The Thin Line Between Fat and Fit

I used to be fat. Not the pudgy, cute kind. More of the hefty, weirdly over-developed kind of fat. It was a long time ago, maybe when I was thirteen or so. But I went to the kind of school where looks were important. Some of the other girls were growing up to look like models and here I was, going down the hippopotamus lane. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of that time, but you can go ask any of my friends! Then- even though it had nothing to do with me wanting to lose weight- I started working out. Running, yoga, jump rope- I tried a lot of things. it became a discipline and after a while, I lost weight.

But here's the thing- when I say 'after a while', it means ABOUT SIX YEARS. Yes, it really can take that long to get down to a healthy weight. And it's not like I'm stick thin now, either, so you know how long somebody's weight loss can take.

Here's another thing- even though I'm healthy now, somewhere inside me, the fat kid lives on.

So there are some things that I have observed regarding people's perceptions towards weight (or the loss of it) and looks. Let me tell you one thing- former fat girls are the best advocates in terms of weight. We know what it's like to be at all kinds of weight. So here are some things I know-

1. First of all, thin people are very happy being thin. If you comment on their weight or tell them they're too skinny, they pretend to be offended because that's the expected reaction. They even pretend that they want to put on weight. Don't fall for any of this. Have you noticed how skinny people are first to comment about fat people (and yes, this is especially true for girls).

Let me explain this to you with an anecdote. I know a girl who's extremely beautiful but also very thin. A lot of people keep telling her that. She has her share of Endura Mass and skims the fat from our milk glasses so she can eat it. Then, a slightly overweight girl joined our group. Guess what? Our Miss Skinny & Pretty was the first to make jokes about her. For example, when Miss Overweight-but-Cute joined a weight-loss program to lose five kilos, Miss Skinny-&-Pretty was the first to joke, "She's just going to lose, like, an inch off her leg or something. How's that even going to make a difference?" There were a lot of such jokes and comments, which is a little surprising because Miss Pretty-&-Skinny is always considered a very sweet girl and nobody expects her to go Mean Girls on anyone.

2. People think that just because someone's fat, you get to have an opinion on their body. Admit it. It's true for anybody. As long as you look okay, nobody gives you a nickname like 'Water Tank' or 'Rhino'. But the moment you're round, it's like every everybody has the right to talk about you and your looks.

3. People love giving advice to their overweight friends. Go to the gym. Eat healthy food. Sleep fewer hours.

Now this one can get a bit dangerous sometimes. I used to know a girl in my old school who (once agai) very beautiful and also quite slim. She had a friend (okay, so it was less 'friend' and more 'minion') who was beginning to put on a bit of weight because she was growing up. So this girl started giving all sorts of really disturbing advice to her friend. She advised her to stop eating lunch! How can you even do that to somebody you call your friend? You're not only risking her health but also making her feel really bad about herself by implying that her weight is a 'problem' that can only be 'solved' by taking extreme measures like skipping lunch.

It can also work the opposite way. Remember Miss Overweight-but-Cute I mentioned before. Her weight loss program included a diet chart which dictated her daily food consumption and also required her to consume only 250g of rice per meal. It was a good diet chart which didn't reduce her daily intake of food as much as it diversified the kinds of food she's consume. The strange thing is that all our typically Bengali friends were accustomed to having buckets of rice for every meal, so they discouraged our pudgy friend and kept telling her to eat more or she'd faint. Okay, first of all, having heaps of rice is unnecessary. You need to have other things (like fruits) in your diet. The surprising part is that I've spent my life ating 250g of rice per meal, and I'm the tallest in the group, so obviously it hasn't affected my growth.

Now listen to me all you Agony Aunts! Nobody has the right to give advice on weight. TO know why, read point 4.

4. People who're thin aren't necessarily living the healthiest lifestyles. It's true. Just because you're thing, doesn't mean the credit for that goes to you. A lot of people don't even know what a healthy lifestyle is and they're still thin. So next time you're giving health advice to anyone, just make sure you know your facts.

5. A lot of people who look thin, aren't actually thin. This is probably the funniest one. People these days dress to look slim, so you never really know who's got a protruding tummy. Plus a lot of people who look great can't run up a flight of stairs, so beauty has nothing to do with fitness either.

7. A model's job is to make you feel bad about yourself. I follow a lot of modeling shows. It doesn't make sense because I'm all feminist and I don't believe in luxury brands or high fashion. But these shows are snappy and dramatic and appropriately un-intellectual. Perfect when you're tired and incapable of intelligent stuff. I'm following Australia's Next Top Model right now. But I'm never going to look the girls on these shows. Seriously, who in the real world looks like this-

See, I'm never going to be this pretty or this thin. A lot of people don't get this. They think it's possible to look like fashion models. The truth models are actually hired to make products look classy and expensive. it's like they're trying to send the message that if you don't look or act a certain way, you don't get to buy the product. This is especially true for luxury goods. So don't fee bad you don't have the body of a celebrity.

I know this comes across as a very girlie post, but a lot of people are actually struggling with their weights right now. So try to be nice to them. And it's not so much about looking great as it is about being fit. So be healthy even if you're not skinny.