Obesity: Knowledge is power

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.]