Vicious Rant Against Post-Weight Loss Surgery Unwarranted
I wanted to share with you an interesting comment from a blog on AOL Journals called "She Said WHAT?" which heavily criticizes that woman from Boston I told you about who lost over 300 pounds with her husband after undergoing gastric bypass surgery in 2004.
After reading this little diatribe from a woman in her late 30s lecturing about an entitlement society because Beth Padore had the nerve to ask for donations to her "I-need-an-abdominoplasty" plea at her blog, I just had to respond.
The following is my response to her sometimes crude comments through the eyes of another weight loss success who needs corrective surgery done on his stomach:
"While I respect your comments regarding the entitlement society we live in today and agree that far too many people feel they are OWED something for doing NOTHING, I have to disagree with your apparent beratement of Beth for soliciting funds to have her abdominoplasty done.
Just like Beth, I lost a LOT of weight in 2004. All in all, I was able to shed 180 pounds off my body and feel better than I have ever felt in my entire life. It was not without a lot of hard work and determination that this feat was accomplished.
Of course, from what I read you saying, I never should have gotten in that position in the first place. And you are exactly right. But since I was in that position and since I was able to do something to correct the problem, I don't think it is unreasonable for someone to solicit assistance from others who may want to help with surgeries that need to be done.
Beth is not demanding people pay her, but she's simply giving people an opportunity to contribute if they feel compelled to do so. Most people who read her blog probably don't contribute a single dime. But others may want to do a lot more.
The point is, Beth has every right to ask for money for her abdominoplasty. I need one, too, but will have to wait for something fortuitous to happen as well because I cannot afford it. Oh, I could save up for years and years and eventually get it done. But it certainly would be nice to do this sooner than later.
Lay off people like Beth because there are a lot of us out here who would like to have it done, but just simply cannot afford to do it at this time. $12,000 and a couple of months off work is not cheap. You would understand this plight if you were going through it yourself. THANKS for allowing me to share my comments.
Jimmy Moore, "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Man"
livinlowcarbman@charter.net
http://livinlavidalocarb.blogspot.com
Beth doesn't really need me defending her, though, because she does so quite well in her self-admitted sarcastic post at her "Melting Mama" blog.
I feel a kindred spirit with people like Beth because I'm going through the same issues as she is. I would LOVE to have an abdominoplasty done and have written to Oprah, Maury and a ton of others trying to get it done. Do I feel ENTITLED to have this done? Of course not! But if there is a way to get it done quicker and cheaper than years of saving up money, then you bet I'm gonna try.
The skin I have in my tummy area is not going anywhere. My doctor told me the elasticity is simply gone from where my stomach used to protrude out to a 62 inch waist. My waist size is currently 40, but would likely shrink down to a 38 or 36 if the excess skin could be cut off. Additionally, that skin probably weighs about 15-20 pounds, so my weight could drop even further from the 230 I currently weight. Would I get this surgery done if this was taken care of by a television show or group of people interested in helping me get it done? ABSOLUTELY! Why not? If my story can inspire others to do this for themselves, then why not take the opportunities that come your way?
I am at the end of writing my book about my weight loss and will probably include a brief mention about the need for an abdominoplasty in the final chapter. It is a subject that is rarely discussed because there are not many of us who have lost over 150 pounds. Although we are a minority, that does not lessen our desire to have our voice heard on this issue. Insurance companies aren't listening to our concerns nor do they care. It's a shame people who are able to do something so lifechanging that has improved their health cannot have a procedure like an abdominoplasty covered by their insurance. That's a crying shame!
As for the smug rant from the AOL Journal member, I think she should be a little more sensitive to the needs of those of us who have gone through this experience if she herself walked a mile in our shoes. Until that happens, she probably needs to keep her big mouth shut on the subject. That's all I have to say about that. Comments?
By the way, DON'T FORGET to vote in South of Boston's "Battle of the Blogs" contest before Sunday, August 7, 2005. Send an e-mail to bloggerbattle@southofboston.com and cast your vote for "Melting Mama and Deflating Daddy" to win. After you submit your contest entry to South of Boston, be sure to send Beth an e-mail at bethlbutterfly@aol.com to let her know you support her and her blog. THANK YOU!!!
07/18/2005 UPDATE: Just when I thought this controversy from that AOL Journal member had begun to die down, here she comes again stirring up a hornet's nest:
http://journals.aol.com/artloner/andirants/entries/659
She makes several points in her post about me personally that I think need to be clarified.
"I DID praise the general content of [Melting Mama's] information of diet foods and noted that I would indeed return FOR THAT SORT OF INFORMATION but they missed all that, all due to the careful Internet Hall Monitoring by one Jimmy Moore who cheerfully agitated all the weight-loss folk over there into a feeding frenzy."
I did no such thing. All I did was report what I saw as a vicious and unwarranted attack against someone for wanting to raise money for her post-weight loss surgery. That's what it was and I was not going to stand by and allow that to happen without challenging it.
"I didn't post my opinions in HER blog, thus just livin' out my First Amendment Right to Free Speech in my little corner of the WWW. Here it is, just in case any of you ninnies skipped that part when you took your GED: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances — The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution."
I have no problem with you exercising your First Amendment rights to free speech because it is what makes this country the greatest in the world. Speaking of namecalling, this "ninnie" just so happens to have a Master of Arts degree in Public Policy and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, so I am well aware of what our United States Constitution says. I don't need to be lectured by you on that or any other subject.
"My post was reproduced in its entirety in both Melting Mama and Jimmy Moore's blogs."
While Beth chose to post this person's rant at her blog, I did not do that at "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb." Instead, I simply provided a link to her AOL Journal to allow people to see what she had written. In fact, I didn't even quote from her text as I normally do when I am critical of the content someone writes. This lady is lying when she claims I "reproduced [her writing] in its entirety" in this forum. That just didn't happen.
"The disappointing thing was that none of those people seemed to see that Mr Moore was whipping the whole thing up into a WAY bigger deal than it should have been, going so far as to encourage another irate reader 'Angel' to post her flames on Blogger, since evidently she couldn't figure out how to sign onto AIM and get to me from there."
Oh, so if we disagree with her opinion, we are "whipping up" things and writing "flames." Is this lady a part of reality? Again, for the record, I did not encourage anything more than for people to realize that someone was blasting a weight loss success for wanting to have an abdominoplasty done and put a PayPal link at her blog. It seems to me that this lady is the one who is making a bigger deal out of this than me.
After whining about her own health problems and how we just don't understand what she's going through right now, the lady finishes her remarks with this insult:
"I had and still have no problem with MeltingMama, her husband or anyone else who is tackling problems with morbid obesity, I DO have a problem with Mr Moore who clearly has nothing better to do with his time than instigate flame wars, and deserves every miserable minute of living in Spartanburg, SC... Number 1 in the nation for Domestic Violence, that he gets, and the continued company of those ill informed ninnies who jumped on this like rednecks on Velveeta before they knew what the hell they were talking about and who they were talking to. Perhaps there's a trailer park big enough to accomodate all of you at once."
Keep in mind that I have not and will not personally attack this person. My comments have been directed at her comments regarding Beth's blog. However, this is exactly the kind of response I expected from someone who wrote such a hate-filled original post. This woman is obviously very bitter about who knows what and sought to lash out at me in response. I'm sorry that she had to degrade herself to this level in order to make her point, but it certainly does nothing for her credibility.
I didn't know I was going to be a part of any "flame wars" this weekend, but I guess it just happened. I've been busy writing on my book and haven't even stopped eating my Velveeta cheese long enough this weekend to be on the Internet much. My trailer got unplugged last night, so now it's hotter than a whoopersnapper on a sidewalk. That's why I'm writing you now. LOL!
As for me, this saga is finished. It was quite entertaining, but was not meant to turn into a nasty namecalling contest. I have better battles to fight in this forum. Thank you to everyone who showed your support for Beth and her blog during this time. She did not deserve the disrespect this woman was giving her. I'm sure Beth wouldn't mind you showing how much you appreciate her by voting for her in that blog contest. :-)
After reading this little diatribe from a woman in her late 30s lecturing about an entitlement society because Beth Padore had the nerve to ask for donations to her "I-need-an-abdominoplasty" plea at her blog, I just had to respond.
The following is my response to her sometimes crude comments through the eyes of another weight loss success who needs corrective surgery done on his stomach:
"While I respect your comments regarding the entitlement society we live in today and agree that far too many people feel they are OWED something for doing NOTHING, I have to disagree with your apparent beratement of Beth for soliciting funds to have her abdominoplasty done.
Just like Beth, I lost a LOT of weight in 2004. All in all, I was able to shed 180 pounds off my body and feel better than I have ever felt in my entire life. It was not without a lot of hard work and determination that this feat was accomplished.
Of course, from what I read you saying, I never should have gotten in that position in the first place. And you are exactly right. But since I was in that position and since I was able to do something to correct the problem, I don't think it is unreasonable for someone to solicit assistance from others who may want to help with surgeries that need to be done.
Beth is not demanding people pay her, but she's simply giving people an opportunity to contribute if they feel compelled to do so. Most people who read her blog probably don't contribute a single dime. But others may want to do a lot more.
The point is, Beth has every right to ask for money for her abdominoplasty. I need one, too, but will have to wait for something fortuitous to happen as well because I cannot afford it. Oh, I could save up for years and years and eventually get it done. But it certainly would be nice to do this sooner than later.
Lay off people like Beth because there are a lot of us out here who would like to have it done, but just simply cannot afford to do it at this time. $12,000 and a couple of months off work is not cheap. You would understand this plight if you were going through it yourself. THANKS for allowing me to share my comments.
Jimmy Moore, "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Man"
livinlowcarbman@charter.net
http://livinlavidalocarb.blogspot.com
Beth doesn't really need me defending her, though, because she does so quite well in her self-admitted sarcastic post at her "Melting Mama" blog.
I feel a kindred spirit with people like Beth because I'm going through the same issues as she is. I would LOVE to have an abdominoplasty done and have written to Oprah, Maury and a ton of others trying to get it done. Do I feel ENTITLED to have this done? Of course not! But if there is a way to get it done quicker and cheaper than years of saving up money, then you bet I'm gonna try.
The skin I have in my tummy area is not going anywhere. My doctor told me the elasticity is simply gone from where my stomach used to protrude out to a 62 inch waist. My waist size is currently 40, but would likely shrink down to a 38 or 36 if the excess skin could be cut off. Additionally, that skin probably weighs about 15-20 pounds, so my weight could drop even further from the 230 I currently weight. Would I get this surgery done if this was taken care of by a television show or group of people interested in helping me get it done? ABSOLUTELY! Why not? If my story can inspire others to do this for themselves, then why not take the opportunities that come your way?
I am at the end of writing my book about my weight loss and will probably include a brief mention about the need for an abdominoplasty in the final chapter. It is a subject that is rarely discussed because there are not many of us who have lost over 150 pounds. Although we are a minority, that does not lessen our desire to have our voice heard on this issue. Insurance companies aren't listening to our concerns nor do they care. It's a shame people who are able to do something so lifechanging that has improved their health cannot have a procedure like an abdominoplasty covered by their insurance. That's a crying shame!
As for the smug rant from the AOL Journal member, I think she should be a little more sensitive to the needs of those of us who have gone through this experience if she herself walked a mile in our shoes. Until that happens, she probably needs to keep her big mouth shut on the subject. That's all I have to say about that. Comments?
By the way, DON'T FORGET to vote in South of Boston's "Battle of the Blogs" contest before Sunday, August 7, 2005. Send an e-mail to bloggerbattle@southofboston.com and cast your vote for "Melting Mama and Deflating Daddy" to win. After you submit your contest entry to South of Boston, be sure to send Beth an e-mail at bethlbutterfly@aol.com to let her know you support her and her blog. THANK YOU!!!
07/18/2005 UPDATE: Just when I thought this controversy from that AOL Journal member had begun to die down, here she comes again stirring up a hornet's nest:
http://journals.aol.com/artloner/andirants/entries/659
She makes several points in her post about me personally that I think need to be clarified.
"I DID praise the general content of [Melting Mama's] information of diet foods and noted that I would indeed return FOR THAT SORT OF INFORMATION but they missed all that, all due to the careful Internet Hall Monitoring by one Jimmy Moore who cheerfully agitated all the weight-loss folk over there into a feeding frenzy."
I did no such thing. All I did was report what I saw as a vicious and unwarranted attack against someone for wanting to raise money for her post-weight loss surgery. That's what it was and I was not going to stand by and allow that to happen without challenging it.
"I didn't post my opinions in HER blog, thus just livin' out my First Amendment Right to Free Speech in my little corner of the WWW. Here it is, just in case any of you ninnies skipped that part when you took your GED: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances — The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution."
I have no problem with you exercising your First Amendment rights to free speech because it is what makes this country the greatest in the world. Speaking of namecalling, this "ninnie" just so happens to have a Master of Arts degree in Public Policy and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, so I am well aware of what our United States Constitution says. I don't need to be lectured by you on that or any other subject.
"My post was reproduced in its entirety in both Melting Mama and Jimmy Moore's blogs."
While Beth chose to post this person's rant at her blog, I did not do that at "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb." Instead, I simply provided a link to her AOL Journal to allow people to see what she had written. In fact, I didn't even quote from her text as I normally do when I am critical of the content someone writes. This lady is lying when she claims I "reproduced [her writing] in its entirety" in this forum. That just didn't happen.
"The disappointing thing was that none of those people seemed to see that Mr Moore was whipping the whole thing up into a WAY bigger deal than it should have been, going so far as to encourage another irate reader 'Angel' to post her flames on Blogger, since evidently she couldn't figure out how to sign onto AIM and get to me from there.
Oh, so if we disagree with her opinion, we are "whipping up" things and writing "flames." Is this lady a part of reality? Again, for the record, I did not encourage anything more than for people to realize that someone was blasting a weight loss success for wanting to have an abdominoplasty done and put a PayPal link at her blog. It seems to me that this lady is the one who is making a bigger deal out of this than me.
After whining about her own health problems and how we just don't understand what she's going through right now, the lady finishes her remarks with this insult:
"I had and still have no problem with MeltingMama, her husband or anyone else who is tackling problems with morbid obesity, I DO have a problem with Mr Moore who clearly has nothing better to do with his time than instigate flame wars, and deserves every miserable minute of living in Spartanburg, SC... Number 1 in the nation for Domestic Violence, that he gets, and the continued company of those ill informed ninnies who jumped on this like rednecks on Velveeta before they knew what the hell they were talking about and who they were talking to. Perhaps there's a trailer park big enough to accomodate all of you at once."
Keep in mind that I have not and will not personally attack this person. My comments have been directed at her comments regarding Beth's blog. However, this is exactly the kind of response I expected from someone who wrote such a hate-filled original post. This woman is obviously very bitter about who knows what and sought to lash out at me in response. I'm sorry that she had to degrade herself to this level in order to make her point, but it certainly does nothing for her credibility.
I didn't know I was going to be a part of any "flame wars" this weekend, but I guess it just happened. I've been busy writing on my book and haven't even stopped eating my Velveeta cheese long enough this weekend to be on the Internet much. My trailer got unplugged last night, so now it's hotter than a whoopersnapper on a sidewalk. That's why I'm writing you now. LOL!
As for me, this saga is finished. It was quite entertaining, but was not meant to turn into a nasty namecalling contest. I have better battles to fight in this forum. Thank you to everyone who showed your support for Beth and her blog during this time. She did not deserve the disrespect this woman was giving her. I'm sure Beth wouldn't mind you showing how much you appreciate her by voting for her in that blog contest. :-)
posted by Jimmy Moore at
7/16/2005 11:42:00 AM
1 Comments:
Hi Jimmy,
I have lost 100 pounds and have kept it off for about 4 years. I have to constantly work at it, or else my weight starts to creep back up.
I too could use plastic surgery (a total body lift would do the trick!). However, like you and Beth, I cannot afford it and I do not wish to take 6 weeks out of my life for the recovery.
I am no longer ashamed of my body. I am proud of it and of what I have accomplished. I have also gotten into the sports of running and triathlon. Whenever I am running and feeling a little embarrased about my flabby thighs or tummy, I think to myself that it's not how my body looks that is important, it's what I do with my body. And I've become a pretty good runner!
BTW, I find that exercise is crucial to maintaining the weight loss.
Best Wishes on your own (lifelong) journey.
Carol
www.bestdiettips.com
www.triathlontrainingblog.com
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