Part 1: The Hardest Part About Being Overweight Isn't JUST The Weight

When people talk about the challenges of being overweight, it’s easy to focus on the physical side of things, but the truth is that the heaviest parts of carrying extra weight aren’t always visible. They live in your mind, our emotions, and the small moments of everyday life that add up to something much bigger.

For most of us, the hardest part of being overweight is the mental weight. The constant internal dialogue that never seems to shut off. It’s not just about how our body feels, it’s about how our mind is burdened. There’s a persistent sense of failure, the belief that we “should” be doing better, eating better, looking better. Every mirror, every photograph, every tight waistband becomes another harsh reminder that we’re not where we want to be.

Then there’s the invisible judgment... the way people look at us before we even speak. There’s the assumption that we must be lazy, undisciplined, or unhealthy, without knowing anything about our actual life. We learn to recognize the look. It happens at restaurants, at the doctor’s office, even in line at the grocery store. Sometimes it’s a comment. More often, it’s just a glance that lingers too long, and it stays with us for the rest of the day.

The physical part is real, too. Not being able to do what we want to do—missing out on moments because our body says no when our heart says yes is deeply painful. It’s things like avoiding certain chairs because we’re not sure they’ll hold us. Turning down a walk or holding a baby because we know our stamina won’t last. Watching our kids or nieces and nephews play while we sit on the couch, wishing we could join in but feeling like we’d just slow everyone down.

And then there’s the isolation. The quiet, creeping loneliness that builds when we feel like nobody really sees us.. at least not past our size. Some people treat us like a problem to be solved. Others pretend our weight isn’t there at all, which can be just as hurtful. We start to believe we have to shrink ourselves before we can be worthy of love, connection, or belonging.

Maybe the hardest part of all, though, is the exhaustion of starting over again and again. We’ve tried. We’ve cried. We’ve calorie-counted, meal-prepped, weighed ourselves, walked it off, worked it off, prayed it off. We’ve had weeks where we have felt unstoppable and weeks where we didn’t have the energy to care anymore. The cycle of hope and discouragement is brutal, and every “before and after” story we scroll past feels like a slap in the face when we’re stuck in the “during.”

But here’s the thing no one talks about enough: we are not alone. So many people are carrying more than just physical weight. They’re carrying grief, shame, trauma, hormonal imbalances, medical conditions, burnout, and broken trust with their own bodies. And when you add up all of that it’s no wonder that change feels so hard.

I want to dig deeper into weight loss as an invisible battle and discuss ADHD and the seemingly impossible uphill climb to success. I look forward to sharing it with you tomorrow because this blog is reaching a high word count.

Thank you for reading this far, I love and appreciate, and need your support.

Have a wonderful Friday!

Cher

Here is a picture of me eating. Seemed fitting.