Published on November 2, 2023
(c) NicoletaIonescu Fotosearch_k85599008
What is your weight doing FOR you?
What are you getting out of being fat?
Have you ever asked yourself those questions?
Did you answer honestly?
Many people hide behind their weight.
It helps them avoid challenges or escape intimacy.
I recall, quite some time ago, a client telling me her weight had something to do with her family’s pressure to achieve, as her parents did exactly that with an older, very smart sibling. She thought that if she were heavy, people (her parents, in particular) would expect less of her and be happy to ‘settle’ for her the way she was.
While no research scientist or psychologist, my 25 years’ experience in the weight loss business gives me great practical perspective as to why some people make absolutely no effort to lose weight, unless their health is seriously threatened (and too often, not even then!).
In many cases, it’s a psychological issue, as people often hold onto fat as a way of hiding something about themselves that they do not want to share. They use food as a way of stifling feelings that they wish they didn’t have, or don’t want anyone else to know.
My conclusion is that, overall, the reasons for hiding behind one’s weight is mostly rooted in feelings of fear.
➡️ Fear of how friends and family (especially those who are overweight) may accept them if they slim down.
➡️ Fear of rejection by some who may not like you being thinner.
➡️ Fear of being able to accept compliments.
➡️ Fear that others may ridicule you if you fail.
Whether you have a suspicion that you may be using fat as a way of hiding something or if you 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 you are, ask yourself these two questions:
“What is my weight doing for me?”
“What am I trying to hide from others?”
In the end, you must fully understand and accept that excess visceral toxic fat represents serious, life-threatening health dangers; and that well-documented health issues such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke, and heart disease have the potential to put you in an early grave. Perhaps that acceptance can add impetus to making a life-changing mindset in favor of positive lifestyle changes.
