Afraid to Lose Weight

ladyzherra

I made this post in the "Emotional Eating" group here on MFP, which I love, but thought to double-post here to see if anyone can relate. I would really appreciate some responses from people who have had this feeling before.

Thanks!

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10818109/afraid-to-lose-weight/p1?new=1

The_Elephant_Man

@ladyzherra What are you afraid of?

lilylilianalopez

Whenever I get below the 200lb I start feeling vulnerable I thought I was the only odd ball. Like I'm afraid of being vulnerable maybe I believe smaller females are more vulnerable. Who knows

TxTiffani

Wow, I just came to this realization the other day. It’s been hard for me to lose because subconsciously I always feel very vulnerable at 5’0 tall and if I were my goal of 115 (-40lbs) I would be that much more vulnerable. I think that’s why incorporating exercise is that much more important for my journey, because not only will I be getting smaller...I’ll be getting stronger!

callsitlikeiseeit

it's interesting, people's mindsets.

I'm 5'1, so small in stature. But, with very few exceptions... I'm not afraid of anything. I've walked through areas of towns I shouldn't (my husband really doesn't like it when he hears these things), my mouth can go a mile a minute and be like a sword, and in general... I give zero *kitten*. and yes, I know mfp will censor that word LMAO

We live in the country, on a farm, don't lock our doors (we seriously don't even know WHERE our house key is, for ANY door). We do have dogs. And guns, cause.... bear and coyotes. But I've never been afraid out here, even when I'm here weeks at a time alone. Now, I have lived in places where I DID lock my doors Still had dogs though, but maybe not as many (we have 6 currently).

I've always ENJOYED being short. Sure, I've found myself in precarious situations, but I think most women, if not most people in general, have. But none that I was able to get out of, either physically, with my smarts and wits, or maybe a few times from sheer luck.

jkemme2

I started gaining weight after being molested as a child. I struggled with weight as I grew older but after a couple of instances of date rape and sexual harassment on the job I began to rapidly gain weight. Then I felt invisible and comfortable. My highest weight was 300 and I'm down to 248. I didn't think about the "feeling vulnerable" part of weight loss until my friend told me that once she told everyone she was getting divorced that many men in her life began to objectify her. That triggered something in me and I started remembering what that felt like. I'm not there yet but I might get there and I'm scared. So I suppose it comes down to identifying what your feelings are and confronting them. In my case, it will probably involve a lot of reframing thoughts and finding other ways of regaining my power.

Oishii

There’s a book called Fat is a Feminist Issue which is quite old and addresses this in detail. I avoided reading it for years, but when I finally did it really gave my weight loss a boost. It’s super cheap online because it’s so old, and I thoroughly recommend it for helping to understand such feelings.

jkemme2

I'm going to order that book. Thanks for the recommendation. 🙂