Weight Loss - 1/15/2002

is one of the most difficult things in the world to achieve. Having bveen plagued since from when I can remember by the scourge of being fat I have never endeavoured in losing weight properly. I do agree that it's a lifestyle thing - when I was in the Army and had the time to properly exercise and think about what was healthy, it was pretty easy to keep rather trim. But I must say there has never been a prolonged moment in my life when I was genuinely "not fat". The best I've ever been is "just at the edge of ideal" during BMT and OCS. After that it's been one big balloon ride.

The social stigma of being a fat person is considerable. Fat people are targets of everyone. Even students will not hesitate to laugh at fatness. Socially, we've come to accept sniggering at fat people as a kind of acceptable past-time. Not that I'm complaining about. But I am unable to totally rid myself of that sense that being fat makes me less effective as a person.

There's that odd bit about knowing that you bulge uncomfortably under the already loose shirt, ever-tightening pair of trousers and the belt that's really hanging there just for display. You heave in your belly but that becomes a strain and you have to try very hard that you're really doing "low impact hidden crunches" instead of holding in your tunmmy. You know when your fatness is becoming unacceptable even to yourself when you realise that the rim of flesh around your waist has doubled and that when people mention "spare tires" or "love handles" you think - "Top or bottom one?"

Some people are of the opinion that fatness should not be discouraged. Instead, we should learn how to embrace fat people - they after all have a lot more to offer. I suppose this would be a position that is attractive. First, I wouldn't have to work at anything but merely develop intelligent and witty comments about fatness. Second, there is a tradition of fat people being thought of highly in societies where abundance is celebrated. However, the promise of being thinner always lies before me.