I say ‘Fat.’ It is the word I used to describe my size and shape pre-weight loss. I did not and do not use that word to insult myself or anyone, nor as a form of personal judgment. I am aware that the word may trigger people. The word ‘obese’ triggered me. However, this is an honest and personal account of my journey, in which I referred to myself as fat, and so it will be used here in that context. As will the word obese.
I need to clarify my use of the term “weight loss surgery lifestyle.” When I started blogging about WLS, I referred to The WLS Lifestyle. A blog reader wrote back to say that there are many WLS patients who, for whatever reason, have complications or comorbidities that do not allow for what I was referring to as the WLS Lifestyle, and instead, they follow a modified WLS Lifestyle that fits their specific needs. He asked that I not say THE lifestyle, feeling it insinuates that there is one and only one way to live a WLS Lifestyle. I appreciated and agreed with the feedback wholeheartedly; therefore, I now always refer to “a WLS Lifestyle.”
