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Is Acceptance Always Good?




It’s a good thing that society has become kinder about overweight people. It’s great that clothes designers are now designing clothes that fit plus size people and some amazing designers are insisting on acceptance. (See https://www.goodamerican.com.) It really is and I am thankful that I can find clothes which are flattering. However, a friend recently shared something that made me stop and go hmmm. Her words really gave me something to think about.


My friend Ronnie shared that her mom taught her when she was young, not to immediately buy a larger size if she started gaining weight. What? I asked Ronnie what she was taught to do when her clothes got a bit snug. Ronnie responded that she was always taught to immediately work on losing those pounds. Losing the extra pounds became her primary focus. She cut back on food. She didn’t even include exercise into her strategy. It was all about monitoring her food intake. Wow.


I thought about that and remembered that when I was young, I was led to believe gaining weight was a natural part of aging. I later learned that gaining a significant amount of weight is not part of the normal aging process and that it is usually an indicator of poor choices. Those poor choices have very negative health implications. Implications that you may be able to hide when you are young but become more prominent as you age. Implications which begin to take center stage in your life story. Will your life story be one of vitality and a zest for life or one which tells you were limited by what you could and could not do?


What if I had not so easily made accommodations for my increasing weight? I wish I had adopted that type of thinking years ago when I first started gaining weight. When you let the pounds add up it begins to feel overwhelming to get back to your normal weight. Ronnie's mom gave her some excellent advice and a good strategy as we approach the holidays. Focus less on your weight to wear a certain size and more on what the scale reveals to "Stop the Gain" and maintain your health.



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