A good part of leading a healthy lifestyle is believing in yourself and building confidence so you can get there and stay. Its nothing new to say that overweight women are perceived as something less than skinny women, and that it takes a toll on us. I understand we all have our battles and I'm not saying oh woe is me, I'm just stating a fact so I can deal with it and move forward. When an overweight woman chooses to face her health problem and deal with it, to make it work she has to confront the emotional problems that go along with it, and on top of that she has to overcome those preconceived negative attitudes of society in general. That is a giant wall to face.

I have to face it now, because just losing the weight isn't enough.


We are not alone in this stigma. It happens with mental illness, alcoholism, and on and on. But its there and its hard. Its no wonder so many of us fail at losing the weight.

And I do not exclude overweight men from these feelings of inadequacy. While society does give them a bit of a break I'm sure its not all of them.

I am determined to change my own thoughts about myself now, to support others on the same path, to forgive those who judge me by my weight. May all of this make me a more compassionate person. If anything, being overweight has taught me what it feels to be treated as less than I am for no than reason than how I look.

I'm working on truly believing I can lose the weight, but to really change I need to reach deep, forgive myself, forgive society, and believe I am beautiful.