Cause And Effect

Fat people are lazy, whiny, and boring. An overweight person just needs to exercise and the weight would come off. Fat people have no feelings or willpower. They choose to be fat.

These comments are just a few I heard while growing up. Whether in school, playing with

friends, or shopping at the mall, I would hear comments about overweight people. If people eat too much, they gained weight. They get fat and don't want to go anywhere. They become lazy from the weight and get fatter until they suffer from high blood pressure, have a stroke, and die. I heard this so often I began to believe this to be true.

I was considered to be a chubby child, and was constantly on a diet so I would not stick out. All of my friends were thin. I would rather have been blind than to be obese. I joined the U.S. Army when I was eighteen years old. The military has strict policies on how much body fat a man or woman should have, and the correct weight vs. height of the soldier. There is an entire regulation, AR 600-9, devoted solely to soldiers considered overweight and the punishment for it. The adverse actions range from a soldier not receiving awards or attending schools until the weight requirement is met, not being promoted, or being discharged from the military. The Commander of a company holds a mass weigh-in of every soldier at least two times per year. Soldiers were mocked and ridiculed if they failed to meet standards and placed on the Army overweight program. Just as when I was a child, it was drilled in my head that being fat was wrong.

I became pregnant with my first child almost one year after joining the military. As the weight gain became noticeable, I was laughed at and mocked. "Look how fat her stomach is! She must be having twins." In my ninth month of pregnancy, I was advised by the higher chain of command the weight gain of forty pounds was unacceptable. I was informed by the military doctor to exercise more and go on a diet or I would end up obese and out of the Army.

After the birth of my first child, the Non-Commissioned Officer-in-Charge (NCOIC) and First Sergeant of the company visited the hospital to offer their congratulations. My NCOIC reminded me I had six weeks postpartum leave, and better watch what I ate so I could get rid of the weight before returning to work. By Army regulation, I had six months from the date of delivery before I could be given a recorded weigh-in or AFPT test. Upon my return from postpartum leave I was immediately weighed-in "off the record" by my NCOIC. I was still fifteen pounds over the ideal weight and required to attend physical training in the afternoon three times a week. This was called special population P.T., specifically for soldiers who failed the AFPT or the record weigh-ins. The morning mandatory PT for the company was still required four days per week as well. Within one month, I had lost the extra weight and was taken off extra afternoon physical training. This should have taught me how poorly people look upon overweight people, and how they are stereotyped. I should have learned something. Instead, it simply reinforced my opinion that being fat was an embarrassment to regular-sized people everywhere. For eight years, I believed this. My belief changed on January 19, 2000.

I had given birth to my third child in August 1999, and couldn't seem to adjust back to my life before this pregnancy. I was tired all of the time, I would have bruises all over my legs for no apparent reason, I had no appetite, and a lump the size of a ping-pong ball had shown up on the side of my neck. But I did not go to the doctor. I was busy with the family and working out daily at the gym to lose the weight. My unit was deploying to California for thirty days and I was preparing to go to school after the deployment for a promotion. I was too busy to worry about my health. Only when I became frustrated at being unable to lose weight did I schedule an appointment. Tests were conducted on the lump, and it was determined to be cancerous. I was scheduled immediately for a thyroidectomy

At first, it didn't seem real to me that I had Cancer. I had to postpone my school and promotion until after I healed, but I assumed then