I'm hoping to attend Fat Girl Speaks in Portland, Oregon on June 9th. Are any of you interested in coming? I think it is going to be an amazing event. I've submitted my application to be a performer. I've written some funny poetry about being a fat chick and I would be thrilled to read my work at that event. I'm still waiting to hear from them but I'll let you know as soon as I do.

I'm not just interested in attending a fun, cool weekend event where outspoken and creative women get together to celebrate their curves...although that does sound great doesn't it? Another reason why I want to go is that I love the Pacific Northwest. I've enjoyed being in Vancouver, Canada and also Bellingham, Washington and I have actually cried at the airport at the end of my trip. I wanted to go home to New York but I felt so sad about leaving that area. I feel completely at home there. The people are relaxed and groovy and the weather is perfect. I really like that rainy climate. And the air! It's so clean - I found out how good it feels to breathe. Heaven.

The thing that impressed me the most about the Pacific Northwest is that the people are really groovy and easy to talk with. They also have a different set of criteria (from New York City and Los Angeles) when relating to each other...especially about body types. I saw women of all body types wearing sexy clothes, wearing exercise clothes, wearing business clothes and they all seemed more relaxed to my eyes. I didn't hear my friends who live in that area complain about the size of their thighs or wonder if anyone would ever love them unless they lost a few pounds and the men were happy to be with a happy woman. They weren't just looking for a chick with buns of steel. Maybe it's all that clean air that's responsible for all that clean thinking?

My husband and I have discussed moving to that area and maybe we will in a few years. For now...I am really happy to have another Pacific Northwest trip in my near future. Let me know if you are planning on being at Fat Girl Speaks. I hope to meet some of you!

Joy Nash Fat Rant in LA Times

Yes it's true. The LA Times...hello the LA TIMES...has interviewed Joy Nash about her freaking amazing video Fat Rant.

Here is a link to the interview: Joy Nash LA Times Interview. FYI: This link takes you to a page where you have to register in order to read the interview.

And here once again for your viewing pleasure is the video.

Size 14 = Size Anxiety

Today I gave a friend a dress that I never wore. I bought it on EBay and it turned out to be a Junior Size 14 and not a Woman's Size 14. Oh well. If I had bought it directly through a store like I should have, instead of being cheap about my wardrobe then I wouldn't have gotten conned so I have only myself to blame for this phony dress. Well, it's not a phony dress, it's a real dress...just not my size.

So this dress was just folded on a shelf in my closet with the original tags on it and I thought that I should just give it to someone who would enjoy wearing it and so I did and she tried it on immediately and it was like it was made for her it because it really fit perfectly. It's black velvet and it's beautiful. And everyone in the office was oohing and aahing and all she could say was, "Oh my God I'm not a size 14!" And I said...who cares you're just going to rip the tag off anyway. Tell people it's a size 8 and forget it. But no...she was close to tears because the tag had a number 14 on it.

Yes she did thank me and yes she does love it and yes she is going to wear it but I have to say that I was just horrified by her reaction to that tag.

I've had it with Kirstie Alley

I've had with Kirstie. First, she wants to convince me that life will only be good if I am thin, and now she wants to drag sweet, innocent Valerie Bertinelli down with her into the chasm of self-hatred. Grrrr.

Like it's not bad enough to be bombarded on a daily basis with marketing images telling me that my luscious self isn't as beautiful as my husband tells me that I am. Harumpf, I say and Codswallop (whatever that means). A fashion industry dominated by men who aren't interested in women, certainly not women with curves, is trying to convince me to fit my body into clothes that are designed for women who look like boys…Preposterous!

Kirstie and Valerie look great to me. They are smart, funny, talented women with wide hips and big smiles. But no, they have to live on shakes for lunch and chemically processed pseudo-food in bags that get boiled for dinner. Ugh. And why would they do this? They suffer in order to be thin. This is not for me. As I have already stated, "I would rather have delicious lunches than execute one hundred crunches."

Health professionals agree that diets don't work. When you reduce your caloric intake your body thinks that you are starving and slows your metabolism in order to store fat more efficiently. Yes, when you diet your body becomes better at storing fat. In addition, you lose both fat and muscle in equal amounts because your body sacrifices muscle in order to provide the energy that is missing due to reduced caloric intake. And then when you gain weight back it is all fat and no muscle.

I have heard some statistics (don't ask me to cite references -- I'm a blogger not a librarian) that suggest if you want to lose weight in a healthy way and keep it off then you should lose 10% of your body weight a year and keep it off for a full year before you attempt losing more weight. So if you weigh 200 lbs. lose 20 lbs. and keep it off for a year. You will weigh 180 so then lose 18 lbs. and keep it off for a year. You will weigh 162 so then lose 16 lbs. and keep it off for a year and you will weigh 146. Most dieters are so desperate to get thin because of their body shame that they are willing to stop eating so they can lose weight rapidly. They then gain back more than they lost, which is unhealthier than being fat, active and happy.

Businesses looking to make a buck have always suggested that there is something wrong with you the way that you are and that you won't be right until you use their product. This is ok with me and it's what marketing is all about. But when companies are shaming women about their body size into starvation diets in order to sell energy pills, diet shakes, and "food" in a box -- ladies we really must take a look at why we continue to buy what they are selling...both literally and figuratively.

All in all I really think that women are turning over their power. We doubt our attractiveness. This we do all on our own and we have no one but ourselves to hold accountable. The diet and "health care" industries have found the perfect way to control women. We are weak and can't think straight when we are hungry.

A life of deprivation is not for me. I won't be trading in a meal for shakes and I won't give up my slow stroll around the lake for a run. I love my strong healthy size 16 body and I'm not worrying my life away.