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I need to say something about why #AntheaTurner is so offensive, upsetting and worst of all, not remotely helpful to those of us struggling with a weight problem - in my case a lifelong one. Thread. 1/10
I wasnât a fat child. I was quite thin and very active. But when I hit puberty I remember being hungry a lot and snacking. I went on my first diet aged 17 - biggest mistake I ever made! I probably wasnât all that overweight but so began a lifelong rollercoaster of yoyoing. 2/10
This isnât about bulimia or anorexia. Mine isnât an extreme story. Itâs probably very common. All my life Iâve either been overweight or on a diet. Never what I thought of as ânormalâ. All I ever longed for was to be normal. 3/10
To eat only when hungry. But Iâm not that person. Iâm not sure I ever can be. For me food is the stuff of life. I donât eat to live, I live to eat. I love my food. I get excited when we get our food deliveries. I feel happy when we have a full âfridge, freezer and cupboards. 4/10
Your brain commands you to eat. It gives you a dopamine hit as a reward for eating making it pleasurable. If we werenât motived to get this hit we probably wouldnât bother to eat enough to survive. Humans have to be motivated and thatâs natureâs way. 5/10
This is why dieting is so difficult. You are programmed to want food. For most human existence it was either feast or famine - mostly famine. So weâre programmed to eat in a time of plenty to make up for when there isnât food around. 6/10
Itâs easier to give up smoking (I did that easily many years ago) or come off heroin than lose weight AND KEEP IT OFF! Thatâs the key. Keeping it off. Diets DO work. But not long term. You are forever fighting hunger pangs and your brain is more powerful than you realise. 7/10
I fell off the wagon yesterday. I ate 2,000 calories - normal amount for an adult but Iâm beating myself up over it because I need to stick to 1500 at the very most. The temptation after a fall is to give up or starve yourself. Iâm doing neither. Iâm simply going back on it. 8/10
If youâre struggling with your weight PLEASE donât berate yourself or think youâre a weak person. Youâre not! What you have is an incredibly strong brain that wants you to eat and if you manage to override that at all, youâre doing brilliantly! 9/10
So ignore #AntheaTurner and other fat shamers. Try to eat when youâre genuinely hungry. Try the delay tactic - I feel hungry but Iâll leave it 30 mins and see if I still am then. Then try for another 30 minutes. Keep going and donât feel shame! You are not alone! ENDS. 10/10
