Since I was nine years old, I’ve been fat. It would be easy to say that I’ve “struggled” with my weight in those years, but in truth I haven’t. For most of them, it wasn’t a struggle at all: I wasn’t even trying. Sure, I would feel bad about it at times, keep an open mind when doctors warned me about the dangers of obesity, maybe even order a Diet Coke with my cheeseburger once in a while if I was feeling particularly health conscious that day. But my shame was never able to compete with my love of food.
In the last year, I’ve been experiencing a gradual shift towards readiness for change. I all too easily fell into acceptance for who I was–telling myself that it didn’t matter that I was fat with a family who loves me, a career and whatever other platitudes served me. I’ve never been proud of fatness, just complacent about it. For the record, I blame no one but myself.
A major turning point for me this spring was viewing the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Produced and hosted by Australian juicing guru Joe Cross, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead chronicles Joe’s own successful battle with weight, as well as that of his protoge, a once-429-pound American trucker who lost 204 pounds in 10 months of working with Joe…
