The Cheese Grates It + OctPoWriMo 2017: Day 25: Don't Buy the Bullshit

This image was found in multiple places and I am unable to determine its origin.

If anyone knows the origin of the image, I will be glad to properly credit its creator.

Don't Buy the Bullshit

Nobody

Has the right

To make you feel

Bad about your body

Never apologize

To anybody

For your body

Those busybodies

Who think it's okay

To belittle others' bodies

Need to take a long walk

Off a short pier

Into shark-infested waters

With raw steaks

Tied to their bodies

The Cheese

No Longer Apologizing for My Body

Note:

I am not officially participating in today's OctPoWriMo prompt, although I did create a poem in spite of the fact that I initially wasn't going to because die-t talk is such a turn-off for me. However, I have to keep in mind that many people haven't been lucky enough to find Size Acceptance and Health At Every Size as I did. This is why I share here my response to this prompt.

If I hadn't found size acceptance and health at every size at age 45 (seven years ago now) I would be 52 and still hating myself and calling myself horrific names like "fat pig" and "disgusting land whale." Thanks to my myriad of endocrine problems plus DNA (my mother's side of the family tends to be heavy, and to have endocrine problems) I will never be thin unless I develop a deadly disease such as acute myelogenous leukemia as my great-grandmother did. She went from 300 pounds to 95 in the space of a year, and then the disease killed her.

It isn't being a "foodie" that determines a person's body type. The multi-billion dollar die-t industry has doctors and the FDA in its pocket. Most so-called diseases of obesity are actually diseases which become more likely with aging in people of all sizes. 

I worked with the elderly for close to 25 years. There are elderly people of all sizes. The idea that there are no fat old people is a fallacy. Fat old people are no less healthy than old people of other sizes. In fact, many of the fat older folk that I worked with were reasonably healthy. There was one portly gent in his nineties who was a diabetic and still taking care of himself. I worked night shift and only heard from him on one occasion: when he hurt his hand.

Nobody needs to apologize to anyone for their body type. It's really not something we can help and trying to change it tends to result in temporary weight loss with more weight ensuing. Dieting is horrible for the metabolism. 

I am not the best person to explain the science behind this. I recommend these blogs:

danceswithfat.wordpress.com

bigfatscience.tumblr.com

Ragen Chastain, the blogger behind Dances With Fat, is a competitive dancer who participates in marathons. She is five foot four inches tall and weighs 280 pounds. 

For my own part, I sometimes can't afford more than one meal a day and I work a very physical job. Still fat. However, unlike in the past, I don't give myself added stress by hating myself for my weight.

I hope you'll consider my thoughts. Too many people hurt themselves hating the bodies we were given to live in. There's nothing wrong with your body or your love for good food.

Here are some bodies that people have been shamed for having.

Too short and skinny to be "manly"

In good health for someone in his age range

Too short and skinny to be "manly"

Terminally ill/multiple health issues

Too fat to be "attractive."

In good health for someone in his age range

Too short and skinny to be "manly"

Died from stomach cancer at age 67

Too fat to be "attractive"

Shot to death at age 24

Too short and skinny to be "manly"

In good health for someone in his age range

Too fat to be "attractive"

In good health and putting up with no bullshit from haters

Dare you speak ill of the Queen of Soul?

I wish there had been a Beth Ditto around when I was younger

Maybe I wouldn't have abused my body with years of dieting and myself with years of hate for "failing" at dieting

When I opened this photo of Adele, one of the first suggested searches that came up was "flattering hairstyles for overweight women."

May I just say, fuck that shit.

Fuck "flattering," and over what weight?

The B in BMI stands for Bullshit.

The BMI is an actuarial tool. It was never meant to be used as a measure of health.

We need to stop conflating our worth with a number on a scale.

~The Cheese Hath Grated It~

The Cheese Grates It: Just Say No to Bob Harper's Bullshit to Live a Happier Life

Here's how to reduce your stress levels immediately:

Stop believing bullshit like this or caring what assholes like Bob think

By the way, my name for this photo is "Fuck You Bob Harper."

1. Bitch, I drink water all the time, when I want to drink water. Anyone who says "no excuses" to me is looking for a punch in the face.

2. I'll drink whatever I want. Sometimes it has calories, sometimes not.

3. Well, Bob, regardless of what I've eaten, you make me grouchy, but you also ruins my appetite. So, I suppose if one wants to restrict their food intake, seeing Bob will help you do that.

4. Whatever, Bob. I often eat whole grains, but sometimes what I eat is refined. It's none of your damn business.

5. And poop your brains out

6. Nice classism there, Buttface. Some people can't afford to buy teh fresh froots and veggiez.

7. BITE ME!

8. Yeah, I do that. First, because I don't want to eat things containing MSG. Second, because I'm diabetic and I want to use my carb allotment semi-wisely. I'm not going to risk blurred vision and wanting to sleep all day on drinking a Coke when I don't like Coke that much.

9. I will eat what I want to eat and how much of it I want until I am satisfied. Go away.

10. If it tastes better with a little added sweetener, add it.

11. I will eat whatever potatoes I want, white potatoes included.

12. I generally do, not that it's any of your business.

13. Why don't I get rid of you and others who think like you instead? It would make me happier.

14. If you eat breakfast, that's a real breakfast. If you didn't eat breakfast, that's none of my business or Bob's either.

15. I make my own food when I can. When I can't, I don't.

16. Different people have different needs. A low sodium diet is not appropriate for everybody. If Bob is your nutritionist--well, honestly, I suggest finding another nutritionist.

17. Eat the vegetables you like. Don't eat the ones you don't like. Your dietary choices are none of Bob's business.

18. What the ever loving fuckity fuck? If I go to bed hungry, all I think about is eating, and then I--get ready for this--DO NOT SLEEP WELL! What the hell kind of horseshit suggestion is this?

19. Well, that couldn't be more nebulous if it tried. What the exact fuck do you mean by "sleep right?" Here's a story that's sad but true. I have problems with sleep paralysis. It tends to be more likely to happen if I sleep on my back. I fell asleep on my back and had an episode of sleep paralysis. My son had to wake me up twice. I guess I wasn't sleeping right, and I should be punished for that.

20. Oh, hey, there's a great idea. Let's promote disordered eating by encouraging people to engage in a deprivation/binge cycle. That's called "bulimia", Bob. It isn't healthy. Moron.

Here's my addition to the list.

21. Don't listen to jerks like Bob. You will be far happier.

Another wise soul had a suggestion for being thin: be born with DNA that prompts you to have a thin body type. That one works every time.

~The Cheese Hath Grated It~

The Cheese Grates It: Listen To Your Body, Not the Diet Industry

Image purchased from 123rf.com

While people should always have the autonomy to do as they see fit with their own bodies, I learned after many years of dieting, self-loathing, and eating disorders that reduction dieting a) does not work long term in most cases and only benefits the multi-billion dollar diet industry, and b) the majority of dieters gain back more weight than they originally lost. I literally had to stop dieting to keep myself from getting heavier.

I am very glad I found Health at Every Size at age 46. I wish I had found it sooner. 34 years of yo-yo dieting, bulimia, and self-loathing had taken a terrible toll on both my body and my psyche.

As a diabetic, I have to be mindful of carbohydrate intake, but I have found that glycemic impact is more important than the actual number of carbohydrates ingested. For instance, I don't tend to have a problem with beans, potatoes, corn or bread in moderation, but rice spikes my blood sugar. Everybody is different with this.

Regarding cravings, prior to treating my diabetes, I was ravenously hungry much of the time and, in our size-shaming culture, many doctors give the terrible advice of just ignoring the cravings. If a person has cravings, there is a reason for it. Your body isn't getting something it wants, and trying to shut it up by ignoring the hunger isn't healthy.

In my case, my body wasn't recognizing its own insulin anymore. Insulin resistance can both cause weight gain and make it difficult to lose weight. Anyone who is experiencing extreme, insatiable hunger should have their blood sugar and A1C checked rather than telling themselves they need more Won't Power to stick with their calorie count. Also, you can't eat yourself into diabetes, even if you eat nothing but cake all day every day unless you have the genetic trigger for diabetes.

I wish you well.

~The Cheese Hath Grated It~