Fat, Re-imagined
I was recently speaking with a friend who’s doctor told them to lose sixty pounds. It was stunning to think of that much weight off of this person, someone who is very proportional and in great shape. They shrugged and said, “Doctor’s orders,” and left it at that. I expressed my concern that they’d become a skeleton with hair.
Once, I was in a similar boat and felt so ashamed by the doctor’s pronouncement that my body was unfit to house me. While feeling for my friend and their daunting task ahead, I also felt their deep insecurity rising to the surface — an insecurity we all share as humans having body image issues because of what society tells us. Because of the comparison between bodies which should never be held in contest. Because of competition to be something other.
It was a quiet moment that passed between us, each thinking our thoughts around weight and being managed. Then a funny thing happened.
We laughed.
I felt the tide of humility wash over me as I stood in the presence of this person I loved trying to eke out a new way to be due to their practitioner’s guidance. To be handed such a daunting task — and at a mere forty-eight years old — was quite a thing. It brought up a lot of emotions for us and I’m so thankful we could make space for them.
Wasn’t it great to be able to laugh about it though? The preposterous demand coupled with insecurities and the gravitas of “it’s for your health”, something which can only be determined by the individual. It’s a case-by-case basis, this succumbing to weight loss, and the worth is up to each of us.
Weight loss that is permanent will never come from a place of hatred about our bodies, so I am dumbfounded by all the formats which apply hate to bodies doing their best.
