Jelly Belly

 Where,What,When,why and How.

Fat Man in Paradise (FMP) has been down this road before. I dropped more than 100lb and I’ve managed to keep 50lb of that off for more than a decade. FMP never reached the target weight so I’m undertaking this final journey which in many ways is a road less traveled.  

Living fat is more than what a scale reads. Different cultures view fatness  differently. In a part of Africa “FAT” 

is viewed as beautiful and slim girls are force fed gourds of milk before their weddings to become obese beautiful brides.  As a child i loved playing in the summer heat, shirtless until the chant of Jelly Belly from neighborhood kids caused me to become embarrassed and self conscious. When i was 39 yrs old weighing 285lb part of my program was walking and jogging through villages in Bali. the locals would stop what they were doing to point fingers and yell big man, big belly. In Thailand being thin is associated with prosperity consequently it is common to hear people calling each other fat over the slightest weight gain. It takes a tough mindedness to live Fat. shaming is real, the hurt is painful, the emotional baggage is heavy. 

I opened “the your life book “ that came with this program. I turned to the introduction where I saw two blank pages and in an instant I had an epiphany. This will be my last shot. I’m too old to do this again and with that realization I became inspired. I put pen to paper and thoughts flowed. I was writing my bucket list. I could see clearly in my minds eye exactly who I want to become, what I want to do and how I will accomplish my goals. I saw where I want to go and what I want to do and be. I was writing my future and my ending. I was compelled to write my Declaration of Independence and take ownership of my dreams and ambitions. I reclaimed my purpose of life. 

We are all blessed with the opportunity to choose our  life’s path and it all begins with the first step. 

I want to love my body with the unconditional love I felt when I was perfect and fresh from the womb. I will never allow myself to be embarrassed by my body. I will always love myself and stay connected  with the happy shirtless kid also known as jelly belly.