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It’s Not Fair and It’s Not Easy
This is a harsh reality to accept — but accepting it is empowering.
I’ve been fighting to get in shape all my life.
I was the fat kid in my group. Never super roly-poly or utterly round — just fat. I’ve carried an oversized gut for as long as I can remember.
While I can be quite sedentary — I’m a writer, after all — I’ve still always been active.
I learned to swim when I was 2. As a teenager, I was an avid cyclist riding a 12-mile route regularly, an MS 150 from Minneapolis to Duluth, and a 400-mile trek around Novia Scotia. In my early 20s, I took up medieval fencing and pride myself on my endurance. To this day, I’m both one of the first and one of the last fighting at any given practice and event.
Despite all of this, I’ve still always battled my weight.
Truth be told, I am well aware that this is a combination of genetics and poor eating habits. My family has slower metabolisms, and I’ve frequently eaten for comfort. Too often, I eat not just until full — but slightly past full.
To add insult to injury — I know several people who eat exponentially more than I do and never gain a pound. Likewise, I know several people who exercise half as much as I do and are not even remotely overweight.
