These days, I think that the only reasons I ever disliked being fat were because of other people/"society's" judgements. I still felt fine, could exercise a lot, was the same person inside no matter what my outside looks like.

But study after study shows that (in the US at least) what odd sock said in #8 are true: people (both thin and fat ones!) assume that fat people are lazier, stupider, meaner, etc. than thin people. Fat people testifying in court are not believed as much; fat people are passed over for promotions; it's harder to find a good mate as a fat person; teachers assess fat children as having under their IQ scores and thin children as over theirs. Even studies with young children show that they have these prejudices by age 5!

The times in my life that I said, "I feel better in clothes (or 'having sex' or 'about myself') as a size 5," I meant, "I feel less self-conscious because I know other people are more approving of me."

For me, self-acceptance (no matter what weight I am) and losing weight to a reasonable and healthy and sustainable size go hand in hand. If I ended up a size 8 again, I'd still fight for fat acceptance!