One of my goal is to
encourage women to be proud of
their bodies, regardless of how they
are built or how much “extra” weight
they carry. I think that, too often, we
actually disempower women by
telling them to love their overweight
bodies or accept the “fact” that they
will never be thin.
All women SHOULD love their bodies,
but it’s unwise to love your body at
the expense of your health.
I personally became victim to this in
my early adulthood. When I was
eighteen, I weight 180 pounds at 5’6″.
While this is not morbidly
overweight, it was far too much for
my own build. I was tired a lot, I
couldn’t bike or walk very far, and I
ate constantly.
Several of my well-meaning friends
had tried to encourage me to love my
body by urging me to accept the idea
that I was built to be large. They told
me that I was a naturally curvy,
beautiful woman, and I believed
them. I was beautiful, and I didn’t
owe anyone any apologies for my
weight– but I was continuing to harm
my health by accepting the notion
that a normal weight was out of my
reach.
One day, I simply decided that I’d
had enough of being overweight. I
didn’t do it for anyone else. I didn’t
do it because I loved my body–
enough to make a dedication go
getting healthier.
So I went vegetarian. I worked out
for half an hour a day. I cut out all
processed foods. I quit smoking pot,
which gives me a terrible case of the
munchies. I was down to 125 pounds
within two years and I’ve maintained
that weight for three years.
I now look and feel healthier than
ever. At my last physical exam, I got
a full blood workup, and my doctor
said that she rarely sees anyone in as
good of health as me. My blood
pressure, cholesterol, heart rate and
iron levels are perfect.
I’m not going to say that losing
weight was easy (it wasn’t). But I will
say that it became significantly easier
when I realized that I was hurting
my body and my self-esteem by
trying to “accept” my overweight
body. I learned to value my health
more than my appearance, and I
viewed weight-loss as a PERSONAL
goal, rather than any endeavor I was
seeking to please our misogynistic
society. I couldn’t continue to
“accept” my weight at the expense
To any woman who is overweight
and reading this message– LOVE your
body with everything you’ve got.
Don’t try to lose weight because your
lover, or your parents, or the media
tells you to lose weight. Don’t fall into
fad diets or fasts or pills. Instead,
pursue a healthy lifestyle because you
care about your health. If you do so,
you WILL be healthier– even if your
BMI stays the same.
encourage women to be proud of
their bodies, regardless of how they
are built or how much “extra” weight
they carry. I think that, too often, we
actually disempower women by
telling them to love their overweight
bodies or accept the “fact” that they
will never be thin.
All women SHOULD love their bodies,
but it’s unwise to love your body at
the expense of your health.
I personally became victim to this in
my early adulthood. When I was
eighteen, I weight 180 pounds at 5’6″.
While this is not morbidly
overweight, it was far too much for
my own build. I was tired a lot, I
couldn’t bike or walk very far, and I
ate constantly.
Several of my well-meaning friends
had tried to encourage me to love my
body by urging me to accept the idea
that I was built to be large. They told
me that I was a naturally curvy,
beautiful woman, and I believed
them. I was beautiful, and I didn’t
owe anyone any apologies for my
weight– but I was continuing to harm
my health by accepting the notion
that a normal weight was out of my
reach.
One day, I simply decided that I’d
had enough of being overweight. I
didn’t do it for anyone else. I didn’t
do it because I loved my body–
enough to make a dedication go
getting healthier.
So I went vegetarian. I worked out
for half an hour a day. I cut out all
processed foods. I quit smoking pot,
which gives me a terrible case of the
munchies. I was down to 125 pounds
within two years and I’ve maintained
that weight for three years.
I now look and feel healthier than
ever. At my last physical exam, I got
a full blood workup, and my doctor
said that she rarely sees anyone in as
good of health as me. My blood
pressure, cholesterol, heart rate and
iron levels are perfect.
I’m not going to say that losing
weight was easy (it wasn’t). But I will
say that it became significantly easier
when I realized that I was hurting
my body and my self-esteem by
trying to “accept” my overweight
body. I learned to value my health
more than my appearance, and I
viewed weight-loss as a PERSONAL
goal, rather than any endeavor I was
seeking to please our misogynistic
society. I couldn’t continue to
“accept” my weight at the expense
To any woman who is overweight
and reading this message– LOVE your
body with everything you’ve got.
Don’t try to lose weight because your
lover, or your parents, or the media
tells you to lose weight. Don’t fall into
fad diets or fasts or pills. Instead,
pursue a healthy lifestyle because you
care about your health. If you do so,
you WILL be healthier– even if your
BMI stays the same.
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