Winter: Thin People in Fat Bodies
I’m
probably not the right person to spill secrets about thin people in fat bodies,
but here’s my stab at it.
I
can’t quite comprehend what it would be like to grow up skinny and spend my
young adult years as a slender person, only to grow fat in middle or old age.
I
probably would not know what to do about it; I would have to learn how to diet
and at an age when new knowledge doesn’t come easily, like learning a new
language, which, in a sense, learning how to diet is.
Chronic
dieters speak fat fluently, but thin people have no idea where to even begin
because speaking thin is much easier than speaking fat, a complicated language
of calories, points, scales, nutritional values, psychological traumas
associated with fat, weight loss programs, sociological aspects, and the
politics of physical space.
Life-long
thin people don’t worry about the above issues; they eat whatever they want and
whenever they want – they feel hungry, they eat.
Their
mantra:
Listen
to your body, and it will never betray you.
When
you are full, you stop eating. Period.
These
folks would tell you that staying slim is easy, no will power needed.
That’s
it.
HA!
But,
all too often, something goes awry in a middle-aged thin person, and the thin
model no longer works.
And
here’s the truth about gaining weight: it sneaks up on you.
I
can’t imagine navigating through life as a thin person, and speaking thin as my
first language, only to wake up one day and realize that I’m no longer thin.
It
must be a shock, a sense of panic.
While
we don’t wake up fat one morning (after being skinny the day before), the shock
of the realization must come crashing down.
It
happens, perhaps, when a favorite pair of jeans worn last winter no longer fit.
Or
a reflection in a shop window reveals a stranger – it’s kind of like the shock when
a fat person sees a thin person reflected back, only in reverse.
What
would such a conversation between formerly thin and her body feel like?
I
can only imagine:
BODY: Psst!
FORMERLY THIN:
What? Who are you?
BODY: I’m your fat
body.
FORMERLY THIN: I’m
not fat.
BODY: Of course
you are.
FORMERLY THIN:
What do you mean? I’ve always been thin.
BODY: Have you
seen yourself lately? Go ahead, take a good look at yourself in the mirror.
FORMERLY THIN: (Moves toward the mirror. Poses and studies
her naked body, both front and side. Scowls.) I don’t see anything different.
BODY: Hmmm. We
have a problem.
FORMERLY THIN: (Arms akimko.) What do you mean?
BODY: You’re
experiencing body distortion issues.
FORMERLY THIN:
Huh? What does that even mean?
BODY: You’re not
seeing yourself as you really are.
FORMERLY THIN: (Exasperated sigh.) That’s crazy talk.
BODY: You really are clueless. But it’s to be expected.
FORMERLY THIN: I’m
confused.
BODY: Of course
you are. Grab your smartphone.
(FORMERLY
THIN complies.)
BODY: Now take a
photo of yourself.
FORMERLY THIN: (Shakes her head.) Not while I’m naked!
What if it slips onto the internet and goes viral?
BODY: Get dressed,
then.
(FORMERLY
THIN throws on her lacy baby doll pajamas and snaps her reflection.)
BODY: Now, what do
you see?
(FORMERLY
THIN looks at the photo and gasps.)
BODY: Now you are
seeing yourself for what you really are: a fat woman.
FORMERLY THIN:
I-I-I- can’t believe it!
BODY: Believe.
FORMERLY THIN:
I’ve never been this big.
BODY: So now the
question is: what are you going to do about it?
FORMERLY THIN: I
don’t know. I have never dieted in my
life.
BODY: The good
news: you’re not obese, just a little chunky.
FORMERLY THIN: I’m
so gross…
BODY: Now that’s crazy talk.
FORMERLY THIN: I
don’t know how to diet. I’ve always eaten what I wanted…
BODY: That model is
no longer working for you.
FORMERLY THIN: How
could this have happened to me?
BODY: You committed
the mortal sin of growing older; your metabolism slowed down, but your eating
habits remained the same.
FORMERLY THIN: Now,
what?
BODY: Together,
we’ll find the right plan for us.
FORMERLY THIN: I
know, I’ll fast every other day…
BODY: Not if I
have anything to say about it…
FORMERLY THIN: (Panicking.) I must get this fat off, ASAP!
BODY: We didn’t
gain this weight overnight, so you can’t expect to shed it in a week. You need
to eat properly to keep us healthy.
FORMERLY THIN:
I’ll do whatever it takes.
BODY: Here are
some suggestions…
After
much deliberation and research, Formerly Thin will find a diet plan that
appeals to her, and the weight will slide off effortlessly.
I
have observed that when thin people with fat bodies come to terms with their weight
gain, they seem to do very well in taking and keeping the weight off – perhaps
they enjoy the type of body that, when fed healthy, lo-cal foods, refuses to
hang onto fat.
Not
always true, of course. Some Formerly Thin people remain fat for the rest of
their lives.
At
Weight Watchers, I notice that members come from all walks of life, a few even admitting
to being Formerly Thin persons.
At
what point do they experience the same difficulties as the Always Fat?
I
don’t know.
Surely,
on some level, there would be some similarities between thin people in fat
bodies and fat people in thin bodies.
But
with one significant difference: the Formerly Thin grew up normal-weight
privileged and untouched by childhood fat shaming, and the Always Fat has lived
with it for as long as she can remember.
Fat,
for me, has always been ever-present, and will always be a part of my history,
no matter my actual weight.
Formerly
Thins, have I nailed it?
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