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I see people with bodies so round, I wonder how their legs don't just collapse like sticks...and I then wonder "At what point do you say "fuck it" and allow yourself to get that huge"?
My best friend is on thyroid medication-she's 5'9" and 220 lbs and every pound lost is a major event. She doesn't always eat a lot but at times I have seen her put away enough to feed a couple of teenagers. But now she's working out 4-5 mornings a week and following a meal plan. I want her healthy, regardless of how much she loses and I know that part of that health will come from her feeling good about her efforts.
I have a prejudice against obesity in much the same way ex-smokers hate smokers. I was fat, I lost the weight. Now I've gained half of it again and I understand the lack of motivation, the half-hearted attempts and the disgust at oneself for not trying harder.
But I also understand that there may be mitigating circumstances for some of what we see. A woman I met was quite rotund-in conversation I learned she's a thyroid cancer survivor. Another friend was told by her doctor she would die due to her obesity, but the "cure" almost killed her too-she had her stomach stapled. She's tiny now and happy but almost died to get there.
My cousin was anorexic, starting at the age of 12. Watching what her mother was going thru was painful. Watching my cousin's actions were bewildering and sad. Having had a "control" issue regarding my own mental health, I understand why she was the way she was.
We are quick to judge-it's human nature to draw an instant conclusion to what we only see but don't really know. Being there only makes us have more opinions to another's whys and hows. The truth is, we are not inside their heads. We can just continue on our merry prejudicial way.
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