Whose Fault Is it That I’m Overweight?

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Kimberly Holland—who used to work for Health—has been blogging about her weight loss journey at CookingLight.com.

Lazy. Ignorant. Irresponsible. Disgusting. Most of us have heard or read these terms directed toward overweight or obese individuals. Or worse, we’ve thought or said something like that ourselves.

A year ago, I was 50 pounds heavier than I am today. I wasn’t very active. I would get winded climbing the four flights of stairs to our offices. (I still do to be honest.) Walking a mile on the treadmill was fine, but walking two hours for fun? No way. I parked as close to stores as possible. Does this mean I was lazy? Well, no, not in my mind. I just wasn’t used to being active. I was, for lack of a better term, out of practice.

Until last year, I ate without regard to calories. I wasn’t eating non-stop or dropping by McDonald’s on my way to Chick-Fil-A. I just cooked what sounded good, ate out a good bit, and got by with what I had in my pantry. Does that mean I’m ignorant? Well, maybe, but I wasn’t overeating. I just wasn’t eating well or right.

I’ve struggled with a weight problem my entire life. I don’t remember not being heavy or overweight. This is a combination of poor food education and a lack of activity as a child and teenager. Does this make my parents irresponsible? Not in my book. They were not equipped to teach me–or themselves–how to make good food choices. We ate what they knew how to cook. I made the same food choices they made, and they made the same food choices their parents made. It’s not their failure. It’s just a broken cycle.

Early in high school, wanting to lose weight, I sought advice from my doctor. Instead of referring me to an RD or a healthy-eating coach, he gave me pills. Weight-loss pills. Please understand that I believe these pills serve a very important and real purpose for some people. But I didn’t need pills. I needed help. I needed guidance. My family needed guidance to help me (and all of us) make better choices.