Why I am Thankful to My Struggle with Obesity....

I have struggled with obesity for a long time, since I was 9 years old to be precise. It was when I was in grade 3 when I realized I was fatter than most kids my age and did not look just as pleasant or attractive as believed by some of my relatives. My friends at that time never really insinuated this in any way and were quite nice, but some relatives I had found fun in humiliating me about my obesity. I wasn't obese at that time just chubby but they enjoyed calling me fat since it was funny for them. I remember being quite conscious about my weight then and when I turned 11, I started trying different ways and regimens to lose weight.

I used to lose a few pounds and then gain them back and this struggle with obesity kept going on for a long time till I started my BBA Hons. It was then that I became truly motivated to lose weight and adopted a healthy lifestyle to achieve the goal and in about 4 months, I lost about 10kgs. I weighed 65kg then and looked quite good. Of course, I had plans to reach 56kg which is the appropriate weight as per my bmi, but I again lost motivation. Well, that's not exactly the topic I am trying to talk about today.

What I am trying to say is that I have had issues with my weight for a long time. However, throughout this time, I prayed silently for some miracle to happen so I never gain more weight ever and I have complained a lot for why I wasn't born skinny. I used to find skinny girls really lucky for they had something I did not- a lean, slender body. So I was never happy that I had this struggle in my life to get to where I wanted to be until now...

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For the past 3 months, I am feeling more at peace with my body. I am about 20kgs overweight. All the weight I had lost during my bachelors was gained when I conceived my baby and even though I did lose some weight post pregnancy, I gained it again shortly after due to my unhealthy lifestyle. However, with time, I slowly moved on to accepting my body and loving it for what it is. And this has only helped me become more motivated to adopt a healthier lifestyle. I am now quite happy that I had this struggle with weight loss in my life because had this not been the case, I would not have understood many important lessons in life.

I understood that the world is unkind to those who have some sort of complexes and those who don't fit in with the rules and structure set by the society.

I understood that there exist many stereotypes in the society and only a certain type of people are deemed attractive by it. There is less place for the fat, chubby, dark ones here and those going through some other problems.

I understood that to make your place in the world, you need to first accept yourself because your voice is what matters the most to yourself. If you are unkind to yourself, the world will be unkind to you so to get respect from others, respect yourself first.

I Understood the importance of accepting, embracing and loving yourself and being comfortable in your own skin because only when you learn to do that, you find it easier to move towards any sort of improvement.

I also understood the difference between those who genuinely care for you and love you, and those who are with you for some ulterior motive.

I understood how to be kinder to people because the lack of compassion I received me helped me understand that one reason why the world is like that is because people haven't received enough love and compassion from others. Now that I am kinder to others, I draw more kindness towards me.

I understood the importance of loving people for who they are because that's what builds their self-esteem and this lesson is coming in quite handy now that I am raising my own son.

I also understood that to get a good fruit, you need to put in a lot of labor. So to reach any goal in my life, I have to struggle for it and for that I need to be determined.

I also realized that without a compelling reason to do something, it would be difficult to pursue that goal for long.

I have learned all these beautiful and meaningful lessons from my struggle with obesity and it has only shaped me into a somewhat better, forgiving, accepting and kinder person. This is why I am extremely grateful to my struggle with obesity for it as helped me grow better. I hope I am as I choose to believe.

Have you struggled with the same issue or any other? What has your experience been with it? What are your thoughts about this piece? Looking forward to your meaningful contribution as always.

Love and light,

Sharoon.

I am running a writing contest with 5SBD up for grabs for the winner so if any of you would like to participate in it, click on the following link:

Shary's Writing Prompt Contest #4 and Results of Contest #3

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