Stop Fat Talk in its Tracks!

What would you call a week when on Wednesday you fit into some goal jeans from way back when that you found in the back of your closet left over from some fad diet attempt, and on Friday you're out running and catch yourself thinking, "I'm so fat"? 

Crazy, that's what. But, that's what happened to me last week.

On Monday, I got into a convo with a friend about the difference between cropped pants, ankle pants, and capri pants, and what Stacy and Clinton would say about whether we should be wearing them considering our respective body types. This is what women talk about. The next day, she sent me a picture of herself in her ankle pants and we agreed she should not wear them. The day after that, I found a pair of pants in my closet that were somewhere between cropped and capri, and which also happened to be some goal pants from about five years ago, back when I started eating clean. So I put them on and to my shock and awe, they fit! Woot! Happy dance for me.

So after I texted her a picture of myself wearing the pants (we never did decide whether they were capri or cropped, but I should not wear them either), I spent the day being quite satisfied with myself that I could get these jeans on and zip them up, even though I had the impression of the seam on my leg for about an hour after I mercifully took them off at the end of the day. Whew!

On Thursday I wore stretchy pants because a girl's gotta breathe once in a while.

On Friday, I went out for my 9 mile run, and around mile 4 I caught myself thinking, "ugh, I have really gotten fat."

Hold on a minute. What?!?

Luckily, I caught this temporary moment of insanity before it turned into full-blown fat talk, because that is just bananas. So like the good wellness coach that I am, I asked myself what was making me feel fat. 

Click here to read about the impact of fat talk on your body image.

And after a little soul-searching, I realized that I feel "fat" because my stomach isn't in the best shape it could be. Whew that was close! Here I was being all mean to myself when actually, I'm just a little soft in the middle. But the rest of my life is so hard!

Fat talk is something we all do: women, men, and kids too. Girls as young as 5 are known now to go on diets, and young boys compare muscles on elementary school playgrounds. And, it doesn't change as we get older.

Read how "fat talk" turns into "old talk" as we age, and what that means. 

"Feeling fat," usually isn't about being fat. Research shows that "fat" is a word commonly used to describe any feeling of unhappiness that can't be named. When we're off, we're "fat." 

Often, we don't even see ourselves accurately. This video from the Dove Real Beauty campaign shows just how different our own perceptions of ourselves can be from how others see us.

I know why I was feeling fat last week - I've been traveling, socializing, and beer sampling a little more often than usual, and its catching up with me. Literally stopping in my tracks during Mile 4 and pinpointing where that feeling was coming from helped me see that. I'm glad I was in-tune enough with myself to stop the fat talk before it turned into something really crazy.

Like capri pants.

If you're fat talking, here's how you can stop:

1. Become aware of your fat talk, and if you don't think you can, then ask a kind and trusted friend to make you aware of it. When you catch yourself, acknowledge it and apologize to yourself.

2. Become aware of the physical things your body can do, and the physical aspects of your body that you like. Make a list and post it in a prominent place so you see it frequently.

3.  For every negative thing you say to yourself, list three positive. They don't have to be about your physical self. You have a brain, too!

Get out there and get healthy....even if you felt fat yesterday.