I envy those whose pain is socially appropriate. If someone's walking into walls, red-eyed and unable to concentrate, we excuse that if we know her dad just died or she's going through a divorce. We also give people some slack if we know they're having a bad day with...
Previous post on weight & health: Someone asked me about being pregnant Jen Larsen gives a stunningly honest account of her weight loss through surgery in Stranger Here: How Weight-Loss Surgery Transformed My Body and Messed with My Head. With a publication...
Previous post on weight & health: Fatness equals happiness? Yesterday I saw my doctor for a regular exam. I hadn't seen her since last fall or maybe it was summer. I was looking forward to the weigh-in because I've gained so much weight and I wanted to see...
Previous post on weight and health: Doctors, please don't tell fat people to lose weight A book called Health At Every Size: The Surprising Truth about Your Weight by Linda Bacon is causing big shifts for me. It promotes accepting all bodies regardless of size...
Previous post on fat and health: Exercise that feels GOOD (and I don't mean morally) I seem to have taken a slide into weight and body issues on this blog. Oh, well. That's where my focus is these days. Food issues are a huge part of my self esteem building and...
Previous post on this topic: I want to bend easily again After years of being a gym rat (and between size 6 and 10), I stopped all exercise last March, except for dog walking and yoga classes at my workplace. Since there haven’t been any workplace yoga classes since...
(Can you find the dog in this photo?) Previous post on this topic: Gaining 25 pounds in 3 months I want to be part of the fat acceptance movement, but I'm having doubts. The 25 pounds I put on since October have added to and subtracted from my happiness. I love...
(By the way: Happy New Year! I hope.) One morning as I walked to the train station, someone handed me a booklet entitled "25 Reasons to Try Vegetarian." Not counting the front and back covers, it's 14 pages of persuasive writing with excellent presentation and quality...
Previous post on weight and health: Uncomfortable with the new me I'm a small-boned, petite woman who is all of five feet two inches tall. I'm 46 and a half years old. Most of my adult life, my weight has hovered between 120 and 135. With my sweet tooth and use...
Previous post on my fatness. I'm fatter these days, but also happier. I've kicked my harsh inner critic out of the driver's seat and am treating myself gently and kindly. I'm not restricting food, I'm not eating for emotional reasons and I feel physically great: more...
We are such a self-punishing culture. Americans, especially women, often try to achieve ideal health or appearance in truly painful ways. While there's no getting around the pain of laser treatment or pelvic exams, there are many ways that we hurt ourselves completely...
One stunning side effect of my recent achievements in self-nurturing and loving myself is that my digestion has improved. I've struggled with self-loathing behaviors and low self esteem my whole life, but my digestion only started having real problems a few years ago....
Disclaimer: since I've become properly obese, I re-read these old posts and see my body dysmorphia and obsession with food and weight. It's sad to me now. Previous post on fatness. I've worked hard for decades on my negative thinking and self-punishing behaviors. With...
Previous post on fatness. Disclaimer: since I've become properly obese, I re-read these old posts and see my body dysmorphia and obsession with food and weight. It's sad to me now. Yes, I've made another U-turn in my nutritional beliefs. In my ongoing search for...
Previous post on fatness. Disclaimer: since I've become properly obese, I re-read these old posts and see my body dysmorphia and obsession with food and weight. It's sad to me now. I've now read Women Food and God twice and have started When Food is Love: Exploring...