Tonight, I’m going to be speaking with Ragen Chastain (of Dances With Fat) and Linda Bacon (who literally wrote the book on Health At Every Size®) as part of the 2nd Annual Body Love Revolutionaries Telesummit!

As you may have heard, Ragen has organized a 1 day only money bomb to put up a billboard in a high-trafficked area of Atlanta with a positive message to counteract the negative Strong4Life campaign.

On top of that, the wonderful More Of Me To Love site is matching money bomb contributions up to $5,000!

I’ve already made a donation, but I want to do more. So, I’m donating 30% of the proceeds from Body Love Revolutionaries Telesummit All-Access Passes purchased before 11PM Eastern today.

That means that when you purchase an All-Access Pass today, the proceeds will go:

• 30% to the Support All Kids Money Bomb
• 10% to NOLOSE
• 10% to NAAFA

(and the rest, as always, goes to supporting more free events like this from Body Love Wellness!)

Plus, you get live access to all the calls and access to the recordings through the end of March!

You can check out the Telesummit by clicking here and check out the money bomb by clicking here. You can even purchase your All-Access Pass right here!

Yes, Golda, please sign me up for an All Access Pass to the Body Love Revolutionaries Telesummit. Payment Options Great! $20.00 USD Yay! $30.00 USD Awesome! $40.00 USD Mindblowing! $50.00 USD

Thanks and I hope to “see” you tonight!

xo,

Golda

EDIT:  We raised $73 for the billboard project just from All Access Pass purchases!  Yay!

Buy A Pass, Get A Billboard originally appeared on Body Love Wellness on February 2, 2012.

by Golda Poretsky, HHC
http://www.bodylovewellness.com

Listen to the podcast here:

I was hooked on Treme from the first episode.   For those of you who haven’t heard about it, it’s a show that follows the lives of a number of inter-related characters in post- Hurricane Katrina New Orleans.  It’s been getting a lot of acclaim for its great writing, moving storylines, amazing music and fine acting.

Fabulously Fat Characters On Treme (Courtesy Of The Telegraph UK)

But the thing that I like most about it is the way that size diversity is treated as the norm for the show’s characters.

Season #1 had two fat main characters: Antoine Batiste, played by Wendell Pierce, and Creighton Bernette, played by John Goodman.  And although I really wish there were a fat, female main character, fat supporting women crop often as attorneys (like Toni Bernette’s colleague), teachers, musicians, friends, and lovers.  Many of the musicians who play themselves on the show are also fat.

The really great thing about all of this fabulous fatness is that fatness is never a storyline.  It’s never mentioned.  No one talks about diets or weight loss or whatever.  Every character, fat or thin, has good things about them and not so good things about them.  Fatness isn’t a sign of weakness or strength or good or evil or whatever.  It just is.  Fat people aren’t relegated to flat characters.  They have depth, they live their lives, they dance, they get laid.

“

Wendell Pierce As Antoine Batiste [Courtesy of HBO

Treme is really what TV should be — well-written, entertaining, and representative of real people.  In other words, it’s just the kind of show that gets canceled too soon (except on HBO, right?).

Are there any fat positive shows out there that I’m missing?  Let me know in the comments section below!

Check out the Treme trailer here:

If you don’t have HBO, you can get the first season of Treme here.

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 get your free download — Golda’s Top Ten Tips For Divine Dining.

Size Positive Spotlight: Treme On HBO originally appeared on Body Love Wellness on May 16, 2011.

Let’s put an end to the weight-obsessed dieting resolutions and start this year off differently!

Here’s what you can do to be a part of it:

1. Join the Facebook Event Page and let everyone know you’re taking part.
2. Grab the logo on the right and make it your facebook image.
3. Check out the New Year’s Revolution Resource Site for great HAES and fat positive resources.  Use what you find there to get the word out on facebook, twitter, tumblr etc. about putting an end to diet culture and starting a revolution of body positivity!

By the way, starting at the end of January, I’m going to be interviewing some amazing Body Love Revolutionaries, so stay tuned for some info about that.

Happy New Year’s Revolutioning!

What’s Your New Year’s ReVolution? originally appeared on Body Love Wellness on December 31, 2010.

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

Listen to the podcast here:

Just by reading my blog, you, dear reader, are taking your life into your own hands!!!

You’ve probably seen the recent pseudoscience reports that obesity (gasp!) is contagious (double gasp!!) and by having fat friends and relatives you’re increasing your risk of catching THE OBESITY!!!

ZOMG SCIENCE!!!

*  *  *

Sorry, I just fainted from fear!  But worry not, I’m back.

I’m not going to go into the details (because more fabulous researchers than I have already debunked these reports) but, in a nutshell, these reports about “contagious obesity” are based on faulty science that infers causation from mere correlation.

In other words, as Dr. Jon Robison pointed out in his review of this b.s., it’s like finding that bald men have more heart attacks, assuming that baldness is causing the heart attacks, and then prescribing rogaine as prevention against heart attacks.

Just to give the Fatty Contagion Theory some social context, using contagion (or germ) theory to make a particular group appear threatening and “other” is part of a longstanding and hideous tradition.  It’s been a popular principle behind insidious social crusades like anti-gay discrimination and racial segregation.  Whether the theory is that you’re going to catch a perceived illness or lifestyle or whether a particular group are carriers of a harmful illness, contagion theory just paints a thin veneer of “concern for your health” over a much nastier sentiment of “I hate your group and I’m going to find a reason to cast you out of society.”

Personally, I have a theory for why the Fatty Contagion Theory is getting some press lately.  You see, us fat folks are getting extra loud and proud.  We’re holding Kiss-In‘s, creating awesome fashion events, winning Oscars, telling diet pushers to suck it, and variously telling the world that one can be fat and all manner of awesome all at once.

What’s obvious to me is that the real contagion of fatness is Fat Pride.  I get emails from people every week who have caught a virulent strain of Fat Pride.  It’s a dangerous contagion for sure.  It’s resistant to all the known remedies for Fat Pride, including diet pills, surgery, and even shaming.  It is sweeping the nation and if we don’t do something about it soon, we will all be consumed by these horrendous symptoms.

Symptoms Of Fat Pride:

• liking ourselves
• thinking fatness is hot
• stopping dieting
• wearing awesome clothes
• creating awesome clothes
• liking how we look
• fighting fat shaming
• fighting fat discrimination.

These are just some of the symptoms.  There have been other reported cases involving yelling “Kiss Me.  I’m Fat!” but such reports have not been corroborated.

Please leave a comment below if you believe you have become yet another statistic in this dangerous Fat Pride epidemic!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Struggling with food and body image issues? Looking to transform your relationship with food and your body? Then sign up for your free Body Love Breakthrough Session by clicking here.

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!

© Golda Poretsky 2010

I Think I’ve Caught The Fat Contagion!!! (Signs & Symptoms Elucidated) originally appeared on Body Love Wellness on November 15, 2010.

According to the NY Times, Abbott Laboratories has removed Meridia from the market under pressure from the FDA!  We can now add this dangerous weight loss drug to the long list that dates back to the 19th century, including:  thyroid extract, dinitrophenol, amphetamines, digitalis, phenylpropanolamine, fen/phen, dexfenfluramine and orlistat (which is still on the market, I believe as Alli).  (See Marilyn Wann’s Fat!So? for details.)

Perhaps they’ll ban weight loss surgery next?  A girl can dream.

Another Weight Loss Drug Is Off The Market! originally appeared on Body Love Wellness on October 9, 2010.

This blew my mind today.

Aside from the obesity = chronic illness rhetoric, our new, plus-sized Surgeon General is promoting Health At Every Size!  As in, you can be healthy at any size, and it’s important to eat well, exercise and have fun doing it!

ROCK ON!

Whoa, What? Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin Promotes HAES! originally appeared on Body Love Wellness on October 5, 2010.

Last week, I told you guys that my book, Stop Dieting Now: 25 Reasons To Stop, 25 Ways To Heal is now available at online retailers in the U.S. and Canada (and now in the U.K.)!

I know! Yay!

So here’s where I need a bit of your help.  As you know, the popularity on the Interwebs is all about rankings and page views and links and all that.  And I know that most of you reading this right now are fans of Body Love Wellness, the blog, the podcast, and the work that we’re doing to revolutionize the way that people feel about their bodies.

How You Can Help With Just A Few Clicks:

• Add It To Your List — If you have a list of books in certain categories on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads or wherever, add it to your lists.
• Share The Link — Share Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads and other links on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc.
• Write Reviews On Book Seller Web Sites — Even if you haven’t read the book yet, if you read the blog you have a good sense of my writing style, so feel free to comment and give lots of stars!
• Tag It — Agree with tags or add your own on bookseller web sites.
• Buy The Book — If you feel so inclined. :)
• Have Me Speak – If you have a book club or other group that you’d like me to talk to or do a reading for, shoot me an email!  Blog interviews are great too.

Where to find it:

• Goodreads
• Amazon US
• Amazon Canada
• Amazon UK
• Barnes & Noble
• More Of Me To Love
• AbeBooks
• IndieBound

Thanks, dudes!

And stay tuned for info on my upcoming book signing at Re/Dress NYC!

Happy Bastille Day!

The Body Love Revolution Needs You! originally appeared on Body Love Wellness on July 14, 2010.

This week in fatabulousness . . .

• Fat Bride Flickr Pool – A bevvy of fat and fabulous brides!  A great antidote to the must lose ___ pounds in order to get married b.s.
• Ding Dong Change4Life Is Dead — Britain’s anti-illiteracy anti-obesity campaign is being tossed.
• Losing Some Weight! – Tabayag shares the power of losing some weight (from your closet).
• Facebook Allows Hate Speech Against Fat People — HuffPo reports on this glaring reality.

And, I know I said I was going to pick only one commenter to this post, but I couldn’t.  So I picked 3.  Congrats to Chibi Jeebs, Kate D, And Amy T!  You each won a free Body Love Breakthrough Session with me!   Look for an email from me with scheduling info!

Thanks to everyone who commented.  If you’d still like a free session, click here to sign up for my newsletter, and you’ll get info on how to get your own Body Love Breakthrough Session.

Back To The Fature & Contest Winners! originally appeared on Body Love Wellness on July 9, 2010.

I’m pleased to announce that my book, Stop Dieting Now: 25 Reasons To Stop, 25 Ways To Heal is now available at online retailers in the US, Canada, and the UK!

From an early age, our culture tells us that losing weight and dieting is the key to having it all.  Whether it’s better health, a better body, or a better lover, we all learn that dieting will get us what we want faster than anything else.

Though we all want this to be true, if you’re like most dieters, then you know that dieting does not equal happiness.  Not only that, dieting can result in lots of unintended effects, like weight gain, disordered eating, and low self esteem, just to name a few.

But there is a way out.  In this breakthrough book, I show you why diets don’t work and how you can break free from dieting patterns that are holding you back from happiness.

When you read Stop Dieting Now!, you will come away with breakthrough insights and practical actions that you can take immediately to change your relationship with food and your body.  Here are just a few things that you will learn from this book:

• Why you can’t stick to diets (hint: it’s not about willpower).
• Simple techniques for letting go of food-related guilt and shame.
• Why you always seem to gain back the weight you lose from dieting.
• How old diet rules and habits can negatively interfere with your food choices, long after you stop dieting.
• How to avoid passing on dieting behaviors to your kids.
• The dangers behind “weighting” to be thinner before you make changes in your life.
• Real tools that support you in making peace with your body.
• And so much more . . .

Where to buy:

• Goodreads (If you’re a member, please mark it as to-read!)
• Amazon US
• Amazon Canada
• Amazon UK
• Barnes & Noble
• AbeBooks
• IndieBound

Let me know when you get it!

And stay tuned for info on my upcoming book signing at Re/Dress NYC!

Stop Dieting Now Is Now Available! originally appeared on Body Love Wellness on July 7, 2010.

This week in ferocious fatness . . .

• “Second Verse, Same As the First; Fat Acceptance Is For Everyone” — Marianne explains why fat acceptance is for everyone, even thin people.
• “On Cure Evangelism” — Really interesting post by Feminists With Disabilities about “cure evangelism” that will definitely ring a bell for anyone who’s ever dieted (or been told that losing weight will cure whatever ails them).
• “Arm(istice)” — GirthfulGirl declares a truce with her arms.  Let’s hope they don’t take up arms against her!  (Heh, heh. Heh.)
• “Huge, Episode 1: Goonies never say die” — Reading Lesley’s recaps of fat-related shows is like watching those shows with your BFFF (Best Fat & Fabulous Friend).
• ” How to Heal From Emotional Eating: Insights & Advice” and “Notes on Body Image and Feeling Sexy At Any Size” — In case you missed them, Margarita from the Weightless Blog wrote fantastic (and thorough) recaps of my two recent teleclasses — How To Heal From Emotional Eating and How To Feel Sexy At Any Size.

Back To The Fature originally appeared on Body Love Wellness on July 2, 2010.