Did you know that last week was Fat Talk Free Week? Yeah, me neither. And as much as I could be thinking, "Oh, this is old news..." I think it is important to bring it to your attention. What's the deal you ask? Well...
Fat Talk Free Week is a five-day public awareness effort sponsored by Tri Delta, The Center for Living, Learning and Leading, and many other generous partners. The campaign was intended to draw attention to the damaging impact of fat talk and the “thin ideal” on today’s women.
Basically, the participating colleges have asked women to make a pact to cut the Fat Talk for one week. This effort was aimed at college women. And while I think it is a great idea, we should not see this as a college campaign alone - but carry it into our own lives. Men, woman, college age, teenagers, kids, and even the elderly could benefit from turning our negative fat talk into positive statements.
Almost everyone I know has made a joke, or statement about how they look, or feel fat at some point or another. Hell, I grew up with most of my family constantly talking about how fat they look in pictures, or how they can't fit into their clothes in the closet, and the extreme measures they took to try to lose weight and be thin. I grew up with the idealogy that it was ok to proclaim, "Ugh, I look so fat in that picture" or my favorite "they say I am just big boned... hahaha" and than move on. I never thought about how those statements were ingrained in me at a young age, and how it effected my view of myself growing up, and even now.
Rosie O'Donnell spoke on her Sirius Radio show about Fat Talk Free Week, and said:
"For people who have been overweight for a long part of their life, it's part of the vernacular -- you always say, 'I look so fat,' or 'I'm so fat.' You berate yourself. It's just part of the culture," O'Donnell said.
This is so true! You hear it often enough, and it becomes the truth in your own mind. As the article above states, Fat Talk can cause many women misery about their bodies. Women who don't like, or feel bad about their bodies tend to not take care of them as they should. AND, we need to not only think about ourselves, but our kids! When we talk like this, those little ears pick up on everything, and they begin to adopt these behaviors as their own (page 10 of link). Instead of complaining and making jokes about fat talk, let's try to make some changes that will get rid of the fat talk.
Talk about the benefits of nutrition and exercise. Talk about how diets don't work, however, moderation and good habits do! Talk about the differences in all of our bodies, and how a healthy body looks - and about how not all healthy bodies are the same. Let's try to make the change from fat talk to positive talk. Perhaps it can be contagious, and we can help others around us to make the lifestyle changes that we have tried to make.
- Choose one friend or family member and discuss one thing you like about yourselves.
- Keep a journal of all the good things your body allows you to do (e.g., sleep well and wake up rested, play tennis, etc.).
- Pick one friend to make a pact with to avoid negative body talk. When you catch your friend talking negatively about their body, remind them of the pact.
- Make a pledge to end complaints about your body, such as "I’m so flat-chested" or "I hate my legs." When you catch yourself doing this, make a correction by saying something positive about that body part, such as, "I’m so glad my legs got me through soccer practice today".
- The next time someone gives you a compliment, rather than objecting ("No, I’m so fat"), practice taking a deep breath and saying "thank you."
I am a firm believe in the power of positivity. Let's continue our lifestyle journey by adding in positive talk, and banishing the fat talk that we are all guilty of - not just for last week, but forever!
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