Hot Topic: Weight and Women

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I have always struggled with my weight. Throughout my years of weight changes, I was surrounded by people who shared in this struggle with me. My mother and I have always switched diet secrets. Our recently found gluten allergy has brought us even closer in the battle against the bulge. There is comfort in having someone to share in your ups and downs, and understand when you have “one of those days.”

To be the only person in your family to “tip the scales” would be hard enough with normal skinny parents, but having what could be compared to the “perfect body” as a mother would be hard for anyone to grow up with.

I personally couldn’t ever imagine encountering weight issues with a super model for a mom and a NBA star for a dad. But that is exactly what Zulekha Haywood grew up with while dealing with her weight problems at the young age of 8. She has gone from a size 6 to a size 28, and has found peace somewhere in the middle. I see so much of myself in that, having gone from a size 6 to a size 22, and back to somewhere in the middle. I have yet to reach a place where I am happy with my weight.

My most drastic attempt at weight loss took place about 10 years ago, when I gave up food for a diet rich in Tobacco, sparkling water, diet coke, and the small bowl of chow mein that I ate over the course of a week. Needless to say, I lost weight, a lot of it. But along the way I harmed my health, my skin, and God knows what else.

Being that I never had an addiction to the smoking (since I literally used it to ward off hunger), when I decided to lay down the nicotine, I eventually picked up the fork. Between getting married, getting very sick, and actually eating, I somehow gained 100 lbs. Yup. ONE HUNDRED pounds!

Along the fight against the bulge, I considered gaining another 50 lbs. in order qualify for gastric bypass. But I knew I could never live with myself at that weight, knowing I got there intentionally. I’ve shed the majority of that weight off, refusing to enter into my 30′s being categorized as “obese” by my doctor. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been rewarding.

I still don’t fit into the majority of “sample sizes” when it comes to events, occasionally making it difficult to to put looks together. I love and adore designers that don’t stop at a size 6, and have a soft spot for those that understand a woman’s body. I have a special relationship with my handbags and shoes, because they have never turned their back on me, no matter my weight.

Zulekha chose to have gastric bypass and says that no diet ever worked for her. I can only imagine the pressure of being Iman’s plus sized daughter; growing up in the fashion industry where curves are shunned and a body that resembles a hanger is praised. I can’t say that I wouldn’t have made the same choice in order to feel comfortable in my own skin.