No Hindrance Here!
I had read a comment on a blog yesterday from someone who said that when they were “heavy” (no weight stated) that they felt sluggish, hindered and just “gross.” And, well, quite frankly this pissed me right off!
We all have days when we aren’t feeling our absolute best, but I’m sick of people saying that weight holds us back from living a life we want. That is utter *bullshit! I’m somewhere between 300 and 340lbs and I don’t feel sluggish or hindered at all! My fat has never kept me from doing anything I wanted to do. NOTHING!!! I have flown all over Europe, walked the many streets of Rome & Paris (honeymoon) and taken a helicopter ride over Maui (only time I was required to buy two seats, based on weight: totally worth it!), worn a bathing suit in Hana, Maui in front of a bunch of surfers and tourists, amusement park rides (okay, one ride I couldn’t go on ’cause I didn’t fit but I secretly didn’t want to go on this one, it looked scary!), I walk and run and play with my puppy…you name it! My fat is my BFF and not my enemy, yo!
And since I’m already talking about what pisses me right off, I am sick of people telling me about their diet or weight loss as though it’s a positive thing. I won’t always rain on their parade with comments like, “You know weight loss is the key indicator of many fatal diseases?” but I have occasionally said, “Oh, I’m sorry for your loss.” And yeah, perhaps this comes across as snarky or mean, but shit, I didn’t ask about your fucking eating habits or ass fluctuations and you certainly have never asked about mine (you totally should though, it will be fun to think of a witty remark just for you). And the people who binge eat for two months solid, basically from Halloween to NYE, only to swear off “bad” food forever come January first. Fuck all of that!
I live each day in my body. I live each day and eat to live. I wake up in the morning and need to fuel my brain and body. I could give a flying leap if ignorant jerks want to judge me based solely on my size. I don’t judge you, please stop judging me! And celebrities and their ridiculous shilling for diet programs?! JUST STOP!!! No one believes you! In a year or two or five when you’ve gained back 20% more than you lost to begin with and you’re depressed and your career is floundering? Well, Oprah won’t be there for you to cry on and to relaunch a new diet program. And don’t come cryin’ to me after the way you trashed the fat! You’re a human with a brain, do the research! Read a damned book! Don’t take any corporation at their word, ever! And stop spreading fucking myths!
Please stop believing every word your doctor says. Your doctor is subsidized by big pharma! And who makes diet pills? Big pharma! Who makes diabetes meds? Two guesses! Who wants us all sick as hell so that they can keep shaking us by our fucking ankles? Big pharma! And I’m sick of it! I am fat and I am healthy and best of all I am mutha-fuckin’ happy! And thanks to FA I have no problem telling someone in my life that I don’t want to hear about their diet or new exercise routine. I make no bones about asking someone, respectfully, to filter me from their LJ when talking about these things. I don’t wanna hear it. If you don’t wanna hear something I have to say, tell me, I’ll filter you or ask why and try to understand your side. No worries! But to prescribe hundreds of millions of people to change all at once for no reason at all (IMHO)…FUCK YOU!
Just had to get this off my chest. Hope you understand. Feel free to gripe away in comments. Thanks! =0)
*I do realize that there are many people in the world with various health and mobility issues where their weight may be a hindrance to them. I am in no way representing anyone but myself here.
YOU GO GIRL! I feel the same way. I am supposed to be miserable according to the doctors and television and only a few steps away from death according tot he term “morbidly obese.” Yea, I am a morbid person. Yea I am obese, but otherwise I am quite fine thank you. HAHA! This time of year, hearing everyone’s diet talk in the lunchroom and just plain EVERYWHERE makes me barf. I hate it. Plus the commercials! (i just did a blog entry about them myself) If I could not move around or walk then, hell yea you can pick on me, but that’s not the case at all.
Oh! I haven’t checked your blog since before my vaca. Sorry, doll. I love your blog btw! Thanks for this. Yeah, I don’t consider myself morbid, or obese, but just fat and fucking happy! Sick of the stupid labels and oppresive diet culture. Rock on, Sue!
i love yours too!!!
*fatty-love-hugs*
I love your blog posting. I too am sick of the diet culture that tries to stuff their opinion down our throats and refuses to accept the fact that diets don’t work. What’s so wrong with being fat? Nothing except the media wants us to hate our bodies! I don’t personally have a problem with weight loss (to each his own), I’m just so tired of weight loss being the cure-all for all problems.
Oh, thank you! Those corporations have to find some way to profit off of oppressing us, no? Ha!
Heh, I think I’m in danger of falling in Internet Love with you Lady.
*Blushes* That is totally allowed! Ha! Thank you!!! <3
Sing it sister! I am 300lb (give or take) and there is nothing I want to do that I can’t!
Woo Hoo!
Amen sister!!
I get so fed up with being TOLD how I feel without ever being ASKED how I feel.
Yes! Like, if I had a concern/needed a break? I’d ask for it! Ugh!
Maybe it was the food that was making her ‘sluggish’ rather than the weight. I go through phases where I try to eat healthily and I feel a massive difference after eating the blended contents of my fruit basket and chicken salad for a few days, after my usual ‘I LOVE CARBS WITH LARD ON IT’ diet. (I blame being a student).
I think people are just too lazy (or are perceived to be too lazy by the media) to get away from the FAT=BAD message.
Fair enough, if all you eat are high cholesterol foods (and possibly have a pre-disposition to it) you’ll (probably) put on weight AND have high cholesterol which raises the risk of stroke/heart disease. But correlation is not causation, as every high school statistics course will tell you.
There really isn’t enough done to decouple weight and emotional issues. We’re always fed the line that thin = happy, and it’s become the holy grail. And very marketable. No matter what size I am, I am always going to have body hang ups…
Women’s magazine’s sometimes just make me want to scream – I can’t think of a single one that promotes individualism. Even that sentence reads weirdly. They promote thinness, youngness, fashion (but only the mainstream kind), celebrity and all sorts of fluff that doesn’t matter. I HATE being talked down to I am not a fucking set of statistics. I am a geneticist, caver, friend, traveller, advocate… I want to pick something up and learn something or be inspired. Not that Paris Hilton lost 50 pounds on the kidney and dandilion diet.
I’m going to stop posting now. Food’s ready and I’m likely to continue on ranty tangents until this post becomes an unreadable all-caps rant. *rolls eyes*
Ha-ha! I love a good rant, so let loose! But you’re right about the ease of buying into the thin=all things great! I will argue on one point though, I read BUST magazine (it lead me to FA!) and I think that it does promote individualism. I don’t care for their fashion spreads (not because of models size but style choices aren’t mine), but overall it’s a great read full of things to learn from. And yes, I feel so much better when I am eating real foods, but I must remind myself that not everyone has the luxury of access to such things (or know how to get/prepare them). Thanks so much.
I’ve never heard of Bust. And that’s sort of my point. If it exists in the UK, I doubt that it would have made a difference to me having heard of it.
The shelves are lined with glossy celebrity-and-diet magazines – there are no alternatives. The ‘classiest’ one I can think of is Cosmo. Which combines ‘diet’ with ‘101 ways to please your man in bed’. Inspirational role models anywhere? Men aren’t immune to it either. This TERRIFIES me (http://jezebel.com/5693656/how-your-playboy-centerfold-sausage-is-made-nsfw)
What I want is a *mainstream* message that we are not a set of numbers – and that our minds and our status as human beings is worth something
I am not sure if it’s available in the UK, sorry. I began reading Cosmo when I was 9, not the best thing for a 9 year old to be reading, let me tell you! But I felt grown up reading it and while I was already boy crazy by that point I continued to read it even after I had begun to question all of their ridiculous messaging about diets and men and all of that. It wasn’t until that first issue of BUST I picked up to read on a plane that I realized I’d been fed so many lies for so many years. I think that is the most important part though, I had already begun to question it and so I was more open to alternatives. Not everyone is and I completely understand that, too. I think the best thing we can do is no longer remain silent when faced with such nonsense. If we speak up, often enough, we will be heard and we can reach many more this way. Hopefully we can get our messages into the mainstream, too. =0)
Don’t apologise! I was just making the point that anything which promotes acceptance is niche, and that’s terrifying.
People aren’t taught to question what they’re fed – you’ve obviously got a good sense of your own personality and willpower (and balls – god knows I don’t have enough to start a business!). I think working with often vulnerable young people I really see how those negative messages can get through to those who have self esteem issues – and I doubt many of them can stand up in the face of it and say ‘No – this isn’t right’.
I agree with the ‘silence is the enemy’ approach – the way to introduce individual-positive (because this extends to so much more than body-positivity) role models into people’s lives is to *be* one