How to keep your weight in perspective

I am 5ft 6in tall and I use to weigh around 12.3 stone. I always dreamed that if I could get to 8.5 stone, I would be perfect. I got to 8.5 stone and not much changed. I was slimmer and fit into a size eight, but my boyfriend still looked at other girls, work was still hard and I still felt I didn't quite look right. So I lost more weight. Surely under eight stone would have to be it, right? This didn't help either. So it was 7st, then 6st. By this point, I was in children's clothing. At about 6 stone, I realised it probably was not weight that would make me happy. Two years later, I've learnt that appearance means so very little compared to what's on the inside. This is, however, easy to say but much harder to live.

I think I will always want to be slim but I feel I have it in perspective now. The way I look is secondary to the person I am. So many women tell me that I'm lucky to be so slim and that my life is set being young, thin and pretty. That is absolutely untrue. I view the way I look as a constant source of trouble. Not only does it not solve all my problems, I also find that women are extremely unfriendly and possessive of their boyfriends around me. This is despite the fact that I would never dream of touching someone else's boyfriend.

At the same time, men assume that I want to be treated as a handbag and hang off their arm as a showpiece, yet at 22 I own two businesses. Numerous times, I have left restaurants and bars in tears because I have had men or women say the most horrible things to me for absolutely no reason, other than the way I look. I dress reasonably conservatively, I do not make eye contact with men and generally keep to my own social group.

What I am trying to say is that weight loss is not the 'be-all and end-all'. To the contrary, Prince Charming will not suddenly come riding along to sweep you off your feet just because you're thin. Unfortunately, your problems won't go away. They just change.
iVillager Gismo01