Posts tagged weight
StopHatingYourBody
On a mission to live a body positive life
This is a series of ads from the early 20th century right up to the 1970s.
You might notice what they’re advertising is, instead of the weight loss solutions we’re used to today, they’re actually advertising weight GAIN.
‘It’s hard to believe they once called me skinny!’
‘Skinny girls are NOT glamour girls!’
‘a skinny, scarecrow figure is neither fashionable nor glamourous!’
‘thousands quickly gaining beauty-bringing pounds!’
Notice how less than a hundred years ago, these ads were meant to shame thin bodies the way weight loss ads shame fat bodies today? Notice that how as time goes by, the ‘ideal’ body shape changes from era to era? Notice how in these ads as well as those seen today, they’re meant to make people feel bad about the way they look?
These ads are just as bad as the ones that run today. They’re meant to shame you and make you feel inadequate for one sole reason: so you go out and spend money on their products. It’s not about your self esteem, your health, or your happiness. It’s about selling the product. It’s about making the money.
Your body is NOT wrong. You don’t need pills, diets, or supplements to make you happy, attractive, or ‘right’. All bodies are good bodies. It doesn’t matter if you’re skinny, fat, tall, short, disabled, scarred, anything at all.
Do not let the media dictate what you think you should be. The media is fickle. It does not care about you. Don’t let yourself care about what it says.
Love,
You have no Obligation to be Weighed
My PSA for the day:
I’ve seen this come up a few times in my follow list today from rants and blogs and notes.
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When you go to the Doctor, you have the right to not be weighed.
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There was a time in my life when knowing what the numbers on the scale said would have sent me into an absolute spiral of loathing, self-injury and suicidality. And that was even if they were “good.” I finally got to the point where if I knew my weight had stayed relatively static, I refused to be weighed when seeing the Doctor.
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If you have not gone to the Doctor specifically for a weight-related issue (ED treatment or other related problem that they consider to be tied to the scale), you are under no obligation to be weighed.
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It took me a long time to figure that out. But once I did? I never let some know-it-all nurse shove me on the scale. I have only once ever had one even give me push back about it.
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Generally my answer was, “My weight has not changed significantly since I was last here so I would prefer not to be weighed.”
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The only time I had to say more than that was with one bitch nurse who said, “Well, if you don’t want to see you can just step on backwards and I won’t tell you the number.”
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To which I replied, “I have a severe anxiety and depressive disorder. I have major body issues. If you TAKE my weight, I HAVE to see it. If I see it, whether it is what I expect or not, I will leave here, obsess about it, and ultimately- end up doing myself a great deal of physical and emotional harm because of that number. If you won’t let me see the Doctor without being weighed, I’m leaving.”
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Your emotional and psychological health and well being are JUST as important as what the medical profession considers your physical health to be. You are a far better judge of your own health and how your emotional state plays into that than some nurse who’s never had a single second of genuine worry about what those number say about her.
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Outside of being a marker for ED and recovery (which I can’t speak to very well because admittedly my ED issues were always overeating related), or a drastic change in weight which can affect dosage recommendations on SOME medications, your weight is not a diagnostic tool of any kind unless there has been a sudden or drastic change in a short period of time- which quite frankly, is usually obvious WITHOUT a scale to tell them so.
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Don’t feel obligated to put your emotional and mental health aside because someone in scrubs has asked you to step on a scale.
(Source: imsarahcate)
Whether you think all bodies are beautiful or you never said there isn’t anything wrong with being overweight you are still missing a key point in body positivity.
Which is respect.
Saying, “but it has been proven that being extremely overweight is unhealthy” is invasive and that is disrespectful.
Saying, “aren’t you concerned for your health, though?” is invasive and disrespectful.
Saying, “I’m all for loving yourself but aren’t you concerned you are promoting an unhealthy lifestyle?” is stigmatizing fat people and therefore EXTREMELY disrespectful.
Saying, “Don’t you want to live longer? What if you have kids? Don’t you want to be there for them?” is invasive and disrespectful.
You act concerned. Maybe you are. But your concern is problematic. Often times disingenuous. And always, always hurtful.
This behavior effects self esteem. Health and self esteem are connected to fat bodies because we are told how unhealthy we are simply for existing. It shapes our self esteem. It wears down on our body image. It tears at our mental capacity to feel good about ourselves. And saying that shit perpetuates these stigmas and fucks with us. So kindly understand what your invasive, disrespectful, faux concern does to us and rework your attitude toward health and fat people.
(via saucy-mermaid)
Weight loss does not make people happy. Or peaceful. Being thin does not address the emptiness that has no shape or weight or name. Even a wildly successful diet is a colossal failure because inside the new body is the same sinking heart.
(Source: the-healing-nest, via annieelainey)
The Scale Does NOT DEFINE YOU!
*sigh* I just typed this whole long thing up, and tumblr logged me out and lost all of it -_-, so here it goes again!
I’m going to take you all back in time to a place called elementary school, a death trap filled with ignorance, arrogance and uneducated shit heads (pardon my french). I can distinctly remember a time as a 12 year old at the lunch table with most of my class discussing weight and how heavy or light everyone was. Now in my home we didn’t have a scale because my mom thought it promoted poor thinking, which I appreciate now knowing how dangerous those contraptions are. However, with a recent visit to the doctor for a regular checkup I knew that I was 150 pounds at 12 years old, now at the time I was already 5’6 bordering 5’7 and I was a completely healthy weight for my body and my doctor had no advice for my perfectly healthy self… However at the lunch table I learned something totally different, the number of the scale defined how skinny or fat you were and it also defined you as a person. I being naive and unsure of what I was getting myself into stated casually that I was 150 pounds, to the surprise of my classmates who all looked at me googly eyed and in awe… “I’m 100, 108, 120 at most” came from the mouths of all of my much shorter, skinnier classmates and I instantly knew I was wrong, weird and really fat. Deemed “Shamoo” for the rest of my adolescent career I knew that I was a disgusting chunk of lard that irritated people with my fatness.
(^ The girl on the far left is me, at age 13 still the owner of the nickname Shamoo)
Now this curse isn’t just the fault of young ignorant children who have no concept of weight, and health and beauty, it’s something that they have learned from their parents and the media. My mother, someone who belongs to the health industry even said to me one time just by looking at me that 160 pounds should be what I aim for at my height… Which was TOTALLY off base! If I weighed 150 almost 160 pounds in the photo above at 5’7 does it really make sense that I should weight that amount at 5’10 bordering 5’11? No, not at all! And this goes to show my point! Weight cannot be determined by looking at someone alone, you must know all of their physical details before making this assumption and that job belongs to the owner of this skin and their doctor who helps them determine their nutritional needs! Not you, a parent, or a friend, or a bystander who believes that your arrogant and condescending opinions help or even change the victims ways.
With a visit to my doctor I found out that my current weight of 185 is healthy for my size and if I would like to work out more that would be fine but going anywhere below 175 would be dangerous for me in particular!
So to all of you who believe you can judge a book by it’s cover, learn that you cannot at all! And stop trying to give your advice to people on how they should treat themselves or their bodies, because you have absolutely NO IDEA!
Love always, the girl with natural rolls, thunder thighs and small breasts.
- Katie
My opinions on Thinspo/Fitspo
- If you have questions at all or any other things you’d like discussed in videos send them to my ask or my youtube inbox :)
You guys don’t have to agree, but let me know if you do or not! This is a really touchy subject and I’m really curious about people’s thoughts on the subject! Send your asks to awonderinthetardis.tumblr.com/ask or as a response to this video!
If you guys want to request video topics feel free, summer is coming and I have time off right now between school ending and my new job at the end of the month so I’d like to be somewhat productive with that time haha!
Have a beautiful day- Katie
(Source: aloverstale)
Body Image Project
Photog:
(Love all the body types <3)
(Source: klainedestined)
Dear You, Volume 3 by Fat Heffalump
http://fatheffalump.wordpress.com/2012/03/11/dear-you-volume-3
Dear You,
Yes, you. I know you’re reading all of this fat positive stuff, all this self esteem stuff and the general concept seems really wise and kind. It makes sense to you on the surface, after all, generally speaking, that’s how you approach the world right? You see everyone has value and is important in the world, and you don’t care about the size or shape of people in the world around you. What matters is their mind, their heart. How they treat people and how they behave right?
The problem is, I think you’re struggling with feeling that way about yourself. You feel the need to be perfect, to be beautiful, to be confident and awesome and amazing right? But you just don’t feel that way. You’re feeling things like scared, lonely, unworthy, stupid, ugly, not good enough. You just can’t seem to get those old recordings in your head to stop playing, all the times that you’ve screwed up, or someone has told you you’re not good enough, or that they think you’re ugly, stupid, worthless. No matter how much you “get” self esteem on paper, you just can’t seem to grow your own.
Am I right?
Let me tell you a little secret. All those confident people you see around you that you admire but think you could never be like them? You are already like them. Not only because you are taking that step out into the great world of self acceptance and positive self esteem (which is awesome!) but because they feel just the same way as you do. They feel scared, they feel like screw ups, they feel like imposters, they feel ugly, stupid, not good enough. The difference is, they know that those feelings are normal to have, and that they’re not always accurate depictions of themselves. They acknowledge those feelings first, and then they examine why they are feeling them. They realise they’re usually because of stress, because of carrying around other people’s behaviour and attitudes, because of tiredness, because of worry. Sometimes they’re chemical – lots of us suffer depression and anxiety.
There are lots of things that you can do to help work through these feelings of inadequacy. Surround yourself with positive people who value you for who you are in your heart and mind. Engage in self care – be it a good night’s sleep, a swim or some yoga, a night out with friends, or a long hot bath. Whatever it is that makes you feel good. Fill your life with the things that inflate you, not those that crush you down. Throw away those magazines. Stop watching TV shows and movies that engage in fat hate or criticism of women over their appearance. Don’t give media that engages in bullying your time and attention. There are plenty of other fantastic things out there you can read, watch and do that build you up, rather than tear you down.
But most of all, you need to know this: You don’t need to be perfect. Or beautiful. Or pretty. Or even confident. You are valuable right now, as you are, with all your flaws and imperfections. Because we ALL have flaws and imperfections. Every single one of us. Perfection isn’t compulsory, nor is it possible.
Start to see yourself as other people see you. When they tell you they love you, for whatever reason they love you, there is your evidence of your value. Turn off those old recordings from the past. They are just that – the past. They no longer matter. What matters is who you are here and now. Learn from and fix those mistakes as best you can, and value who you are now. It’s never too late – whether you are 16 or 96.
Something starts to happen when you do this. It takes a long time, but you start to see those qualities in yourself. You may not recognise it when it starts to happen, but you will feel it. You’ll feel brighter and lighter. You start to see yourself as the amazing human being that you are.
And you are an amazing human being. I can see it already.
Lots of Love
Health is different for every body at different sizes. Some people are healthy and fat, some healthy and fit, some very thin, some somewhere in the middle. Health looks different on everyone!
BE BRAVE! JOIN THE BODY PEACE REVOLUTION!
(via annieelainey)
The YAY! Scale! (click the link to buy one!)
This is the only scale I will ever advocate to anyone. When you step on it, it’s nearly guaranteed to give you a boost. Instead of a number, it gives you a compliment!
“Fine!”
“Perfect!”
“Lovely!”
“Ravishing!”
You’ll never have to fear stepping on the scale again if you have one of these. It’s just a reminder that the number on the scale isn’t what’s important. Your self-worth and the ways in which you define yourself are really what matter!
(Did I mention each scale is signed by Marilyn Wann of Fat!So? fame? Super bonus!)
I love the adorable designs and I love the tongue in cheek jab at the beauty industry. Honestly, if I knew someone who was dieting, I would heavily consider getting them one of these bad boys to remind them that the end all be all isn’t the number on the scale!
Love,
Amber :)
This is a series of ads from the early 20th century right up to the 1970s.
You might notice what they’re advertising is, instead of the weight loss solutions we’re used to today, they’re actually advertising weight GAIN.
‘It’s hard to believe they once called me skinny!’
‘Skinny girls are NOT glamour girls!’
‘a skinny, scarecrow figure is neither fashionable nor glamourous!’
‘thousands quickly gaining beauty-bringing pounds!’
Notice how less than a hundred years ago, these ads were meant to shame thin bodies the way weight loss ads shame fat bodies today? Notice that how as time goes by, the ‘ideal’ body shape changes from era to era? Notice how in these ads as well as those seen today, they’re meant to make people feel bad about the way they look?
These ads are just as bad as the ones that run today. They’re meant to shame you and make you feel inadequate for one sole reason: so you go out and spend money on their products. It’s not about your self esteem, your health, or your happiness. It’s about selling the product. It’s about making the money.
Your body is NOT wrong. You don’t need pills, diets, or supplements to make you happy, attractive, or ‘right’. All bodies are good bodies. It doesn’t matter if you’re skinny, fat, tall, short, disabled, scarred, anything at all.
Do not let the media dictate what you think you should be. The media is fickle. It does not care about you. Don’t let yourself care about what it says.
Love,
Triggers: binge eating
Hi, I’m Tati. I’m 5 ft 3 and 132 pounds.
Ever since I can remember, I’ve been overweight. My father was sent to prison when I was 7 and my grandma overcompensated for her feelings of sympathy by feeding me, a lot. I would get plates full of food and clear it, as in Hispanic culture it’s considered rude to leave food on your plate. Entering middle school, I would binge on pizza and crazy bread from Little Caesar’s—even today crazy bread is a big trigger food for me. People at school would call me fat and I’d deal with it by eating more. My mom, who is also overweight, would enable me by buying fast food multiple times a week. At my heaviest, I was wearing 161 in 6th grade. In high school, I eliminated all drinks but water from my diet and some weight came off. I began exercising and more came off. I didn’t really monitor what I was putting into my mouth, though, until my Junior year in high school. POPpilates my senior year really helped transform my body, and I’m starting to like what I see in the mirror. No, I’m not perfect, but that’s okay. Yeah, I have stretchmarks on my hips, thighs, and breasts, but I love them. It reminds me of how far I’ve come from where I used to be. It’s funny—the boys who used to call me fat in middle school called me pretty in high school. It just goes to show you that beauty is perceptive and what people say about you says more about them than it does about you. I realized a few years ago that I’ll never have the slim bodies I see on tv and in magazines—my body simply isn’t built that way—but I’ve accepted it and now I’m on my way to achieving the best body I can have—the healthy way. The only part of my body I’m truly unhappy about are my breasts. My hope is that I’ll one day grow to love them as well.
Hey, I’m Shana. 5’3 and about 120 pounds.
In elementary school I was always one of the smallest girls out off all my friends, then middle school hit. I gained a lot a weight really fast. In 7th grade was when I hit my breaking point. I starting weighing more than my older sister.
All my friends would say I wasn’t big, but that’s what friends say. Words hurt, but sometimes all that matters is what you think.
I started trying eating less and less but it never seemed to work. I started running and eating better. I lost a bit and got to the size I am now. Once I hit highschool, I still worried but I started caring less about what others thought about me. I started becoming happier about how I look and it really affected everything for the better.
This blog has actually helped me a lot. I still worry sometimes and it hurt when people make weight jokes but I’m not barbie, I have bruises and will never be perfect.
Everyone is beautiful, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. <3
WARNING: Triggers - Bulimia, Depression, Self Harm, Attempted Suicide
Hello, my name is Carolyn. I’m 17 years old, weigh something around 120 lb, and stand at 5’6”. Most people say they’d die to have my tan skin, big smile, and “perfect figure.” Unfortunately, most of my life I wanted to die because of it.
Eating disorders are real. Although undiagnosed until I was 15, I knew I had bulimia since I was about 13. I remember skipping meals, counting calories, and eventually just saying f this and throwing up as often as I could. I tried so hard to hide it and to fix it myself, but when I couldn’t purge I would cut myself. Soon enough I was doing both. I also was on an extremely high dose of Zoloft to help with depression, but nothing could make me feel like I wasn’t completely imperfect.
Certain circumstances made it worse. My junior year, I was taking all AP and Honors classes at school, dealing with my parent’s divorce and my mother’s cancer, working two jobs just to help with my family’s financial stress, getting tormented at school for being poor/for stupid mistakes I made with boys to distract myself from my emotional pain, and picking up the pieces of yet another relationship I felt my depression had torn apart. I was cutting almost every day and as you can see from the pictures, I still have the words “SLUT” and “WASTE” carved into my arm, as well as many other scars on my arms and stomach.
It got to the point where I didn’t think it was worth it. I felt like a stupid slut that no one respected. I felt like a waste of life that did not deserve to live. I believed I would never be perfect enough for anyone. One day, I cut myself over 60 times on my arm and wrist, praying to die. No note, no goodbyes, I just laid in my bed sobbing and hoping I could escape it all.
Obviously it did not work and I know God truly wanted me to live if I was able to survive it. Two days later my mother and therapist co-signed me into a psychiatric hospital where I spent two weeks figuring out how to start living again. Initially it was awful, but the two weeks truly changed me. While things were difficult when I returned home, I realized I needed to get my life back. I quit my jobs, switched to Catholic school to ease up on my course load and remind myself why I was still here. I also found someone to help me see I was beautiful.
Some pretty rough things have happened since then (and who knows, I might post about that stuff one day), but I think that coming to terms with my body and realizing that perfection is non-existent has given me the strength to endure them. No one needs to feel like they aren’t special or lovely enough. Because trust me, ladies and gents, God would not have put you on this Earth if he didn’t like you just the way you are.
Please never give up. If you’d like to know more, or just need a friend, I would love to be your friend: http//:fromtheprettyside.tumblr.com
