Most people take it for granted that weight loss is a good thing - it's why you probably say "thank you!" if someone says you look skinny.

But Ijeoma Oluo, 36, a Seattle area writer who's lived both above and below the "ideal" body mass index, no longer sees the benefit in her body being small - or anything besides happy.

She recently shared her story in a moving Facebook essay that has received more than 500 comments so far and has been shared by more than 2,300 people, who are likely intent on clarifying that your weight isn't linked to your worth.

In short, Ijeoma recalls an ex-boyfriend sexually assaulting her at age 22. "I decided that as long as I was fat, nobody who wasn't abusive was going to want to be with me," she wrote. In the year that followed, she counted calories, weighed herself multiple times a day, ran past the point of pain, skipped entire meals to allow for small treats, bought into weight loss books and magazines, and kept meticulous tabs on her progress. "And all of this work that took over my entire life," she wrote - adding that her efforts did amount to weight loss that she maintained for five years.

Instead of taking joy in her success, though, she was utterly disgusted: Although the only physical thing that changed was her appearance, her weight loss shed light on the way people - from potential partners to employers and strangers - and environments, like theaters designed for people who can fit into standard-size seats, are kinder to people when they're smaller.

"I resented it all while desperately clinging to it, terrified that the moment I stopped dedicating my every waking moment to shrinking myself, the world would go back to treating me like a failure, and I would no longer be allowed to love myself," she wrote.

Despite the celebratory compliments and VIP treatment, Ijeoma upheld that weight loss did not make her a better person, let alone more interesting, creative, or kind. "I became me, only smaller, and absolutely obsessed with what I put in my mouth," she wrote.

When Ijeoma got pregnant with her youngest child, she gained back some of the weight she'd lost. Three years later, during which she's built a family, bought a house, and launched her career, she has returned to her original weight.

"These were the years where I packed my life with more accomplishments than I had ever before imagined. Or, these are the years I got fat again - it depends on who you ask," Ijeoma wrote, ultimately concluding that her allegiance lies with the heavier version of herself. "I will not support the harmful notion that a smaller body is a moral victory," she wrote.

It's no wonder people are applauding Ijeoma for getting R-E-A-L about the way she figured out what matters: treating people with kindness and decency, regardless of their weight. After all, size-shaming won't stop until we stop doing it to ourselves.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-woman-regrets-her-weight-183202908.html