WHAT WE'RE ABOUT
We are constantly redefining our own perspectives, and therefore tend to write a lot about our personal experiences. Many followers and contributors are living with anorexia, bulimia, body dysmorphic disorder, depression, and a variety of other body image disorders or mental illnesses, so please be respectful and remember that health applies differently to everyone. Any and all potentially triggering content will be prefaced with a trigger warning.
RBI supports all races, genders, classes, and sizes. We try our best to make this a safe space for everyone. If we are not doing our job or checking our privilege, we invite you to please inform us.
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We are not health professionals. Any and all advice provided on this blog is supported only by our own research, studies, and personal experiences; nothing more.
This blog is part of the Safe Space Network.
“27 and healthy” should mean just that - But it often doesn’t, when one is fat. Shit is fucked.
Lucy Aphramor - Bomb Calorimeter
Calories in = Calories out? Yeah no.
I’m Samantha. I’m a 27 year old fat ginger. I am also a mother, a teacher, and a human being. And I would like to share a story with you, as well as some encouragement.
As a chubby child/teenager, I was constantly confronted with fat shaming from not just friends, but family members. I was consistently told by parents, and grandparents, that being overweight or fat meant that I could never be attractive. I was told such as ‘Don’t you want to be pretty?’ ‘Don’t you think you should lose some weight while you can?’ ‘Nobody is going to want to love you if you don’t lose some pounds.’ ‘Have you gained weight?’
On top of that, I was blessed with true Irish heritage- I was porcelain white, covered in freckles head to toe, and had bright ginger hair. And as I got into puberty, a severe case of acne combined with eczema. My red hair, my extremely fair skin and the conditions with it, on top of my weight, made me a target for bullying, teasing, the butt of jokes, and there came a point where I realized that nobody believed it was a problem but me. When teased about my acne or eczema, my family told me to wear makeup to cover it up. When it was my hair, my mother suggested I dye it. When it was about my weight, I was actually told by my grandmother ‘Well, they have a point.’
I realize that many people didn’t have this degree of things happen to them. I assume that most parents don’t tell their middle-school aged kids to dye their hair when made fun of. But I know that some kids do go through that, because I was one of them. Some of us are taught all our lives that everything about us is wrong. That we can and should change to be more accepted, not just by society, but by ourselves.
There was a statement I heard a lot. ‘You’re going to be so unhappy when you’re older if…”
“…if you don’t lose weight.” “…if you don’t make an effort to fit in.” “…if you don’t try harder.”
And you know, I was unhappy. But I was unhappy not because I was fat, or ginger, or had acne. but because I had been taught that being fat or ginger or having acne meant I couldn’t be happy. That I couldn’t be beautiful, or sexy, or loved, or even healthy so long as I was being myself.
It took me a good part of my independent adult life to realize that my weight, my hair, my skin…I was defined by none of these things. I am beautiful. I am strong. I am smart, and I know enough now about body shaming in any form to call it out when I see it, even among those who I’m closest to.
The fact that nobody seemed to think the shaming, the bullying by my peers was a problem…including parents, teachers, principals…well, honestly, that’s what worries me. There were points in my teenage years when I seriously contemplated taking my own life because of the psychological, and occasionally physical attacks on who I was. There are kids out there right now who feel like that, because of similar reasons. Body hate is unacceptable, in any form, at any age.
I realize this is a bit of an expose, but I felt it was something that I needed to share.
To those of you who went through, and especially to those of you who are still going through any amount of what I did…I want to give you some encouragement. And even if you don’t believe it now, remember it, and revisit the idea occasionally. It’s the most important thing that I have learned about life so far.
No matter what anybody tells you, the only person who has a say in what is good for you, healthy for you, important for you…is you. You should stay as true to yourself as you can, and no matter what, always remember that you deserve to be happy.
It took me 27 years to learn that. I hope that sharing my story will help some of you learn it that much quicker.
-Samantha
When I was a child, fitness was not rigid. It wasn’t a responsibility or a way to measure value, worth, or health - it was FUN.
Barefoot running through neighborhoods with callused little feet, splashing in the pool, jumping on the trampoline, acrobatics in the front yard, and rollerblading around the block…It was all play, without focus on performance or the failings of my body. It was all refreshingly simple.
From the moment I was able to pick up a baseball bat, I was enrolled in t-ball. I immersed myself in dance classes, figure skating, softball, basketball, and competitive swimming. I loved it all with boundless energy, diving into various athletic activities with excitement and an eagerness to enjoy myself with my friends.
(Before puberty struck, I was ambivalent towards my body - because it had not yet begun to hold weight.)
At some point, as I grew older and made it onto my junior high basketball team, the whole “It doesn’t matter if you win so long as you have fun” mentality stopped being enforced - and in retrospect, I can see how that is the point at which my relationship with sports and fitness began to take a turn into problematic territory.
Lots of people are at different places in their health for different reasons. You don’t have to wait to be a certain level of healthy before you accept yourself the way you are today and choose to enjoy your body. Just sayin.
Thin privilege is not having your body type blamed for the perceived health (or alleged lack there of) of an entire state. Damn you, Motley Fool, a state’s low obesity ranking does not automatically make it one of the ‘healthiest.’
——————————-
Mod add:
Here’s the Gallup chart referenced by the article:
And here’s a chart of the Health Index from state to state. I’ve underlined the states in the chart above, to show you that the correlation between obesity and a broader metric of health is much weaker than the Motley Fool article implies:
The “obesity epidemic” (which doesn’t exist, since rates of obesity have leveled off completely in women since 2001 and are leveling off in men, and it is the weakest definition of ‘epidemic’ given that according to Gallup the average person has only gained about 15 pounds since 1990) = propaganda.
Even the Motley Fool article is basically just a set of investment recommendations (which, admittedly, is one of the primary focuses of the magazine). The “obesity epidemic” is a giant moneymaker for all stripes.
-ATL
Why It’s Okay To Be Fat: Golda Poretsky at TEDxMillRiver
Watch this. Up-vote it on Youtube. Share it. <3
This video has just been bombarded in the comments by a gaggle of anti-fat, healthist fuckers. Golda presents so much important info in this talk that is being overshadowed by hate and ignorance and its such a goddamn shame. If you have a moment, and the energy, to deal with combating these trolls…please consider helping out down-voting derogatory comments, up-voting constructive ones, and adding your own love to the mix.
Why It’s Okay To Be Fat: Golda Poretsky at TEDxMillRiver
Watch this. Up-vote it on Youtube. Share it. <3
Turns out it’s super hard to find recipes for green smoothies without being bombarded with OMG MAGICAL FAERIE GLOW CLEANSE. LOSE WEIGHT. LOOK BETTER. POOP GLITTER.
I just want to mash a bunch of fruit and veg into a delicious drinkable pulp because it’s yummy and it makes me feel good, I DO NOT NEED YOUR “DETOX” CLEANSE BULLSHIT RHETORIC, THANKS.
“I just want to mash a bunch of fruit and veg into a delicious drinkable pulp because it’s yummy and it makes me feel good”
So do it! That’s pretty much what a green smoothie is and I always thought recipes for them were n’t necessary. Especially if they have whole books devoted to them that you need to buy. It’s really simple, but I will give you some pointers to start with. I’ve been making smoothies for years and they are DO make you feel great!
First, you probably want some kind of creamy base (if you are like me and like them creamy). Bananas are most commonly used because they are cheap, add creaminess, and also sweeten the drink. You’ll want to use ripe spotted bananas for this. You can use them fresh or slice them up and freeze them before hand (if you freeze them before hand, it gives this really nice ice-creamy texture <3). Other soft fruits like avocado and pears are supposedly good bases as well. I love and stick to my bananas.
The general rule for smoothies is 40/60 fruit to veg for a tasty sweet green smoothie. I don’t always follow this because I prefer more fruit in mine. As for what type of veg, I suggest spinach to start. Its’ mild, blends easily, and can be found easily organic, in a bag/box, pre-washed, and ready to go. It gives the drink an light earthy flavor if you add a lot but also blends nicely into the background if you don’t like to taste your veggies. Kale is another of my faves. A tough takes considerably longer to blend though depending on your blender. Obvs if you have a super blender like a Vitamix you laugh in the face of kale. I just have a shitty little Wal-Mart blender but we still get the job done so don’t fret! My blender does everything I need it to do it just takes a little more time. So be patient if your first smoothie seems a bit chunky (or maybe you like that! It’s kinda fun to chew a smoothie I swear). Some other greens you can add are parsley (this is a little spicy and really strong and refreshing), Chard (gives a VERY earthy taste), any kind of lettuce (extremely hydrating, blends well, and adds a fresh flavor), cucumber (great in Summer). So on and so on.
As for the other kind of fruit, anything you want! Mangoes, pineapple, apples, berries, melon, ect.
The next and most important part (if you have a regular old blender like me) is the liquid. You can’t just throw the fruit in and blend. That will kill the blender and nothing good comes of it. You want to be able to do that, gotta get a super blender. I swear I have seen people try this and it’s never pretty. So You can use a number of different liquids. I like to use plain water, but nut milks (or reg milk if you prefer that sort of thing) are yummy too. Yesterday I used this almond/cashew/hazelnut milk blend I found and blended it with blueberries and a dash of water. Blueberry milk y’all! Anyway, you can also use fruit juice like OJ. You can even use tea. Green Tea would be great in a breakfast shake if you do caffeine. Combining liquids works too. OJ is expensive so I use 1/3 OJ for the flavor and the rest if water to make my juice go further. Half vanilla milk half OJ and banana makes and Orange Julius thing so I have been told. Generally I pile all my stuff in the blender then fill the blender with liquid until it’s almost (maybe and inch from) covering the ingredients. Then I blend. If it’s not blending easily, just add more liquid in slow increments till it goes.
To make them thicker or to chill them if they aren’t cold enough add some ice at the end. You can also store them in the fridge for later. I would drink them within 24 hours of making it though. They keep well, but not THAT well.
Things to add in are nuts, nut butters, flax or chia seeds (if you like that sort of thing), raw cocao powder, chocolate powder, cinnamon, protein powder, key limes (I like to throw these in whole to tropical drinks. If you don’t want to be crunching little seeds, cut in half, remove seeds, then blend) dates (soak pitted dates at least ten minutes or even up to over night to soften, then add them in your smoothie to sweeten. Gives a nice caramel flavor).
So yeah experiment! I’ll be honest, I haven’t loved every single one I have made but you’ll get the hang of it and learn what you like. If you still want recipes, here’s some I like to make. I never measure, but just to give you an idea:
Banana (1-2), frozen cherries (big handful), splash of OJ, water, big handful of spinach, ice.
Banana (1-2), frozen cherries (big handful), water, 1-2 Tbls raw cacao powder (chocolate powder can also be used)
If anyone wants to talk about smoothies hit me up. :3
omfg you are like a magical smoothie goddess! I am very, very new at this whole thing - I’ve bought my fair share of smoothies but never made them at home, so I totally needed this advice. THANK YOU.
Turns out it’s super hard to find recipes for green smoothies without being bombarded with OMG MAGICAL FAERIE GLOW CLEANSE. LOSE WEIGHT. LOOK BETTER. POOP GLITTER.
I just want to mash a bunch of fruit and veg into a delicious drinkable pulp because it’s yummy and it makes me feel good, I DO NOT NEED YOUR “DETOX” CLEANSE BULLSHIT RHETORIC, THANKS.
it sucks that tumblr doesn’t let you share opinions on your own blog. now i won’t ever be able to post body positive things because i made one comment about how obesity is a medical disease which comes along with many health issues. same as anorexia. and being pobese is just as awful as prorexia.
Are you serious?
Like, are you fucking serious?
First of all, let me direct you to this post. You know what? Fat and obese are two completely different things.
Because “fat” is merely a descriptive word for a body type. And “obese” is a medically sanctioned buzz word that redefines a body type as a “disease” or “disorder” so that people like you can spew your fat hatred and tote it around as a way to feel justified.
You say you don’t “every single thing” about this topic? You obviously don’t know anything, if you’re willing to conflate an eating disorder with a body type. Having, as you self-professed, experienced neither, you should take a fucking seat.
So please, spare me the whinging about your “fee-fees” and how you’ll never be taken seriously as a body positive blogger because you have decided you get to choose the cut-off limit for who is allowed to be positive about their bodies. If you’re going to go around derailing other people’s body positivity because you’ve designated yourself the arbiter of how “healthy” (or more to the point, “healthy-presenting”) people have to be in order to participate in body acceptance, then you damn well will get called out on it, so don’t bother adding a disclaimer that you “don’t want to hear anything more about it”.
Your “opinions” do not exist in a vacuum. If you’re going to spout off about things you do not understand, you’re going to get called out on it.
Anorexia nervosa is a serious mental illness. “Obesity” is a made-up medical name for the state of having a fat body. Fatness is not a mental illness.
Fatness is not a serious psychological condition that causes people to damage their bodies in the name of achieving…