Star Jones

I know, I know. Every weight loss blog out there is mentioning it. Maybe not every one but lots of them. So why mention it here?

Well, yesterday someone in my "fat fighters" group posed some really interesting discussion points which got me thinking.

The basic question was "what do we think?"

My basic answer was... I can certainly understand why people choose to keep their surgery quiet. There is a significant bias against weight loss surgery in general. People see it as a character weakness that you would resort to the easy way out (*snort*) to lose weight. I can understand why someone would not want to put themselves through the open derision they will meet from so many. Although I share freely here there are many people that I have chosen not to tell. If asked directly I will answer honestly but only if asked directly. I am not trying to hide anything but I am also not advertising unasked. Ask me the question and be prepared for the enthusiastic response.

As far as Star is concerned, I think she was just plain naive if she thought that she could keep something like this quiet. She's a public figure and loss of privacy is a price you pay to belong to that exclusive club. Sure I get that she was likely scared it wouldn't work and hence why open herself to the ridicule. Yes I get that she didn't want people to look at her as a role model and go into a similar surgery without fully doing their research first. I understand all that. What I don't understand is why she did take the opportunity to share openly her fears, the risks and the benefits of WLS. She was in a position to help demystify the procedure. Instead she made it something that had to remain secret. Like it's shameful.

WLS is not shameful. It is a valid medical procedure for a horrifically complicated medical issue.