Diet and Weight Loss Losing Weight

Large people often have problems with self-esteem

It was then that I decided that somebody's got to tell people all of this, and why not me? I became a woman on a mission.

What was your mission?
To start spreading the word that larger people are not bad, weak-willed people. That there are factors in weight that you may or may not have control over.

So that's the 'largely' part, what about the 'positive'?
Yes. Largely Positive tries to send the message to large people that they should start liking themselves right now, as they are today. And not postpone strong self-esteem for thinner days.

Did you have a negative experience that led you to this positive message?
Yes. I was going to a diet workshop with a friend of mine. I went to a meeting one night, and the group leader said, "Why don't we make a list of all the freedoms we lose when we're overweight?" Something snapped in me when she said that, and I thought, "I may be overweight, but I haven't lost my freedoms." The whole thing was very negative. I said to her, "Why do we always have to do negative exercises about what's wrong with us? Why can't we instead figure out how to be more healthy, and like ourselves on the way?"

I realized that maybe I'll lose weight and maybe I won't, but I can like myself today at the weight I'm at. I don't have to wait to lose 25 or 30 pounds to like myself. I wanted other large people to know this too.

What do you think are the assumptions our culture makes about large people?
I think they assume that we're lazy and that we're eating excessively. I think they assume that we don't care about ourselves and we must not get any exercise. We must just lie around all day on the couch eating bon-bons. I mean, I think all these assumptions are made about people who are overweight.

How would you characterize the way Americans approach weight-loss programs generally?
I think that people are looking for a quick fix. It's, "I've got to go to a reunion in a month," or, "I have a wedding to go to and I need to lose 25 pounds by next month." But if you talk to the researchers, they'll tell you that's the absolute worst thing you could possibly do. Because weight that's lost that quickly is absolutely guaranteed to be regained.

What I've tried to do is I've tried to say to myself, "I need to exercise always, not just for weight loss but for my overall health. And I need to eat this way always, because it's just good for my overall health." I've begun to think less of weight-loss, and more of the values and benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

<< Previous Page 2 of 3 Next Page >>