I want you to flashback to your senior year of high school. For some of you, that is when
you felt and looked your best. You got your braces off, puberty calmed down, acne started going
away, and the “baby fat” had melted off. For some others, like myself, this wasn’t the case. In
just two short months, I had gained thirty pounds, and to top it all off, my acne had gone awry.
The crazy thing is my diet nor my exercise routine had changed. My peers obviously assumed
otherwise. They made snide comments like, “That skirt is getting a little too tight for you, isn’t
it?” or “Wow, you used to be so skinny!” I started exercising more and eating less, but I kept
gaining weight. I thought something was wrong with me.
I went to my pediatrician at the time with a food journal of EVERYTHING I ate and
drank. She refused to consider any possible medical reasoning for this obscure weight gain and
told me, “Is this really all you’re eating? You must be sneaking food and not writing it down.”
Then, she was off to her next patient. I was both humiliated and frustrated. No one believed me.
Just because I was overweight, it was assumed I was a closet-eater and couch potato. I was to
blame for the weight gain, and for a while, I actually started to believe that.
After I graduated, I started to come to terms with my body and decided to continue to eat
well and exercise, not for weight-loss, but for my happiness, and without trying, my weight
began to settle where it is happy most. I came to the realization that it wasn’t me that was the
problem, it was the world. We are constantly surrounded by pictures of men and women who
have what’s considered an “ideal” body, and we are forced to fit into that mold that may not be
meant for us. The Big Fat Truth is society sets unrealistic goals regarding body shape and size.
Individuals who are in a larger or smaller than “average” body are wrongly accused of the worst,
and even their character can be attacked. We are not what we eat. We are more than that!
Break the mold built for you, and love your body the way it is right now! It’s not easy,
but it’s simple. Every day, find one thing you like about yourself, and say it out loud! Be proud.
Be happy. Be you.
Jessica comes to us from Yuba City and is in her last semester at Chico State as a Nutrition and Food Science major with the option in Dietetics. She is currently striving to become a clinical dietitian. But for now, she works as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor at the Yuba City Racquet Club. She also loves volunteering at her local Diabetes Research Center. Jessica enjoys indoor rock climbing, hiking, traveling, and anything to get her outdoors!
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