Скачать или смотреть I Spent Years Saying “I’ll Do It When I Lose Weight” — Until I Didn’t | Kara Richardson Whitely

In this video, Kara Richardson Whitely continues her candid and moving conversation, diving deeper into her early experiences with body-based bullying and the pervasive nature of weight stigma. She shares that growing up in a larger body meant enduring comments and judgment from nearly every direction—medical providers, coworkers, strangers, and, most painfully, from people within her own home. Kara reflects on how even well-meaning loved ones can inadvertently chip away at her self-worth through careless remarks. She explains how this constant messaging shaped her relationship with herself and contributed to her struggles with binge eating disorder and the later undiagnosed condition, lipedema.

Kara reveals that, over time, she began to abandon the activities she once loved because she didn’t feel like she belonged. She recounts a time in the late 1990s when outdoor culture and gear didn’t seem to include or accommodate people in larger bodies. The marketing and products told her she didn’t fit in—literally and figuratively. Caught in the societal trap of “I’ll do this when I lose weight,” she postponed joy, health, and self-acceptance, believing she needed to shrink herself first. But approaching her 30th birthday, she realized that waiting was no way to live, and that she deserved those fulfilling experiences now, not “someday.”

Taking a bold step forward, she began hiking—starting with flat trails in New Jersey and using a guidebook of 50 hikes. What began as a small act of reclaiming her life eventually turned into something much bigger, though Kilimanjaro wasn’t even on her radar at the time. Kara humorously recalls her anxiety-fueled first hike, where she was suited up as if summiting Everest, while worrying about getting lost or encountering a bear in suburban New Jersey. These anecdotes highlight the intense mental hurdles that come with doing something new, especially for people in larger bodies who carry added trauma and fear due to stigma. Kara emphasizes how important it is to honor and remember those initial steps, no matter how small, because for many, just showing up is an act of courage and resistance.

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