It is perhaps not being overweight that erodes your confidence, as much as the way people treat you because of your size. When you're overweight it seems that many people believe that you are a legitimate target for abuse and do not hesitate to let you know what they think about 'people like you'. Being told constantly that you're fat and ugly doesn't exactly help your confidence and usually just makes you withdraw into yourself, although some people play up to their fat 'persona', making jokes about themselves before anyone else has a chance to.
These individuals may seem as though they epitomise confidence and self-acceptance, when the reality is often somewhat different. Self-deprecation may be in your nature, but when you're completely defined by your weight it becomes an issue that is increasingly difficult to escape. As far as you're concerned other people think of you as the fat, funny, cuddly one, rather than as an intelligent, attractive, sensual being. You may decide to lose weight, but even then you can struggle to shake-off the fat label, so that after losing weight you still lack confidence.
Even though you know you shouldn't worry what anyone else thinks, since many of them won't know what you're like as a person, anyway, this isn't always easy to do. Humans are social creatures and so you want to fit in with your peers and to be accepted by everyone, something which being overweight can make more difficult. When you're conscious of your size, you may avoid social situations because you're constantly worried that someone is going to make nasty remarks about your size and that the embarrassment and shame will be too overwhelming.
Avoiding the company of others only makes you feel worse, though, because this is when you start to feel lonely and what do you do when you're down and alone? The chances are you eat. Although you might feel better whilst you're eating, you have to stop at some point and then you're just left with feelings of guilt and shame. Plus, you know that bingeing on junk food all the time is only going to make it harder for you to control your weight. All of this only erodes your confidence further, especially if you continue to put on weight.
The heavier you are, the harder it becomes to find clothes that flatter figure; not that you ever really like the way you look, anyway. You hate seeing your reflection in the mirror and having pictures taken of yourself because of your size. You may find it harder to move about, because you get tired and out of breath so easily and even doing everyday, normal things like going to the shops becomes a challenge. Clearly, it is harder to enjoy life as much as you should when your weight is holding you back from doing what you want to do.
Other people's perceptions of you definitely has an impact on your confidence levels, sometimes even contributing to your weight problem. However, there are real downsides to being overweight that also undermine your confidence and make it impossible to live life to the fullest. Sometimes, when your weight has become a significant problem in your life, the only sensible option is to try to lose weight for your own sake. This won't automatically make you more confident, but at least it will be more difficult for people to attack you because of your weight.
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