Hey there everyone.

My biggest reason for being unfit and overweight has been....me! <grin>
I am:

-> Cynical--this means I would go on about how the media promotes false body images. Start with "The Beauty Myth" (a great book by Naomi Wolf) and close with feminist declaration about not bowing to false gods.
-> Eccentric--this means I could claim to be happy about being fat. Believable if you have a history of claiming eccentric habits...for example, habit of never parking in basements because of what happens in American thrillers, the incident of the dog in the pharmacy, and the distinction of being the only rational atheist to believe in sun signs.
-> Easy-going--this means I believed discipline to be a life-limiting factor. I scoffed at people who didn't have dessert and thought people who got up early were a bit cuckoo.

Of course, all I wanted to do was to be myself and be fit/slim.

So now I'm trying to lose that part of me that's been in denial for 15-odd years.
If I lose some weight along the way, that would be great as well! As my fit, sporty partner keeps telling me, what I'm trying to win is the marathon, not the race.

@Suchi G: What you're more seriously raising is what my correspondent MysticZebra calls "dismantling self-generated obstacles to success". I think it would be valuable for this community to document what those frequently are.

false body images

I'd be interested in your contribution to this discussion. Let me know if you'd like an invitation to Vox.

never parking in basements because of what happens in American thrillers,

Maxim on horror movie cliches that need to die.

Perhaps, as you shed your denial, you can explain why I'd rather draft and post this than pull out the weight bench that's literally five steps away.

Respectfully submitted by one of those early-rising cuckoos.

Good luck!