fat 'n' happy

[jedusor]

Man, you know what just doesn't make any damn sense at all? Worrying about weight. We're all just organisms, right, and we're all made of cells, and for some weird reason a whole bunch of people have decided that they have too many of this one kind of energy-storing cell and they need to make it go away or they're somehow not good enough. And okay, yeah, there's a weight range that is healthy and going too far above or below it can cause problems, but that range is a lot wider than people seem to think. And you know what actually is shown to have deleterious effects on your health? All that fucking worrying.

And I get that everyone wants to be attractive, and life is in great part about getting laid, but here's the thing: fat people get laid too. I know plenty of fat people who have happy, healthy sex lives, and I know plenty of skinny people who don't. You know whose sex lives suck? People who worry about their damn weight.

(And don't tell me fat people worry about their weight more. I have known way too many skinny people to fall for that shit.)

Comments

[rpipuzzleguy.livejournal.com]

I feel better when I work out and eat better. You can delve into the psychology of that and why I "shouldn't" feel that way all you like, but that's the way it is.

Doesn't stop me from taking down a bacon cheeseburger now and then, of course.

[elainetyger.livejournal.com]

Tyler, I also feel better physically the less I weigh. However, a big part of my previous therapy was letting go of the moral obligation to eat right, to be healthy, to weigh less. It's easier to let go of all the worrying about weight when I don't worry about being a burden on society if I should get diabetes and need medical care, and to have that worry every time I think about eating a friggin pancake. No I am not exaggerating.

Life is so much more pleasant -- no matter what weight I am -- when I don't attach a "you should" or "you shouldn't" to every activity associated with eating. If I eat healthy foods and feel good, it's ok. If I don't, it's ok, too. I don't have to send myself to hell.

Not a real scientific sample, but my personal experience supports Julia's assertion about the getting laid bit. I've had attention from *different* people but no change in numbers depending on my weight, and as an adult I've been as much as 25 pounds lighter and 47 pounds heavier than I am now. At my fattest, though, I had joint pain which made some activity not as enjoyable or not as possible. The thing is, though, dealing with it on the practical level without ascribing a moral imperative to food & health & weight.

[mh75.livejournal.com]

I think there is a big difference between taking care of yourself and obsessing about weight. I feel better when i work out, eat better, and weigh towards the bottom of my normal range. I think i SHOULD feel that way.

I feel worse when i worry about each pound, each calorie, each little bulge. And while i can't just stop worrying as easily as all that, i see why it is counter-productive and a waste of my time and energy.