Fat Acceptance (HAES)

Actually, there's something to it from my perspective. I've always been a fat chick (now in my 50s) with very limited and short-lived success at weight loss. I gave up addressing weight in my 20s and decided instead to address health. I ate a healthier than average (albeit not perfect) diet and stayed more active than average (albeit not athletic) all those years too. Really strong family history of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc.

So fast forward to now and even though I was morbidly obese (BMI 45-50 pretty much entire adult life), I maintained very healthy blood sugar levels (despite being really fat and a bad family history/genetics), blood pressure average 110/70, resting heart rate about 60-65, cholesterol in the 170-180 range, and super good heart health. I was given a nuclear stress test prior to a surgery I had to have and my cardiologist was blown away with my results. I had developed none of the diseases typically associated with obesity even at middle age.

I believe that the correlation between obesity and those diseases is largely just that ... correlation. Not causation. MOST people who are obese have a poor diet, don't drink water and don't move. THAT"s why they're diseased, not because of the fat in and of itself.

My fat eventually did end up causing me a major health problem of a mechanical variety. I have to get rid of it because of the pull of gravity and the water retention associated with it (crazy lots of water the heavier you get, I never realized until now how much, after losing 51 lbs in only 8 weeks, which was clearly mostly water and more to go).

So every person is different, but extra fat does not necessarily mean poor health. Even though I've always been the fattest in my family, I am the only one not taking some kind of heart medicine or insulin out of all my siblings (big family).

Go figya.

I'm sure you will get a lot of "hate" from this if you haven't already. But I hear you loud & clear! My entire adult life I've mostly been in the range of 260-275 lb (currently at 218, highest was 307). I'm 5'8" and female, now 36 yrs old so not very old in the scheme of things, but still. I always ate *SEMI* healthy, stayed reasonably active, etc. Rare drinking, no drugs, no smoking, 8 hrs of sleep per night, etc. I have pretty good genes. I think that helps a lot too.

But I truly believe that my lifestyle choices, despite my obesity, have made me healthier than average and my doctors have agreed. All of my blood work, cholesterol levels, etc, have always been within a normal healthy range and I was never considered pre-diabetic even at my heaviest, while most people I know are pre-diabetic even around my current 218 lb weight. The only time I had ANY problems was when my weight jumped from 270's to 307 in a short time and I did have some slight shortness of breath and swelling in my ankles. That was for like 2 months and it was a MAJOR wake up call for me and I started losing weight immediately after that.

People ask me all of the time, "Don't you feel GREAT?" or "I bet you feel so different" due to my losing a total of 89 lb in the last 5 years. But no. I don't feel any different really. I felt energetic X 100 and healthy even with all that weight on. I feel like I fit better into the world around me, and I like that...for example not feeling like I have to wedge myself into car seats, diner booths, roller coasters, office chairs with arms...now I just fit everywhere comfortable and I love that. I also like being able to stand in front of a mirror with my fiance behind me kissing my neck and not feel horrified by our reflections. But I don't feel healthier or more energetic at all. Just being honest. Some may say, oh it's because you're still really fat. I guess that could be true...if and when I get down to 160 or 180 maybe I will feel drastically different but I really don't think so.

Of course, I do think the health odds are against those of us who carry more weight on our bodies and that is one major reason I'm working to be leaner and healthier. But I think some people really generalize too much about healthy = thin, unhealthy = fat. There are SO many more factors than just weight!