 36. By any objective measurement this person is morbidly obese and would be perceived as requiring weight loss.

A cruel and unenlightened person might even be motivated to mock him for his appearance.

What they would know is that he's lost approximately 100 pounds! I one point he had trouble walking a comfortable pace. He now competes in marathlons!

As he stands, he is an enormous success. He has severe type one obesity and is currently at a healthy, heavy weight for him.

If you're part of our team, and you are reading this blog, then you are not one of the people would be inclined toward such thoughtless tendencies as to be judgmental towards others based on their appearance, especially when it comes to their body weight.

The next step is to have the courage to gently correct others who would be inclined toward such biased statements should it occur in your presence.

We must all practice the skill and the habit of loving others, especially if they are different from us. Part of that is using gentle language, and supportive statements as much as often as we can. Ironically, this call for gentle empathy and careful language extends even towards those who would choose criticism over compliment.

-Dr. Stephen Petteruti