living with obesity is not about losing weight so 'everything will be fine'
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as gail attara, pictured here, says: “somehow obesity is in this really hard stigma category where it's lumped into this rock that is so impenetrable because it's like you're fat and that's that, right? instead of saying, ‘oh, you have a chronic disease and there's ways to mitigate that, let's help you with that.’”
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growing up, gail attara was known as “skinny minnie” because she was so slim. things changed in her early 20s and she started gaining weight—the gaining and losing weight has continued throughout her life. that’s a common story for people, but it’s the acceptance and understanding of weight cycles that she’s mastered, which doesn’t come easy for those who face stigma and shame.
living with overweight and obesity is still widely misunderstood, even though science and leading experts have shown that this is a chronic disease with complex contributing factors.
“i think it’s stresses that actually bring up the levels of cortisol in your body,” gail, 70, explains of her own health history that reflects the impact of hormones on fluctuating weight.
“then pregnancy is one of the really big ones. i’ve had 10 pregnancies because i have a genetic anomaly. and so every time you get pregnant and then when you lose a child, it stresses you, but it also changes your hormones and you gain weight. i had four live births and i have four children.”
weight isn’t about willpower
for the vancouver woman and grandmother, being open about her losses is a way to raise awareness and counteract the biases that weight is about willpower, so people who live in larger bodies are somehow lacking.
she went to see an obesity specialist 20 years ago at the university of british columbia, who understood what she was experiencing. long before scientific discovery about the disease and weight management medications, he simply recommended keeping up her nutrition and getting enough zinc. “i came away and i told my family, ‘he didn’t even give me a diet or anything. he just acknowledged it,’” gail says of his kindness and guidance.
his reaction wasn’t the norm, she says. most people would tell her to lose weight, and everything will be fine.
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“the public might judge you because they think that because you’re living with obesity, you’re not smart, you’re not productive. i’m a person who is high-energy. i never nap. i don’t. i’ve always got 100 projects going on,” she says.
“but i still am a person of size. i’m 194 lbs today, which is still living with obesity, but it’s not 285 lbs. so i’ve been able to move everything down, but i’ve never had a problem with blood pressure, even at my heaviest.”
obesity is complex and unique to everyone
her key message is that everyone has a unique experience of the disease and there’s always a need for support, resources and a sense of community.
gail has worked for decades to meet those needs as ceo and co-founder of the gastrointestinal society and president of its sister organization, the canadian society of intestinal research, both found at badgut.org. “we’ve been really helping patients in everything, for as i say, ‘from gum to bum,’” she laughs at the cheeky phrase. “really, everything from gum to bum is the centre of everything that populates the rest of our body.”
the website has a robust obesity hub stacked with videos, reports, medication options, microbiome research, lifestyle strategies and patient stories.
there’s a huge demand for the work she does, especially at a time when misinformation is rampant on social media and the stigma of living with obesity hasn’t moved far from where it was 20 years ago.
“for people to think that somehow we’re not productive, we’re not healthy because we can be, we’re not sexy, we’re not clever, we’re not transformational,” gail says, shaking her head in disbelief that these attitudes still persist.
“somehow obesity is in this really hard stigma category where it’s lumped into this rock that is so impenetrable because it’s like you’re fat and that’s that, right? instead of saying, ‘oh, you have a chronic disease, and there’s ways to mitigate that, let’s help you with that.’”
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living with obesity and vitality
through her work, spurred by personal experiences, gail has developed a deep understanding of the disease and its complexity. clearly, she’s a committed and outspoken advocate, living with obesity and vitality.
“that (understanding) doesn’t mean that i can win at the game any more than knowing all the factors about living with any other chronic condition means that you can win at the game, but you can do your best to live with it. so my last blood test that i had showed all my levels as completely normal. my blood pressure was normal, all my blood was in the normal range. in the last year, i’ve managed to get another 10 lbs off and that little bit makes such a difference. then i gained it back, and then i took a bit off, so it goes up and down, up and down.”
her sister, on the other hand, lost about 100 lbs 20 years ago but then had worse blood results, likely because of the changes in her body. her cholesterol levels went up, gail notes, adding that body chemistry is often a mystery. “i’m like, why?”
her day-to-day routine has consistency. while there are always new trends and medications, there are two lifestyle habits she stands by: always wear running shoes and don’t eat after dinner. she travels a lot for her work and decided that comfortable, easy-to-wear running shoes make walking in airports (and everywhere else) much better.
as for not snacking after dinner?
“that takes a lot of conscious effort to say ‘i’m not eating after dinner.’ i have probably been doing that for at least three years of just telling myself that, and that has helped me maintain weight loss because there’s so much of that emotional eating that you can do at night. i just have to keep the dialogue going.”
and her advice to others is to recognize that there’s more to your personal health journey than eating and moving.
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“that is not the solution, but it does help. we can’t deny that it helps, but i wish people would just not focus on that and look at all the other reasons why a person might be living with obesity. and those are genetics and all the other things that are happening, how my metabolism is just completely different from someone else’s.”
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