Wow.

I read an article today that really irritated me. It was entitled: "Life as a Fat Person." The woman who wrote it was empassioned to write it as a result of a doctor;s article that she felt "didn't accurately portray what fat people go through on a daily basis." The article went on to gripe about how people thought she was "bad" for being fat, and how society and everyone judges her. I'll post the link below.


Now, believe it or not, I have been overweight. I was overweight as a preteen, teenager, and in my early adulthood. I've lost 20 pounds in 2 years. It was DIFFICULT for me. Retraining myself to eat properly and to exercise was an ordeal. For years I would go from one extreme to the other, either eating too much or not at all. It wasn't until I was pregnant and had my daughter that I decided enough was enough.

Society absolutely does not deem overweight people attractive. There are some who get away with it, like the curvaceous Christina Hendricks, but most are not so blessed as to carry their weight so gloriously. However, I feel that this article was more a whine than an actual, valid complaint. The woman goes on to say that she is judged as "bad" for being overweight. I have NEVER heard someone older than 13 make nasty comments about someone's weight to their face. Ever. Any respectable adult would know better, and any reasonable fat person would realize that. Moving on...
She also goes on to say that being fat is not an excuse for medical issues, and that being overweight will not shorten her life. While I know some very elderly fat people, I have to call BS on this one. Weight will cause health issues, plain and simple. It's the main reason a lot of patients have high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and even diabetes. What many people fail to realize is, just because you aren't obese, doesn't mean you aren't overweight. 20-30 lbs overweight is still overweight. I guarantee some older folks in my life could completely get rid of their BP medications if they dropped their extra weight.

Weight loss is not easy. It takes hard work. Eating HEALTHY foods and EXERCISE must happen. (I personally struggle with eating healthily due to my sweet tooth.) I LOVE to eat. Knowing this, I work out HARD. It is worth it to me to do an hour of cardio so I can eat a piece of cake when I want to and not feel the slightest bit guilty. For most folks who do not exercise, that is not an option.    

I am not saying people who are overweight are bad, stupid, or unattractive. What I AM saying is that overweight folks who feel society "hates them" or "owes them something" need a dose of reality. Making excuses for your weight or blaming society for not finding your roll attractive doesn't change anything. Quit whining or do something about your issues. PC individuals who cry that any joke about size is unfair- you're dang right! But that's life. Every time you say, "real women have curves," remember that sentiment, because skinny girls are persecuted for being naturally thin, too.   

In conclusion, I wanted to point out that any jabs at any size are rude. However, if you choose to get overly sensitive about a topic, be prepared to have someone point out to YOU the next time you judge someone what an awful person you are. I can't express this enough. Do what you need to in order to feel good about your size, and stop blaming others for the way YOU feel. The End.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/elizabeth-hawksworth/being-overweight_b_4116510.html

Ready

Graduation is almost upon me. I can taste it. I've had my first "big girl" interviews, and I'm ready to start my career. Now that I'm so close, I feel as though I am waiting for everything else to catch up.  
I did it. I changed my life. I had to leave some things and people behind, and I'm continuing to do so. Yet Aidyn and I are here, we are moving forward, and I am ready to stand on my own.

Enough is Enough!

Every once in a while you have to look at your life, discover what it is that you want, and make it happen. It's easy to fall into ruts: waiting for things, not being proactive, waiting for other people to make things happen for you. At the end of the day, how long should one wait and be patient? How much time should one invest in something (without seeing much progress) before giving up?

This is a question I've been brooding over lately. Good things take time to cultivate, I realize that. However, I feel my patience thinning. I've spent many years of my life wasting time on projects and people that have taken my time invested and never yielded results. Monotonous "plugging along," same excuses for not taking the time to accomplish things, wasting resources, and placating others with little rewards and "baby steps." It's an infuriating process.
One should never rely on others for happiness. One should never rely on others to accomplish goals, thinking that those will somehow magically transform the life one has.   

This is the mistake I have been making, over and over, hoping the results would be different each time. But actions speak louder than words. SEEING RESULTS AND PROGRESS is different than talking about it. I will no longer be patient with empty words. It's time to make decisions, follow through, and stop leaving projects half done.

...my name is Gretchen, and I am going to stop making excuses and change my life.