About Me

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I am a below knee amputee. More importantly, I am also Mommy to two boys, a very active 10 year old (Robby) and an mischievous toddler (Timmy). I have learned that being a parent with a disability can create some unusual and sometimes humorous situations. This blogger is available for hire! Let's talk and learn how a blog can expand your business.

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

The Biggest Loser

I have been presented with an opportunity to represent Ossur on a media tour in New York City next month. Although I am not sure about what I have to contribute to any discussion, I am flattered and excited about the adventure. I have suddenly been immersed in layers of insecurity, especially concerning my appearance.

As soon as I was asked to NYC, I phoned my Mom to relay the news. Instead of telling her how excited I was, or how flabbergasted I felt being chosen, I focused on the negative. I'm embarrassed to admit that I actually said, "I am going to go on such a crash diet that it will cause a 5 mile pile-up on Route 95."

My weight has been a recurring issue in my life since childhood. After my amputation, a sedentary lifestyle mixed with depression caused my weight to balloon to the "morbidly obese" category. As I regained control of my emotions I began to shed the pounds. The journey has not been easy!

Amputees have the ideal excuse for being overweight. I had only one leg after all, the perfect reason for not working up a sweat. I wasn't expected to be active because I was "disabled." I hated being an amputee, but I loved the excuse.

In addition to having a socially acceptable excuse for being sedentary, the amputee population is missing role models in popular culture. The Biggest Loser, although I enjoy the show, has yet to feature a contestant with a non-obesity related disability. With all of the "diet themed" reality shows, I have yet to see an amputee or an individual exercising in a wheelchair .

Stories of amputee athletes abound, but I am a realist. I was not a sprinter before my amputation. I certainly knew that getting a "super cool" Cheetah leg was not going to suddenly spur a love for running nor increase my abilities. For me, the athletes are impressive but their feats are so unattainable that I couldn't relate. Besides, none of the athletes I have seen on television were ever fat, but I was.

Statistics show us that approximately 31% of the population is obese. After hours of digging around on the Internet, I found a Senate report from 2007 which stated that 69% of amputees are either overweight or obese. Wow -not only are we missing a limb (or two or three) but we are fatter than everybody else too!

In preparation of my media tour I am back on the diet bandwagon. While no longer obese, I have 10 pounds I would like to shed before the middle of November. I love myself too much to go on a crash diet, so I am going to be sensible. I won't be stick thin if and when you see me on television, but I will be healthy!

So perhaps it is true that misery loves company, or maybe I am naive by thinking that maybe I can change the world. In either case, I don't want to do this alone. If popular culture won't provide the amputee community with healthy and attainable role models for weight loss, let's do it ourselves! I am hereby starting a "Biggest Loser-AmputeeMommy Edition." Anybody want to join?

3 comments:

  1. I will but I only fall in the mommy part :0) were should we start? Since I'm a full time student and mom--I'm either driving or on here doing homework and sneaking to read blogs and facebook lol--10 pounds is a perfect goal for me to :0)

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  2. As long as you don't give up reading blogs... I'd be so sad and the rejection would probably throw me into a frenzy of cake and cookies.
    :)

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  3. To whomever sent Peggy the wonderful email today (sarcasm), please be aware that we do have site statistics available to us that show when you were on and where you are located. Oh yeah, OS system, screen resolution, etc.....

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