Fat – A Bad Habit Made Visible
Isn’t it funny how much attention people pay to the embarrassment of being fat in America? When actually, the judgmental people in our society are just preying on the universal shortcomings that befall the entire human race. It just so happens that the overweight members of society are forced to wear their bad habits out in public, whereas everyone else can easily hide their vices and shortcomings.
Take alcoholism for example (which is a far more accepted weakness than the rest by the way), or gambling. These vices are not considered “acceptable” by society, but I challenge you to identify some people’s bad habits merely by observing from afar. A fat person has no such luck. Every extra cookie eaten, in an attempt to soothe one’s soul in the same way that shoplifters and workaholics do, is inconveniently displayed for all the world to see. Not so for the drug or nicotine addicts.
This is what makes being overweight so much harder and more painful to bear. Not only are you dealing with a powerful biological addiction and/or ingrained psychological habits, but you have the added stress and shame of being socially unacceptable. This double whammy could topple even the most confident and self-assured person.
So, in an effort to level out the extremely uneven playing field, I offer two suggestions:
First, I would like all of the average size and bigger-but-not-really-overweight members of society to practice a little empathy and compassion for those who you may normally judge or whisper about. Be grateful that the world cannot see the hideous mess in your overly-cluttered house, or the bills from the enormous debts that you’ve racked up on your credit cards (‘calories in and calories out’ is exactly the same as your financial budget). While bathing in your feelings of gratitude, I would like you to ‘pay it forward’: Refrain from finger pointing, ridiculing or shaming the overweight people that you encounter. We all struggle with or own weaknesses, don’t judge those for whom these weaknesses are visible.
Second, I would like to remind all of my overweight friends in the world, that just because you have to wear your struggles with you all the time, you are no less valuable, no less worthy of happiness, and certainly no less lovable, than all of the smokers, excessive drinkers, shoplifters, gamblers, adulterers, and shopaholics out there. Hold your head up high knowing that not only are you stronger from the challenges you’ve been given, but you are also much braver than most because you can’t hide those challenges. When comparing yourself to others (which you really shouldn’t do! Come on, you already know that!), remind yourself that everyone has issues that are difficult for them, you just can’t always see what those issues are. You may find that you prefer your own challenges to someone else’s, and that you are happier than you think!
About the Author:
Tags: financial budget, double whammy, nicotine addicts, enormous debts, shoplifters, uneven playing field Take alcoholism for example (which is a far more accepted weakness than the rest by the way), or gambling. These vices are not considered “acceptable” by society, but I challenge you to identify some people’s bad habits merely by observing from afar. A fat person has no such luck. Every extra cookie eaten, in an attempt to soothe one’s soul in the same way that shoplifters and workaholics do, is inconveniently displayed for all the world to see. Not so for the drug or nicotine addicts.
This is what makes being overweight so much harder and more painful to bear. Not only are you dealing with a powerful biological addiction and/or ingrained psychological habits, but you have the added stress and shame of being socially unacceptable. This double whammy could topple even the most confident and self-assured person.
So, in an effort to level out the extremely uneven playing field, I offer two suggestions:
First, I would like all of the average size and bigger-but-not-really-overweight members of society to practice a little empathy and compassion for those who you may normally judge or whisper about. Be grateful that the world cannot see the hideous mess in your overly-cluttered house, or the bills from the enormous debts that you’ve racked up on your credit cards (‘calories in and calories out’ is exactly the same as your financial budget). While bathing in your feelings of gratitude, I would like you to ‘pay it forward’: Refrain from finger pointing, ridiculing or shaming the overweight people that you encounter. We all struggle with or own weaknesses, don’t judge those for whom these weaknesses are visible.
Second, I would like to remind all of my overweight friends in the world, that just because you have to wear your struggles with you all the time, you are no less valuable, no less worthy of happiness, and certainly no less lovable, than all of the smokers, excessive drinkers, shoplifters, gamblers, adulterers, and shopaholics out there. Hold your head up high knowing that not only are you stronger from the challenges you’ve been given, but you are also much braver than most because you can’t hide those challenges. When comparing yourself to others (which you really shouldn’t do! Come on, you already know that!), remind yourself that everyone has issues that are difficult for them, you just can’t always see what those issues are. You may find that you prefer your own challenges to someone else’s, and that you are happier than you think!
About the Author:
Beth Pinello is a N.A.S.M. Certified Personal Trainer and Professional Weight Loss Coach. She is also the author of a weekly motivational weight loss coaching newsletter. To subscribe, or to learn more about personal weight loss coaching, visit http://www.PinelloWeightLoss.com
