"Lost 100lbs & found out what the world thinks of fat ppl"

Jozie236

WARNING - slightly off topic

That's good stuff...lol...I get more and more motivated to reach my goals every day when I read posts like this...it is mostly a taboo topic unless brought up by an overweight person, but we all know society in general discriminates against fat people...I do admit, being fat does show a certain lack of commitment, lack of dedication, common sense, etc...but whatever the case, this was an excellent post!

I just can't let this go - Being fat does NOT necessarily show a lack of commitment, dedication, or common sense - especially in a situation like the OPs where she became overweight as a child, prior to her ability to make her own choices about what she put into her body. (Disclaimer: I was overweight since childhood and so I'm taking this a little personally). I think your logic stinks, and it makes me sad to see it in such an uplifting thread.

There are some people who are lazy and don't do anything to help themselves as the weight creeps on over the years. But, there are also so many heavy people who try crash diets and regain the weight, have binge eating disorders, drastically miscalculate their calories/make poor food choices even though they try, exercise, play sports, or used to be even heavier than they are now.

One of my "favorite" quotes overheard by a recruiter for a top law firm while I was a student: "You can be fat or you can be Black, but you can't be both." . . . I remember a morbidly obese white male student who used to shower in a shirt b/c you could see a little into the stall. I always wondered if he heard that comment, and if he had, how he felt about it.

Loved the article, BTW. And good for you for not letting your boyfreind's preference or prejudice (depending on what's in his heart) get in the way of your relationship. Live in the moment, it's all we have.

keno101

You can't judge people on liking what they like. The hard truth is some people prefer the people they date to be fit. And chances are by becoming fit your friend me now become attracted to you. Thing is he already likes you that's why you are friends, but attraction is s tricky thing. Just don't hold it against him, he is just a man and as a human being we can't help what we are naturally attracted to.

CONJL049

Beautifully written!

CowgirlKimi

I agree that the world, in general, is a very judgmental, and cruel place. Most people tend to take things at face value, never really thinking about all the possible variations behind one person's situation. Example: a few weeks ago, a friend and I were out to eat at a local restaurant. One of the hostesses at this restaurant is obviously obese ( for the record, as was I not even 12 short weeks ago). My friend made a comment under their breath that apparently "they hire anybody at this place".
I was really disappointed at that statement, and beyond that, I was saddened. Saddened that someone I care so much for could have so little concern or compassion for other human beings. And then I wondered.. what did they think about me when I was wobbling around at 218 pounds in March of this year? What is that all about?

Next example: I work in a somewhat athletic industry and I have noticed that since losing 40+ pounds, I have gained much more respect and kindness from my peers and superiors. Maybe it's me... maybe its because I have more confidence now... who knows.. but I personally feel that because I made this commitment to lose the weight, and because these people are seeing me do the work to make it happen, they are showing more respect to me as both a human and an equestrian. Which is nice.. but sometimes I look back at fat Kimi, and I feel badly that I kept her in a box for so long...

erinxo13

Really great article...I agree that people who have never been in the 'fat' situation don't understand what its like...and will never understand what it is like until they are in that position.

Zwissmiss

I found this article compleatly relatiable..I was a very obease child..then I lost a load of weight at 14..and sadly by my early 20's started packing it back on; and more People defonately treated me differently as a thin woman; particularly men. Now its as though I'm invisable and its hard not to feel resentful.

Tender78

bump

raiseyourgame

I feel like with the whole "opening doors" thing it also applies to make-up. When I go out in my sweats with no makeup, nobody looks at me but when I'm dressed up with my make-up on and my hair done, I feel like people treat me differently. It doesn't come as a huge surprise, but it's like I'm the same person with or without makeup, just like that woman was, with out without 100 pounds.

underthecherrytree

This was great!

lizalee1973

Thank you for posting that article! I can certainly relate...I was fat my entire life! I lost 160 pounds over the last two years and I saw how different life is when you weigh 220 pounds as opposed to 380. I gained 23 pounds over the winter and I panicked because I realized that I don't ever want to be that fat girl again. I'm back in control!

Csitri

Thank you for sharing, very interesting read.

140Aimee

Love this article!

ilovemybuggy

What a BEAUTIFUL article!! I love it

peggymenard

I have a different take on the story you shared and it can be summed up in one statement

"There is nothing beautiful about fat, inside or out."

WendyTerry420

This is very interesting to me, especially since I was once thin and gradually became fat. My mother used to tell me about this kind of thing, she was a chubby little girl and then become overweight with her pregnancies and just kept getting bigger. It now makes me wonder if people didn't pass me over on promotions because of my weight. I always blamed favortism, but who knows?

theprettyone1010

I absolutely love this article. But the funny thing is that I've had a somewhat opposite experience after losing the weight.
When I started dieting and exercising last June, my motivation was to "be acceptable to men" (I had really low self-esteem because of my weight and measured my self-worth by how men treated me). And now that I've lost 60 lbs, wear a size 6/8, walk around in a bikini, I've found that men pretty much treat me the same. The "bad" ones still ignore me, don't open doors, only want to mess around and not date, etc. But the "good" ones, the guys I dated when I was obese, still tell me that I was just as beautiful then as I am now and that I didn't need to lose weight.

So I'd say I never reached my original goal to "be acceptable to men." These social benefits that she talks about in the article really depend on the type of people you're surrounded by.

patchesgizmo

bump

RolemodelmomT

Thank you to everyone for reading it! I have read this article many times and it makes me cry. I am no where near my goal of 100 lbs lost, so it also gives me hope, but people always see a common denominator of losing the weight & feeling they can't trust anyone because those same ppl that hated them before now love them. It scares me to think of that. i am currently in love with my best friend. he knows, but says we are only friends. i fear that once i lose the weight he'll like me- and i'll just accept it. i dont want to be treated differently because of my weight but it is a reality for those of us suffering with being overweight.
it's hard to think that some of my closest friends, who say "i look great the way i am" are secretly thinking that i look horrible and should lose weight.

Thank you for the article, it definately gives me something to think about.

You absolutley read my mind! I realize that the ones we love...really do love us; but I honestly believe that deep down they think that we should lose weight and would be happier if we did. I don't know how many times I have been told that "I am beautiful the way I am". Sometimes I wish they would just be honest with me, my doctor won't even be honest with me...I mean common, I'm 296 lbs...this is not healthy; so tell me so. I need to hear the brutal honesty because I think that I am looking at myself through rose-colored glasses and think that everything is fine.

scs143

Love it.

don666car

i agree with everything adding i think thou obese men get it even more there not many women that like chubby men