evblazer

Or are mine chicken? My weight climbed about 40lbs probably more then 40lbs of fat and I was already 75 over before it started. Had a physical and the doctor said nothing about it. I comment on it at a followup appointment that I was gaining weight and he says yeah it would be good if you tried to lose 5-10 lbs. Oh really thanks for noticing.

Not just my general practitioner but a few others I've gone to recently just read my weight out loud nod their head and move on.

I got in about 120 miles total last week riding with my wife while she ran. I hope to actually get a commute in this week and maybe a few other miles around town. Not the 1000 miles a month I was doing last January but hopefuly I can get about 4-5 hours a week of riding. Hopefully riding less will help me more then riding lots or not at all.

bigvegan

Actually, a recent study came out that said doctors don't have any respect for fat people.

They know we're fat, we know we're fat, we all know that the way to good health is to eat less / exercise more / address the underlying issues we have with food / etc., but unless we're willing to do that (which some of us are obviously not, given the ongoing national weight gain), some doctors may be reluctant to play Capt. Obvious.

unixpro

My doctor tells me to drop pounds every year. He also tells me that I ride too much.

Kazzy

I think it depends a great deal on the dr. My GP nags me constantly about my weight, even when I tell him outright that I'm not ready to deal with dieting. He treats me like a time bomb about to go off, in spite of the fact that I do not have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or heart disease, which continually confounds him. I know I'm at more at risk for these things which is why I ride my bike regularly and have improved my eating habits and am now actually dealing with calorie control. It doesn't matter what I go see him about he will get on my case about losing weight. It annoys me. It annoys me even more because he's skinny and younger. His nurse told me he nags all his patients like that.

Some doctors realize that they can't really make their patients change anyway unless they want to. My cardiologist (whom I saw for an electrical problem, not a plumbing one) didn't say anything about my weight. He was impressed by how much cycling I do and said how he should take his mountain bike out more often. My gyno says "I'm supposed to tell you to lose weight and exercise" and that's all he says about it.

It's not like I don't have a scale or mirrors or don't understand the health implications. I know I need to lose weight. I don't need my doctors to tell me so. Now if I'd asked them for advice on how to do it that would be different. Or if there were an actual medical cause for my weight gain and they weren't investigating that. But, I know how to do it. I also know that losing weight and keeping it off requires changing several ingrained habits, permanently (and maybe better management of my thyroid disease).

Some people need that kick in the pants to get serious about losing weight. My husband started dieting after one of his docs told him to. I sent my son for a physical hoping the dr. would broach the subject with him but he didn't. My son said "I'll take that as an endorsement of my current weight" He was joking though. If you're not getting what you need from your doctor there are others out there with different approaches.

XR2

That's OK I have very little respect for Dr.s as a whole.My mother was a hospital administrator for 30 years and I've seen things that I'll never forget.

LongT

My doctor is a little shorter than me and a tri-athlete. He says I should weigh what he weighs, a bit more for size. He's good about it though. He sees I'm trying. When I started going to him, 20 years or so, I raced bicycles, on the road and track. Weighed 187 ponds. Now I'm at about 250. No wonder the hills are harder!!

Bill

RedWhiteandRed

I have a lot of friends that moved back to Canada from the US - one thing they all comment on is the difference in family doctors - apparently in the US doctors treat patients like patrons or customers and look for a medicated approach to blood pressure or diabetes. Canadian doctors tend to insist on weight loss, diet and quitting smoking.

If my doctor let a dramatic change in weight pass without comment or inquiry I would visit a different doctor.

DieselDan

Then she tells me to exercise more.

Doohickie

Actually, my doctor and me are constantly challenging each other. She started by losing a bunch of weight on Weight Watchers, then I out did her with South Beach, then she did something else (can't remember.... exercise?) then I started bike commuting.

chewybrian 

That was my experience: "Here's your pill, and watch your salt", and not a word about weight or excercise.

I threw out the prescription, and lost weight instead. The Doc did notice that after the fact. He was stunned, and very interested in my methods (counting calories and riding-no tricks).

I doubt I or most people would drop the weight just because the doctor warned me, any more than people quit smoking because they read the warning on the package. But, that doesn't mean the warning shouldn't be there.

bautieri

My GP constantly rides my butt (not in the good way) about my weight. Doesn't matter if I've lost or gained since last time we visited, "Bautieri, you need to loose more weight, now take your cholesterol pill and dance like a good little monkey". She's Greek and scares the heck out of me for some reason.

garethzbarker

my doctor told me for a year to lose weight and quit smoking. then he shut up about it. but who can blame him; he already warned me about it and he knew i wasn't ********? last time I saw him i was down about 38 lbs and he just said to lose more and i was at a level where heavy cardio was probably ok.

edit: why did it block ******** ed?

Neil_B

[QUOTE=bigvegan;10260210]Actually, a recent study came out that said doctors don't have any respect for fat people.
/QUOTE]

News flash: NO ONE has respect for fat people.

As for doctors, it's not uncommon for a physician to lack what used to be called "a beside manner."

Neil_B

Some of it could be they are tired of beating their head against a fat wall. Obesity in many cases is the most common 'ailment' they will see. And see. And see again. How many people actually lose weight when their doctor tells them to?

BigPolishJimmy

I have to go visit the doctor in a couple of months and my plan is that by then my return to riding and non-holiday food eating will have kicked in bringing my weight down to less than last time I was there. My doctor is pretty pudgy himself, so I may ask him 'what works for you?' Bah, I know I need to loose weight, so does the wife and now so do the children. I got an exercise bike and the wife got the Wii Fit Plus. I'm using the Wii to track my ride time, but man my 'Mii' is chunky. The nice thing is we're all doing it together in our living room.

Mr. Beanz

Maybe more tired of wasting their breath. Fat people know they are fat, drinkers know they drink and smokers know they smoke. There aren't any magic words a doc can say that will stop the habits. What do you expect, your doc and motivate you to lose weight and dance around like Richard Simmons?

You admitted to the doc that you know you have a problem, it's you job to act on it! Or maybe you want Ralph Kramden as a doc?......I know that you know, that I know, that you know that I know that you know you are overweight!

It almost sounds that you are trying to pawn the responsibility off on your doc. "well if the doc had told me I was overweight, I would have exercised and gone on a diet". Why would you need a doc to tell you to go on a diet? After a holdiay season of goodies and tamales, I tell myself, "you're a fat frigger MR. Beanz, time to get back on your horse!". I don't need to pay a $20 copayment to hear it from my doc!

Greg_R

My GP is far more concerned about my blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol (which are all OK right now). He also wants me to exercise at least 3 times a week. Being fat puts me at higher risk for certain issues so we are careful to check those during each visit (once a year).

evblazer

I dunno.. It was just bugging me and bugging me so I figured I'd see if anyone else had the same experience. Up until I moved to this Texas place my Doctors were always very through and abusive Now I'm a nuisance even if just asking for ear drops when I have a severe infection and the just want me out of their office as fast as possible. I tried and talk to my cardiologist about if I need to lose weight or change my diet in some special way because of heart issues and pending surgery and he says if you lost 5lbs it would be a good thing. Push him or my surgeon for a target or if having extra fat or eating anything specific will be a problem and they say lose a couple pounds might be good.

I got into my brand new GP for a full physical and he stares at his computer screen and reads off a few questions and types in the answers then says the nurse will come in to draw blood. He asks me if I wanted any specific tests done but has no suggestions or input at all. Then I call two weeks later and he mails me the results with zero feedback. Make a followup appointment where he looked over the and pushed him on it and other things and he said the 5-10lbs thing get some exercise after I had told him I was riding 1k a month at the time.

Of course the last two prescriptions he wrote for everyday items my cardiologist, phamacist, health plan and the interwebs said would really be a bad idea to take so I think my GP has completely checked out. So perhaps he just is out of it. As someone else mentioned and in my experience the last 5 GP's I've had look at a few numbers on a report or your complaint about a specific symptom and the pad comes out and nothing more.

Redskin8006

Funny you should ask because I've been thinking about the same thing. I'm wondering if weight is not as much a factor as it used to be. If blood pressure, cholestorol, blood sugars, triglycerides, and life style are all good, does that offset higher weight???

Here's my experience: A few years ago, I had my first annual physical after 4 or 5 years. I weighed in at 250 and all my numbers were high. The doctor asked me if I ever had chest pain and I said "no". He said, "huh" and ordered an EKG on the spot. After all of that, he never told me to lose any weight. Go figure.

Fast forward one year after taking up cycling.... I went to a different doctor who just happened to be a cyclist (a roadie type). I weighed in at 223 and all my numbers were significantly better. He told me to keep doing what I'm doing. He didn't tell me to lose any weight, even though I know I could stand to lose 10-20 lbs.

Fast forward another year, my weight is still the same and my numbers are all still good. The doctor told me that everything is good and I don't need to see him annually any more. I know I'm over weight, so I'm surprised he didn't tell me to drop a few pounds. I feel great and I'm ecstatic that my numbers are all good. That said, it blows my mind that the doctor doesn't tell me to lose weight.