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Fighting
FatDealing with being overweight or obese and the
consequences of these conditions is a daily nightmare for some
people. Many people are overweight because of their own
lifestyle choices. Others have ended up with a lot of extra
weight through no fault of their own. These people have to face
everyday the prejudices of others and to live in a world that
doesn’t always take kindly to them. An overweight man is funny
on a good day. An overweight woman is not even that. This is
the sad reality some of us have to face at great personal cost.
Self-image and self-esteem depends largely on how other people
see us and it takes a lot of egotism or willpower not to care
about the opinions of others. And the bigger you are the harder
it gets. People staring wherever you go and having to listen to
all sorts of bad jokes and insults is a surefire way of
lowering your self-esteem and triggering a self-destructing
circle. Obese people prefer to stay in-doors and avoid moving
about much, which leads to even more weight gained from lack of
exercise, which leads to less exercise and so on. People whose
self-esteem is low find it very hard to motivate themselves to
improve their lives.
Relationships are hard to handle for overweight people. Sex
becomes awkward, especially for a self-conscious person who
doesn’t enjoy being naked. The extra weight makes sustained
effort quite hard to perform and heavy sweating is not sexy.
Unfortunately, the shape of an overweight person is not sexy
either and most overweight people are hard pressed to find sex
partners who don’t mind their shortcomings. The fact that
overweight people don’t go out much makes finding partners even
harder, which is why many simply give up and reach out for more
sweets to stave off depression.
One of the best ways to deal with obesity is to help motivate
yourself. Outside support is crucial because obese people are
especially prone to taking the easy way and eating more than
they should. A little flexibility also counts. Food addiction
is next door to drug addiction and less food means less glucose
triggering endorphins in the brain. This, in turn, means that a
person who used to feel quite content is suddenly faced not
only with depression, but also with the perspective of a
lifelong depression. And that is bound to be harsh on anybody.
Getting fat is easy, shedding all that extra weight is not.
Fighting fat is a struggle every step of the way and one needs
to be strong and also to have the emotional support of a loving
circle of relatives and friends. Being able to rely on others
to help you through the worst parts of a diet is almost half
the battle. Especially since after the diet comes a lifetime of
less food and more exercise. This may sound a bit scary to the
average overweight person, but you must remember that looking
into the mirror or walking down the street won’t be a nightmare
anymore.
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