CW: Weight issues, domestic abuse, parent illness, surgery

Health is wealth, but your weight isn’t always the best indicator of that. It also isn’t an indicator of your happiness, success, or personality. After leaving an abusive spouse, and almost losing my mom in the same year, my body became a testament to survival and a reminder that mental health directly corresponds with physical health.

At the beginning of 2013 I weighed 165lbs. At 5'4 this made me overweight, and I had been trying to lose weight for 3 years. My doctor always commented on the need to lose when I saw her. I was trying- the healthy way- by eating healthy and exercising at least 5 days a week. I had lost 30 lbs in 3 years which is pretty good! But to them, it didn’t matter til you had that magic BMI they wanted to see on your chart.

Between October 2013 and April 2014, I would lose another 38 lbs. I lost 20 of them between October and November, but the doctor didn’t know that, because she didn’t ask about my methods. It’s interesting to me that in all my years of going to the doctor, they have blamed every symptom I’ve had on being overweight. However, when I lost 20% of my body weight in six months all I got was a “keep it up”, no questions asked.

Aside from physicians turning a blind eye after my weight loss, I had strange encounters with loved ones and acquaintances that challenged my self-worth.

There are a variety of reasons to not comment on people’s appearance. Others’ bodies aren’t your business, and you don’t know…