Dear Anonymous...

I recently received a comment :"Anonymous said...Congrats! Keep up the hard work!! I'm sure your loved ones are very proud of you!"

I'd like to reply:

Hi Anonymous! Thanks for your encouragement - it's definitely appreciated. Imagine if everyone WAS proud of me!? Sadly, this whole situation comes with mixed emotions from people. And so I'm gonna use that topic for today's blog.

Even though, I'm "recovering" (what a strange thought), people are still very judgmental and it is mostly my immediate family that judges me the most. Family members are always so blunt.

Growing up, obesity was considered a disgusting thing and looking back, I see that coming from two thin parents and these ideals, I never stood a chance by being chubby (I actually resemble my chubby grandparents most!).

After managing to take off 35lbs in 2006, I felt like I was a star. And to be honest, I felt like I had my parents approval. Don't get me wrong, my parents are nice people but they just have a prejudice -like 90% of the population does- against fat people.

I thought that by confessing about my problem to my parents I would get sympathy and understanding. And I did but with that, I also got a feeling disappointment and concern that I would gain weight back.

So, now that I have gained back a significant portion of that weight, I've been a victim of gawking eyes and "concerned" comments. But despite this, they say they'll love me no matter what size I am... so I'll just ignore their prejudice twitches.

Ok, ok - it was inevitable that they wouldn't change so quickly. After all, they didn't know what to expect. But I've learned something from all this. I don't need their approval!

Other people in my life are far less judgmental and that's who I spend most of my time with anyway. Plus, that's a big factor in getting better - not caring what others think so much.

Whatever I do, I do it for myself.

Thanks for reading, Anonymous.