Our body fat is not always our fault, so why are we made to think it is?

Why do we keep hearing “exercise more, eat less” from the media, our doctors, and even our friends and families, when overeating is not always the culprit?

Take a good look at the picture above.

Now, let me ask you a question:
Why do you think this woman is overweight?

I believe you’ll probably say something like: “she eats too much and she doesn’t exercise enough.” Or, at least, that’s what the majority of the population would say.

But what if that’s not the answer? What if something else is causing her to gain weight, and she has no idea?

That’s what happened to me.

Last year, I found out I have lipedema, a connective tissue disorder in which fat cells grow disproportionally on legs and arms. It’s a progressive, debilitating disease, that can also cause pain in the affected limbs.

The stages of lipedema

Despite being relatively unknown, lipedema is far more common than you’d think. A German study…