At a message board that I frequent, one of the members recently posted that she has lost over 100 pounds (I’ll call her “Mary”, not her real name). I sent her a private message and asked her how she did it. She replied by telling me about Overeaters Anonymous. I hadn’t heard of them for ages and I didn’t even know they were still around.

Well, they’re still there and Mary’s transformation is proof of that. She sent me a link to pictures of her OA ‘journey’ and my jaw dropped when I saw some of her ‘before’ pictures. She is living proof that there are other, better options besides invasive bariatric surgery.

Renee Williams , the 841-pound woman thought to be the largest ever to receive gastric bypass surgery, died Sunday night of a massive heart attack. I don’t know why this story saddens me so much. I guess its because of the stigma she must’ve faced before seeking help. You know, if a person has anorexia, society is empathetic and compassionate. Why don’t we have the same feelings towards people that are overweight?

I don’t want to paint Williams as a victim, because I believe we can all control our attitudes and our behavior. However, I think that we as a society need to realize that people of all sizes have feelings too.

File this under “unconfirmed internet rumor”, but I thought I should pass it on. I heard on tv that many Curves are waiving parts of customer fees if the customer brings in a bag of groceries for the local food bank. I checked the Curves web site, but didn’t see anything, so maybe it’s something decided by each location. If you’re considering joining Curves, I would definitely ask them about this before signing up.

If this rumor is NOT true, then I’d suggest donating some non-perishable foods to your local food bank anyway. They help hungry people year around, so we should remember them all year, and not just during their holiday food drives.