Fat and Happy: A Popular Myth

I'm sure you've heard it said many times before. "I'm fat and happy." A phrase I once preached. But was it the truth? No.

It's highly unlikely that someone is fat and happy, because the reality of it is, the bigger you are, the more problems you may face. I'm all for having a positive body image, no matter what your size, don't get me wrong, but it's hard for me to understand how someone could be happy if they live an unhealthy life.

So for me, it used to be that I was overweight and tried to make everyone think I was happy. I always had a smile on my face and I was always ready to burst into laughter, but I wasn't truly happy. The face I put on in public and during the day, was just that, a face. Something to mask what was inside. At the end of the day, the face would come down and so would the tears. There was no more "fat and happy", but instead, overweight, out of shape, and absolutely miserable. When I would look in the mirror at night, I didn't see a mask, I saw the reality, and I did not like it, at all.

No one should ever have to feel that way. You should never excuse your life problems by pretending and trying to be something that you are not. Now I don't know your life. Maybe you are legitimately happy and maybe not necessarily in shape, but my guess is that, since you are reading this blog, that is probably not the case. You can probably pinpoint something in your life or about your body that makes you unhappy. Well, guess what? You are responsible for your own happiness.

One night I looked in the mirror, mask down, and I decided I didn't want to pretend anymore. Who wants to have to put on an act everyday? Not me. So I changed my life in order to be happy, not fat and happy, just happy. I realized that food didn't make me happy, at least not in the long run.

I encourage you to look at yourself in the mirror, take the make-up and the fake smile off, and just look. Do you like what you see? Are you fat and happy or overweight, out of shape, and absolutely miserable? And if you are one of those that swears that they are fat and happy, think about the future, will you always be this way?

I only want the best for my readers and I believe the best is happiness. For me, happiness is found through living a healthy life, this, of course, is different for everyone. Find what makes you happy and makes you excited to look in the mirror everyday.