Today’s No Fat Talk Tuesday post comes to us from Kristin. I enjoyed reading what Kristin wrote because I think it really examines the thought process behind fat talk and body confidence. I especially liked the last part of Kristin’s post where she says, “I knew it was my mindset that needed to be reformed.” Isn’t that the truth? Thanks so much for sharing your story, Kristin! – Madison
No “fat talk” may seem like a simple enough mantra. If you ask my husband, he’ll tell you it wouldn’t hurt me to gain a few pounds. While I sincerely appreciate that he’ll love me and be attracted to me no matter what, I wonder why it isn’t that simple for girls to think this way.
In the grand scheme of things, I’m pretty thin. But even if I’m wearing a size 4 now, a part of me still remembers being that 14-year-old girl who wore a size 11. The 14-year-old girl who didn’t want to wear the tight baby tees or a two-piece bathing suite because they were just unflattering. The 14-year-old girl who, by realizing that some foods were just plain bad for you, managed to lose weight and was a size 7 by her sophomore year of high school. Those memories “stick” for me, no matter the size I appear to be on the outside.
The first time I felt fat was probably in 3rd grade. I wasn’t fat, of course, I just perceived it that way because the jeans I was wearing were probably tight on one particular day. From then on, I just assumed that as you grew “up” you grew “out.” It wasn’t that my parents didn’t feed me the right foods; I just bypassed, ignored or threw away the healthier choices and opted for ice cream, candy and potato chips.
I don’t really know how much I weighed by the time I was fourteen. I was athletic, playing soccer almost year round, but wasn’t necessarily happy with my body. I thought you just “got what you got” and learned to live with it. Maybe I wasn’t even fat, I just had some unnecessary fluff. It’s hard to look back at who I was that long ago through the lenses I wear now.
When I realized I could lose weight by eating healthier foods (or just less food in general), I saw that I could change my body into what I wanted it to be. By the time I hit college, I was a size 4 and I really don’t think I worried about my weight for a couple of years. Underneath it all, I must have been blessed with an awesome metabolism because I still ate a lot of junk food! The stress of college most likely contributed to me eating less overall, so it didn’t show in the form of weight. I’m not saying it was a healthy lifestyle, it just didn’t make me gain weight. I had stopped exercising regularly after high school. Looking back, I have no idea how I stayed so thin for four years. After college I realized that the weight came on a little easier than it had in the past. I went through a cycle of gain-lose, gain-lose for a few years, but it was never more than 5 or 6 stubborn pounds.
After I got married and moved to Alaska, I started exercising regularly. Running, going to classes at the gym and cooking healthy meals are all part of my routine now. I’m not the lightest I’ve ever been, but I’m so much stronger. I have more muscle tone than I ever thought possible. I’ll take the extra poundage in the form of muscle every day.
When Madison first posted about “No Fat Talk” in January, I took it to heart. Something had to change. There is nothing wrong with my body. It does a lot for me, after all. I knew it was my mindset that needed to be reformed instead. So, thank you, Madison! Your “No Fat Talk Tuesday” has been an inspiration and a step in the right direction.
If you’re interested in sharing your No Fat Talk story, I would love to chat! Just e-mail me (madisonjanemayberry@gmail.com) and I can give you more information.