I wasn’t sure if I was going to write this post. When I first flirted with the idea of writing a blog, I actually wanted to call it “The Chubby Traveller” or something along those lines. After talking it through with Martin, and realising that he was also quite interested in blogging; and website development in general (seriously guys, he has built this whole thing from scratch and taught himself everything), I realised that the name wouldn’t be suitable (Martin is definitely NOT chubby).
My mum, as you can imagine, was also not keen on the name. Despite the fact that I am a UK size 16-18 (US size 12-14), she has to see me as “beautiful” and “perfect” no matter what. Despite the fact that we often discuss how we both need to slim down, be healthier and eat better, she sometimes seems to think that she is the only one who knows I am overweight and that, by publicly acknowledging it, I somehow make it more true.
So I wasn’t going to write this post. But then things kept happening that made me more and more frustrated. And everywhere I look there are slim, beautiful backpackers for whom these things wouldn’t even occur. I can count on one hand the amount of backpacking women that I have met who even come close to my size. I started to wonder why this was.
When we first decided to go travelling, I didn’t give my size a second thought. I was working hard at the gym, aiming to slim down a bit for my best friends wedding and relatively comfortable in my size to life (food and booze) enjoyment ratio.
Then, as the months went on I started to worry a little more. I worried about long coach/plane journeys in tiny seats, I worried about activities that I might not be able to take part in because of my weight or my measurements. I worried because we had started following “travelling” Instagram accounts for inspiration and not a single one of them was bigger than a UK size 8.
I So I started to Google. As you often do in these situations, when you want to reassure yourself that you are not alone. But maybe I was. I could find one other blog dedicated to being and overweight travel enthusiast, and that hadn’t been active for over 3 years. I also found a TripAdvisor forum post from a guy who was severely overweight and concerned about travelling as he didn’t want to feel isolated or left out. The replies to this poor guy made my blood boil, and did not fill me with any confidence whatsoever. Most of them were along the lines of “don’t be so stupid” and “trust me, this will be the least of your problems” which is just flat out rude, the worst were somehow telling the guy that he was being selfish and that, if he somehow had enough money to be fat AND travel then he should just consider himself lucky and fuck off.
But, you see, travelling when you are overweight brings a whole host of scenarios that slimmer people might not even consider. For example, so far, 2 of the pairs of bottoms that I brought with me have had to be thrown away because they have developed large holes in the thigh areas. The leggings were less than a year old, but to be fair to them, had undergone some pretty heavy use through my year of intensive gym and yoga attendance. The other, a pair of linen shorts that were brand new, purchased for this trip. They were actually too big for me so I never considered that they would be an issue. I have probably worn them less than 10 times in the past 3 months and they have already been reduced to rags.
And I’m not even that big! At a size 16, I am in the average size range for women in the UK. But when I sit on a plane, a bus or a train I do not feel average. I feel huge. And uncomfortable. Being tall doesn’t help either, I often feel trapped and claustrophobic when using mass transport. In some countries, where my height and size is not average, I am openly stared at, and I honestly mind this less than the horrible side-eye I get from my fellow Brits when they realise they have to sit next to me.
My clothes are twice the size of other people’s and therefore take up twice the space. And weigh twice as much. This doesn’t sound like a big deal, and it’s honestly not, until you have to carry your wardrobe on your back for 7 months. And don’t even think about buying any of those cute, boho pieces from the markets in Thailand or Bali; they are one-size-fits-everyone-but-me. “But they’re stretchy” the sellers will tell me as I promise them nothing on their stall will fit me. And it’s true, the waists stretch; the thighs, however, do not.
The final, and perhaps most heartbreaking part of the whole thing is when things cost more because of your weight. Like, to an extent I get it. There has to be a cut off, the more you weigh, theoretically the more difficult it is to control a tandem skydive with you, or maybe the plane is old and has a tiny engine and the weight limit is pretty low. But still, sometimes it seems like these limits are arbitrary, and just there to capitalise on someone who is already wholly inconvenienced by life.
Now, given all I’ve said here, it might seem like I’m having a horrible time. The thing is, being overweight hasn’t stopped me from doing one single thing. I have trekked through the jungle, thrown myself from the top of boats, worn bikinis on the beach in Australia. I am having the time of my life. Yes it sucks that some things are more expensive, or more inconvenient, or restrictive. But I would never let my size stop me from doing anything; and neither should you!! Strap on your oversized backpack, save some extra cash for refreshing your clothes more often, and get out there.
