Woman aims for 1,000 pound weight goal

[Leigh]

I don't know what to think of this story, but figured I'd share it with everyone to get your opinion on what this woman is doing to her body:


http://ca.lifestyle.yahoo.com/health...nd_weight_goal

[IrishGrrl]

This is where putting aside your own wants for the sake of your children come into play. Clearly this woman needs some major therapy and fast. I dont think taking her children away is the way to go. Family and personal therapy could really help though.

[Apocalipstic]

Not sure what I think either, I have issues around weight myself.

Several of the on line comments call for her children to be taken away. I guess this worries me most, are fat people going to start losing their children? What is the line?

Also, I must say that I have never seen an artcle or TV show where it mentions how much sushi someone can eat. Usually it is fried stuff. Just a random observation.

[Leigh]

I don't agree with them wanting to take the children away, but I do think that what she is doing to her own body is sending an unhealthy signal to her children about their own health. Why would someone want to gain weight this way? Therapy certainly would be a good way to go, but lets just hope that she can get help to see that what she is doing isn't healthy not only for her but also for her family.

[Medusa]

I support this woman's right to choose the weight that she feels comfortable and sexy with.

Women in this country do dangerous shit every day to lose enough weight to be on the other end of the weight spectrum. i.e. "If I only eat ice cubes for the next week and take these diet pills that have been shown to damage my heart and liver, I can get to my goal weight of 135 pounds!"

I'm itchy around the idea of taking someone's children away because they want to be super-sized. I'm itchy around the whole "fat = unhealthy" thing. Part of my scab is that I, too, am a biggo fat woman and I don't want people making judgments on my ability, health, or love of my family if I choose to gain or lose weight, have my breasts removed, have a hystorectomy, etc.

I'm also interested in the parallels around women who undergo elective cosmetic plastic surgery and who are not seen as putting their children in danger every time they go under the knife.

[Apocalipstic]

Originally Posted by Medusa

I support this woman's right to choose the weight that she feels comfortable and sexy with.

Women in this country do dangerous shit every day to lose enough weight to be on the other end of the weight spectrum. i.e. "If I only eat ice cubes for the next week and take these diet pills that have been shown to damage my heart and liver, I can get to my goal weight of 135 pounds!"

I'm itchy around the idea of taking someone's children away because they want to be super-sized. I'm itchy around the whole "fat = unhealthy" thing. Part of my scab is that I, too, am a biggo fat woman and I don't want people making judgments on my ability, health, or love of my family if I choose to gain or lose weight, have my breasts removed, have a hystorectomy, etc.

I'm also interested in the parallels around women who undergo elective cosmetic plastic surgery and who are not seen as putting their children in danger every time they go under the knife.

Thank you so much for this post!

It freaks me out to think that people judge our worth by our weight. It seems so invasive. I have issues about how I should feel about my own weight, I certainly am not about to make a judgment about anyone else...except you do make a great point. What about mothers who don't eat and are cadaverous? Is this better somehow?

I know someone like you describe. She is 5'5", 45, weights 95lbs, has had several face lifts, lip augmentations, at least 3 boob jobs (she does not have enough fat for them to look right) and is on tons of medication. Both of her daughters are size 22 and she berates them daily.

Which is healthier?

I try to be as fat positive as possible, but with so much in the media about how horrific it is to be fat, I get down on myself sometimes, especially if I gain. Yes, I weighed less when I drank all the time like a damn fish and even less than that when I did cocaine...but was that healthier?

[Cyclopea]

Smart lady- taking it all the way to the bank:

"MyFoxNY.com
OLD BRIDGE -- Donna Simpson, an Old Bridge resident who hopes to become the world’s heaviest woman, was looking for publicity. And she is getting it, big time.
Two days after the 42-year-old Simpson announced she intended to eat her way into the record books, "Entertainment Tonight" was at her door. Her manager was fielding phone calls from "Oprah," "Dr. Phil," and "Inside Edition." And she’s been offered a reality show and book deal.
Her newly assigned manager, Michael Taub, said the offers were in the mid-five figures range.
At her modest, sparse brick home on Pleasant Valley Road, a half-dozen camera crew members from television’s "ET" hauled video equipment from their cars to Simpson’s house in preparation for an interview today. In Simpson’s kitchen, a broadcast reporter was getting her hair and makeup done.
Simpson, dressed in a white tank top and black stretch pants, sat in a chair in her living room. She was on her phone and laptop. "You have to leave now," she said, referring all inquiries to "her representative." Simpson declined requests from The Star-Ledger to be interviewed and photographed.
Taub, who is based in San Diego said although "ET" was filming at Simpson’s house, the program would not necessarily air because no exclusive deal had been struck.
"Nothing has been finalized," said Taub,..."
------------
I don't really care what anyone does with their body but I do enjoy it when people can turn social prejudice and hypocrisy into coin. You go Donna!

[always2late]

I do not think this woman's children should be taken away, any more than I think someone should remove children from the home of someone who smokes. Same difference. We cannot start dictating who should or should not be a parent based on an action we perceive to be unhealthy, unless it is directly endangering the child.

I do not know why this woman is doing what she is doing, and I can't say that I personally agree with it. Not because of any societal notion of beauty, but because she is shortening her life significantly. I am a big girl...and I will always be a big girl...but I am also a nurse. And I see daily the result of being overweight. She is courting diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, renal failure, stroke...just to name a few. However, it is her right to do with her body as she sees fit. I just wonder why she wants to do it.

[Soft*Silver]

this woman runs a website for people who like to watch her eat. She is called a Gainer. The people who watch her, or actually help her eat, are called Feeders.

There is a movie about this fetish ...its on Netflix and its called Feed. Her is the summary of it:

After uncovering a sexually charged Web site that features morbidly obese women being held captive and taunted with fattening food, Australian cop Richard (Jack Thompson) travels to Ohio to investigate. Viewing the Aussie's appearance as an opportunity for a fun game rather than a reason for him to go offline, the site's sadistic webmaster (Alex O'Loughlin) lures Richard into a dangerous game that's unappetizing, to say the least.


I had never heard of this before, and when I ran across this movie, I was simply, stunned. I investigated the web for more details..and its a thriving community.

Do I agree with her right to gain weight. Absolutely. Do I think her children will be depended upon to do her role of caretaker so that SHE can be taken care of, instead of her taking care of them. Absolutely. Is this grounds for removal of the children. Depends. Just because someone lives differently than us, and does things that we might find odd, doesnt mean we are right and she is wrong. (not that anyone was saying that) She just needs to make sure the kids are taken care of and they arent forced into a role reversal.

[Olivia_Kay]

If she wasn't a mother I would say let her do whatever she wants its her body. The fact that she is a mother makes me furious. That has to be the most selfish thing you could do to yourself. She will not be around to watch her children grow up and thats sad.

[suebee]

I'm a big-boned gal myself, but this story doesn't have as much to do with weight as it would seem on the surface. This woman's addiction just happens to be food. In some twisted psychological self-enabling she's found a way to justify not only continuing her addiction, but raising it to a level where it could - and will kill her. There's no way this is well-adjusted behavior.

As for the kids (and I didn't read the comments - they're usually pure venom in a story like this) the article didn't say anything about her neglecting them in what would be normally considered a matter of child welfare, but it's obvious she doesn't have their best interests in mind if she is deliberately engaging in behavior that will limit her ability to be an active mother to them and most likely make them orphans at an early age.

And that's the way Sue sees the situation.

[Daywalker]

To me, although her choices are subject to public opinion and apparently
encouragement as well...it is but another unusual story of life and love.

It puts me in mind of the 90's movie 'Gilbert Grape'.
The Mother in that movie never once stopped
loving her children, no matter her size.


And folks depicted in that movie never stopped...twice, to think
of how it would make her feel when they take pictures of her
during rare public appearances. Anyway, this woman in the
article...seems to thrive on it...and that is HER choice.


Oh, and for those who never saw the Gilbert Grape Classic:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6sLIP3908w"]YouTube- 1993: What's Eating Gilbert Grape Trailer HQ[/ame]

[Laidbackgrly]

shes a lil nuts ive seen people who cant get out of bed they were'nt happy and you can be skinny and have high bp ,diabeties,strokes and other major problems I think she is being selfish to her kids cause they will be waiting on her hand and foot! shell be lucky to be breathing at 1000 pounds how sad. All she cares about is being in the guinness books she should be thinking about being in her kids lives for a long time.

[Apocalipstic]

Maybe she will make enough money to hire someone to take care of her and her klids....sounds like she might.

[Softhearted]

As we say where I live : "Trop c'est comme pas assez" meaning

"Too much is as bad as not enough" ...

It is sad to see that the media will exploit this story, her and her children...

[Medusa]

She apparently owns several websites for fatties, feeders, gainers, and FAs (Fat Admirers). Im kinda with Cyclo on the "business woman" aspect of this one

[Enchantress]

This is sad and simply disturbing. I won't even go into how I feel or what I think about the web site. Such drive and determination should be used to better oneself, become healthy and healthful, not destructive and death enhancing(edited to state that I believe she has the right to do as she wishes, but not to the detriment of her children). I can't even begin to conceive how an individual could begin to cope with 600 pounds let alone 1000. Although, odds are she won't make it to her goal(before dying). At what point do we (used universally) say this is not okay? Should Child Services be brought into the picture? I think possibly yes. She is purposefully setting out to harm herself and by proxy her children. It's obvious that an individual who chooses such a life (and goal)is not happy. There must be a great amount of self loathing and sadness in such a person and this is what the focus should be on. All in all an extremely disheartening story.

[Enchantress]

Originally Posted by apocalipstic

Not sure what I think either, I have issues around weight myself.

Several of the on line comments call for her children to be taken away. I guess this worries me most, are fat people going to start losing their children? What is the line?

Also, I must say that I have never seen an artcle or TV show where it mentions how much sushi someone can eat. Usually it is fried stuff. Just a random observation.

I don't believe this about fat people possibly losing their children. I believe this is about the safety and well being (both physical and emotional) of the children. Obviously, this household is not healthy (in my opinion). I am not advocating taking the children away, instead on Child Services stepping in to administer much needed (again in my opinion) assistance. I believe that all could and would benefit from therapy. However, I do believe that something should be done.

[Gemme]

Okay, I'm all for free will and whatnot, and I've actually known some Feeders and Gainers, but think about this....how will she move around at half a TON? She's already in a scooter. What comes after that? How will she leave her home? I still have visuals of an Oprah show (I think it was Oprah) when a gentleman's home had to be cut up so they could lift him up and out to get out of his own home because he could not walk out due to physical contraints and being larger than the doorway. How will she care for her children at 1000 pounds? Or will the 14 year old boy be the actual, hands on caretaker for the toddler? That sure seems fair for the children, doesn't it?

I understand one's need to reach some sort of goal, I do.
I understand one's desire to bring income into the family.
I do NOT understand how putting her health in jeopardy more than it already is, is a good thing, in any regard.

The strain put on the heart to sustain a person of that size would be tremendous! I do hope, that if she continues with this fiasco, that she has a will drawn up and a loving, support home for her children to go into.

If it were just her, that would be one thing. But she has children, one of whom is not even in school, and they need her. They need her to be there for them as they grow up and to do her part as a parent to teach them how to make their way through this world. There are some very scary lessons being taught now, like money is more important than health and her children are not as important to her as her own personal goals.

I'm just very, very upset by the selfishness I feel eminating from this story. I don't see a BBW with ambition. I see a couple of children that folks won't have to worry about taking away from their mother; she's working on that all by herself.

[Soon]

Originally Posted by Softhearted

As we say where I live : "Trop c'est comme pas assez" meaning

"Too much is as bad as not enough" ...

It is sad to see that the media will exploit this story, her and her children...

How is the media exploiting this story when she runs websites that focus on this part of her life, and her stated intention--in interviews--is to make the Guinness Book of World Records (again)?

Isn't she the one inviting the media into her world?