Everyone Eats

I think a lot. My boss once said I was a “thinker.” I am not sure it was a compliment, but I consider it one.  Years ago I read an article where a woman wondered why she received a stronger ovation for having lost weight than for a major professional accomplishment. I read this when I was in complete denial about how I felt about being overweight, refusing to admit that it was an impediment to my career, that people treated me differently, that it sapped my energy. 

I often thought about that comment.  When I was overweight, I thought it strange, even unjust that a significant accomplishment was overshadowed by something as trivial as weight-loss. I was so unbalanced that for me mental ability completely overshadowed body. I had abandoned the physical because it seemed impossible to reclaim it.

Now that I’ve lost weight and celebrate it with friends and strangers alike, I recall the woman’s wonder at why so many applauded her weight loss, just as so many applaud mine and I think I know the answer. 

Fighting weight gain is almost universal where there is abundance.  Everyone eats, and eventually almost everyone fights a few pounds. Slim people, whether by nature or by hard work, celebrate the fact I’ve joined their club and want to know any secrets I might share to help them retain their membership. Fitness buffs celebrate the fact I have discovered the genuine joy of exercise, how good it feels in body, mind, and soul. People who are overweight celebrate the fact that someone has taken on the battle and won. They know how hard it is, we were in the same bad place, there is hope, it is possible. And people who lost weight 30 years ago pull the picture out of their wallet and show me their own conquest. They give me hope too. 

Day 27 and counting