We were in the grocery store today, when a woman, clearly less than 90 pounds walked by. The gap between her legs was wider than the reach of my hand.
Bob outright gasped. He told me later that he was just overwhelmed by the sight of her, and when he saw what was in her shopping cart, he was just sort of disgusted.
We discussed what was in her cart.
- One dozen eggs
- 16 container of egg whites
- Five jars or Gerber Graduates Carrots
- One other small food item I couldn't make out.
He immediately decided that she was "anorexic," and "OMG." I say to him, "But, Bob, she could be one of us." He looks at me like I've lost it. "What if she's dealing with a serious malnutrition issue due to a weight loss surgery problem?" He's like, "That's SO unlikely, Beth."
Then I say, "What if she USED to be obese, what if she lost it all and couldn't stop? What if she grew into another eating disorder?" He doesn't get it. (He only knows binging and not binging, and that, at four years post gastric bypass is a very different animal for him, it's "contained.")
But, you can't judge. We have no idea why this woman is standing on toothpicks, looking like the wind would shatter her spine.
If she were 350 pounds and buying the same line up of groceries, would "we" commend her for "making good choices," because she obviously had "Weight Loss Surgery?"
Probably. And then, when she fell apart several years later, and her hair fell out? We'd blame her for making a bad choice.
