Most of my friends hug when we see each other. Generally speaking... I'm a pretty affectionate and passionate person... but about a year ago my friend Janet brought to my attention in the hug department... THAT I SUCK! I admit... I'm famous for the 1 armed hug as a greeting (not too close... but enough of a hug that I'm going through the motions). She joked that I don't give big bear hugs and that I'm a bit held back on my hugs... she pointed out that I won't let people "too close" on a hug which seems so bizarre for someone normally over the top with excitement like me. When she said that... deep down I knew that I didn't enjoy hugging when I was overweight... I just thought no one noticed my resistance to the full-on hug!

As per my normal way to deflect from telling the truth about my feelings... I joked with Janet that my Grandmother was a rigid hugger and I got it from her. It's not totally a lie... she only used her forearms in a hug and definitely didn't not pull you in close to her personal space... I'm pretty certain that she hugged because she was expected to... definitely not because she appeared to enjoy the experience or wanted to show us love... instead she always stocked her cupboards with our favorite sugar based food and home-made sweets when we'd visit)! LOL I'm not sure why grandmother hugged like that... but it was obvious she wasn't a fan of the hug... it was always an inside joke with my immediate family.

My mom is French... so there is always lots of hugging and kissing going on at family gatherings... honestly I didn't inherit the rigid hug from my Grandmother... the reason why I never pulled friends in close for a hug was because of my back fat! I always felt uncomfortable knowing when someone wrapped their arms around me... that they'd feel my multiple tires around my waist and back... but now things have changed... so I say "good riddance to back fat" and bring on the "close hugs"!!! Now that I've lost weight, when people give me a hug I think sometimes they wish they hadn't... now I'm all about "givin' the sugar" and "gettin' some back". I've pretty much gotten rid of most of my back fat now *too much information? never* If you embrace long my torso during a hug now... you could even probably feel my ribs! How sweet is that?

I apologise to all those friends out there that have been shafted by my one-arm hug in the past... I promise the next time you see me I'll make up for it!