How to find a Job even when you're Fat!

My weight has fluctuated my entire life, in fact, I've written about it on Hubpages many times. Presently, I'm at the heaviest I've ever been. Am I trying to lose weight? Yes I am. The problem is that I'm also looking for a job. Having lived in New York for 10 years I know that the consequences of being overweight are punitive. I know that I have lost jobs because of my weight. How do I know? The headhunter told me straight up. Is it illegal? Probably. Is it unethical? Most certainly. Does it happen all the time? Definitely!

It's gotten to the point that I'm so stressed about my weight that it's difficult to lose the added pounds. There are many articles that point out that stress can prevent weight loss, although I wont go into that here, feel free to look it up.

So what's to be done about this vicious circle we're in? Well, the first thing that you (and I) need to know is that although there are many people who will discriminate against you based on your weight there are also many people who wont. So we, you, I have to go with that. After-all, what are our options? We can't simply lay down and die..although I know I would like to on some days! Nope, that simply is not an option. We must be optimistic and keep trying. Eventually, we will succeed if we keep trying.

Additionally, just because we are overweight doesn't mean that we have to look terrible. Do your best to look nice. And now I will tell you something that even I don't want to hear. Go out and buy nice clothes. I don't know about you but the absolute last thing I want to do, right up there with a gynecological exam and/or a root canal is to shop for fat clothes! But we, you, I must. I hate spending the money on fat clothes, I hate shopping for fat clothes and I hate wearing fat clothes. But, if you are in the job market you and I must, because let's face it being fat is bad enough but looking slovenly on top of that makes it 10 times worse. We must go shopping. If you already have decent interview clothes to wear make sure your hair is nice and you look good. Fake it until you make it. I know, I know, believe me I KNOW it's not easy. And, there is a part of me that would just like to fade into oblivion and maybe you've already taken a walk down the dark side but there comes a time when you have to pull yourself together and start hiking up the bright sides trail. Believe me when I tell you that I'm preaching to myself as well as any of you out there.

Additionally, as I said before although some will discriminate there are many who wont. I got a job a few years back when I was really heavy. So, here is some advice pretend as if you are not overweight. Ignore it and maybe, just maybe others will as well. Whatever you do DO NOT call attention to the fact that you are overweight, it just makes things worse. Have you ever noticed people who have disabilities..some let it take over their entire lives while others deal with it but then they just act like they don't have a disability. It's those people that are usually successful. I just recently watched a woman on "Dancing with the Stars" (a show I never watch btw but my mother was watching it sooo..anyway..) who had no legs. And she was a downhill skier and she did an absolutely fantastic job dancing. It was truly amazing and inspirational. She could have easily called it quits but instead she did what she could to make the best of her situation and went on to do amazing things. I don't think it's out there to treat obesity the same way. We all have choices in our lives and sure we want to lose weight and will continue to try but in the meantime what can you do? It doesn't matter what you do today to lose weight the weight wont come off in one day, we must do what we can today to do our best to remedy the situation and then ignore it and get on with our lives. We must think like this woman who lost her legs. Calling attention to an area that is not attractive does just that..IT CALLS ATTENTION TO YOUR PROBLEM! Whereas, if you ignore it maybe they will too! After-all we all want to be known for our gifts, talents and personalities, not our failures or perceived disabilities.

Unfortunately, we live in a terribly competitive world. A world that constantly tells us that we are not good enough. We live in that world whether we are fat or skinny, abled or disabled, black or white, rich or poor that judges us conditionally. However, how we respond to that world is what matters. Troubles and trials will come our way, what are you prepared to do (said with a Sean Connery accent from the "Untouchables")? We can be our own hero's if we simply choose to climb up the bright side rather than wallow in the dark side. We can be hero's for the people who know us who are also going through their own dark times for whatever reasons. And we can learn how to live in triumph instead of in defeat. Success doesn't mean that you've never experienced difficulties, success doesn't mean that trials don't come your way. Success is overcoming trials and difficulties, not NOT having them. I think we often get confused about this. We look around and erroneously think that everyone else out there is whole and we are broken when that is absolutely not true. Everyone is broken, you just can see some people's brokenness while others are hidden. EVERYONE IS BROKEN. It's the human condition. And, I'll go even further and state that those who appear to be "unbroken" are usually worse than the rest of us.

So it comes down to this: What are YOU prepared to do? As for me, I will take that step to climb up the bright side and say good-bye to wallowing in the dark side. And, how will I do it? One day at a time. You can't lose 20/50/100 pounds in one day but you can make good decisions each day. You can't fix everything that is wrong with you in one day but you can choose the bright side each day. You can be the hero for yourself and for your family and it only takes choosing the bright side each day. We can all do that.