The following is a letter I sent to the Fat Studies Group in hopes that I can get some answers on this issue. I wanted to go ahead and post it here, because I'm sure anything a doc has told me, other docs have told other fatties. Any helpful responses I get, I'll post here as well (if I can get permission) or at least summarize so that others can benefit from whatever wisdom the Fat Studies Group members are kind enough to share.
Also, hey, I know there are plenty more smart and wise people in the world than can possibly be contained in one Fat Studies Group (even as awesome as this group is)! So if you have thoughts/wisdom/knowledge to add, please do! :)
TO: Fat Studies Group
DATE: 11/16/2012
Hi folks,
I need your wisdom and your knowledge, please. I am in
a great deal of distress over some medical stuff and accompanying
weight blaming, and I need to arm myself with information in order to
navigate my way through.
As have so many of us, I have spent a lot of time, energy, and
resources working to unlearn the paradigm that fat=health risk and that
lose weight=better health outcomes. I know to ignore docs when they tell
me to lose weight to improve my blood pressure, cholesterol, prevent
diabetes, etc. I know it's about healthy behaviors, not a weight or a
BMI on a chart. I know that when the myriad medical voices and social
pressures get too overwhelming and gastric bypass starts to sound like a
magic wand, I need to turn to my support system and recharge and remind
myself that it is SO NOT the answer. I am a believer in Fat Lib, HAES,
the whole shebang.
And yet... I've gotten a new argument thrown at me that I haven't encountered before, and it's thrown me for a loop.
Apparently now I need to lose weight or I'm going to get uterine cancer. Let me 'splain...
Showing posts with label marilyn wann. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marilyn wann. Show all posts
Friday, November 16, 2012
Sunday, January 23, 2011
31 Days of New Year's REVolution Challenges
I'm posting the 31 Days of REVolution because life has gotten hectic and I don't want people to go without if I have another conflict and miss a day like I did Friday and Saturday (bad Amanda! I feel so bad for letting people down...). If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to the FB Event page (see link below!).
31 Days of REVolution Challenges
Join us in 31 HAES / New Year's REVolution Challenges for the month of January. Join the FB Event (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=190278547652738) to keep up the excitement and stay informed on new developments!
- 1/1/2011 -- New Year’s REVolution kickoff day!
- Dance to the music you love best today!
- Count clouds instead of calories today!
- Tell someone they look beautiful or handsome today!
- Take the first step towards finding a fat-friendly physician today! (You could start with the Fat Friendly Health Professionals list at http://www.cat-and-dragon.com/stef/fat/ffp.html).
- Today, think of one positive/loving thing about a part of your body which you usually dislike and/or ignore! (For extra credit, I’ll share this insight with someone you can trust to appreciate it, or journal about it.)
- Move for the joy of it today!
- Let go of ideas about “good” and “bad” foods today, and simply eat what your body craves!
- Have a spa day today! Either go to a day spa to be pampered or make your own day spa at home with manicure, pedicure, hot bath, facial, etc.
- Stand and sit tall today! Hold your head high and show the world beautiful posture.
- Read a HAES-positive article today, such as Dr. Jon Robison's article, "10 Things You Can Do Right Now To Ease Concerns About Your Weight And Improve Your Health" (http://www.welcoa.org/freeresources/pdf/10thingsyoucandorightnow.pdf).
- Today, try out a movement or exercise activity you haven’t done in a while!
- Have yourself over for dinner today! Make some wonderful food, light candles, put on a dressy outfit and some relaxing music, and really savor every bite.
- Put on some fabulous new shoes today (even if you’re just trying them on in the store)!
- Today, spend a few minutes alone, in front of a mirror, look yourself in the eyes, and notice the thoughts that pass through your mind. (For extra credit, speak an affirmation such as “I accept myself just as I am,” or “I am beautiful, good, and worthy” to your image!)
- Visit a fat acceptance, fat fashion, or body positive blog today! (Find links to dozens of fabulous, fat-positive blogs on the 2011 New Year’s Revolution Resources page at http://2011revolutions.blogspot.com/).
- Enjoy a meal with someone you care about today!
- Find a few minutes to play today!
- Today, weigh the merits of foods not only by how nutritious they are, but also how delicious!
- Pick up the phone today and make that medical or self-care appointment you keep meaning to schedule!
- Wear something that makes you feel sexy and delicious today!
- Enjoy what you eat and eat what you enjoy today!
- Go for a walk or a hike and enjoy nature today!
- Go through your closet today, and get rid of everything that doesn't fit or doesn’t make you feel good when you wear it!
- Today, give loving attention to a part of your body which you rarely pamper!
- Borrow or buy a fat-positive book today! (Find tons of fabulous book suggestions, both fiction and non-fiction, at the 2011 New Year’s Revolution Resources page: http://2011revolutions.blogspot.com/).
- Tune in to what your body feels like before, during, and after you move it today!
- Eat a nutritious and satisfying breakfast today!
- Write down five things you appreciate about your body today!
- Hug somebody today!
- Spend time today thinking or writing about how to continue your New Year’s Revolution through the rest of the year 2011!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Vive la REVOLUTION!
Well, I'm back. I was gone a little longer than the month of November, and I don't even have 50,000 NaNo words to show for it. I have no excuse other than life/I got busy/lost momentum/etc. - which is really no excuse at all!
But then again, I have been working hard at the New Year's Revolution. It started back in early December.... Marilyn Wann proposed that we (the Fat Studies List/the HAES and Fat Poz community(ies)) work to create a movement that would go viral on social media to spread the message of New Year's REVOLUTION rather than resolutions - love your body, don't buy in to January pressures to diet/self-hate, and so forth.
So throughout December, I was hot and heavily involved with brainstorming with the fabulous folks of the Fat Studies List on exactly what and how we should do for this awesome FB/social media event. I gathered lists of resources, blogs, books, and daily HAES challenges and compiled them, and other folks created images, took my list and turned it into a fabulous webpage (see http://2011revolutions.blogspot.com/), blogged and Tumblr'd and Tweeted out the wazoo, and so forth. It's been quite an affair, and I'm extremely proud of my role in the whole shebang, and flattered and humbled by the amazing group of people I have the privilege to work with. I mean, who'd'a thunk I'd count such luminaries as Marilyn Wann, Deb Burgard, Marianne Kirby, and so many others as friends and colleagues?? Holy cow, it's so darn cool!!
Seriously... a ton of great people (well, several tons, probably - we're rad fatties after all!) have contributed to this event, and we're already starting to think about how to carry the banner on into February and beyond.
Visit the website (again, it's http://2011revolutions.blogspot.com/), join the FB Event, (http://www.facebook.com/?sk=events#!/event.php?eid=190278547652738), and keep watching this space to join in the fun!!
But then again, I have been working hard at the New Year's Revolution. It started back in early December.... Marilyn Wann proposed that we (the Fat Studies List/the HAES and Fat Poz community(ies)) work to create a movement that would go viral on social media to spread the message of New Year's REVOLUTION rather than resolutions - love your body, don't buy in to January pressures to diet/self-hate, and so forth.
So throughout December, I was hot and heavily involved with brainstorming with the fabulous folks of the Fat Studies List on exactly what and how we should do for this awesome FB/social media event. I gathered lists of resources, blogs, books, and daily HAES challenges and compiled them, and other folks created images, took my list and turned it into a fabulous webpage (see http://2011revolutions.blogspot.com/), blogged and Tumblr'd and Tweeted out the wazoo, and so forth. It's been quite an affair, and I'm extremely proud of my role in the whole shebang, and flattered and humbled by the amazing group of people I have the privilege to work with. I mean, who'd'a thunk I'd count such luminaries as Marilyn Wann, Deb Burgard, Marianne Kirby, and so many others as friends and colleagues?? Holy cow, it's so darn cool!!
Seriously... a ton of great people (well, several tons, probably - we're rad fatties after all!) have contributed to this event, and we're already starting to think about how to carry the banner on into February and beyond.
Visit the website (again, it's http://2011revolutions.blogspot.com/), join the FB Event, (http://www.facebook.com/?sk=events#!/event.php?eid=190278547652738), and keep watching this space to join in the fun!!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Link of the day
I highly recommend this AWESOME, empowering article by Paul Campos and Marilyn Wann (What a pairing; FA royalty if anyone is!)
Below is an excerpt of my favorite few paragraphs; read the rest at the link that follows.
Below is an excerpt of my favorite few paragraphs; read the rest at the link that follows.
Fatties, it's time to fight back: If you're judged obese, you're a second-class citizen at best
... We recognize that the stakes are high. Fatter people are less likely to be hired, are paid less, are less welcome as college applicants, are denied medical treatments, are likely to be charged double when we fly on airplanes, are unwelcome as customers seeking to buy clothes and are discriminated against constantly in countless ways. If you're judged fat, you're a second-class citizen at best, untouchable - even less than human.
That's wrong. Very wrong.
So, it's time to fight the good fight against clueless bullies. If you can't be at home in your own body, where exactly are you supposed to go? Sure, eat right and exercise. That's what both of us do. It's good for us, and it feels good. But guess what - one of us is still thin and the other is still fat.
And that's only natural. The idea that Kevin Smith would be as waif-like as Keira Knightley if they both had the same lifestyle is nonsense. But it's the kind of nonsense that our government feeds us every day, when it claims that, according to a bunch of definitions it made up out of thin air, everyone can and should be a certain size.
So be a rebel. Draw a line that's guaranteed to do you (and people of all sizes) some good. Draw a line against weight bullying. And defend it. Eat what you want and where you want. And fly only the airlines that treat you properly.
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