Like the title says, I used to be overweight. At the age of 20 my weight peaked at 252 pounds (sorry, no metric for the non-Americans) on my 6'3" frame. It was brought on by eating tons of junk: burgers; pizza; anything fried; and I had a bad snack habit. I would eat chips and candy even when I wasn't hungry, but I was watching TV or playing a game. Finally, I had enough. It was NOT easy, but I made the conscious decision to improve myself. I went cold turkey on junk food and made myself develop a taste for veggies and healthy foods. I also took advantage of my college's student activity center and started working on my cardio and weight lifting. Today I weigh in at an even 200 pounds and still maintain my healthy lifestyle. But a part of me is still touchy. I absolutely HATE when people use the phrase "a lot on my plate" and even though I don't want any, I feel uneasy when I see someone sucking down a sugary carbonated drink or eating a big bag of potato chips. Anyone else feel this way?
First of all, 6'3", 252 is not that bad a proportion. You just sound like a very large person. Not that I've ever been 252 pounds, but I had a chunky phase in middle school. I'm still fairly conscious of what I eat and how I exercise, as although I'm 6'2", a fairly skinny 175, I still have a little bit of pudge and love handles where my abs should be. It looks so bad when I sit down. I'm trying all the time to get rid of it, and someday I'm going to succeed. Not that I get uncomfortable around junk food, but I tend to look at it as nasty. I hardly ever touch soda anymore (worse for you than any solid food), and try to avoid fatty/sugary crap whenever possible. Health is a lifelong effort; good choices lead to good habits.
I mean, people have the misconception that a large size of food means a large yield of energy/excess food. while that is in some way, that's not really how calories work haha. just ignore them. I mean, if you can burn them off or use them and not gain too much weight, I wouldn't be worry. and then again, not everyone's a nutritionist or kinesiologist or a doctor, most people use laymen's idea of diet or something lol
I've recently lost a lot of weight. 40 or so pounds and even though I did force myself to acquire a taste for more vegetables and whatnot, I still had "bad" cravings but I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I can still eat the foods I like to eat and still maintain a healthy lifestyle as long as I'm responsible about it. I can't give up a good burger for too long. No one should feel bad about their weight even if people are superficial about it. It's your body and you can have what you want. You also have the choice to change that too but again, that's a personal decision. Just don't let your goal of being fit be the thing that rules your life.
I used to weigh around the same as you 6'2" and roughly 250 lbs, (I was 18 stone). Now i'm around 14 stone 10lbs which is around 210 lbs, I lost the weight without really trying because i moved departments at work and now i'm doing alot more physical work. I still eat like crap and barely move outside of work, but i'm losing weight. So when i start to get off my ass and get to the gym, then i should get to a healthier weight. But to answer your question, i spent all of my teenage years as 'the fat one'. In order to get past it, i embraced it. Now i find it odd when people say that i look thin or that i dont need to lose weight. It makes me more uncomfortable than being the fat one of the group. Its like i have more attention drawn to me and i dont really like it.
I'm a hard gainer so I'm naturally skinny, but my best friend used to be over weight, so I can somehow relate. I got reminded on what he said (as did a famous celebrity foodie from my country), " ONCE A FAT KID, ALWAYS A FAT KID." And they meant it as a positive thing. I think it has more to do with your past experiences that has scarred you. I suggest that you use it to bring out the best in you. That would remind you to keep improving yourself, and to be compassionate to those who are still heavy (or too thin), but do not let it keep you from enjoying what you have now. You accomplished an amazing thing. Now live life.
