testimonial
“Being skinny didn’t make me happy”
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Joni Edelman knows what she’s talking about when she says: “Being thin doesn’t make you happy.” Today she is fat – and happy.
Joni Edelman has been through thick and thin. She has married, divorced, remarried, given birth to five children, moved house, worked as a nurse to deliver babies and watched people die. Sometimes she was thin and sometimes fat. So she knows what she’s talking about when she says: Being thin doesn’t (always) make you happy.
Being thin is (often) tedious
Like many women, Joni had to get her Work hard to slim figure every time. She ran 55 kilometers a week, paid attention to every bite, noted her weight every day, didn’t eat despite being hungry and only had little time for her children.
At some point, the desire for a slim figure began to affect her thinking dominate. “I became obsessive about my workouts: How much time could I have between looking after the kids and my 12-hour night shifts at the gym? I ate things I hated (rice cakes, butter spray) and I avoided the foods I loved (mainly cakes).”
It’s about recognition – but for what actually?
“Being skinny has done a lot to me, but it hasn’t made me happy.”
Joni has them too Perks of being thin experienced – or what women perceive as advantages. When she was slim, she received compliments on her looks: “If you’re a size 34, strangers will turn their heads to you, over and over again. Men hit on you about it in the supermarket, and in the hospital, the doctors suggest you have a hot affair.”
We all know how good recognition is. But the price of being seen, desired, praised, and envied by strangers is high. Often being thin requires sacrifice, discipline and self-control. And if you do sport without joy, it robs us of time for the beautiful things in life: for joy and enjoyment. Family and friends love us anyway – whether we are thin or fat.
fat or happy? Both is possible
“Being thin doesn’t guarantee happiness”
Fat or happy – that’s a wrong contrast, says Joni. “I’m not saying that thin people aren’t happy, but I do want to emphasize that being thin is a) not a cure for sadness and b) not a guarantee of happiness.” In short: “Happiness does not require being thin. And being fat does not automatically require sadness.” Happiness and weight are not related.
Joni is currently weighing more and states: “I have a calmness, a joy and an inner peace that I have never had before. In terms of my willingness to just let things go, to spend time with my children and to sleep, those pounds don’t matter. I’m fat, happy, and healthy.”
Joni (left) five years ago when she weighed 56 kilos and was admired for her figure. Today she weighs more – and is happier
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You can read Joni’s original article at www.ravishly.com.