Midwife, I completely agree, and the title of the thread, I believe, acknowledges that there is a positive aspect to obesity, just as there are positive aspects to every choice, decision, event, and state of being.
However, I have often gotten "in trouble," on threads when I have voiced my opinion that we should be able to work on our bodies and health without hating or guilting ourselves as we do so. The thread title struck such a powerful chord with me, that I hesitiated to dive into the "shark infested waters," again.
But this post has remained completely positive, and I love that. Losing weight will make us feel better about ourselves, is a common belief in our culture, and to a degree success at anything does increase self-confidence and self-esteem, but I really believe that the reverse is more productive. Learning to love, respect, and have confidence in yourself, makes you happier and more able to make any changes in your life that you want to. I do not love myself because I am losing weight, I am losing weight because I'm learning to love myself.
I always thought I had a good handle on self-respect, "despite," my weight. I've always been outgoing, outspoken, and confident under most circumstances, but it hasn't been until relatively recently that I realized that "dieting," usually made me throw alot of self-respect out of the window, as I judged myself daily based on how well I was able to stick to my program and how the scale responded.
My weight loss has NEVER been this slow, but I've also never gone this long without backsliding to the point of regaining all the weight plus more. It might take years to get all of the weight off, and I may never get "all" of it off, but that isn't even my concern at this point, it's every day being the best me I can be - and that included treating myself with respect in all I do, even in what I'm eating.
I think many of us have a habit of "being on the defensive," sometimes because of the outside world's attitudes and behavior toward us, and sometimes more because of what's in our own heads. In my case, the barrier to responding to this thread, was in my head, not based on reality.
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