I just watched something that got me really ticked off. So, why not vent here to you, right?
20/20 did a special on weight loss fads.
The show started innocently enough,
exploiting how celebs like Janet Jackson, Kirstie Alley and Valerie Bertinelli
make upwards of $60,000 for each pound they lose through programs like Jenny
Craig. Screwed up, but not surprising.
Then, it got downright ridiculous. A new diet program called the K-E Diet. What is it, you ask? People are paying $1500 to have a feeding
tube put down their throats through their nose.
The feeding tube is attached to a pump that continuously feeds them, 24
hours a day, with 800 calorie/day liquid that looks like baby formula. Do this for 10 days, and you can lose up to
20 lbs. Nope. Not joking.
Some rich broad put the pump and bag of formula in a Chanel
bag and pranced around through the mall wearing a dress and heels with her NG
tube taped to her face. Another was a
hair stylist who had her bag perched on her shoulder as she cut someone’s
hair.
Why does this piss me off?
Two reasons. One, if you have a
weight issue, then there are one of two reasons for it. Either you have an underlying issue that causes
you to overeat, or you have a medical condition that is keeping you from losing
weight. I have enough friends who battle
their weight to know that you don’t overeat for shits and grins. You overeat because you have an addiction to
food, or you have a demon in your closet that you try to smother with food. Either way, a feeding tube and 800 calories a
day isn’t going to fix the problem. It’s
just gonna set you up for disaster when you drop a few pounds and then gain
them back and hate yourself even more.
Maybe you are like I was, and gain weight through pregnancy
and then just can’t lose it. It took me
years, and lots of different doctors, to figure out I had some thyroid issues
and a candida yeast overgrowth that was keeping me from losing weight. I was repeatedly discouraged as doctors told
me I was just looking for an excuse for my being fat. That I didn’t have a thyroid problem at
all. I know how frustrating it can
be. But you can’t give up. I found a doctor who actually listened to me,
finally! I fixed the problem, started
doing zumba, and the weight went away. I
get it. I was devastated by the weight
gain. I was constantly self conscious,
and I found myself constantly looking in the mirror wondering how I would ever
find the old me again. I understand.
But, perhaps what pisses me off even more about this K-E
diet is the use of the feeding tube itself.
As a mother who had a critically-ill child, I know all too well what the
NG tube represents. I was 24 years old
when I gave birth to my first child, Ty.
He was born with Down Syndrome and multiple heart defects. He had two open heart surgeries when he was
just two days old, and spent much of his 3 ½ month life in St Louis Children’s
Hospital.
Because he had been on a ventilator, and because kids with
Downs have difficulty with sucking, Ty was fed with an NG tube. The flexible tube, which looks like a piece
of spaghetti, was inserted through his nose, down his throat, and into his
stomach. It was a tedious
procedure. The tube was then taped to his
tiny little face, often creating a rash.
Sudden movements would cause him to gag, and feeding was like a
carefully orchestrated circus performance, all in an attempt to keep from
gagging him.
Despite our best efforts; frequent feedings and a high
calorie formula, Ty failed to gain weight.
He was then placed on a feeding pump at night, which hummed away by the
side of my bed and fed him all night long.
All of our efforts, hour long feedings and humming pumps only resulted
in a couple of ounces of weight gain.
Yep. NG tubes are not
fun. To this day, I am haunted by the
feelings of longing for my child to just be able to eat normally. Just one smell or sound can take me right
back to that place in my life. The
memories come rushing back, and I am 24 years old with a dying child
again. The sounds of the pumps and
alarms, the smell of the hospital, the feeling of the stethoscope in my ears as
I checked the placement of the NG tube in his stomach…they are all within
reach, filed away in the back of my mind.
NG tubes are meant to nourish sick people. Each day, sick children rely on them to keep
their frail bodies intact. The last
thing I want to see when I am shopping at the mall is some hag with 10 pounds
to lose, walking around with a damn NG tube in her nose sipping a vitamin
water. I’m sorry.
How far will we, as a society, go to lose weight? It’s so typical American rationale. Don’t fix the damn problem, just try to cure
the symptoms. It doesn’t matter WHY I’m
overweight. I just wanna get
skinny. I don’t need to actually FIX the
issue, just put a skinny bandaid on it and make me feel better
temporarily.
According to this show, almost 36% of Americans are
obese. That’s 1 out of 3. No NG tube is gonna fix that.
There is a reason you are overweight. I beg you, please, please, PLEASE go to 100
doctors if you have to to figure out WHY you are struggling. Then, tackle THAT. Please.
Because, when I see this:
I am reminded of this:
My sweet boy, Ty.
And I don't find that to be entertaining. I know a lot of other parents with sick kids who don't either.
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