Times are changing, things are not as they used to be.

Once upon a time, if you called someone fat, it was as bad as committing a crime.

“You can’t say that”, “Don’t be so rude” and so on

This is because fat people were the minority back then, there were not very many. Most people were slim and healthy so describing someone as fat was almost racist and certainly not politically correct. It was offensive and could almost be classed as bullying. You were singling out the minority.

However it was fine to call slim and healthy people “Slim and healthy”. That wasn’t seen as offensive or rude because the majority of people were that way (do you see where I am going with this…)

FAST FORWARD to today….

The MAJORITY of people are overweight (fat) and slim healthy people are the minority but STILL we cannot call fat people fat, especially to their face.

Even though they are the majority now and it should not in any way be seen as bullying or segregation, we still cannot use THAT word. It is still seen as very rude and offensive to say…

“WOW you’re fat aren’t you” when you first meet someone.

However it is still fine to say “WOW look at the figure on you”

Now why is this? Why is it STILL NOT OK to call someone fat, to comment on their size, and what can we learn from this?

The answer is, SHAME.

By that I mean that anyone who is fat (please don’t get started on the whole “You’re not fat you HAVE fat rubbish”), anyway, anyone who is fat knows the following, THEY KNOW because they are constantly reminded in social media, the news, by medical professionals etc etc:

• Your Life Span Is Decreased
• You are greater risk of Heart Attack
• You are at greater risk of Diabetes
• You are at greater risk of Developing Cancer
• You are at greater risk of Having a Stroke
• You are at greater risk of Gallbladder Disease
• You are at greater risk of Osteoarthritis
• You are at greater risk of Sleep Apnea (when you stop breathing)
• You are at greater risk of Asthma
• You are at greater risk of Gout

and the list honestly DOES go on

Now I am not listing those things to depress you specifically BUT what it does show is this.

If you are overweight (not everyone reading this IS overweight) then you KNOW all these things, you live with the knowledge of them every single day. But still you are overweight?

And when someone calls you fat, or refers to you as fat (or tells you that you HAVE fat ?) all it does is REMIND you, slaps you in the face with it, makes you realise that actually BEING fat is stupid, it’s akin to playing chicken on the motorway with cars driving at 80mph. The odds are NOT in your favour, it’s a ridiculous and daft thing to do, why risk your life doing something so insane.

Being called fat is like someone saying to you “What is wrong with you, why would you let yourself stay in this situation when you KNOW it is killing you and is going to shorten your life, are you even normal?”

THAT is why people get offended by being called fat, that is why it is socially not acceptable. It is a stark reminder to people that they are acting irresponsibly, illogically and down right stupidly.

ESPECIALLY when the answer to fixing the problem is freely available and requires no special equipment, surgery, outside assistance or special knowledge.

SIMPLY CONSUME FEWER CALORIES THAN YOU NEED

and as if by magic, you become LESS fat and the problems all reverse.

NOW, before some of you message me telling me this post has been irresponsible and dieting is HARD, I KNOW IT IS, I have done it myself, I HAVE BEEN VERY OVERWEIGHT and I help people every day DEAL with being overweight. I am NOT minimising the difficulty of it, in any way

BUT WHAT I AM SAYING IS THIS

Every single time you cheat on your diet in an uncontrolled fashion

“Oh the day is blown I will try again tomorrow”

“I didn’t bother logging the calories today”

“I couldn’t be arsed weighing that”

“I ended up eating the whole pack but i’ve been good the rest of the week”

EVERY SINGLE TIME you do these things you are simply throwing rationality and common sense out of the window (IF you are fat). You are not acting like a sane human being, you are acting like someone who wants to play chicken on the motorway, you are gambling with your LIFE.

Losing weight, fixing the problem, is SIMPLE (I told you how to do it above). I know it’s not easy (please don’t start on me) but it IS simple.

Each time you make a conscious decision to NOT stick to your diet you prolong the whole process, you perpetuate the horrificness (not sure if thats a word even) of the situation and you add to the shame.

You can picture the other people can’t you…

“What’s wrong with you? Just eat less! Why did you eat the whole packet? Why do you NOT want to improve your chances of living a full life? WHAT IS ACTUALLY WRONG WITH YOU”

It’s shameful isn’t it when put like that, you feel daft, a bit stupid, bit embarrassed, you want to hide in your house with the curtains drawn and eat even more to make you feel better.

Don’t hate me. The point of this post is this:

When you are next faced with a decision: STICK to your diet or do NOT STICK to your diet, make the right choice. It’s a simple choice, not conjugated in any way, and is free to make.

No one forces you to eat anything, YOU have complete control.

Put and end to the shame, an end to the misery. You may think that eating one less biscuit will make no difference but it’s not the ONE biscuit we are talking about here, it’s your attitude TOWARDS the biscuit, and dieting in general.

Start taking it seriously, it’s not a game, you are playing with your LIFE.

You only get one, it’s fragile enough as it is. Take action to put the odds further in your favour of living a full and healthy one. Do something to make you feel proud to be alive…..

not ashamed…