Body Love Wellness
Body Love Wellness
by Golda Poretsky, HHC
http://www.bodylovewellness.com
When you think about the fact that dieting* doesn’t lead to long term weight loss, better health, nor even better self-esteem, what’s really left to recommend dieting?The only thing that dieting really does is allow us to fit in.
By dieting, a fat person tells the world “Yes, I realize that I’m fat, but I’m desperately try to correct that in order to fit in.” If that dieting results in some temporary weight loss, said fat person may actually fit in a bit more, and receive some of the benefits of thinness.
The benefits of thinness in a fat-hating society are many. Being thin allows you to avoid the kinds of discrimination that fat people experience in schools, the job market, and medical treatment. Being thinner can mean less glares, and less uninvited judgment by others regarding food and fitness.
When you’re subject to so many negative stereotypes (lazy, slovenly, unhealthy, etc.) as a result of being part of the group, a natural reaction is to try to leave that group or “pass” for a member of a more highly regarded group. We’ve seen examples of that among negatively stereotyped minority groups before. With fatness, however, we have a variant of this situation because (a) many members of the fat group don’t perceive themselves as part of any group and (b) the dominant culture tells us that if we had more willpower and got dieting right, we wouldn’t be in that negatively stereotyped group. In other words, being fat is often seen as a choice which makes fat people even more deserving of these stereotypes.
I’m only laying all of this out on the line to bring an awareness to it. Because, frankly, I think fitting in is highly overrated. I’d rather just fit out.
If you take a moment to think about some of your favorite people, whether they’re your friends and family, or artists, musicians, politicians, activists or whatever, do the people you really admire really fit in? Or do they buck trends, say unpopular things, look funny, and/or have innovative ideas?
Fitting out means being who you are, even when people insist that you have to change. Fitting out means taking up space, not apologizing for yourself, and not agreeing with those who seek to label you with stereotypes.
By the way, I’m not making light of the discrimination that fat people face. It’s wrong and discrimination laws should be extended so that we can fight it better. I’m just saying that trying to become thin to avoid this discrimination is not the answer.
How To Fit Out
Fitting out can be amazingly freeing. So here are some ways to experiment with fitting out.
1) Explore Your Desires — What is it that you really want? Most of us rarely take the time to ask ourselves this question. It’s a really powerful question, and the more you ask it, and the more you allow yourself to really hear your answers, the more you can start to move in that direction. If your internal dialogue often comes down to “I want to do X, but I should do Y,” then experiment more with doing X. Let your internal guidance system make more choices. Rarely will you do anything so drastic as to jeopardize your job or important relationships. In essence, you want to explore what happens when you allow yourself to be more yourself.
2) No More Hiding — Spending a lot of life performing that you are something that you’re not is really stressful. It takes an inordinate amount of energy to pretend that you’re happy. That energy that you spend pretending to not be you could be put to much better use. When you hide who you really are, everyone misses out. You miss out on the opportunity to be more authentically you, and the world misses out on all that you have to offer. So, even from a purely altruistic standpoint, fitting out is a good idea.
3) Look For Inspiration — In the last few years, I feel like I’ve been surrounding myself with more and more people who are willing to fit out. But here, I’m going to name a few people living today as well as a few historical figures whom I see as examples of fitting out. (By the way, this list is just a tiny sampling of people who fabulously fit out.)
Historical
Current
*You can substitute dieting with bariatric surgery throughout this post.
Let me know how you’re going to fit out in the comments section below!
Golda Poretsky, H.H.C. is a certified holistic health counselor who specializes in transforming your relationship with food and your body. Go to http://www.bodylovewellness.com/stay-in-touch/ to get your free download — Golda’s Top Ten Tips For Divine Dining.
“I scheduled a session with Golda because I thought she could really help me explore my body issues and learn to love myself how I am. I anticipated spending some time talking about my current body image and some past experiences that have affected it, as well as my goals for the future. Golda helped me map out what my ideas were for how I would like to see myself and treat my body. It was nice using her methods to imagine my future self-image and get some ideas on how to take small steps toward my goals. Anyone who has dreams of having a positive body image, a healthy relationship with food an…”
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