Has anyone done the exercise where you imagine yourself at a function and compare the difference between being fat and being thin? See how you imagine people treat you differently when you picture yourself being very heavy and being very thin? I'm curious what kind of differences you saw in your mind and if you've done anything in relation to those perceptions.
No, can't say I ever did that! I did spend a lot of time wishing I were thin, but I can't remember ever imagining a function as a fat person vs. a thin person.
cant say that i have....
other than wishing i cud attend the functions thin....
i dont think id want to think about how differently people wud treat me....
based on whether i was fat or thin....
Maybe I should clarify that the purpose of the exercise is to identify your perceptions about the difference between being fat and thin so you can get at any reasons why losing weight might concern or scare you. For example, if you imagine yourself as thin and outgoing, but deep down you don't want to be outgoing, that could be a stumbling block to losing weight because you subconsciously think you'll have to be something you're not if you become thin.
I used to be normal weight before I gained, so this exercise doesn't apply to me. I wasn't aware that people treated me any differently when I was heavier because in my mind, I was still mostly "the same," and that was normal. Does that make sense? It was hard to wake up and understand that I had become obese...
But it sounds like it could be an interesting exercise...
The last (and only) time I was close to acheiving a normal weight was in highschool (with the help of amphetemine diet pills prescribed the summer between 8th grade and high school). Popular kids were suddenly paying attention to me - in a nice way, and to be honest, it creeped me out.
I'm really hoping that, at this point in my life, there will not be such a dramatic difference in the way I am treated pre and post fat. If I think too much about how differently people may treat me thin, it will only make me angry.
I'm normally very difficult to annoy (not impossible, but it takes some concerted effort, usually.... except during PMS), but I'm not sure I could keep my mouth shut if someone were cold and distant with me now, suddenly wanted to be my best friend after having lost the weight. My psych/soc background tells me that it would be a normal reaction, and that thin, I would be more approachable to many people, but it would still tick me off so badly I think I'd want to say something sarcastic, even hostile.
I'm losing weight for myself and my husband, so that I will live longer, have less pain, and be able to do more. I do often think about things I will be able to do in the future. Both exercise and weight loss will help me attain those goals, so it's not like I envision myself at a specific weight, though. One of the things I want to do is go horseback riding. Some women my size, probably already do ride. It's my arthritis, fibromyalgia, and spinal problems more than my weight stopping me, and may make horseback riding impossible at any size. But, I know that the more weight I lose, the more able I will be to exercise, and the more chance I have of being able to do some of the things I can only do in my imagination, right now.
I think in the past, part of the reason I was resistant to losing weight, was a feeling that when fat, I had a truer sense of who my "real friends" were. My experience in high school made me, for a long time, see most thin, attractive people as extremely shallow. It may have been mostly sour grapes, but for some time in my life, I wanted no part of that. Being unique, or even "weird" was a badge of honor.
I really think one of the reasons, I'm being more successful than ever in the past, is that all of the superficial reasons for wanting to lose weight are gone (in my mind). I'm not wanting to be popular, or attractive.... I'm doing this all for me, and only me. It will be fun to fit in clothes off the rack, but mostly I want to be active again. When I was young, I was fat and active, but the fat part got even bigger and the active part started getting smaller. I've allowed my life to become very small, and I want a large life again.
Having been a thin person, (for small amounts of time thoughout life) and a fat person, (for large amounts of time) and everywhere in between, I suppose I already know the out come of this little exercice. I know from personal experience that people treat me better when I'm thin, but it took a wise person from this board to remind me of why this is true. You see, it's not that people suddenly "like" me more when I'm thin. I "like" me more when I'm thin. I have more self confidence, I smile more, I chit-chat more. I carry myself with a head held higher and I treat people better.
I'll admit, I don't seek out the fattest person in a room to buddy up to in a social setting. They are usually hidden, BY CHOICE with a wall around them. Of course there is ALWAYS exceptions to this rule. I know some pretty darn awesome fat chicks that don't have a chip on their shoulder, I was not one of them. I preferred to be invisible at 333 pounds.
I guess, I really dont have to imagine it; I live it. Im not thin but I am thin compared to my previos weight. People treat me different because I allow them to get close enough too. The change isnt the people but it is me. I am more outgoing and more approachable. I am more myself than I have been in years. The fat me wasnt the REAL me...I was withdrawn and antisociable. I know this because I was thin before..and the personality I have know matches the one I had when I was thin . Anyway, when people see my family members and the conversation comes to me, they tell them how "good" I look and how friendly and outgoing I am. I changed not them.
I can't say I have ever done this. And - as others have said, I really can't say that people treat me differently when I am smaller than they did when I was fat. And - Lori hit the nail on the head - it is because I don't act any differently. I may get more compliments on an outfit, because I buy cuter clothes. I may get more compliments on my hair, because I actually get it cut more than once every two years
Maybe it is my age, and the people I associate with, but I really don't see a difference.
I never did this. I was never really thin, ever - so I had no real way of making a comparison. Anything I thought about being thin is not the reality that I have ended up seeing or feeling (and this is not a negative statement).
Although when looking at a cookie, the thin me vs the fat me is like this LOL
Last edited by fiberlover; 09-14-2008 at 03:37 PM.
I somewhat do this exercise, in my dreams. When I dream about myself, I am always thin. I am also outgoing and full of energy. People don't neccessarily treat me any differently, but I treat myself differently. I am not afraid to do things that get me noticed or draw attention to myself. That is my problem now, I don't want to draw any unwanted attention.
I know from personal experience that people treat me better when I'm thin, but it took a wise person from this board to remind me of why this is true. You see, it's not that people suddenly "like" me more when I'm thin. I "like" me more when I'm thin. I have more self confidence, I smile more, I chit-chat more. I carry myself with a head held higher and I treat people better.
I have to totally agree with this. I never realized how true it was until someone who I had worked with in the past mentioned that I havfe become a whole different person since losing weight and being healthier. I was surprised and questioned him at length and there are a lot of things he pointed out that I hadn't really thought about but became super aware of after we talked.
I am a different person when I'm skinny, so it's not unusual that people treat me differently.
Fat you vs. thin you
I wasn't aware that people treated me any differently when I was heavier because in my mind, I was still mostly "the same," and that was normal. Does that make sense? It was hard to wake up and understand that I had become obese... 
