I read an insanely riveting post by Bobbie over at Anonymous Fat Girl and I came to this conclusion about obesity from her post: obesity steals. Obesity steals from us. It robs us of self-respect and dignity. It robs us of fluid movement and “feeling good” about ourselves. Human beings are meant to move. Our bodies are built to run, jump and play. Yet… being obese doesn’t allow for that.

When I think about my own struggles with obesity… I think of how I allowed myself to get this big. I self-medicated with food. I abused it. And as a result, I lived everyday in punishment of that abuse. Every overindulgence left me physically full but feeling empty. The truth is… I could blame it on processed foods, white sugar, high fructose corn syrup and fast food moguls. It is true that those things are made readily available. But in reality… it all boils down to choice. Fresh veggies, fruits, lean meats and unprocessed foods were always available and affordable. I just chose differently.

I was cleaning out the van the other day and found an old McDonald’s french fry completely intact. In fact, so intact that it appeared fresh and unblemished. There’s something wrong with food if it doesn’t naturally decompose as food is supposed to. And I think to myself…. “I was putting THIS in my body? I was allowing my children to eat THIS?”

Somehow the light bulb continues to get brighter and brighter as I discover all of the ways I was ruining my body with food. My body is a temple… and I had been treating it like a brothel. That’s what obesity does. That is the face of obesity.

So tell me… what has obesity stolen from you?

PS I really encourage those of you who visit my blog to head on over to Bobbie’s blog: Anonymous Fat Girl. She is a wealth of inspiration! When I find myself needing to add more fuel to my fire in the fight against obesity… I go over there and read her blog.