I Am Not Fat

There has been a discussion for a couple of days on a blog I check into,  A Merry Life, all about "Fat: The Dirty Word."  It's been interesting and I have enjoyed the comments most of all as folks consider what the word "fat" means to them, how it has been used in their lives, and how much power it has.  If you click on the link above it will take you to the discussion.

Someone wrote:  "I am not fat.  I HAVE fat, but *I* am not "fat.""

It struck me profoundly.

Fat really IS used as a dirty word, a weapon, and a way of putting someone down.  "She's so fat" may imply to some people that she is lazy, doesn't care about herself, is sloppy, is messy.  It can be synonymous with "ugly" or "unattractive" or even "repulsive."

"I"m fat," when I said it, didn't mean the obvious (there was excess fat on my body.)  It was that plus, I am hopeless, I have no will power, and I am a FAILURE.

When I started this process I had a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 45.91 putting me in a "super obese" category.  That meant that 45.91% of my body was fat!  I am currently at 37.59, putting me in a Class 2 Obesity level.  I will be at approximately 34% by this summer , 29% by October (Just 'regular' overweight) and 24% by December 31st...my big goal....just having the "normal" amount (healthiest amount) of body fat.

Here is a BMI Chart to show the categories:

18.5 or less	Underweight
18.5 to 24.99	Normal Weight
25 to 29.99	Overweight
30 to 34.99	Obesity (Class 1)
35 to 39.99	Obesity (Class 2)
40 to 44.99.	Morbid Obesity

45 or greater

Super Obesity

What is striking to me, in all of this, is how my attitude has shifted about it all.  The term "fat" no longer comes with self condemnation.  It is a word to describe the state of my body and looking at it regularly (doing the BMI calculations) is a good measure of my progress toward my health and fitness goals.  

I am not fat.  I have fat.   (And That's OKAY!!!! It does not define me any more.  Yay!)