
"When the world says, 'give up,' hope whispers, 'try it one more time."
Author Unknown
picture source:
But there’s a reality that we rarely hear about that seems overshadowed by shows like The Biggest Loser, which illustrate big losses, and media attention, fear and unhelpful regulations about the obesity epidemic. Schools ban cupcakes while grocery stores reward thinner employees. Our assumption of larger bodies being unhealthy is deeply ingrained.
That’s why I’m so thrilled to present part one of my interview with Linda Bacon, Ph.D, author of Health At Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight, a book that reveals the reality behind weight loss and dieting. Linda is a nutrition professor and researcher in the Biology Department at City College of San Francisco. She’s also part of a movement called Health At Every Size, which emphasizes health, not weight. It doesn’t demonize fat and it doesn’t encourage weight loss. Instead, it encourages honoring and listening to our bodies, moving our bodies and eating in a flexible way.
Below is part one of my eye-opening interview with Linda, where she presents solid research about the many, many weight-loss misconceptions that we accept every day as facts.
1. Q: Can you talk about some of the biggest misconceptions about weight loss and the so-called obesity epidemic?
---------------------------------------------------
Toxic Levels Of Self-Hate
Melissa Groman LCSW /Hope Forward
------------------------------------------------
Question #16: Forbidden Foods & What It's Really About
What The Eating Disorder World Wants Mrs. Obama To Know
Laura Collins Lyster-Mensh /The Huffington Post
In the eating disorders world, putting any child on a diet is not only unacceptable but appalling.
In the eating disorders world, a father referring to his child as "chubby" and commenting on her eating habits is not only frowned upon it is reviled.
In the eating disorder world a mother who felt her children were "perfect" should not be corrected by a doctor who points to the children's weight as altering that.
In the eating disorders world it is well-known and embraced that healthy children rapidly gain weight as they approach puberty.
-----------------------------------------------
Dove and Diversity: Not Just For Women
Ads for cars, beer, and action movies typically dominate the costly airtime during Super Bowl. But during The Big Game of 2006, it wasn’t another Bud Light commercial that captivated viewers. Instead, the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty reached an estimated 90.7 million football fans via a 45-second spot that promoted Dove’s Self-Esteem Fund. Dove's manufacturer, Unilever, created the hard-hitting video, True Colors, enlightening the audience—many of them parents—to the importance of fostering a positive body image in girls. And this year, they will do it again.
On Sunday, February 7th Super Bowl XLIV airs another spot that celebrates body diversity. This time, men are the focus:
Read Dove and Diversity in full here.
--------------------------------------------------
February 26th will mark my 4th year in recovery from my eating disorder. Four YEARS! Can you believe it?
In anticipation of this four year mark, I’ve been very thoughtful lately about my past, where I’ve been, how I arrived there, and how I have come to the place where I am now. And where is this ‘place’ that I’m talking about?
The place is happiness.
The place is peace.
It is a place filled with the knowledge that I don’t need to obsess about every morsel that passes my lips, and the confidence to know the difference between hunger and pain (or hurt or boredom or anxiety).
It is also a place where I trust in my own body to tell me what it needs, and have the ability to forgive myself in advance for any over-indulgences that may occur on occasion.
I no longer live in a state of instability and chaos (inevitably dictated by the number on the scale each morning). Oh, what a total relief THAT is!
Above all, I’m coming from a place of love, kindness, and compassion.
This place was not discovered easily. It took a lot of work, self-doubt and determination. In all truth, much of the time, I faked it till I made it. It’s still not easy at times, and I have my own personal struggles just as anyone with past (or present) disordered eating does. However, the bottom line is this…
-------------------------------------------------Unattainable Beauty: The Decades Most Egregious Retouching Scandals
Newsweek
----------------------------------------------------
Girls' favorite cartoon characters get make-overs (not good ones)
feministing.com
----------------------------------------------------
Mom Camps Out To Get Spot In Mental Ward For Son
Newsobserver.com
----------------------------------------------------------
picture source: