Monday: Why I am Not Fat

Obesity epidemic. In America, more than 1 in 3 adults is not overweight, but obese.

I can’t speak for men- but I can give some perspectives from a woman’s side. Weight issues are EVERYWHERE. Regardless of a woman’s current weight, we are always looking to lose something. 5 pounds, 10 pounds, that belly jiggle, or those un-firm thighs. As soon as we accomplish one weight loss goal, we are unsatisfied and find something else ‘wrong’ with us to fix.

You  know how easy it is to get sucked in.

This is how I got out.

In junior high, all of my friends and I were always on some diet or another- no sugar, no carbs, low calorie, crazy workouts. This might make sense, if any of us had a real weight issue.

We didn’t. We were shopping the size 0-2 racks.

How could we be so obsessed?

Then, one day, as everyone was drinking their diet sodas and talking about the latest binges that they had gone on, “Ugh, last weekend, I TOTALLY went off my diet and ate an entire buffet table, I swear!” I realized something. I realized that this was not how food was meant to be eaten. It just seemed so….. off. And so I decided.

I would rather be a little overweight than have an obsession over food and an eating disorder.

So, off I went.  I ate what I wanted, when I wanted. I didn’t focus on calories.

This is what I found.

Once I had my mind wrapped around the fact that I could eat whatever, whenever, there was no need to binge. Or eat extravagant meals. If I bought a giant Symphony bar, I could eat just a few pieces and finish it later. Because I knew, , if I wanted some, I could have it. I had no need to eat every last piece of food on my plate- I could eat until my body was satisfied, not until my mind had finished its binge.

Over the years, my weight has fluctuated a few pounds here or there, but I have found that I mostly don’t notice. I don’t really shop by size, but more by what fits. And the best part? I don’t get fat. I go to a restaurant, eat what my body needs, and stop. It satisfies.

The moment you categorize in your mind that there are ‘bad foods’, there, in the back of your mind, is a list of every ‘bad food’ you have access to- and when your moment of resolve fails, you rush to every one of those bad foods and shove as much as you can inside of yourself. I know, because I have experienced it.

I can’t lie: there are those times (especially right after a baby!) where I think for a moment or two “Oh, no, I can’t eat that- I need to lose weight, and control eating, and exercise twice a day……..” But, before I get too engrossed in this thinking pattern, I remind myself: I’d rather be a little overweight than have an obsession with food.

So, I don’t get fat. I just eat normal portions, and the best part? I LIKE MY BODY. It isn’t perfect- and I know that I am my harshest critic- but I like it. I count myself lucky to be able to say that.