Being good to my body

[resonant]

First there was the LJ community for the Atkins people, and then there was the LJ community for the Weight Watchers people. And then, tonight, I got an invitation to join fandom_fatties.

And, uh-uh. Sorry.

One of the things I'm working on is not telling other people how to live their lives, so y'all can do as you like.

As for me, though -- in 2004, I'm going to resolve only to be sweet to my little dumpling-shaped body.

I'm going to ply it with pleasures -- cheesecake and yoga and fresh-squeezed orange juice with a mint leaf and long walks in the park. I'm going to drape it with things that feel good and slather it with things that smell nice. I'm going to take it out dancing every now and then and show it off.

I'm not going to deprive it of things it needs. I'm not going to fan my own contempt of it. I'm not going to try to change it.

I am, in fact, going to treat it as though it were the body of someone I loved.

Comments

[lasultrix.livejournal.com]

Strange little community. They do say they're inviting people completely at random, though, figuring that a large proportion of people would like to be at least a bit thinner than they currently are. Specially after Christmas!

[iibnf.livejournal.com]

Oh, that was disappointing, I thought that was a community for fat fans, not fan fans who no longer want to be fat fans. I could no more give up my fat than I could give up my slash.

But the rest of your post, I totally agree with. You only get one body in your life time, how horrid to spend your whole life hating and punishing it! Pamper, totally, pamper. Mmmm... fresh orange juice...

[iibnf.livejournal.com]

Maybe we should start 'fan_shaped'!

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Fan-shaped! I love it.

I used to have a cartoon that said, "I already got in shape. A sphere is a shape."

[wyomingnot.livejournal.com]

I'll have you know I just stood up and cheered for this.

Okay, I didn't actually stand up... but I did a virtual standing ovation.

I am, in fact, going to treat it as though it were the body of someone I loved.

Nevermind how stupid it sounds when I say this, I mean it....
You go, girl.

:)

[strawberrythief.livejournal.com]

"I'm going to ply it with pleasures -- cheesecake and yoga and fresh-squeezed orange juice with a mint leaf and long walks in the park. I'm going to drape it with things that feel good and slather it with things that smell nice. I'm going to take it out dancing every now and then and show it off."

You have no idea how sexy that statement is.

Or maybe you do. I don't know. Either way, I want to fix you crème brulée and paint your toenails.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Ooh. I don't think I've ever had creme brulee. I've been unforgiveably deprived.

[amand-r.livejournal.com]

Wordy McWordic Word Werd.

And all that amen stuff.

[sparrohawk.livejournal.com]

Eight hundred million kisses for you. I struggle with this every every every day. It's so tiresome, and so difficult to keep in mind the kind of attitude you describe in the face of... everything.

You are fabulous for posting this. Thank you, thank you, thank beautiful you.

Amen. :D

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

It's hard, isn't it, when the world has been sending you messages to hate yourself ever since you were a child? I look at my five-year-old and it just hurts to think of the same thing happening to her. (Of course, I wasn't much older than she is when my mother put me on my first diet, so at least she'll be spared that.)

[imkalena.livejournal.com]

Yay You!

[laurelwood.livejournal.com]

This is the mantra everyone needs for 2004 and beyond, no matter what their shape. Beautifully said, and the sort of ideal one can actually take pleasure in trying to live up to!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Wow, this could be the most beautiful weight-related thing I've ever read. If I had a printer, I'd print it up and stick it on the wall over my desk.

Seconded: You go, girl!

Kisses you....

[dphearson.livejournal.com]

Because that is just beautiful. and if all of us treated our body that way, we would be healthier and happier.

PS:Cheesecake and yoga. What a lovely combination.

Happy New Year.

[boniblithe.livejournal.com]

I declined the invite mostly because I didn't like the tone of the journal - it was so self-deprecating, it brought me down while it was claiming to be there to bring me up.

I too, am giving my body the things it wants, and the things it needs, treating it like it is the body of someone I love - making sure it is healthy, and well cared for, and will be around as long as possible.

I think these are honorable things we do for ourselves :)

[celandineb.livejournal.com]

Well done you! Good resolution... may you succeed in it!

[kit-maxel.livejournal.com]

hey, I was referred from metaquotes. I just wanted to say that that is brilliant and quite possibly the best resolution I've ever heard. you rock!

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks!

[dayse.livejournal.com]

[tips hat to you]

word.

[chrismm.livejournal.com]

I got one too, and maybe I was too harsh, but. Between the wording of the dealie, which seemed extremely hostile to me, and the fact that the mod is anonymous--it seemed more like a bad, mean joke to me, than an actual attempt at a community. If it is real, if that's really how that person sees herself/himself--man, I'm sorry, because that seems really, really sad to me.

I'm with you. My body is not perfect, but being human is not about being perfect. And I'm done being mean to myself, or letting other people be mean to me about it.

[lunarennui.livejournal.com]

you are my new fucking IDOL.

i'm adding this to my memories. thank you so, SO much.

[tocomfortyou.livejournal.com]

Good for you! Happy New Year.

[merripestin.livejournal.com]

You rock my tiny socks.

Now I really need to play Laura Love's Mahbootay ("I clothe it, with the trouser, I feed it, with peanut butter...")

[glitterdemon.livejournal.com]

::adds to memories::

[lynsage.livejournal.com]

if i had jumped out of my chair and started whooping and cheering like i wanted to when i read this, i would have woken up the whole house. so instead i just sat here with tears in my eyes, whispering "hell fucking yes."

[azurelunatic]

Yay.

yes

[schuyler.livejournal.com]

Go you.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Hope you don't mind, but I quoted this in metaquotes. There are more comments over there that you might want to see.

http://www.livejournal.com/community/metaquotes/590782.html

:)

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Ooh, cool! Thanks! I feel all famous now.

[aretina.livejournal.com]

I am, in fact, going to treat it as though it were the body of someone I loved.

YES! YES! YES! (I could go on like that for a while.)

[mark356.livejournal.com]

What a great resolution! Good luck!

[ptyx.livejournal.com]

That's wonderful! Congratulations!

[thalea.livejournal.com]

You're my new idol.

Thank you, this was wonderful.

(referred by metaquotes ^^)

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Yes. And yes. And yes.

[arallara.livejournal.com]

Wow, thank you for saying that. All the posts I've been seeing about these new weight-loss communities have been bumming me out. Partly because that's so not something I want as part of my own fannish landscape and experience. I am seriously freaked out by the social bonding practices of women around dieting and body consciousness, and that's a kind of social connection I have to continually reject for the sake of my own sanity and self-esteem, you know? But it also just bums me out to be reminded that so many women in these fannish communities of mine (women who I admire and respect and find beautifully independent and intelligent and strong) feel bad about themselves and their bodies. I wish for everyone to learn to be kind to their bodies, as you so wonderfully describe, in this new year.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

I am seriously freaked out by the social bonding practices of women around dieting and body consciousness

Yes! And I have some acquaintances who are so obsessed that, if I don't want to talk about our bodies and how much we hate them, it's really serious to find anything else to talk about!

[runey.livejournal.com]

Brava! This is the right way to go about it. Dieting tends to fail because depriving yourself of foods you want tends to bring on rebellion and bingeing. Working with your needs and listening to your body, respecting it, is the way. ^_^ I've lost 40lbs. this past year (and kept it off...a first on both counts) by NOT dieting, but instead listening to the signals that have always been there but quiet, telling me when I'm full and what I want to eat. I'm not stressed and I don't go weigh every week or even every month. Sorry, I tend to preach to the choir. Hehe. I guess I just wanted to say I'm with you on this one. Letting go of dieting is very freeing. ^_^

[xoverau.livejournal.com]

That's the healthiest thing in the world you can possibly do. I can't tell you how much better I felt when I finally grabbed that attitude and ran with it. My life changed when I started loving every inch of myself, right NOW rather than in some idealized future state. Buy scented oils and savor your food and buy new clothes--bigger, smaller, whatever, they're new! Soft fabrics and lacy underwear. Whee!

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

I gave up dieting nearly ten years ago, as a gift to myself for my thirtieth birthday. Strangely enough, that was the year my weight stabilized; up until then, I had gained a size or two every year. If we could harness the energy that women spend trying to change their bodies, we could have world peace in about twelve and a half minutes.

[vixenette.livejournal.com]

Oh my God, that made my day. I came onto this entry from the journal of dayse, and just the "Yes." that came next to it prompted me to click.

Dumpling shaped or not, hun, you are a goddess for loving yourself and scoffing at people who tell you to change.

A non-diet Coke or Southern-style sugary sweet tea salute to you.

Vixy

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Sweet tea! Yay! I live in the Midwest now, so if I want it, I have to make it for myself. But that's OK, because nobody else in the house will drink it.

[leiascully.livejournal.com]

What a beautiful sentiment. Thank you.

[ardent-muses.livejournal.com]

Beautifully said. Thank you!

:::adding to memories:::

[kassrachel.livejournal.com]

This is one of the best posts ever. I want to frame it and put it on my wall. You rule.

:-)

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

*sitting ovation*

I would stand, but my co-workers would look at me funny.

Mer

[mel06.livejournal.com]

you rock my socks!