They are keeping you from loving yourself unconditionally. They are a crutch that keeps you hobbling through your dating life. They are the thick, wool coat that insulates you from being left out in the cold.

That's my suggestion for this holiday. Start looking at what you've bought into. Get some therapeutic help to look at why you overeat. Make a decision that you are just not going to give it all the attention you normally do. Ever again.

Start treating yourself and your body temple with respect and love, no matter how huge you feel. Go for the gold, the job, the guy. Be bold, be courageous! Let weight loss be a natural and effortless consequence of feeling good, having fun, and being excited about life.

Ironically, now that women can vote, lead companies, and run the free world, we are increasingly prone to oppressing ourselves by starving our bodies.

Success comes when we understand that boosting our self image results not only from caring for ourselves, but from making changes in the way we think about beauty.

Life goes by fast, so now is the time to start living your life to the fullest. Don't wait until you're a certain size to lead a happy, productive life! No more waiting--live now.

I'm not alone. Middle age has become hijacked by industries capitalizing on and creating our deepest fears -- selling us fast fixes of pills, procedures, Botox and gear.