So How Does One Get REALLY Fat?

"So how does one get REALLY fat?"

This was the question posed to me by one of my close friends.  I just officially past the "100 lbs lost" mark, and we were discussing health in general.

"I mean, as you got bigger and had to buy bigger clothes didn't you realize there's a problem?"

Of course.  But it's a little more complex than that.

When you're fat you don't like to go clothes shopping. At least I didn't.  It's not an enjoyable experience to be confronted with the reality of your situation.  For me, it would usually go like this.

I would put off clothes shopping as long as possible.  As I gained weight, my clothes would do their best to accommodate me.  Shirts would get stretched out, buttons on pants would loosen...or pop off.  You get the picture.

Eventually I would be forced to shop.  Either because I literally did not have enough clothes to make it through the week, or I had a wedding or other event coming up.  When I ultimately made it to the store, I'd find out that I crept up a size...or two.  Each time, one step at a time, I progressed down that unhealthy path.  44 inch pants turned into 46s...2X shirts to 3X...

The problem is that by the time you're in the Big & Tall Store trying to buy pants, you can't just say, "Hey!  Whoa!!  Hold the phone!  I believe that I may have gained some weight.  I'm not buying any clothes today.  I'm going to go lose some weight and THEN come back and buy some clothes."  You're at the store, you need the clothes or you wouldn't be there, so you buy the clothes that fit.

Lather, rinse, repeat. It's a vicious cycle. In my case, this was perpetuated by an incorrect body image.

Most of the time when people think about weight issues and body image, they think about bulimia or anorexia.  People that see themselves as fat when they really aren't. Mine was the opposite.  It wasn't really that I was in denial, per se, but every time that I saw a picture of myself, I was surprised at how fat I was.  In my mind's eye, my body image was such that I saw myself 75-100 lbs lighter than I actually was.

So how DOES one get really fat?

Simple.  Avoid buying clothes as long as possible so that you aren't confronted with the weight you've gained in a quantifiable way.

That's what I did, and it worked for years!  By the way...I don't recommend it.