Appearances

We live in a world based on appearances.

I met up with some old 'friends' I haven't seen in a while these past couple of months. And funnily enough, they all only had one thing to say when they first saw me.

All about how much weight I've gained.

I'm not really sure why people like to comment on other people's weight when they haven't seen each other in a while. What's with the 'Wah, fat already ah you' trend that's going around? What happened to 'How are you?' or 'What have you been up to?'? Why does the first thing to come out from the mouth is on how much weight a person has gained? You won't hear 'Wah, you lost weight ah' as much as 'Wah, so 'prosperous' (fat) ah'.

There are sayings that those who like to comment on people's weight are actually self-conscious of their own weight, and they are actually happy to see other people putting on layers of fat while they either stayed the same or lost some weight.

Having had an eating disorder before (I was anorexic), I know better than to mention 'weighty' issues, 'coz I know personally how some people can feel and react to it. Though they usually smile or laugh with the other person, inside they actually feel down and they get self-conscious. You could say you have hurt their feelings, though intentionally or not, that's your call 'coz you should know.

At a recent wedding, I met an old friend of mine who has gained a considerable amount of weight. Though it's hard not to take notice (I took a loooong look), what I did was hug her and asked how she was. No mention of weight whatsoever. The only time I would call attention to a person's weight is when they are very, very, VERY thin. 'Coz then I get worried.

Some people eat when they are stressed or depressed, which is still fine 'coz at least they eat something, but for those who loses their appetite when faced with problems, they can actually destroy their body in the long run. When you don't eat for long periods of time, your body will eat up your fats and once the fat is gone, it'll start feeding on the rest of your body. Slowly your body will break down as your system shuts down one by one in order to save energy in a bid to survive. For more information, you can read up about anorexia and the effects it has on the body.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I'm getting quite sick of hearing the same thing over and over. I know I gained weight, you don't have to tell me. It's my body and as the owner, I should know what's happening to it. Sorry that I'm not living up to your expectations of staying slim and thin all the time but instead of trying to live up to people's mental image of me, I rather be myself. It's not like I blew up into elephant size or anything. But if I ever do, then you have my permission to mention how gigantic I got.