Reply #36: "I know how I got this way and you have as much to do with it as I do."

[tpsbmam]

Bingo. I went through what you did when I was young, though mine came from my parents and family, not from my peers. And, as a result, I developed an eating disorder. I was an oh so healthy (ha!) very tall woman who weighed 108 pounds. I finally cured myself (the "help" I found was useless) and maintained a very healthy weight, exercise routine & "diet" (I never "dieted" again) though most of my adult years. Now that I'm past menopause & disabled, I've gained some weight despite eating about 1000 calories a day because I'm necessarily pretty sedentary. And you know what? I don't give a damn and I love that and I'm proud of where I got myself emotionally. I hope the gaining part doesn't continue (it's a relatively small amount) as the health factor does concern me, particularly since I'm pretty sedentary, but I don't give one damn iota about the looks part. I have absolutely no interest in having people who care about that kind of thing in my life -- life is too short to waste my time with them.

Your letter is brilliant and so are you. Thanks so much for courageously sharing it with us. I wish for you peace with yourself and kindness to yourself. Your "kind, lovable" self is what matters, not the jackasses who attempt to belittle you.:hug: