Diet, Cooking, and Exercise: Weight Loss and Body Image

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Weight Loss and Body Image

I’ve been thinking a great deal about what weight loss means to me in terms of my image of myself. Does loss of weight mean loss of self or power to me? I got used to my pre-diet weight gradually over time and settled in nicely. I am a short man and I wonder whether weight became equated with substance for me. If so, I’d better get busy and work on how I view my new self or I am likely to return to the old fat me. I’ve always been stocky and usually well-muscled but the years and gradually slowing metabolism have added the pounds until my wake-up call in January.

I’ve been looking through photographs from the last few years to see the body I’ve been inhabiting. The first picture is from nine years ago and I seem happy enough, but portly. The next one is horseback riding about the same time and I don’t seem to be built like a cowboy. The last one is from six years ago and while I seem substantial (kind of the blacksmith look) I am extremely broad.

All the males in my family have been short and stocky except for one grandfather. I have always taken after the portly ones. In my 20s I did quite a bit of physical labor and developed a great build as well as a substantial appetite. I didn’t have an ounce of fat and was as strong as an ox. That has always been how I think of myself. I have a small (60 acres) farm and piddle with the occasional feeding of livestock and gardening (thus the bib overalls) but currently there are only dogs and cats to feed.

I think I can come to terms with a more slender, healthier body. The next time I post pictures I will post some that are current so you, and I, can see my progress.

Here is my recap from the last three days.