How does being overweight change my perceptions?

Being overweight may not be as dramatic as an acute disease, but it has considerable bearing on how you perceive yourself and those around you. Even being just ten or fifteen pounds heavier than you would like can be detrimental to your relationships. When you are feeling fat, you are more likely to be mean, snappish, and insecure. You have less energy, less patience with your kids, and try to avoid social situations altogether. Your preoccupation with your weight keeps you focused on yourself, and prevents you from really being available to those around you.

Being healthy, physically and emotionally, includes appreciating what you have got and refusing to indulge in any form of self-loathing. You may have some excess omentum, but you can not put off enjoying your relationships until that day in the fictional future when you will look very slim. The fantasy that you will be perfect once you lose those extra pounds actually gets in the way of doing something about your real situation.