I talked earlier about how I lost 100 pounds (without gastric bypass) with fattitude adjustment. Fattitude is what I call "fat think" or the obesity mindset. Al-Anon calls it stinkin thinkin. And boy howdy, can it derail weight loss. To lose weight, I had to identify fattitude problems and readjust "fat think" to mentally healthier.
First, what exactly is fattitude? It looks a little different for each person. "My 600-lb Life" shows examples. Folks on "My 600-lb Life" seek gastric bypass. Their fattitude involves self-pity, blaming others and making excuses for obesity. Their stinkin thinkin clouds reason. Despite blatantly ignoring the gastric bypass diet, they fully expect to to lose weight.
"My 600-lb Life" shows extreme examples of obesity. But you don't have to be that overweight or overweight at all, to have fat think. That's what anorexia, or body image dysmorphia, is all about--stinkin thinkin that sees through distorted glass.
I had a form of anorexia, or body image dysmorphia, through elementary school to college. I saw myself as fat, even at 108 pounds. I got overweight after losing two babies and taking an antidepressant. But I didn't see it because my anorexia (fattitude) always showed me obese.
It wasn't easy to readjust body image dysmorphia. Some days I see fat and only fat everywhere. I'm never sure I'm seeing myself accurately or through that carnival funhouse mirror called anorexia. But I know, because Al-Anon tells me so, that it's about progress, not perfection. Even after weight loss, I will still have SOME bulges. But they are minimizing. And best of all, I can see that.
I don't know if I lost 100 pounds when I began to see progress or weight loss caused me to see progress. What I mean is, did I just fix obesity without fixing my head? I hope the former. Because changing body without changing mind is about as ineffective as gastric bypass without eating habit change.
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