I want so badly to find a place where I feel like I can align my business with others who are more established and who have, perhaps, paved the way. Every time I do, I realize that I end up feeling confined by someone else’s ideals or definitions. (My own fault) This leads to changing how I write or monitoring what I say, out of fear of upsetting the very folks I’ve tried to gain support from.
One of the most common lessons I continue to (re)learn is that the person whose opinion I need to worry about is; my own. I have spent YEARS of my life concerned with what others think and Health Hungry is a space that I continue to strive to keep clear of that. If I don’t honor my truth – then I will not be helping those that could be helped by my message.
HAES, Fat Acceptance and Where I Fit
1) Let me just say that long before I put any labels on my values, I believed (and will always believe) this ultimate truth: A human being’s size does not determine their worth. There is absolutely no acceptable reason to bully, shame, or discriminate against ANY person because of how much they weigh, ever.
2) I believe that diets fail us. The diet industry is betting on keeping you trapped in a cycle that is detrimental to your health. They currently make 69 billion dollars (and growing) each year by selling you the belief that they have some secret about your body that you don’t know, or don’t understand. It’s total bullshit.
3) I believe that the food industry is mostly in cahoots with the diet industry. Less than 3% of American farmland is used for growing food. In around 1920, the government began subsidizing farmers who would use their land to make products that could be used to create “Franken-food.” The result was low cost production, highly processed, over-marketed food that many people in my generation were raised on. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that obesity rates have gone up steadily since we became a fast-food nation.
4) I believe that health and weight are two separate issues, but that they can influence each other. (That will be a tough one for people who don’t see the value in holding two competing ideas in one hand…) Along with this, I believe whole-heartedly that shame will NEVER produce anything but pain and trauma for anyone under any circumstance, period.
How and when weight affects health is COMPLETELY INDIVIDUAL and I can only speak for myself, as others can only speak for themselves. While I have come to understand that I will not likely see an ideal weight according to a BMI-chart in this lifetime, I refuse to accept that I am meant to live gasping for air, unable to carry out daily functions, and unable to be a participant in my own life. I’d like to think it’s because I’m an optimist, and I’d much prefer to be an optimist than the alternatives.
This is the piece that has been incredibly challenging for me. You see, I believe it is possible to be passionate about educating others on weight stigma and the resulting bias, while also being open and honest about the fact that how much I weigh currently is affecting my health. Notice I said “I and my” – I make no claims that weight affects everyone’s health at a specific number. I believe weight can be a factor in one’s health, and that it is different for each individual.
However, I don’t want to feel as though I can’t share my personal experience – which includes a desire to weigh less, out of fear that I will be called out by those who think that means I don’t belong in the Fat Acceptance or HAES movements.
The fact that these two important and necessary movements contain words like “acceptance” and health at “EVERY” size yet seemingly also a pervasive fear of open discussions which include the desire of some people to weigh less, or to attain specific health goals which may include shedding pounds, is ironic to me. Any time I affiliate myself with an organization and worry whether others may see me as a threat because my ideas are different, or because I don’t conform to the “standards” set by a majority, it’s time for me to re-examine some things. I left the all or nothing thinking behind in my late teens and I’d like it to stay there. I believe that groups who value diversity in opinions, approach, and ideology, are the same ones that best allow human beings to thrive.
So What Does this Mean for Health Hungry?
The beauty of having my own business is that I don’t need to get approval from anyone before changing direction. Though at times, that is exactly what keeps me up at night! I care about the you who read what I have to say. I want you to relate, to feel empowered to be exactly who you want to be, and to love who you are. But I cannot please everyone, and attempting to do so will be the destruction of what I have fought so hard to create.
1) I will be shifting back to more personal blogging (those who have followed me since my “Hungry Hungry Hip Girl” days remember a lot more personalized blog entries. I believe that there is incredible power in sharing our stories, and as of late, I (sadly) thought I should keep mine quiet. That’s not helping me, and I doubt whether it’s really helping any of you.
2) I will be starting something called, “Taboo Tuesdays”. It will include commonly asked (anonymous) questions as well as anything included under the category of, “things you aren’t supposed to talk about”. Because frankly, I think talking about things is always a good idea – much more so than muzzling our thoughts due to someone else telling us those thoughts are shameful. All of these discussions will fall into one of the three categories of health: Physical Nourishment, Emotional Nourishment, or Spiritual Nourishment.
3) I will be starting another post called, “What’s Cooking Wednesdays” where I blog about tasty food I’ve made, complete with pictures and recipes!
For those of you who have supported me from day one, I can’t thank you enough. Your encouraging words keep me writing, and pushing through the desire to throw in the towel. If you haven’t yet, make sure you sign up at my website to get on my mailing list so you don’t miss out on a single thing!
Cheers to your health!
Amy