What's in a Name?

The time has come for me to tackle the one question that everyone keeps asking me.  Why did I call my blog "Fat Chick on a Journey?"

More than one person has asked me why I'm calling my blog this.  A few have been really upset by it actually.  I've heard, "Tracie, you're not fat!  It upsets me that you are defining yourself this way." 

I can see why this might be upsetting.  You may feel that I am putting myself down by calling myself "Fat".  Maybe you're afraid that I have a self esteem issue because I call myself fat.  But let me stop you right there.

I call this blog "Fat Chick on a Journey" because that is who I am.  And it has taken me a very long time to accept that.  It does not define me, it does not degrade me.  It is my statement to the world, telling them that who I am is ok, whether I am fat or thin or somewhere in between.  I will always be a fat chick.  Even if I weigh 120 pounds, I will always be a fat chick.  And I couldn't face that until I learned to accept myself for who I am. 

My weight does not define me.  It holds me back. I always want to remember that.  No matter how many times I reinvent myself, no matter how many pounds I lose, I will always be a fat chick.  And that's ok.  The title of my blog is to continually remind me who I am, and to remind me to be comfortable in the way God made me.  Being fat is not my fault.  I did not choose to be that way.  I had some health problems in my past that I could not help, and those health problems are what began the weight gain.  And I never was comfortable in my body.  I had way too much energy to be fat.  I hated myself.  I degraded myself.  I looked in the mirror and hated what I saw.

But now I can accept it.  The naming of my blog was my acceptance of who God made me to be.  This fat chick is a lot thinner than she used to be, and will be smaller still.  But until I learned to be comfortable with who I was, I could never have become what I am now.  A fat chick on her way to being a healthy fat chick. 

I will never forget my past and how I got to where I am right now.  I am comfortable with me, fatness and all, and I am proud of who I am and what I have accomplished. 

So...that's why!  Hope you have a great day...Fat Chick OUT!

T