Category: weight-related shame

Fat Acceptance is for Young People

I just had my 55th birthday. I’ve maintained my weight loss for going on a decade now. What I think about the most often is how grateful I am that I am not dealing with a weight problem at my age. I think about the state of my health when I was 44 and I can’t …

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“My Big Fat Fabulous Life” Trots Out Cringe-Inducing Stereotypes

whitney way thore

TLC has debuted the first of a nine-episode reality series “My Big Fat Fabulous Life,” featuring Whitney Way Thore, a young woman who became a YouTube sensation last year with her video, “Fat Girl Dancing.” Besides using the “my big fat” cliche AGAIN (does Nia Vardalos get royalties for these?), the show relies on stereotypes …

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Biggest Loser Secrets: It’s Worse Than You Think

I was recently contacted by a former Biggest Loser contestant about helping him to write a book about his experiences with the show. The project didn’t move forward but while we were discussing things, he’d talk quite freely about what went on behind the scenes. There are plenty of Biggest Loser secrets alright. A lot …

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Are There Benefits of Being Fat?

I happened upon a HuffPoLive interview with women who talked about what they considered the benefits of being fat. I will admit right away that I have a tough time wrapping my head around it but I want to understand this perspective. I’ve always remembered many years ago when my weight loss was still fairly …

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Mo’Nique Decides Being Fabulous and Thick is Not So Great

Oscar-winning actress and stand-up comedian Mo’Nique once declared that “Skinny bitches must be destroyed!” But her days of hosting beauty pageants for women she called Fabulous And Thick seem to be over. Mo’Nique is now churning out a constant stream of fitspiration tweets with pics of her pumping iron and doing burpees. “Sisters please believe your …

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Chris Powell Figures Out Maybe Obese People Need Medical Care

Shocking but true. The website for ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition proudly announces the show will now, “FOR THE FIRST TIME,” have DOCTORS—yes, actual medical professionals—check out the seriously obese people that trainer reality show celebrity Chris Powell will humiliate into dropping hundreds of pounds! Assuming we’ll believe it’s about providing some measure of …

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Managing Your Weight May Be the Toughest Thing You Ever Do

“Help yourself to happiness.” That’s the advertising slogan for a chain of buffet restaurants where you can keep going back for seconds, thirds, ninths, as much as you want, for one price. We are supposed to eat food. We’re supposed to like it, crave it, and yes, feel comforted and satisfied by eating it. The …

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Jillian Michaels Shames Biggest Loser Winner for Extreme Weight Loss

The last Biggest Loser winner, Rachel Frederickson, stunned everyone at the live finale when she stepped out on the stage and weighed in at 105 lbs, a shocking 60% loss of her starting bodyweight. Her arms were twig thin and her face had that drawn anorexic look. But Biggest Loser trainer and self-appointed psychologist Jillian …

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Think Like a Thin Person: A Tale of Two Thin Women

My mother is a very thin person. She always has been. Except for two pregnancies, her weight has been stable her entire life. She credits that consistency, in part, for her exceptional health at 77 years old. She has a natural high energy level and is most comfortable when she keeps busy and moving. She …

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Why I Am an Advocate for Weight Loss Surgery

I already write with some regularity about weight loss surgery but some issues have arisen this week that prompt me to write yet again! For people with 100 lbs or more to lose, it’s a reality of life now that their doctor will talk to them about weight loss surgery and/or they will consider it …

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