Like many others before me, I’ve been watching my weight since I was 9 years old. In fairness, at the beginning, I wasn’t that much heavier than other girls my age, but the dreaded comparison of my ‘big boned’ and heavily endowed body structure to those of my thin, beautifully developing peers contributed to a progressively poor self-image. Swimsuits and pool parties, sports recreation and being forced to wear ‘larger-sized’ clothing that was ‘out of date’ did nothing to help build my sense of self worth. So I continued to live out my life as the ‘fat girl’ - the vivacious personality that everyone wants to be mates with but no-one wants to date! Dieting has been a never-ending struggle, often causing me to blatantly lie about food choices and cheat by overeating. My weight steadily rose from 162lb when I was 16 to 330lb at my largest. However, with the assistance of lap band surgery, I have lost 84lb over the past 12 months.

So here at 27 years old I have finally come to the realization ‘Hey! I’m overweight! And…shock horror… I am ok with that! Sure… I don’t want to stay this way and I am committed to doing everything in my power not to, but for now, this IS me but I revel in the expectation that soon it will all be in the past tense.

So i thought I would begin a Lighter Side of Large thread with a few of my own private collection of anecdotes based on my own personal experience of being overweight. I began writing these anecdotes to inspire myself, an affirmation, if you like, of what is ahead of me; what to look forward to, but also as a reminder of where I have come from. So I am going to share a few of my favorites from a book that i have written and want to get published. Very soon the frustrating and somewhat embarrassing moments captured here will no longer be a concern for me. However, for now I am on this journey rediscovering WHO I am, whilst shedding the extra burden that I have labored under for the past 18 years.

I am hoping that this thread can serve as a checklist or yard stick aside from scales/measurements with which we can determine just how far we have come and what milestones we have yet to achieve. Similarly, I hope that, in a light-hearted way, it will inspire the many others like me that we are not alone and the best is yet to come.

I am not listing this here to make fun of us...and I hope no-one will take offense at any of the situations or pictures that may be showcased...These are caricatures of myself in real life situations that i have found myself in. This thread is for all those overweight people out there that know they are and can laugh about it and for all who look forward to being on the lighter side of large… as I do

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So I'll start us off...

I look forward to...Getting unobtrusively in and out of my seat at a restaurant without tipping the table and all its contents into my unsuspecting eating companion’s lap

I look forward to... Having a bath without causing a dam.

I look forward to... Finding a belt that fits around more than just one thigh.

I look forward to... Fitting down a water-slide without causing a traffic jam

I look forward to... Walking with friends without accidentally knocking them into oncoming traffic.

I look forward to... Slipping out of a seat without taking it with me

I look forward to... Falling head over heals without it being because I’m trying to paint my toes

I look forward to... Sitting in a plastic picnic chair without fear of it giving way

I look forward to... Finding scales that actually go up to my weight

I look forward to... Crossing more than just my ankles when seated

I look forward to... Getting into a car without sending it into a violent quake.

Well I look forward to so many things some are

crossing my legs with out it breaking me into a sweat.

walking into a store and finding the perfect outfit knowing they DO carry my size .

Not having to take high blood pressure meds

Looking at myself and honestly liking what I see

seeing my waisteline

not hearing "Big Girl" jokes directed at me (mostly by my thin family members)

Not hearing "you have such a pretty face" ..guess the rest of me is.....

Having energy and feeling 32 or younger

I could go on.....

these are things that I look forward to :confused:

I look forward to truly loving me and allowing other to love me just as much if not more.

I look forward to not using a seat belt extension.

I look forward to wearing a pair of heels comfortably.

I look forward to sweating less.

I look forward to walking faster because I am not carrying around a few extra people.

Hey Flabuless I want the book. Girl thos pics are awesome.

I want to be able to wak through a turnstyle without having to wedge myself sideways.

I want to wear a swimsuit that doesn't look like garden with a skirt.

I want to be able to jump off a diving board without causing a tidal wave (it's cool when you are a little kid, not so much as an adult).

I want to be able to see my bikini line without passing out from lack of air (bending squishes my fat into my ribs and diaphragm).

oh laurend that is hilarious!!! well done I love it! better than mine!

I want to board an airline and not have to check my ass as carry on baggae!

LOVE the illustrations.

Those pictures look vaguely familiar... Hmmm.

I look forward to buying clothes from somewhere other than Omar the Tent Maker.

:]

yes I have a couple of these pictures on my personal website...http://www.thelightersideoflarge.com...you may have seen them there...and I am using the 'head' off one of them for my avatar!!!

LOL!

I meant they look a lot like my own life experiences.

Been there - done that.

:]

I look forward to...getting out of that same plastic chairs mentioned above without it being attached to my rear end as I stand up!

I look forward to...being able to get out of a swimming pool without looking like a whale that has just beached itself.

I look forward to...not having to stop and pant at the landings of my office before heading up the next flight of stairs. (I work on the top floor of a four-story building with no elevator.)

I look forward to...being able to walk 'lightly' and not have every head turn as I clomp up and down those same stairs.

I look forward to...not being afraid to sit on wicker furniture at the homes of family and friends.

I look forward to...wearing something that doesn't have an 'X' in the size.

I look forward to...a bra that doesn't have enough hooks up the back to make the scrap metal guy drool (I know he wasn't drooling at my sexy figure!)

LOL MarySue33...they are hilarious! Well done!