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The real story of the lived experiences of Maibritt Schmidt, living with obesity, in Denmark.
Maibritt Schmidt, living with obesity, Denmark.
My life revolves largely around my daughter; it’s always just been the two of us. My usual day starts with getting my daughter ready for school and then going to the gym. I usually try and get to the gym 2 or 3 times a week, then I clean the house and go visit my friends. If you can’t find me visiting my friends, I will be spending some quality time with my parents who live 5 minutes away, which I’m so grateful for.
My relationship with my weight has always been a hard to navigate, and I have had my ups and downs. My weight has fluctuated greatly and due to mental and physical health factors it has been difficult for me to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I struggled with finding the right people to support me and it took a very long time for me to find the right lifestyle changes that fit into my life.
I started a social media account documenting different aspects of my life living with obesity. At first, I was more closed off and talked vaguely about different situations I found myself in.
But as my follower count grew, so did my confidence to post more personal stories. I started to open up about what I ate and started to feel that I was building this small community, where people related to my personal stories.
This sense of community encouraged me to seek out professionals that could help me on my journey.
“I posted about my stories, got on the bus and when I came home, I already had about 100 followers, and I felt as if someone actually thought I was worth something. Someone wanted to know what I had to say”
Posting on social media and hearing how others experience the same things, made me feel less alone, and gave me the confidence I needed to commit to my weight management journey.
The more healthy lifestyle changes I made, the more weight I lost, and it felt like my mind became lighter. I really feel it in my body too, I used to get aches and pains, in my chest, and mainly my knees but now they are almost completely gone.
I have a positive outlook on life again, which I had lost along the way. I’m happy about life again and I have a life to be happy about.
“I’ve always been a smiley and approachable person but now by smile feels genuine”
Living with obesity is not a life choice. We deserve to be on our journey to a healthier future , without constantly being subject to criticism and judgement. Stand up tall, when faced with criticism or ridicule, just remember it is them that has the problem, not you.
“What works for you is very individual, there isn’t one way for everybody. It is ok to love your body in the progress.”
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