Fat Chance

When I was in college, I took a sociology class where, in addition to the usual homework and tests, we had to write four papers.  The theme was the same - how certain characteristics of our upbringing affected who we had become - but we had to focus on a different topic for each paper: gender, race/ethnic heritage, socioeconomic status, and birth order.  It sounds cliche, but I really did learn a lot about myself from doing this exercise.  However, one topic that was NOT addressed, but had a huge impact on who I am today is weight.

Weight.

Like a lot of women I know, I have never been satisfied with mine no matter what it is.

I went on my first diet in elementary school.

My nickname when I was little was a filipino slang term for "chubby." I know my parents meant it as a term of endearment (chubby kids are cute, after all), but it still gave me a label very early on that I tried to overcome.  For me, it was hard enough being one of the only non-white kids in my neighborhood.  I didn't really want to have to deal with being the fat asian kid on top of it.

Those rolls! Cute when you're a toddler, but...