by Golda Poretsky, H.H.C.
www.bodylovewellness.com
Listen to the podcast of this post here:
It's Okay To Be Fat -- The Body Love Wellness Podcast [ 3:51 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (31)I struggled a bit with this week’s post. I thought I might write about fatshion, or my issues with Jamie Oliver, or why I think the phrase “food addiction” is a problematic misnomer.
But instead, I’m going to talk about one of the most basic tenets of my work. The fact that it is okay to be fat.
Think those words to yourself: “It’s okay to be fat.” How do you feel? Do you feel more relaxed? Do you think that might be true, but not for you?
I’m going to let you in on a little secret about the “war on obesity.” There’s a lot of money in it. There’s a $60 billion a year diet industry in the U.S. that banks on your hatred of your own body for its profits. There are major pharmaceutical companies who want you to take their diet drugs until it catches on that they’re deadly so they can push the next diet drug on you. There are doctors who make their livings in plastic and bariatric surgery who might have to go bankrupt if you, collectively, decided that it’s okay to be fat. Even our own government might not be able to push shame and blame on to fat kids in an effort to divert attention from two ongoing, interminable wars if we all decided that it’s okay to be fat.
I’m not a conspiracy theorist by any means. These are just facts that are in plain sight. Diets don’t work. They cause more problems than they seek to fix. There are some benefits to being fat, just like there are some benefits to being thin.
There is no money in telling people that they can be happy just as they are. There are no dangerous side effects, and no drugs to create to lessen those side effects. All that there is is a peace found within, a deep knowing that you are valuable no matter what the scale might reflect back to you.
So knowing that it is okay to be fat, to look like you do, to move like you do, how might that change your life? Remind yourself that it’s okay to be fat today, and let me know how it goes in the comment section below.
And I hope you will bring your hot, fat selves to my next Re/Dress NYC workshop: Attracting Love By Loving Your Body, Wednesday, April 7th! I would love to see you there!
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Golda Poretsky, H.H.C. is a certified holistic health counselor who specializes in transforming your relationship with food and your body. Go to http://www.bodylovewellness.com/stay-in-touch/ to sign up for her newsletter and get your free download — Golda’s Top Ten Tips For Divine Dining.
Looking for more support with intuitive eating and getting off diets? Click here to sign up for your FREE Body Love Wellness Consultation.
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I never know how to word this right, because people always take it the wrong way. >.<
I love curves! I love "fat" chicks. There is absolutely no reason to hate your body because it's not some arbitrarily-low number.
*However* should your weight ever become an issue that it affects your daily life: if your weight is impeding your stamina, or putting you at risk for anything, then it ceases to be something you should love, in my book.
There's a difference between being happy with not being an anorexic twig, and being happy when you've developed diabetes.
So I ask people if they're healthy. I could care less what you weigh. And then people assume I'm ragging on them for being bigger or smaller than the "stereotyped ideal."
@Simim, I don’t really get your reasoning. So you love fat chicks but they should stop loving their bodies if they have some health issues? How does that help anything? And since diets don’t work, what do you think a person should do at that point?
Bald men have a much higher risk for cardiovascular disease than men with hair, so should they get hair plugs and hate their heads because they’re at risk?
And why do you ask people if they’re healthy? I’d be annoyed with that question too.
Hey, guess what? It’s OK to be fat! http://www.bodylovewellness.com/2010/03/...
@bodylovewellnes DATING WOMEN NEWS – Thurs – CELEB. SECTION: Jesse James, Michelle Bombshell, more … http://www.guysthatlie.com/singlewomenne...
RT @bodylovewellnes: Hey, guess what? It’s OK to be fat! http://www.bodylovewellness.com/2010/03/...
Thanks, Angela!
I needed this today too. Heck, I needed this all last week. Sometimes it gets so hard to believe it, but I’m glad I was able to stop and read this and let it resonate with me today. I’m fat, and it’s okay to be me. Thank you for the reminder. :)
Seriously, we all need some freaking positivity when it comes to our bodies. I’m glad this helped today. Thanks for checking in!
NO it is not ok to be fat! A $60 billion a year diet industry is a problem I agree but eating good unprocessed fresh food is not part of that industry. The diet industry is out to offer ‘quick fixes’ which DO NOT EXIST. To be fit and healthy all you need to do is cut out ALL processed foods and exercise a little. Very simple.
@sort it, you’re conflating fatness with ill health. Cutting out processed foods and exercising doesn’t make everyone thin nor does it always create health. I agree that it’s a health-inducing behavior, but you can’t assume that a health inducing behavior will lead to thinness.
thanks for this…i needed it today.
I felt like this blog would have some resonance. I’m glad to help!