Killing Your Sacred Cows since 1992

Just like dieters tend to want to join groups or have dieting buddies to support them in their weight-loss, I make an effort to surround myself-- both on and off-line-- with people who are body positive, fat activists, people interested in HAES and so on. When I start feeling discouraged, like I'm yelling into a void or that I'm the only sane person on earth, I remind myself of all the cool fat-poz people I get to interact with right here in LJ Land!

I've had my personal size acceptance hero Sandy Szwarc of Junk Food Science comment on my personal LJ in the past, and not too long ago, HAES proponent Linda Bacon commented on an entry I made at the HAES community I co-moderate here. I've also had another size positivity hero Peggy Elam comment on the no_more_diets community I help run on LJ. Another person (who I'm not sure would want to be named) was a long-time size acceptance hero that I admired from afar and is now on my friends list-- I even think she friended me first!

Additionally, there are a variety of people on my LJ or in person that I've gotten to know better and who have become heroes to me over time because of the way they inspire me to examine the obesity crisis propaganda, or take care of myself in ways that honor my body or attempt to be physically bold at the size I am right now.

There are even a few people on my friends list who have had weight loss surgery or who have lost a lot of weight with dietary changes and exercise that I find inspiring. You might think I would shun them, but I don't, because in each case these LJ friends are wise about certain aspects of body image and societal issues around weight and fat. I might not agree with them on every point, but they are generous and thoughtful and inspire me to think deeper and have compassion for other people's struggles and other people's choices.

When I think of all you wonderful people (yes, I mean you!), I feel truly blessed.

I decided to make a new fitness icon with my shorter haircut. The photo is cropped and edited from this photo. I wore this outfit to the gym a week or so ago for a "total body" class. I was joking that there was no way to hide the shape of my body in that outfit. It actually does squish my bosom down a bit to reduce jiggle, so it makes my chest look a bit smaller than it really is, but otherwise, this is me, this is my shape, this is the body that gets me around, in all its chubby glory.