History Main / FormerlyFat

** Wasn't Raven slim at first, then picked the weight up?

* Amy Wong from ''{{Futurama}}'' was very fat as a child; even her parents tease her mercilessly about it. In one episode, the main characters all revert to their childhood forms, and Amy, again overweight, becomes the butt of all her colleagues' childish jokes.

* Ben Hanscom of {{Stephen King}}'s ''{{It}}'' was fat as a kid, but ended up slimming down as an adult by the time that he and [[TrueCompanions the Loser's Club]] meet up again to battle Pennywise.

* ''GuiltyGear'' series--there are frequent references to "that man".

* Ben Hanscom of {{Stephen King}}'s ''{{It}}'' was fat as a kid, but ended up slimming down as an adult by the time that he and [[{{Nakama}} the Loser's Club]] meet up again to battle Pennywise.

* Surprisingly, [[spoiler: Quinn Fabray]] from ''{{Glee}}''.

* In ''ProducingParker'', various {{Flashback}}s and {{Embarassing Old Photo}}s show Parker as fat from infancy to her teens.

* A patient on ''{{House}}'', who was formerly morbidly obese and had become a highly successful personal trainer. [[spoiler: It turned out that she had had gastric bypass surgery, rather than "losing it the oldfashioned way." It also turned out that her weight was a result of her self-medicating her genetic disorder with fatty foods. Reversing the surgery and returning to her old lifestyle would have cured her, but she opts for a lifetime of medication instead.]]

[[folder: Real Life]]
* Jared, the Subway diet spokesman, pictured above.
* Raven Symone
* Richard Simmons (or so he claims).
* Star Jones, a recent and rather dramatic example.
* Stuart Pankin.
[[/folder]]

Be that as it may, a formerly fat background is not always all sunshine and rainbows. It can imply a lot of self loathing and damaged self esteem, too. Many times, their slim down can be a symptom of a desperate need to be accepted by society and an unhealthy dependence on what others think of you.

* Connie Benge in ''{{Doug}}'' used to be chubby, but in later seasons it's revealed she lost a lot of weight at summer camp.

* A female character in ''{{Doug}}'' used to be chubby, but in later seasons it's revealed she lost a lot of weight at summer camp.

Sometimes, part of a character's personality is driven by the fact that they were once overweight. Having a thin character revealed to have once been fat can tell you plenty about them; it can tell you that the character had a past they aren't proud of and cares enough about their health and appearance to do something about it. It also shows that the character has the strength and will power to take control of their life and get what they want, that they have the ability to self-discipline and self-motivate.