As Happy as Larry: HAPPILY OVERWEIGHT

"She's so fat she ate Jenny and Craig"

I have always been one of those people who has been classed as 'overweight'. I can't remember when it all happened I just always used to remember those days at primary school when coming second to last in a running race was an achievement for me and feeling wonderful when the new skirt mum bought me was a size 8, but then again I was probably that age at the time and the skirt most probably had an elastic waist band. Nevertheless my weight has never held me back in life (aside from never winning a running race) I have always been confident and happy with myself and content in my own body.

Being happy with yourself is one thing but people pointing out you are not what society says you should look like has always been something that pulls at the nerves. "Fat" has always been a scary word for me, I can deal with being called 'overweight' because yes I am, but 'Fat' is so much more crewl, it is only recently I have even been able to say the word myself. Through my teenage years I heard this word a lot and its funny because during these years yes I was slightly overweight ranging between 70-80kg but nothing to be bullied about. My tag line "she's so fat she ate Jenny and Craig' is something that was once said about me and obviously has stuck to me because it impacted me. Why should people bring other people down? Being fat doesn't make a difference in their lives and just goes to show that that fat person is a lot happier then the one making fun of them.

I absoulatly love LOVE food. I know the saying goes 'eat to live' not 'live to eat' but thats hard when there are so many yummy foods out there and eating yummy food makes me happy! A bowl of veges or a bowel of ice cream? Hmmmm... (I have a massive sweet tooth!)

My first year of University I started at 96kg... I didn't even realise because I was happy with life and if it wasn't for what lay ahead of me theres no doubt that I would probably still be a happy 100kg.

At the end of 2012 my dad had a minor heart attack resulting in having open heart surgery. Being a genetic thing (80%) and coronary heart disease the biggest killer in New Zealand (and myself already having a high blood pressure for my age) deciding to loose weight was for my life not to look how society wants us to look with a box gap and abs.

I took charge of my life and changed my lifestyle and began to exercise (alot!) the weight has come off (20kg) over time but its been a long journey and I do feel proud of my achievements even though I still have a wee way to go to get to my goal. The thing is, is that I don't feel much different? I still indulge in my favourite foods (chocolate!) and I'm still happy with my life and my body!

All i can say now is that I burned Jenny off... Craigs still hanging around abit thou!

Talk soon, Larissa x