How do you know if you are fat?

How do you know if you are fat? This seems like a silly question, right? Look at the scale. Look in a mirror. Pretty simple.

You might think so, but so many of us are blind to our own shortcomings. You’ve surely observed the people in your life who rail about the actions of others, when you know damn well that the one doing the railing does the exact thing they are railing about!

I’m sure there is a psychological term for this, but I’m not a psychologist, so I dunno what it is. I only know this phenomenon exists and that it quite likely exists in all of us.

Even in ourselves. Yes, we are not immune.

When I was fat, I only had an inkling that I was fat. I was buying XXL t-shirts, and I wondered why the manufacturers were making shirts smaller these days. I bought increasingly larger waist sized pants. I looked at my friends and wondered how they could let themselves go like that.

You might think that larger sized clothing is a key clue to weight gain. Well, sure it is. I knew I was gaining weight. But was I fat? After all, I had always worn size XL shirts. XXL is only one size larger. As for the pants, I can’t tell you what I was thinking. When I realized that size 42 was now getting tight, I started to wonder.

All that evidence, but still no action on my part.

What finally got me to thinking about my weight was my blood pressure. My doctor had put me on one medication, then he added another. This made me really nervous, because I do not like taking medication. I believe that drug companies are only trying to make you dependent on them — not cure you — so I was not really willing to be a participant in their profit motives. And that’s not to even mention any side effects, documented or not, those drugs may have.

So I was finally thinking about losing weight, but still not taking action. I had looked around. Everyone my age was fat. I supposed, perhaps, that was just the way life goes.

Then my wife and I went on a cruise. I am notoriously shy in front of a camera, preferring to shoot rather than be shot, but, of course, on vacation, photos happen. Wow. I saw the photos and immediately ordered Nutrisystem.

That started me on a path to fitness that I doubt I’ll ever veer from.

So, to answer the question, “How do you know if you are fat?” It’s rather easy. Face reality. If you are facing reality, you will be able to see if you are fat.

My friend Ken told me something once that has always stuck with me: “If your gut sticks out farther than your chest, you’re too fat.”

Put on a t-shirt and stand straight up. Is your gut sticking out farther than your chest?