2012 - I had Vertical Sleeve Gastric Surgery in October 2012, and this is my journey to push the fat girl aside and start living life without fear of lawn chairs, the middle seat, clothing shops and high heels. Among other things.

2017 - I'm preop for the Duodenal Switch procedure for my sleeve to help me get to goal weight....and to fix another hiatal hernia.


Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Closing in on my 50lb Goal & Thoughts on Workplace Descrimination

OMG ... I am so close to having lost 50lbs I honestly can't believe that I let this sneak up on me like this.

WOOHOO!   I'm super excited.

Weigh in this morning: 252.4

I have a second interview this Friday for an internal job I applied for, and here is why I want to talk about it. 

Nicole at Beauty and the Bypass was asking a question about discrimination at work for being overweight.   I wanted to reply to that post, but the answer is long, complicated and biased to my experience.

As someone who has been varying degrees of slightly overweight to morbidly obese, but also brainwashed by my parents to think that I was a huge hosebeast from a very young age, I have a hard time telling when I was actually overweight and when I was just a little chunky and when I was actually normal sized.

Honestly, I still do some days.

Anyway - absolutely I've been discriminated against as a fat person at every job I've ever had. Maybe not for promotions, but as a person. To combat it, I was hyper sensitive about doing good work, being competent and making sure that I was in totally control of my job and duties.  Mostly, I think people looked at me and thought nasty things about my fatness.  However, I made sure that no one could say that I was lazy and didn't do my job well.  However, even with all these efforts, I never was invited to work on any extra committees, projects and given praise for my contributions.

But, that is a big but.... I really believe that the biggest factor holding me back has always been me. 

I'm the one that thinks I can't do it, I'm the one that scared, I'm the one that doesn't want to be out in public looking a fat mess, I'm the one that thinks people are laughing at me, I'm the one that thinks I don't deserve to be paid well, appreciated and promoted. I worry that people don't want to sit next to me at dinner tables, meetings, any place where I might have intruded on their personal space. I worried about tight elevator rides, getting in vehicles with co-workers and all kinds of strange little daily things.

When I went to this last interview, my attitude had changed.  The interviewer told me about the events planning part of this role, and I thought about how great that would be.  An hour later I realized, that I hadn't even thought about how embarrassed I would have be to meet hoteliers after dealing with them on the phone, that I wasn't scared to wear dress shoes all day walking around.

50+lbs ago, that would have been the first thought.  The job involves some travel - no problem, I fit into airplanes now. 

I also wasn't worried about the first impression that I would make, that I would walk into the interview and the first thing that they would notice wouldn't be how massive I was.  Now, I just look kind of chunky, but I wouldn't say that I look so out of place anymore.

So I think that there is discrimination, I also think that I am a significant amount of my problem. Sadly there will always be "something", either I'm too fat, too tall, too ugly, too stupid, too canadian, too married, too freckled, too smart, too whatever....  In the end all of those things are more about the person that is thinking them, then about me.  So, I have to just work on the me.

Anyway, Nicole, thank you for putting that into my brain to think about.  I know that there is a lot more to this, but its good fodder for starting a conversation - even if it is just with myself!!  :)

9 comments:

  1. This is such a great post, and I related to so many things in it that I've never been able to articulate before.

    I too spent my whole life thinking I was fat, even when I clearly (now, looking back on it) wasn't. I also spent my whole life with adults telling me I was almost thin, or borderline, just ten more pounds and I'll be the perfect weight.

    And I know the biggest obstacle to my life probably wasn't my weight, it was me.

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    1. And now you are taking major steps to help you! I am so proud that I made that decision for surgery, and gave myself that freedom. You are going to be happy too!!!

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  2. I'm right there with you. The only obstacle I've ever really had is with myself. I am waiting to hear back from insurance for final approval for a sleeve. I've been on this beginning stage for about 7 months. But I started a list a while back of things I won't miss about being fat. I've looked over it several times and really thought to myself that maybe what I really need is counseling because a lot of those things were related to my own personal judgement of myself and inward things I need to deal with. Anyway...just wanted to comment. I've been reading your blog for a little while now and wanted to say thanks for being honest.
    -Melissa

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    1. Yes, I am my own worst critic and enemy. I have been working on the emotional side of weight loss, and certainly surgery was the right answer for me... I wasn't able to do it all on my own.

      I'm so happy with my decision to finally accept that I needed help with my weight problems. That has freed me to help myself on things I can deal with.

      :)

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    2. Also! Thank you Melissa! When you start a blog - let me know so I can cheer you on. :)

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  3. Great post! I can totally relate. It was a massive struggle to allow myself to focus on me and not everyone. But I had to learn to love myself first. I'm still working on this but it is getting easier. One day at a time right!?!? Keep it up!

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  4. It's tough to be a woman in the workplace in many fields. For me in internet marketing, I'm already at a disadvantage because it's such a male-dominated field. And it's a little more "anything goes" with corporate culture, which I think is why so many inappropriate things in the workplace slipped by...because everyone is more lenient and easygoing. I felt like my work was appreciated, and I was tolerated as a person, but I didn't feel like I was ever recognized.

    But since I've lost weight...all of a sudden I'm this amazing resource with unique opinions, skills, and work ethic. Funny how that works.

    Thanks for sharing my post.

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    1. Yep, funny how that happenes isn't it! :) Great post by You and I appreciated the brain food!

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