Shut up, and eat something. No, really. Do it. I swear, it's good for you.
Blasphemy? After all, we've barely emerged from the dawn of 2011 and shouldn't we all be going on a diet? Shouldn't we all be restricting our food so we can be, look and feel "skinny." Yawn.
Have a cupcake on Sunday and get back to me.
I assure I'm telling you this for a very good reason. Part of it is because I need to remind myself the very same thing, which is: most diets don't work.
This is one of the themes addressed in the new book -- just released by NorLightsPress -- which I co-wrote with eating disorder specialist Dr. Maria Rago. It's dubbed "Shut Up, Skinny Bitches (The Common Sense Guide To Following Your Hunger and Your Heart)."
The backstory: "Shut Up, Skinny Bitches" came into being after I wrote an article for O Magazine about one of Dr. Rago's unique treatment programs for her eating disorder patients. Dr. Rago took those with food issues and had them feed the homeless, thereby giving them a greater sense of the universal value of food. I loved the concept. After all, the minute you start "giving back," there's no time to really be overly self-involved (give up that is actually a good diet) with your "stuff." It frees you up. After the article was published, Dr. Rago and I decided to collaborate on a book, mostly because we were amazed by the amount of diet and health books out there -- and media and advertising images, that perpetuated one message: that you can only be happy if (or when) you become thin.
Dr. Rago and I felt that many other dieting books are, in essence, a manifesto for developing an eating and/or body image disorder. And so, we wanted to take a stand for anybody that has felt pressured to look or be a certain way, alter their size, or felt forced to severely restrict their food consumption -- especially to fit in obtain and happiness.
The goal was to help lead readers toward a more delicious new way of thinking about themselves and the food they consume. Mostly, we hope it would give people a chance to alter some of the internal laws set in place, the ones currently governing your every move when it comes to the size you think you should be, or the food you think you have to eat. (And dear Lord let's get this out of the way now: We're not encouraging people here to be a glutton. We dig you too much. We're for being healthy. Read on.)
"Stop dieting and start loving yourself!" we write in the book. "If you can't stomach one more day of being told you're too fat, then you're ready to try some delicious new brain candy. Skinny is not the cure! Thin is not in. There's nothing wrong with you! There never was."
That last part is significant. We live in a culture that bombards us with advertising images insisting that we must correct our flaws. We're part of a society that pressures us to believe that a certain body weight or size is the only acceptable weight or size. We can't all be skinny. Each of us has a different body, a different body type, different metabolisms. Most people who aren't skinny are actually healthy the size they are.
Some of the things our book addresses:
There's more. (There's always more.) But for now, I'll leave you with this: In a day and age when we seem to all be on board to "self-improve" ourselves, I propose that one of the best ways to actually do that is to begin listening more to our (inner) self. Eat when you're hungry. Stop when you're full. If you have so much energy to restrict foods and jump through emotional hoops just to "look" a certain way, trust me, you have the willpower to get in touch with yourself enough to know when you're hungry, and not, and take responsibility for loving your body and yourself. You have it within you to get in touch with the underlying emotional factors that have habitually lead you to take certain action around food. (I have them/had them, too.)
Feeding ourselves is vital part of survival. Liking ourselves, loving ourselves, accepting ourselves, no matter what size your pants may be at the moment, is in our inherent nature whether you're "skinny" or not.
And anybody that tells you otherwise? Two words: Shut Up!
Follow "Shut Up, Skinny Bitches!" on Twitter @ suskinnybitches. Learn more about the book at shutupskinnybitches.info.
Follow Greg Archer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/chroniccharlie
Karen Talavera: Show Yourself Some Love
There comes a time when one has to quiet the barrage of sales pitches first convinces you that you are broken and then proceeds to sell you the "sure" carpetbaggers all of them. There is no pill, cream, no get fixed quick (and stay that way) diet or product. Where I think that from where a great deal of us stand getting to "loving" ourselves seems an overwhelming task especially when we feel like we are nothing at all of what we would like to be, hence I start with acceptance and appreciation of one's self. You have your health, your legs no matter how big or small they are get you to where you need to go, your heart is strong, and you mind well... we can work on that one lol. But the idea of getting to a point of understanding that without you- in whatever form -fit-flabby or fine there is no you! you are are not broken- eat something ! check out a piece on the subject here http://mybodymyimage.com/?s=unbroken
I am honored to be friends with you both. ~KH
For more info, check out www.thepaleodiet.com and my blog, http://primroseandpaleo.wordpress.com. Also, www.marksdailyapple.com is a great resource.
To your health!
C