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Start working in healthcare, or volunteering there. Ideally, it'd be a clinic or something in a rough part of town. That will give you a much better idea of the long-term health consequences of varying degrees of fatness.
Are you an insanely charismatic man in excellent shape, who's impeccably dressed and whose every word and gesture are a near world-class work of performance art? No? Plenty of people have happy relationships - or non-catastrophic relationships - with women with BMIs of 30, 40, 50, even 60.
Disgust is MUCH more malleable than most people think. Work in healthcare or something like that for a year or two. Your disgust response will calibrate itself better. You'll still dislike gross things - but they'll become dangerous to you, not gross - more like vats of acid than human shit.
Huh, this feels like the conclusion of a narrative arc. Never thought we'd hear this message from you, brother. And you're not wrong.
Did you ever find a girlfriend?
No, but people ask if I have kids. It seems odd. Like asking if I’ve climbed Everest.
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No, but a couple of years ago I became reconciled to the possibility of dealing with severe weight-related health problems in a partner in middle age. That isn't ideal - but What's Eating Gilbert Grape beats the crap out of kids with FAS, a mom on fentanyl maybe causing chaos and legal problems, or just plain crazy - as in 'felony child abuse' crazy. Therefore I don't consider fatness a dealbreaker until it makes them unable to do basic hygiene...although "a sprained ankle away from being bedridden" is a bit of a hard sell to me now. Five years from now I'd be OK with it to be honest.
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