We all know how it feels to have a “fat” day (if you don’t, then you are lucky). After waking from a deep slumber and splashing cool water on your face, you peer in the mirror only to see your “fat” alter ego has returned! ! It seems overnight your mirror has suddenly made you look 4 sizes larger and you can’t seem to find anything to wear!! “How could I have possibly grown out of all my clothes overnight,” you wonder? You start analyzing every inch of your body, wondering where this “fat” has manifested, until you finally come to the conclusion that you hate yourself because you have FAT everywhere and you don’t want to leave the house.
Why do we have these “fat” days? It just doesn’t seem fair OR necessary!! Why do we go from a day of complete and total love and affection for our body and then the next we loathe and abuse it?? How can we make it stop?
The truth of the matter is, these “fat” days are all in our head. As someone who has recovered from an eating disorder, I KNOW deep down that I have not magically gained 20 pounds over night, but there is still that twisted little piece of my subconscious that sees what it wants to see: FAT.
Please understand that I HATE the word FAT and I almost never use it! When I say the word “FAT,” please know that I have no definition other than for what I see in myself on my low self-esteem days. Whether you are a size O or a size 24, we are ALL beautiful and I would NEVER call someone else some of the things I have called myself!
Now,I’m not going to sit here and pretend that if you follow steps 1., 2., and 3., you’ll never FEEL fat again. It just won’t happen. But I WILL say that they may come less and less or not last as long, if you at least try them:
- STOP hating and just accept yourself!! If you haven’t yet read my post about accepting yourself in the New Year, PLEASE do so now!
- Dress your best! Who doesn’t FEEL better when they have their favorite outfit on and their make up done!?? Even if you absolutely don’t feel like it, make yourself look your best; new outfit, make-up, hair…whatever makes you feel good!
- Avoid the mirror! Stop over-analyzing!! Stop staring at your thighs, stomach, butt, etc. and move away from the mirror!!! Just think: I LOVE MYSELF!!
EXPERIMENT
I have a little experiment for you all to try. I read this in a magazine and thought it was genius! They had a woman take a picture of her for 30 days in order to compare her body when she was feeling thin and when she was feeling “fat.” They put each picture in the magazine and beneath a description of how she felt for that particular day (and I can’t remember if she put weight as well but I’m not thinking in those terms). I thought this was a brilliant idea because when I looked at her photos (even her self-proclaimed “fat” days), she looked THE SAME! There was absolutely no difference in how she looked, even on what she felt were her worst days!
So my challenge for YOU is to try this for 7 days. Take a picture of yourself (have your spouse do it or use your camera timer) in your skivvies and then line up each picture at the end of the week and really SEE yourself. Sometimes when we look in the mirror we are only seeing the distorted image that we WANT to see, the one that is in our head. When we look at a picture, THAT is when we truly SEE ourselves for the way we really look…which is BEAUTIFUL, of course. 
What do you say? Give it a try? It can’t hurt and you will probably be pleasantly surprised when you realize those “fat” days are ALL IN YOUR HEAD!!
QUESTION:
How do you deal with a fat day?
Do you think you will take this challenge? Have you tried it before?
Thats such a great idea! I’m definitely gonna try it!
[...] 1. Are You Having a “Fat” Day? [...]
More recently I’ve been able to realize that my “fat days” are more in my head, and I just acknowledge and move on, knowing that the feeling will most likely be gone tomorrow or in a few days! So much better than staring at myself in the mirror, cursing my body!
A fat day for me is usually when i have water weight going on… I try not to step on the scale EVERY morning (or after a big meal)because you cant dwell on what you ate that was bad…You just need to fix it the next day
I hate the word “fat” too – it is one of my New Year’s resolutions this year to end my own negative self talk – which involves the inner dialogue I have with myself on a “fat” day. I am much harder on myself (and much more negative) than I would ever be on someone else, even someone I disliked – so my fight against “fat talk” and “fat” days is going to start with being my own best friend.
Great post – I love the idea of the pictures as well – it’s time to gain some real perspective on ourselves!
I believe “fat” days are a psychological thing more than a physical one. Our perception or self image can be very distorted and we don’t necessarily see what is there when we look in the mirror. I like the idea of using photos to identify this issue but I think that acceptance is the most important part. A few extra pounds or a tighter pair of pants shouldn’t determine how we feel about ourselves.
Hey lady! Just gave you the Stylish Blogger Award over on my site because I think you rock! Come by and check it out – hope you’ll share 7 things with us all
Sometimes I feel like you can read my mind. I am admittedly too hard on myself, and do have “fat” days from time to time. I really hate that word as well! I absolutely loved your post about accepting yourself in the new year, and am really working hard at being easier on myself! thanks for yet another amazing post!!
I read about that experiment before, it is awesome! Great post.
I really like the idea of taking a picture for 7 days. I think we become so focused on the the parts of our bodies that we dont like that the ones we do become muted. I am going to do this challenge and start tomorrow. Thank you for sharing.
I think this is a GREAT idea for a challenge! I def. have my share of fats days. They really bring me down and I need to do something to get over them so this is a great idea!
Great post and such a great challenge. I have fat days when I’m retaining water….I know it’s happening by my rings feeling a bit tighter. But can anyone else notice???? Probably not! Have a great weekend.
What an interesting idea! It is amazing how hard we can be on our bodies. I often think that we take out other insecurities and emotional issues by criticizing the way that our bodies look (I know that I do this!) Thank you for the reminder to take a step back. We need to love ourselves and our bodies (which are beautiful AND imperfect) I hope you have a relaxing Sunday. I don’t know about you, but I need a day to rejuvenate!
Aww, I feel that everyday has been a fat day lately. I try to tell myself that I need to get over this “fattitude” because constant negativity has NO benefits. But weight gain aside, I had fat days at every size so I know the majority of my fat days are mental.
I can’t say that I get “fat days.” Is that weird? I’ve lost 40 lbs and I’m still overweight, but it’s amazing to me that despite my weight loss, I don’t really feel that much different in terms of my body than when I was really heavy. Unfortunately, it also goes the other way, too: I don’t really notice that I’ve gained weight unless it’s significant. Apparently I’m one of the few that doesn’t struggle with “fat days?” Bad hair days, though, are another matter.
The games our minds play are so irrational! I love the idea of taking a series of pictures because it would help me realize that what seems like a physical fluctuation is really just an emotional fluctuation! The correlation between “fat days” and life-stress is so strong for me!
PS I love to put on my fave outfit, a good bit of makeup, and style my hair- never fails to make me feel better (especially when the husband notices that I’ve made an effort too). xxx
I love this post, so much. It’s all about empowerment to be our best selves
What a great idea! This is going to sound weird but my fat days only occur when my IBS is playing up (which makes sense because I get SO bloated). Apart from those days (which are unfortunately frequent at the mo) I genuinely don’t get fat days. I’ve gotten pretty good at telling myself that I can’t trust what I see in the mirror!
But may be I will give this challenge a go nonetheless xxx
If I have a “fat” day, I strive to change my mentality and replace looking at the problems with focusing on my positives. When I catch myself in that “fat” mentality, I replace that “fat” thought with three things I like about myself. It really does help.
Unfortunately I am having “fat days’ everyday, and growing
All kidding aside…I don’t feel like that though. This is an awesome post. That experiment is SO interesting and Genius, like you said!!! I have done that before, well not exactly. I started having these “fat days” and I took pictures of myself to see how “fat” I really looked. I looked at them a few days later and I really looked no different, and I realized I actually looked pretty good. It is all in our heads. I needed to “see” for myself, that’s why I did it. That is a really great idea doing it for 7 days!!
As much as I don’t think I’m fat..I do still have fat days. And even on fat days, I still don’t look at myself and think I’m fat, but I feel bigger. I feel bloated and uncomfortable and I think physically feeling that automatically puts “fat” thought into my head. I’ll do the challenge though!
What a fabulous idea! I may have to borrow that.
I think that people say “I feel fat today” when what they really mean is I don’t feel well or I don’t feel like me or I’m having a bad day. It’s too bad that they use the word “fat” to put themselves down, as that perpetuates the discrimination against people who are truly overweight.
that’s a GREAT experiment!!! I love it!!!! I am having bloated days every day being preggo
When my clothes don’t fit well = “fat” day! 
I use my clothes as a guide. My hubby keeps kidding the the buttons on my clothes are threatening to pop off and hit him! Time for a shopping spree??!!
GREAT POST!!!
Such a great post. I think we all have days like this so it was a good topic to cover. I am always working on trying to accept myself as I am but it can be hard, especially on ‘fat’ days. I just try to leave the house with a smile and ‘fake it ’til I make it’ – I figure if I keep telling myself I am fine as I am, that one day I will actually believe it!
I was having one of those days today when I realized that it was the number of clothes I put on to make me warm! I have 4 shirts and a sweatshirt on. You definitely need to dress for how you feel that day and not think about it so much. It also helps to get moving a little so you feel better in general.
As always, this is a great post! I believe that dressing up/taking extra time to get ready can help banish negative self-talk on a “fat day.” I think that experiment sounds great! But I just don’t know how much it would help. Even when I KNOW that it’s irrational to feel fat on a certain day, the mental pull is still strong!
I hate fat days!!! I just avoid the mirror at all costs on those days..and usually that is atleast once month (for 7 days, lol)
Fat days are almost entirely mental for me. If I’ve eaten like crap the day before, I’m positive I look 50 pounds heavier the next day. But if I’ve been eating well, I could still be at a larger weight and not care as much. If I treat my body right, I feel way better!
I like this idea…a lot.
I have “fat days” all the time, or self-proclaimed. I’ll be convinced that I am fitting in my size 0 or 1 jeans because America has inflated sizes. I have a whole slew of self talk that goes on. And it’s annoying.
Photos do help though.
They’re always mental. I saw that article in the magazine, and it was great to see that it really is mental.
I love this post! I can definitely relate to having “fat” days, even as hard as I try not to. Great idea to try that challenge for 7 days.
I agree with you on hating the word ‘fat’. I don’t use it often and like Samantha above, one of those days is more of a bloated day. It’s still an unpleasant feeling, but more physical than mental.
I think most of the time it’s mental, but sometimes it really is bloat. But our minds perceive the bloat as so much worse than it really is.
great post, as always! To share something persona,, I wake up thin most days and, if I eat out at a restaurant with friends, I go to bed pudgy and bloated. That’s gotta say something about non-homecooked foods! tooo much salt, even in the health entrees!
xoXO
Jenn @ Peas & Crayons
The ‘fat day’ photo diary is a great idea Erin. There’s nothing like challenging these kind of thoughts with some incontrovertible proof to show them who’s boss!
This post is amazing. I think I might give the experiment a shot. I admit that I have fat days and when I say something to my husband about it he says he doesn’t see anything different. Maybe the pictures will prove it’s all in my head.
Fat days are all mental for me. I always try to do something that makes me feel good
A fat day for me is when I am bloated. So it really is something physical.