My breath tightens immediately when the call comes. It’s my boss’s boss, telling me there’s an important meeting in another city. Or maybe it’s a friend,inviting me to her wedding in California. Sometimes, it is a family memberwhose health is failing, and the time has come to say goodbye.

The news hits hard — it’s a high-pressure time for my job, friend, family. My heart is pounding and my breath is tightening. I close my eyes, feel my feet on the ground and my breath in my throat, trying desperately to avoid the embarrassment of a full-blown panic attack at work.

I will have to get on a plane. And I am fat.