Derailed for a Minute

Okay, it's been more like a week.  I got myself so worked up about a surgical procedure pre-op, I just didn't focus on my diet.  It didn't help that I'm down to about 23 dinners and 12 desserts and am out of breakfast and lunch entrees.  I did a couple of days of making my own meals for those first two of the day, but found myself stress snacking totally distracted by the upcoming procedure.  Am I a big old baby? Not really.  I was all worked up because I've never had a procedure, I'm a control freak and was having a hard time knowing that I would be unconscious and unable to have input should any problems arise during the procedure, and because the risks associated with anesthesia and obesity...I am, afterall, not up to snuff, and that worried me greatly. 

The good news is I survived and am recovering quickly.  Now if I can just get my sleep schedule turned back around....sleeping during the day seems to keep me up all night. 

Reason #2 Why I'm Fat - Self-Employment

Many think that working for one's self has to be THE life.  They think that the self-employed get to set their own hours, work as hard as they determine they'd like to, and take as many days off as they wish.  The self-employed are the misguided envy of far too many who generalize this group in this way.

In an effort to keep it real here, it really depends on the industry in which one is self-employed.  A service industry in which the client is dependent on the most current daily details and updates with a 24-hour turnaround time and many stat requests while working with subcontractors having schedules of their own to contend with and to pick up the slack for, and being a perfectionist too aware and unwilling to allow silly, yet critical, errors made by others float out of my office, allows for none of this.  It in fact didn't allow for any vacation time whatsoever for 12 whole years.  Yes, there are perks, like not having to fight rush-hour traffic every single day; no more nylons, heels, and expensive suits; and not having to feel guilty when one, then two, and then three (or more) children fall ill in succession over a two-week time span.  The work, however, still needs to be done in a daily fashion, and in order to accomplish it, every non-family-related spare minute gets consumed by the client's needs.

I found myself last in line after the demands of my clients first, the subcontractors with whom I worked next (coordinating who could do what and when and taking up the slack), then the needs of my children, followed by the ever-changing demands of my husband's work schedule -- everybody and everything had to come first in a very impressive juggling act that would take two hours to describe in a blog post. If you want to compare how talented you are are juggling it while keeping yourself on the priority list, we can, but know your industry demands may be entirely different than mine. 

As a result of these hectic days, I came last.  I didn't put myself in my list of priorities because there was just simply too much to do, and I could do it, if I didn't need anything myself that is.

Legitimate Reasons or Only Excuses?

All Fat people simply eat too much, right?  This is an important question because I find myself becoming extremely annoyed when I hear people make the assumption that Fat people are Fat simply because they eat too much.  I get the feeling they picture us crouched in a corner stuffing our mouths and with chocolate drool dripping from our chins.

If you, as a reader, believe this to be the only reason a Fat person is fat, then you should leave this blog immediately.  If, however, you are smarter than that, please read on.  If you are Fit as a Fiddle and find it difficult to maintain an acquaintance or relationship with a Fat person, then maybe you should visit often as I discuss how "normal" Fat people really are and as the varying reasons one finds themselves Fat are discussed in general.

I know why I'm Fat.  The question is whether or not you either know why I am or why you are--truly and honestly.

Let me list the reasons I find myself Fat:

• Late nights with little sleep due to self-employment (Sacrifice)
• Running a business around the needs of clients, children, and spouse's job (Super Mom). 
• Being a huge soft drink consumer (Bad Habit).
• Not drinking water at all most weeks, let alone enough of it daily. 
• S-T-R-E-S-S
• Mom-is-last syndrome without the support to accommodate a desire to change this status (Guilt). 
• Meal skipping, eating only once daily (Time Demands/Lack of Hunger)
• Some type A personality traits (Perfectionist)
• Not thinking a 5-pound-per-year weight gain would get the better of me (Compartmentalist)
• Defeat
• Intimidation (Reflection).

I'll break these reasons down in future posts for discussion, but for now, why are you Fat?  Why do you think Fat people are, well, Fat?