I watched with great interest the news about director Kevin Smith’s being kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight because he was too fat. And I watched with interest the reaction to this event. I heard impassioned, nationally televised statements made by activists in the fat acceptance movement as well as activists in the anti-obesity movement.
And whether or not Southwest was right to ask him to leave a flight for which he was already is not the point of this blog entry. What interests me are the ideas expressed on both sides of the issue, and the underlying beliefs they reveal, and what they mean to me and to everyone who has released weight, or is in the process of releasing weight.
Kevin Smith himself said, “I am fat, and that’s how I conduct myself in this life.” I applaud him for making that statement. I applaud him for accepting 100 percent responsibility for his body weight. I applaud him for not blaming his weight issue on anything other than his personal choice.
And on the other side of this issue, a fat acceptance activist said that being heavy is not a choice. “Within three to five years, 93 to 95 percent of dieters gain back all the weight plus. So there’s really no way to make a fat person thin,” she said. This struck a nerve with me, particularly because, only a few years ago, I was fat. And now my weight is at a healthy place for my body. So clearly, you can make a fat person thin. I did it.
Unfortunately, implicit in this statement are ideas that, if the odds are that we’re just going to gain the weight back anyway, why bother? What’s the use? It must be hopeless, because that’s what the statistics tell us it is. We might as well give up, because it’s just not worth the effort. If we’re destined to lose the war, why would we even want to start fighting the battle?
As a formerly unhealthy fat person who has released a lot of weight, I know the odds are against me. I’ve lived much of my adult life surrounded by 40 to 50 extra pounds of weight. Genetically, I’m predisposed towards weight gain, as my mother is heavy, as were both my maternal and paternal grandmothers. I know that the road a fat person travels is not an easy one. I know what it’s like to be fat and invisible. I know that the road to a healthy body weight can seem overwhelming and scary and frustrating. I know that there are times when you may feel like giving up and that it’s just not worth the effort--that there’s no way you can change what seems to be your destiny. But the road to a healthy weight and a healthy loving relationship with your body doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive. It is possible to love who you are, to accept who you are in this moment, and move in this moment towards feelings of health and vitality and wellness--and a healthy body weight!
And it is so worth the effort. It is so worth feeling energized where once you felt paralyzed. It is so worth feeing strong and fit where before you felt breathless from walking around the block. It is so worth being able to move your body easily through space, where before it was a struggle just to lift yourself off the couch.
I know that I could easily slip back into unhealthy behavior. But here’s the key that most diets don’t emphasize, and here’s my personal secret to releasing and maintaining weight: be vigilant and protective of your thoughts, and always focus on what your deepest desire. Always focus on what you really, really want. In any situation, ask, “What is the outcome I’m really seeking?” Answer this question, “What will bring me the most pleasure?” For me, today, what brings me the most pleasure will be found in choosing a tangelo over a donut, or enjoying the moonlight during a snowy nighttime run, or simply thanking my body for serving me so incredibly well during the past 48 years.
Yes, the odds are against all of us. But with pleasure and desire as our rock, our touchstone, our guiding light, I know that we can beat the odds.
For more information on my philosophy of releasing weight and services I offer, please visit my website: http://www.fallinlovewithyourbody.com or e-mail me directly at nannerl123@yahoo.com.
Up Next: Mindless Eating
