So, I'm obese. I have no problems admitting that -- at my heaviest, I was 400 pounds, and while I'm nowhere close to the weight that I want to be, I watch my d

So, I'm obese. I have no problems admitting that -- at my heaviest, I was 400 pounds, and while I'm nowhere close to the weight that I want to be, I watch my diet, work out every day, and try to live a life that promotes a great body image. My mom is/was obese -- before she had a lap band installed. My dad is obese. My significant other is/was obese. Being a 'bigger' person is something that I grew up in, and something that I attribute to being normal. I didn't realize that being a "bigger" person was a problem until I went off to college and noticed that I was the exception, and not the norm. I only dated bigger women, because that's basically the only type of woman who would date someone who's bigger, and you can begin to see a cycle move forward again. My SO got a full gastric bypass surgery in 2009 (after we had been through the second round of our post-grad work), and went from 400 pounds down to 150 pounds (for a 6' tall woman). She's been egging me on to get a lap band or bypass, but, I've already dropped a good 100 pounds from my heaviest weight, and will be able to drop the last 100 pounds on my own. My SO no longer has diabetes, heart issues, or anything like that -- other than some vitamin deficiencies, she's a pretty healthy (and stubborn) woman. I don't think it's a genetic thing -- I think it's an environmental thing; you don't see a lot of chubby kids in a smaller household, and vice versa -- I don't see a lot of skinny/smaller children in a household that has obese or overweight people in it.