Obesity: Knowledge is power

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People who live in larger bodies are lazy, eating too much. They don’t exercise. We’re given all of these stereotypes. It’s just not true.

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Navigating obesity

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00:00-00:03

[The Lilly logo appears on screen in red text on a white background]

00:03-00:08

[The screen fades to black and transitions to Liz sitting in a chair talking to the camera.]

Liz: I was put on my first diet that I was aware of in sixth grade.

00:08-00:19

[The video cuts to two photographs of Liz in France as an exchange student.]

Liz: I was going to France as an exchange student and my mom said, “Hey, if you lose X amount of weight, you can earn your pocket money while you're there.”

00:19-00:23

[The video cuts back to Liz sitting in a chair talking to the camera.]

Liz: It was very confusing, and it was very shameful.

00:23-00:37

[The video cuts to multiple photographs of Liz as a child. Liz is smiling in the photographs, playing soccer, and dressed in a Halloween costume.]

Liz: It wasn't for not being an active kid, I played soccer. I spent my days riding bikes around the neighborhood. I did everything that my sister did or friends did, and I was the only one who had a problem.

00:37-00:48

[The video cuts back to Liz sitting in a chair talking to the camera.]

Liz: That was the first experience with, “Oh, this is something society says, isn't quite right.” My name is Liz Paul, and I live with obesity.

00:48-01:07

[As Liz is sitting in a chair talking to the camera, the caption “Liz’s Story” appears on screen. The screen fades to black and fades back to Liz sitting in a chair talking to the camera.]

Liz: We've been conditioned to say that people who live in larger bodies are lazy, eating too much, they don't exercise. We're given all of these stereotypes. It's just not true.

01:07-01:16

[The video cuts to Liz walking into her office and using a laptop at a desk, then cuts to an image of her with her daughter’s Cub Scout Pack.

Liz: I'm busy from the moment I get up till the time my kids go to bed. I'm the Cubmaster for my daughter's Cub Scout pack.

01:16-01:44

[The video cuts to Liz giving a speech at the Mankato Kiwanis Club and sitting at a table listening to other’s give a speech. The video then cuts to Liz playing a trumpet in a church, and cuts back to Liz sitting in a chair talking to the camera.

Liz: I am the president of the Mankato Kiwanis Club, which does service projects around town. I play trumpet in church. When you live in a larger body, you kind of want to hide yourself, but playing trumpet is something that people enjoy, and it's a chance to say, “Look, I can do something. I'm useful.” Doctors told me that I was the only one who was ever going to fix me, and had nothing but shame and blame for me.

01:44-01:56

[The video cuts to photographs of Liz doing CrossFit, running a 5K, her on her wedding day, and photographs of her in a mirror. The video cuts back to Liz sitting in a chair talking to the camera.]

Liz: I have done CrossFit. I have done 5Ks. I have gained and lost hundreds of pounds over my adult life. I would say my most successful was after my son was born.

01:56-02:31

[The video cuts to Liz and her son sitting on a boulder. The video cuts back to Liz sitting in a chair talking to the camera.]

Liz: I lost 80, 100 pounds, and it was great and I felt really good. And then it stopped working. The actual disease of obesity came back to really bite me. I had lost this weight, but it kept creeping back on, and on, and up. And I said, “Well, apparently I can't do this. Apparently I'm just a failure. I will always be living in a larger body,” and kind of gave in to the depression of it all.

02:31-02:52

[The video cuts to Liz at the Obesity Action Coalition. The shots include the schedule for the convention, multiple people giving presentations and participating in panels, and Liz watching a presentation. The video then cuts back to Liz sitting in a chair talking to the camera.]

Liz: Around this time, I was invited to the Obesity Action Coalition, their “Your Weight Matters” Convention. Here were experts in the field who said obesity is a chronic, complex disease that can't be cured just by eating less and moving more. And I'm like, “What is this, and why am I just hearing about this now?”

02:52-03:03

[The video cuts to two people having a conversation at the Obesity Action Coalition while Liz is looking at pamphlets on a table, the three of them begin to have a conversation. The video then cuts back to Liz sitting in a chair talking to the camera.]

Liz: People who live with obesity deserve access to care, bias-free, stigma-free treatments to help them manage their disease.

03:03-03:39

[The video cuts to Liz walking outside in a park. The video cuts back to Liz sitting in a chair talking to the camera, and then cuts back to Liz walking outside in the park while looking at the camera.]

Liz: I'm always trying to lose weight and make good choices and try to move my body every day. I try to eat right. I do as much as I can. I don't like to limit myself, but sometimes my body pays for it. Hopefully one day we'll find the tool or the treatment or anything that'll stick. But I know this will be something I'll be living with my whole life, regardless of whether I have lost weight or not. It's hard to to not be a little bit afraid of all of that. I want to see my kids grow up. I want to be there with them, which is why I never stop trying to lose weight.

03:39-03:43

[The video fades to white as the Lilly logo appears in red text on the white background.]

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I wish everyone who’s dealing with obesity knew is that it is not a sign of moral failure. You are not a failure.

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Michele's story

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Navigating obesity

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Watch patient story

00:00-00:10

[Gentle music begins to play as the video shows photographs of Michele laid out on a table. The video cuts to Michele sitting on a couch while talking to the camera and then cuts to Michele talking to her son in the kitchen.]

Michele: My name is Michele Tedder and I'm from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I am a mom and I have three children.

Caption: Michele Tedder

00:10-00:31

[The video cuts to Michele sitting on a couch talking to the camera, then cuts to Michele and her children looking at photographs of when she was a child. The video cuts back to Michele sitting on a couch talking to the camera.]

Michele: Growing up dealing with obesity. First off, that really was not a term. All I knew was that you're fat. My journey with obesity has empowered me to understand it in the context of it being a disease, and that that requires a comprehensive treatment plan. You know, some people are born with type 1 diabetes.

00:31-00:41

[Michele is sitting on the couch talking to the camera. The video cuts to Michele standing in her kitchen while drinking out of a mug.]

Michele: Well, if I had any other disease, I would take control by doing the treatment are most likely to help me to have success with.

00:41-01:08

[Michele sitting on a couch talking to the camera. The video cuts to Michele walking outside and then back to Michele sitting on a couch talking to the camera.]

Michele: I had a knee injury. I was working out, one of my many, many attempts at losing weight, and I had hired a trainer and kept complaining about knee pain. But one of the orthopedic doctors that I had seen in that string of doctors said to me, he said, “Well, lose 50 pounds and see me in a month.” Who loses 50 pounds in a month? Like?

01:08-01:27

[Michele is washing dishes in the kitchen. The video cuts to Michele sitting on a couch while talking to the camera, and then cuts to Michele looking through her clothes in her closet.

Michele: Everything is about lose it quick, the latest, greatest fad diet and you're going to be the 125 pounds and an hourglass and be able to wear the latest bikini. And that's just simply not real.

01:27-01:49

[Michele is sitting on a couch while talking to the camera. The video cuts to Michele standing in her kitchen, then back to Michele sitting on a couch while talking to the camera, and then cuts to Michele walking outside.]

Michele: When I think about fashion, there were certain stores and certain manufacturers that did not make clothes in my size. So I think that's where the imposition of society saying, “Well, you're different and we don't cater to you.” So basically, like, don't come here.

01:49-02:04

[Michele is sitting on a couch while talking to the camera.]

Michele: The one thing about wanting to gain control of my obesity was that I really wanted to be able to do all the things, like all the things that everybody else does.

02:04-02:32

[Gentle music continues to play as the video cuts to behind Michele as she’s walking outside. The video cuts to Michele sitting on a couch while talking to the camera. The video cuts to Michele getting out of a car, and then cuts to a close up of Michele’s legs as she’s walking outside.]

Michele: I had a wonderful PCP at the time who had watched me struggle trying to lose the weight over the years. And she really helped me to understand that this was not because I was, you know, eating all the wrong things, that because I'm, you know, not trying hard enough and that was incredibly valuable. And so that's how it all started.

02:32-02:42

[The video cuts to Michele sitting on a couch while talking to the camera and then to Michele laughing and talking to her child while washing the dishes in a kitchen.

Michele: Obesity is, it's a disease that you have to keep managing. It requires is a village. You know, it's not something that you can necessarily do on your own.

02:42-02:55

[The video cuts to Michele sitting on a couch while talking to the camera, and then cuts to Michele showing her phone to the camera. There’s an image of Michele on the phone. The video then cuts to Michele and her children looking at photographs of Michele.]

Michele: I'm more hopeful about obesity management and treatment because there's more and more information, public information, that's coming out about obesity as a disease.

02:55-03:30

[The video cuts to Michele sitting on a couch while talking to the camera, and then cuts to Michele looking through her clothes in her closet. The video then cuts to Michele and her children looking at photographs of Michele, and then cuts back to Michele sitting on a couch talking to the camera.]

Michele: Something that I wish everyone who's dealing with obesity knew is it is not a sign of moral failure. You are not a failure. You are an individual, you're unique, you're journey is unique. And so as you build your village and your toolbox, just keep in mind that it might not look exactly like mine, but it will be yours. It's possible because I was there one time, and I really did not think that I would ever be where I am today, but I am.

03:30-03:39

[The video fades to white as gentle music continues to play. The Lilly logo appears in red text on the white background.]

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