My Story
On these next few pages I’m going to share many things that are very personal, most of which I’ve held deep inside and never shared with anyone. This story is actually the second chapter of my soon to be published book “Weight Loss Secrets of Superstars.” The chapter is entitled “Are my Boobs Showing?”
I’m well aware that I’m giving the store away in posting this chapter on the internet, but it’s the easiest way for me to tell my story in depth. At this point, with the current state of our population, it is more important to me that others realize adversity is just a stepping stone that enables us to become more resilient. It makes us infinitely stronger, worldly wiser, and in the process, it helps us to cultivate unbreakable self certainty.
In my life I’ve overcome obesity, growing up in a working poor family, lack of self esteem, being surrounded by negative influences, near business bankruptcy, and I’ve also taken on single parenthood. Yet, in spite of all these obstacles I’ve been fortunate enough to travel around the country, attain financial independence and do many things most people never have the opportunity to experience in life.
Through all the challenges I’ve faced I’ve had many extraordinary realizations. One of the most important was the realization that it doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from or where you start; only where you want to go and that you hold onto that vision until it becomes your reality.
Are my Boobs Showing?
The first time I realized I was overweight was when I was 11 years old. I clearly remember the specific incident because it was also my first experience of public humiliation. It was a warm and sunny spring day after school, and I was playing football in the street with my friends. When I went to catch a pass, an older neighbor who had been watching us shouted that I had “boobs” that shook when I ran. Although I had been teased at school, I never cared that much because I wasn’t aware of my body. People called me “fat boy” or “fatso”, but when my neighbor publicly announced to all the other kids that I had “boobs,” my confidence instantly took a dive.
Just discovering how heavy I was
After that incident I quickly became the butt-end of a lot of jokes. At first I tried to act like it didn’t bother me in the hopes that they would stop. But as the teasing became a daily occurrence over the summer, my resilience started to wear thin, and without realizing it, I had started to believe what I was being told. It made me feel small and unimportant, like everyone in the world was against me. I developed an internal sense of worthlessness and I became self-conscious of my body, checking frequently to see if my boobs were showing through my shirt. Over time, these boob inspections became an obsession that consumed me, and from that point forward, I avoided wearing any shirts that made me feel insecure. I wouldn’t wear polo shirts; I wouldn’t wear plain white t-shirts and I wouldn’t wear tank tops. Instead, I always wore long dark colored shirts that were made of thick material, or shirts with designs on the front to avoid showing my boobs.
