I'm Big, And I'm Beautiful

[freydis]

Wow.

I'm feeling the need to go find some Health At Every Size links, and some size acceptance ones, too. A friend of mine (a DGNer's spouse, actually) posts this sort of thing in her journal regularly, and I have to admit, I've found a lot of it rather....educational.

I'll be right back with those links, folks.

[freydis]

Here's a few cut-and-pastes from my friend's journal:

A convincing case study supporting the idea that weight-loss and diet drug companies are exaggerating and/or creating the so-called "obesity crisis":

http://www.sirc.org/articles/sponsoring_obesity.shtml

Interview with Linda Bacon, about "Health at every size":

http://medjournalwatch.blogspot.com/2007/0...-on-weight.html

Big Folks Health FAQ, covering questions that include "How healthy or unhealthy is fat *really*?"

and "What advice do you have on dealing with doctors?" and "What if the doctor says my problem is weight-related?"

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/fat-acceptance-faq/health/

An opinion piece originally published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggesting that because most diets fail, doctors NOT advocate weight-loss for patients unless the patient brings it up as a concern, and urging doctors to be activists against size discrimination:

http://generous.net/health/nejm.shtml

Learn more about making peace with food and the bathroom scale at "Beyond Dieting" (a commercial site for a therapist who deals in food and body image issues, but there's lots of free information here):

http://www.beyonddieting.com/

Most commercial weight loss plans have no science to back up claims that they can help you lose weight. In the few cases where there are peer-reviewed studies, the results still aren't so great. Drop-out rates are around 50 percent. For the people who do complete the program, they lose about an average of 10-15 pounds at first. Three to five years out, they're lucky to have maintained a total loss of about 6 or 7 pounds. Read more here:

http://www.livejournal.com/community/haes/13729.html?#cutid1

I also found her explanation of how she sees "Health at every size" interesting and it rings of truth to me:

1. People naturally come in a variety of sizes, are born with different amount of fat cells and with different metabolisms.

2. Most people have a "set range" of weight where they feel best, and it's very hard or impossible to change that by more than 5 or 10 percent permanently.

3. The best approach to improving health focuses on changing behaviors, one small step at a time, rather than focusing on numbers such as weight or BMI.

4. People can become healthier (NOTE: "healthier" not "completely healthy") without losing or gaining even one pound if they improve their eating and exercise habits.

5. Changing your health habits may lead to a small amount of weight loss, but some people don't lose much or any weight, and that's OK. You can often improve other measures like cholesterol, blood pressure, and resting heart rate by getting more exercise and changing the way you eat even if you don't lose much or any weight.

6. Weight and body fat are not the sole or even the most important issues when it comes to health. Getting adequate sleep, keeping stress under control, wearing sunscreen and getting skin cancer checks, getting regular pap smears, and practicing safer sex are all important to overall health, and should not be neglected in favor of obsessing over your body shape or size.

Everyone is beautiful.

Quit worrying about how fat you are or aren't.

Quit being an asshat to people who are fatter than you 'think' they should be.

Worry about your health.

[freydis]

That said, I'm working toward a happier, healthier me. That includes my mental health. Why hate yourself?

I'm making changes bit by bit. They stick better that way.

DDR does sound kinda fun, tho.

You still have those boxes, Critter? Would they work on a PS2?

[freydis]

Here's a big cutie celeb, Kirsten Vangsness from Criminal Minds. Rowr!

[Falstaff]

<~~~~~~~~~ Fat, jolly Bastard. Don't care either way. Bigger girls are always more fun anyway.

[Scary Guy]

Yes but there is the moped theory "fun to ride but you don't want your friends to see you on one".

Also if you really think big is beautiful I can make you think twice *NSFW* http://yum.bbwchan.org/bbw/ oh yeah *NSFW* where they say "hey that's a great idea, lets run with it and let it get out of hand".

ALL things in moderation, most especially weight.

[freydis]

Yes but there is the moped theory "fun to ride but you don't want your friends to see you on one".

Also if you really think big is beautiful I can make you think twice *NSFW* http://yum.bbwchan.org/bbw/ oh yeah *NSFW* where they say "hey that's a great idea, lets run with it and let it get out of hand".

ALL things in moderation, most especially weight.

You know.......

there seems to be a trend going on here.....

"lets pee on this topic!"

ya'll need to quit being killjoys, or go start your own anti-fat thread.

[Azeuron]

hey if your happy and healthy who is anyone to say anything negative about you we're all flawed in some way no one is really any better than anyone else we're all different and thats what makes this world work. if we were all the same i would've probably ended it long ago lol

[Nienna]

I will never be a small girl. I looked good 40 lbs ago, and having lost that, I'm getting more and more confident about my body. I'm planning to lose a few more, but not much. I love having the curves to fill out clothes and prefer my women the same way. If I wanted a little boy, I'd well.. LOL.. I don't lets just say that.

Too many people have unrealistic ideals about the weight they should have or the size they should wear. I was being told I was "morbidly obese" according to the BMI scale, and I am, according to the BMI scale. Thing is, after getting a body scan and realizing that my bones weight WAY more than average even for men my height, yeah. Screw it. As long as I look good in a dress, I'm big and proud!

[Scary Guy]

You know.......

there seems to be a trend going on here.....

"lets pee on this topic!"

ya'll need to quit being killjoys, or go start your own anti-fat thread.

What I'm not allowed to play devils advocate?

If you're happy with what you look like then great. But if you truly were I don't think you would take such offense to my comments.

Also if I did start my own thread then you wouldn't click on it because you wouldn't want to deal with or look at the truth of things. Big is not beautiful, big is unhealthy, small is unhealthy, and moderation between the two is beautiful (says the skinny stick man).

If people don't confront it they could let themselves go even FURTHER and then the next thing you know you choke on a turkey leg and they're cutting out the side of your house to get you out of the 2nd story with a crane cutting bedsores from you where you've actually melded with the bed, having to have a special casket made http://www.oversizecasket.com and no one shows up at the funeral because you haven't seen anyone in YEARS.

We're the fattest state in the nation and the fattest nation on earth, that should tell you something right there other than we're eating very well. Lets take all this food and send it to Ethiopia so they can get fatter and we can lose some weight.

Maybe it's time we started actively (not just on a social level) taking on obesity. They're no more disabled than the anorexic people who don't eat enough. Oh wait we already are since they get special seating in theaters and charged double for plane rides.

OK sorry we're not the fattest but according to this we're up there http://health.msn.com/reports/obesity

In the end I really am just trying to help. This is the same reason in society normal people pick on the weaker and "different" to make them conform and fit in to better be accepted.

hey if your happy and healthy who is anyone to say anything negative about you we're all flawed in some way no one is really any better than anyone else we're all different and thats what makes this world work. if we were all the same i would've probably ended it long ago lol

If that were true then everyone would get treated the same. The numskull supermodels that are just complete bitches (unless they're on TV) who everyone would kill themselves over just to get some attention would get treated the exact same as the fat girls who have brains (because they didn't get everything handed to them and actually had to work to be interesting and hold people's attention and affections) and nice personalities. "We're all created equal" is a bullshit statement, "we should all have the same rights" is not, and to think otherwise is to obfuscate truth.

[Brenda Starrr]

Seriously. Can I tell you how many skinny chicks I have LITERALLY gone up to and said "Bitch, eat a sandwich???" I don't look down on them. I just hate hearing (and I have) "I just ate a pretzel AND a celery stick. Do you know how MANY fat grams that was????"

Shut the fuck up.

I was seriously thinking that I might need to lose the 20lbs that I gained when I moved here. Jeff feeds me well. But then, I realized that I was probably too thin in the first place. I am 163lbs. That's NOT huge, fat, portly, heavy, or whatever. I'm healthy.

I am tired as shit of reading stupid comments from people who really should know better and might want to shut their pieholes. And, I'm quite obviously not the only one. Yeah, this is the Fashion, Beauty, and Costume forum. And this thread was begun as one woman's satisfaction with herself. And frankly, that rocks. Keep being proud of yourselves, ladies (and guys). That makes me smile.

[Nienna]

Just as an aside, I find it more than a little annoying that when I weighed 40 lbs more, I really didn't get much attention and now that I'm thinner, suddenly guys who have known me for years suddenly want in my pants. I try not to be a bitch, but it's hard sometimes.

Oh and BTW. You rock on Brenda! It's like you're in my head girl! (Only you have more balls than I do! LOL)

[creatureofthenyte]

I know, from experience that becoming comfortable in your own skin, can and often is an endeavor rarely achieved.

Amazingly enough, I achieved it.

Obviously GRG did too, hence this thread.

I think that's awesome.

I also think it's awesome when a women's curves enhance the look of the outfit she's wearing..

[freydis]

What I'm not allowed to play devils advocate?

If you're happy with what you look like then great. But if you truly were I don't think you would take such offense to my comments.

I take offense to your comments for a few reasons:

--Your comments run entirely counter to the purpose of this thread.

--I'm sick of assholes who think that because I'm fat I should hate myself.

--Some of the thoughts you've been expressing show more than a little bit of ignorance.

I posted here, showing I'm comfortable with myself.

You posted here, showing you have a problem with confident fat girls.

Go pee in someone else's cheerios.

I'm not even going to touch the rest of your post, because it runs entirely into another subject altogether. You took a thread about accepting and reveling in one's own confidence and beauty, and turned it into a discussion about sloth and degredation. Your rhetoric is decidedly not appreciated, to say the least. Either way, it's off topic for this thread.

People may have different opinions on what is beautiful and what isn't, but ignorance and prejudice looks ugly on anybody.

[Scary Guy]

I take offense to your comments for a few reasons:

--Your comments run entirely counter to the purpose of this thread.

--I'm sick of assholes who think that because I'm fat I should hate myself.

--Some of the thoughts you've been expressing show more than a little bit of ignorance.

I posted here, showing I'm comfortable with myself.

You posted here, showing you have a problem with confident fat girls.

Go pee in someone else's cheerios.

I'm not even going to touch the rest of your post, because it runs entirely into another subject altogether. You took a thread about accepting and reveling in one's own confidence and beauty, and turned it into a discussion about sloth and degredation. Your rhetoric is decidedly not appreciated, to say the least. Either way, it's off topic for this thread.

People may have different opinions on what is beautiful and what isn't, but ignorance and prejudice looks ugly on anybody.

I'm anything but ignorant, and I'm only prejudicial at the ones who smell a bit, because they don't clean under their rolls right (I'm sure SOME of you know what I'm talking about).

Then again I AM in the minority here apparently.

Oh well, you've called me some names I don't like. I think I'll go eat some comfort food (gallon of ice cream and some chips) to make myself feel better... and not gain a pound.

I have a lot of fat friends actually, some that love it (because it's mostly muscle and makes them more intimidating) some of them really hate it. I'm concerned for all of them though.

I don't think you should hate yourself but I DO think you should do something about it.

Also don't forget that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Just because you think your beautiful doesn't mean the majority of society does.

I'm also happy to piss in anyones cheerios when the milk used in them is filled with lies and delusion.

I'd also like to to point out my ignorance and shoot holes in everything I've said so far.

The truth isn't mean, the truth isn't nice, it is just simply the truth.

For what it's worth I'm also happy you're happy.

EDIT:

Also if any mods want to take all my posts and just throw them into a separate post (maybe in the health and fitness section) just to stop people complaining I don't see a problem with it.

[freydis]

Wow.

I'm actually rather stunned.

You've still managed to ignore the point of the thread, ignore the actual topic, ignore the scholarly references posted, and continue with the same tired rhetoric.

I'm just going to stop here before I say something that'll get me banned.

Just.....wow.

[freydis]

.....a little follow-up, a general point for all.

The first post in the thread said

Im so sick of skinny girls looking down upon me because i'm not a size 2. I want to get back down to a size 9/10, but i have a ways to go. I was a size 20, now im a size 18. hopefully i don't gain it all back over this coming hollidays. yeah... if you are big and beautiful, tell me all about it.. post some pics of your big beautiful self, if the mood strikes you.... oh hell, i have a feeling that this is going to get moved. i didn't entend for it to be, but oh well... I think that this is appropriate for the Fashion, Beauty, and Costume section... HA!!! LOL anyways... post your rants, your complements, your slashings.... anything. I don't care. However, i don't wanna hear poor me, im fat. i wanna hear, "im fat, and damn proud of it" lol

i wanna lose the weight to ge healthier, not to get skinny. I love my body, and I'm proud of my curves. so there...

it didnt say to hell with my health, it didnt say everyone should be bigger.

essentially, it says she's trying to improve her health, but in the meantime, she loves herself, and thinks you should too.

It's a size positive message.

It's a "don't hate on yourself, be confident" kinda message.

Don't think I'm some sort of raving activist, but some of the posts have really pushed buttons and hit on raw nerves.

Perhaps the focus needs to be regained?

on that note.....

I think Sara Rue is a total cutie!

[Destroit]

Wow. So, at 5'7" and 163lbs, I must be fat. Now I know why I hated being a mod. It was because I couldn't tell morons who say really stupid shit to go to Hell. I look fucking GOOD. I have meat on my bones. Yeah, I could stand to firm it up a bit, hence my reason for joining the YMCA.

So much stupidity. So little time. Feel free to raise my warning level.

...wow. Uhmmm, I'm sorry about your insecurities...?

So lemme get this straight, all I did was come into this post and type something about how not only did I gain upwards of 30 - 40 lbs (which IS a substancial amount of weight - I can't even fit into any of my clothes anymore, that's how much I gained) in the last year but I ALSO made the point that it didn't much bother me. That's it. That's all. I never once said "Oh and that blah blah blah is sucha fat ass". Or "All girls that are bigger than me are nasty and big and fat". No. I clearly don't remember saying that, as a matter of fact when I made the initial post I made it because I have been rather voluptous lately AND still feel pretty. So aka I was flaunting my extra poundage - the whole point of the thread...no?

What do I get for this?

Someone calling me a moron and telling me to go to hell, with a sentence at the end emphasizing my stupidity to boot. Psshhht puhlease I did nothing to you, I even made a post after LuluVox's post clarifying my stance and basically saying "to each his own". To put this in simpler terms I was basically stating that you're only as fat as you think you are. If your a bigger girl and your proud of it - don't let me rain on your parade. You're not even bigger at all Brenda, so I'm trying to figure out what it was that I said that got your panties all tied up in a bunch. I mean the way you went off on me you'd think that I shot your damn dog or something.

So much immaturity. So little time. I would raise your warning level, because I was actually pretty hurt when I read your post, but I'm simply not that petty. At 22 years old I'm a bit too mature to play those games.

[Brenda Starrr]

Sweetheart, I'm in NO way insecure. You were not found rude ONLY by me. I have several emails from others who were offended. I don't see how you can call 165lbs fat. I just don't. And what you said DID come off as stupid.

[Destroit]

Right, cool, I get it other people disagreed with me. These things happen, it's called life. I get that I was found to be rude by others, although unintentional, and I apologized and stated that I didn't intend to be rude and explained myself. In my mind I am overweight, even by BMI charts and shit I'm overweight, but I don't care. Yesterday at Thanksgiving I was overwhelmed with family telling me how fat I've gotten and yelling at me everytime I lifted up a chip or nibbled on something, so I'm not the only one who thinks I'm fat. I don't think I'm some huge morbidly obese person, but I definately have a bit of junk in muh trunk. But you seem to be missing the point: I was expressing an "opinion" about myself and all of a sudden I'm getting a brand new asshole torn into me and someone telling me to go to hell, along with other abrasive comments. That was the point I was trying to make, that I didn't much appreciate being attacked for voicing a personal opinion about myself. I really don't give a shit how many people "e-mailed you telling you how rude I was" or any of that, I gave a shit that you were really hurtful intentionally. I've never said such things to you just because I didn't agree with one of your opinions, and I'll leave it at that.

Anyway...back to the actual topic. All you girls are fine, you've got nothin' to worry about. I think anyone can be confident with their weight, in high school when I was much bigger than I am now I had such horrible self esteem due to my weight. I didn't date anyone my entire high school stint because of it, I wouldn't go to parties, make friends, etc. You know normal girl stuff. Then somethign happened around the time when I was 19 - I started noticing other bigger girls who were dressing up all nice all the time and walking around all glitzy and stuff and thought "well if they can feel good about themselves, than why can't I?" So I tried it, and sure enough it actually worked, I started feeling better about myself and included myself in society (because I hadn't ever before). So the moral: It's mind over lbs, you're only going to feel as good about yourself as you let yourself feel.

[xbittergracex]

well....fuck...

[Falstaff]

well....fuck...

Maybe later, right now I'm going to pop some corn and watch this continue.

[Destroit]

Maybe later, right now I'm going to pop some corn and watch this continue.

No, it's done, move along there's nothing to see here peoples. I just basically wanted to make sure I was understood is all I never mean to threadjack...and yet...these thing still happen all the time. I blame my ADD entirely

[Scary Guy]

Wow.

I'm actually rather stunned.

You've still managed to ignore the point of the thread, ignore the actual topic, ignore the scholarly references posted, and continue with the same tired rhetoric.

I'm just going to stop here before I say something that'll get me banned.

Just.....wow.

I'm not ignoring it at all, rather I'm posting because of this. As for ignoring your scholarly references, that's because I know better and I don't trust anyone. Here's a study I can get behind since the bottom line is a longer life. http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/hl...g/BMIwords.html Actually I'm wrong, the bottom line says "E Calle et al. Body-mass index and mortality in a prospective cohort of US adults. The New England Journal of Medicine 1999 341: 1097-1105."

.....a little follow-up, a general point for all.

The first post in the thread said

it didnt say to hell with my health, it didnt say everyone should be bigger.

essentially, it says she's trying to improve her health, but in the meantime, she loves herself, and thinks you should too.

It's a size positive message.

It's a "don't hate on yourself, be confident" kinda message.

Don't think I'm some sort of raving activist, but some of the posts have really pushed buttons and hit on raw nerves.

Perhaps the focus needs to be regained?

on that note.....

I think Sara Rue is a total cutie!

I never said that the OP did say those things.

Also I agree with the comment on Ms. Rue, she was awesome in "Idiocracy"

What do I get for this?

Someone calling me a moron and telling me to go to hell, with a sentence at the end emphasizing my stupidity to boot.

Don't forget I wanted to punch you in the face, and actually tried. However with the low lighting at Luna and my astigmatism I completely missed

Anyhow, I'm done with the thread, bye all *waves*

[Fierce Critter]

I am so upset at this thread that I am literally shaking.

Chernobyl? Scary Guy? Just stay away from me, 'k? You've both said some pretty shit things over and over on this board, been called out on it, and come up with excuses over and over again that you "didn't mean it that way" "was only kidding" "was misunderstood/misconstrued" etc.

In the end I really am just trying to help. This is the same reason in society normal people pick on the weaker and "different" to make them conform and fit in to better be accepted.

When - WHEN - has picking on people ever - EVER - helped "improve" someone? This is an incredibly clueless statement. Picking on someone may make them harder, sadder, more self-loathing than they may have been before. But it doesn't make them feel better, improve to please you, or any of that total, assinine bullshit.

And it's not YOUR FUCKING PLACE to "help" where it's not asked for, or to decide someone needs your input because you have a problem with someone else.

There is SUCH a difference between stating your mind and bullying. I would think you, of all people, would be sensitive to that. But maybe I've given you waaaaay too much credit in the past for sensitivity. Maybe I've defended you to others and been a fool for doing so. No more.

...when I made the initial post I made it because I have been rather voluptous lately AND still feel pretty. So aka I was flaunting my extra poundage - the whole point of the thread...no?

Well, let's see...

...I'm 165 so I'm getting to being a huge beheamoth again...

Hardly sounds like you're feeling pretty or flaunting extra poundage. Nice to know that "beheamoth" is a word you'd use to describe... well... me.

You're not even bigger at all Brenda, so I'm trying to figure out what it was that I said that got your panties all tied up in a bunch. I mean the way you went off on me you'd think that I shot your damn dog or something.

Apparently Brenda is among the enlightened who don't have to fall into the specific category of persons being insulted to recognize ignorance when she sees it and point it out.

I'm simply not that petty. At 22 years old I'm a bit too mature to play those games.

Mature, huh? Let's see...

Uggghhh....[britney Spears] looks SO like...gooey. Her body is so not superstar status anymore, she's quite the tub pudge. Even I'm probably skinnier than that.

Ugh Brit, don't let the door hit you in your fat ass

As a popDIVA, that would assume to me [britney] should at least be skinny, not fat like she is now, I watched the VMA clip out of curiousness and was like "ugghh...talk about more cushion for the pushin" I almost had to turn it off...it was freakin' gross.

Tyra Banks...she used to be gorgeous! Had the perfect body right? Body chicks would kill for....and have you seen her on magazines lately in line at the grocery store? I have...and she's fat. It even says right on the front of the mag that she's all like loving how she gained weight (I mean wayyy WAY more than Brit did, like Tyra Banks is way heavier than even myself now). ...why are these girls still so famous and in the limelight for being mediocre, lazy, and pudgy? That's what I don't get...

I'm one of those shallow girls who at least knows it (I don't blow people off if they're ugly/fat to me, I embrace everyone as people, but I do have a mild instinct to judge by appearance, which I try to block out in everyday life...

You're not doing a very good job of blocking it out. Or hiding it. You've made it plain on more than one occasion now.

Okay...so right now you probably all think I'm shallow...

Yes. Yes I do. And you continue to prove it to me.

I'm done. Ignore activated on both of you now. Seriously. If you respond here, unless it's quoted by someone else, I won't see it.