Fear of Shaming

A different take on fat-shaming

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I am overweight. It’s not a “social issue.” It’s a fact. At 5'9", I currently weigh 215 pounds. That is overweight.

It’s not the first time I have been this heavy. In January of 2019, I weighed 218. It was the heaviest this “grew up thin” girl had ever been. And for the first time, at 51, I needed blood pressure medication. So I began WW, downloaded the app, became regularly active, and replaced many (not all — I love Coke Zero) of my sodas with water. By June of 2019, I weighed 168. I felt so much better. My blood pressure was excellent again. I didn’t get bummed out shopping. And I wore two-piece swimsuits! I didn’t even do that as a 118 pound 21-year-old.

i did a pretty good job of maintaining, though I did let myself slip back to a resting place of 175. It’s still outside that arbitrary chart on many doctors’ office walls. But I was healthy and active and making good choices about what went into my body.

Then Covid hit, and I started working from home. I am one of those creative, right-brained people who needs structure. And because our cute home is also small, my workspace — the dining room table — was five feet from the kitchen. And there was no one to socialize with. And I got bored. And we have chips. The gyms closed, and I had plenty of excuses. I snacked while working, baked a…