It’s Okay To Be Fat

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by Golda Poretsky, H.H.C.
www.bodylovewellness.com

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 is a certified holistic health counselor and founder of Body Love Wellness, a program designed for plus-sized women who are fed up with dieting and want support to stop obsessing about food and weight. To learn more about Golda and her work, click here.


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16 thoughts on “It’s Okay To Be Fat”

  1. I have been made fun of for my weight for a while. I’m thirteen and weigh 160 pounds (maybe more) and since I was seven I have been judged for weight.
    I have been self conscious about my stomach for years, and as a kid that’s sad since I never got to enjoy life like a kids should. Instead, I was worried of being judged.
    This article made me happy to be chubby. Thank you. :)

  3. I love that you are encouraging but as a plus size woman (size 14/16) I am always worried that I run the risk of health complications in the future but I eat very healthy and workout more often than thin people I know.

    1. Hi Heather! I understand that we’re constantly hearing stuff about the health risks of fatness, but a lot of that is diet industry advertising. If you want to learn more about Health At Every Size, check out the HAES Master Class here: http://www.haesmasterclass.com. You’ll learn the truth about health and weight and her from lots of different experts. I highly recommend it.

  4. 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."

    1. @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.

  7. 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. :)

  8. 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.

    1. @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.

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