Beltane!

May Day is almost upon us! Soon it will officially be Summer, days of beaches and watermelon and camping and air conditioning! This season Beltane will span from April 30th to May 5th.

Want some ideas for Beltane (Beltaine, Bealtaine, Bealltainn, Boaltinn, Boaldyn, or May Day, whatever you call it)? Here are some non-ceremonial spells, recipes, and craft ideas!

May Bush ideas! Click pic for source.

Decorate a May Bush! If you happen to have some leftover egg shells from Ostara, you can use these. Decorate with ribbon for the intentions you want for the next half of the year. Here is a link for color correspondence. Some suggestions would be colors for protection, fertility, and love.

Scatter plant some flowers! You can get some cheap seeds everywhere, but I highly recommend looking at the native flowers in your area and planting those. Here are sites for the US, the UK, and France (because I get a lot of views from there. Bonjour!). You can use them to "sow the seeds of desire" or whatever it is you want; just focus on what it is you would like to sow out into the Earth/Universe and either chant while you scatter, sing, dance, or whatever you feel like doing.

Go to the Renaissance Festival! The one here in Waxahachie, TX ends on May 27th this year. They might also have a May Pole you can attend!

Sunlight Jars!

Make crafts! Here are some great things to make from my favorite craft blog. Spiral Goddess salt dough plaque, Sea glass heart pendant (which you can also make hanging things with, and I am sure you can make any shape, like a Sun [another cool sun], Moon, or Star [an idea how]), Sea shell ornaments and chimes, fake deer antlers (really cool!), or this REALLY AMAZING Sunlight-In-A-Jar (here is an eBay account that sells the solar panel tops cheaper than anywhere else).


Here is a site that gives some pretty good protection spells and ideas for amulets. I don't really like giving ceremonial spells, especially links to other sites, because of ethical issues. If you choose to search for other ceremonial spells and rituals on the internet, know that they should only really be a template and that the most powerful spells you can do are the ones you make yourself. Perhaps soon I will post some spell bones/templates for y'all.

Host a party. Make crowns of flowers and have contests to see who wins the title of May Queen and May King. One of the games can be a throwing contest. Have music and dance! Have a bonfire if you have the room, or make a small fire in your cauldron using rubbing alcohol, cotton balls, and A LID which is important if you need to snuff the flames. Make sure to practice safe fire habits!

Maypole. You can either make an actual Maypole or you can make a smaller one from a paper towel roll or small rod.

Poetry is always good.

How about some Beltane stories for those with children?

Do some divination! Now is a great time, since it is the second time of year that the Veil is at its thinnest.

Food! Here are some awesome recipes for you. Candied Violets with Lemon Poppyseed Cake, more recipes for the Sabbat, and some with pies! A list from A to Z, and more with variety.

Other things I found that are worth reading.

Last but not least, some chants for you!

Bring flowers of the rarest
bring blossoms the fairest,
from garden and woodland and hillside and dale;
our full hearts are swelling,
our glad voices telling
the praise of the loveliest flower of the vale!

O Goddess we crown thee with blossoms today!
Queen of the Witches and Queen of the May.
O Goddess we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Witches and Queen of the May

Do you have any suggestions yourself?

List of Studies Related to HAES

Here is a compilation of all (or almost all) the links used by the moderators and other supporters of HAES in various discussions on the sub-Reddit askHAES. This isn't meant to be comprehensive and will not have every study available. This is meant to be a backup in case it is needed but is buried.

All studies listed have been screened to make sure there are no duplicates. If you have a study that is not listed here, please post it in the comments!

LINKS DIRECTLY TO STUDIES

1) Naturalistic weight reduction efforts predicted weight gain and onset of obesity in adolescent girls
2) Intentional Weight Loss predicted accelerated weight gain and risk of overweight.
3) Dieters Gain More Weight During Pregnancy
4) Eating in response to hunger and satiety signals is related to BMI in a nationwide sample of 1601 mid-age New Zealand women.
5) List of intuitive eating related studies
6) This paper evaluates the evidence and rationale that justifies shifting the health care paradigm from a conventional weight focus to HAES.
7) Among people who have ever been overweight or obese, just 4.4% have lost 20% or more of their starting weight and kept it off for one year.
8) Face to face format finds people still gain weight anyway
9) Reviews the science of the failure of LTWLM (long term weight loss management) and how most weigh management programs essentially ignore the overwhelming body of research
10) This comment that lists various quotes from studies that shows the futility of LTWLM is well-accepted in the research community
11) Obese and Overweight individuals who eat 5+ fruits and veggies a day, exercise 3+ hours week, does not smoke nor drink has a lower mortality rate than people in the "normal" BMI range who do not do these habits.
12) Human plasma ghrelin levels increase during a one-year exercise program.
13) Weight loss increases circulating levels of ghrelin in human obesity
14) Leptin reverses weight loss–induced changes in regional neural activity responses to visual food stimuli
15) Energy expenditure and postprandial thermogenesis in obese women before and after weight loss.
16) Combined Impact of Health Behaviours and Mortality in Men and Women: The EPIC-Norfolk Prospective Population Study
17) Medicare's Search for Effective Obesity Treatment: Diets Are Not the Answer
18) The Relationship between Intuitive Eating and Health Indicators among College Women
19) Dieting Does Not Work, UCLA Researchers Report
20) Physical Activity, All-Cause Mortality, and Longevity of College Alumni
21) Weight Science: Evaluating the Evidence for a Paradigm Shift (ie fitness over weight loss)
22) All-Cause Mortality Risk of Metabolically Healthy Obese Individuals in NHANES III
23) Association of all-cause mortality with overweight and obesity using standard body mass index categories: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
24) Cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, and all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in men
25) High levels of energy expenditure in obese women.
26) Is Obesity Caused by Calorie Underestimation? A Psychophysical Model of Meal Size Estimation
27) Body mass index as a predictor of fracture risk: A meta-analysis
28) (Low) Weight and body mass index predict bone mineral density and fractures in women aged 40 to 59 years
29) Risk factors for low bone mass in healthy 40–60 year old women: A systematic review of the literature
30) Putting body weight and osteoporosis into perspective
31) Association between muscular strength and mortality in men: prospective cohort study
32) Poverty and Obesity
33) Childhood IQ in relation to obesity and weight gain in adult life
34) The role of ego-control, ego-resiliency, and IQ in delay of gratification in adolescence.
35) Physical activity attenuates the genetic predisposition to obesity in 20,000 men and women from EPIC-Norfolk prospective population study.
34) Physical activity attenuates the influence of FTO variants on obesity risk: a meta-analysis of 218,166 adults and 19,268 children.
35) Dietary factors impact on the association between CTSS variants and obesity related traits.
36) Obesity: lessons from evolution and the environment.
37) Epigenetic flexibility in metabolic regulation: disease cause and prevention?
38) Association of All-Cause Mortality With Overweight and Obesity Using Standard Body Mass Index CategoriesA Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
39) Does Body Mass Index Adequately Convey a Patient's Mortality Risk?
40) Impact of smoking and preexisting illness on estimates of the fractions of deaths associated with underweight, overweight, and obesity in the US population.
41) Healthy lifestyle habits and mortality in overweight and obese individuals.
42) 10-year follow-up of diabetes incidence and weight loss in the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study.
43) Chart Showing Exact Rate of Weight Regain
44) Weight loss does not lower heart disease risk from type 2 diabetes
45) In U.S., Obesity Rate Stable in 2012
46) Age-adjusted Percentage distsributions of BMI among Persons 18 Years of Age and Over.
47) Association of All-Cause Mortality With Overweight and Obesity using Standard BMI
48) A Whole-Genome Scan for Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Obesity
49) The effect of exercise training on obstructive sleep apnea and sleep quality: a randomized controlled trial
50) The Efficacy of Home Based Progressive Strength Training in Older Adults with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Randomized Controlled Trial
 

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LINKS TO ARTICLES, POSTS, ETC

1) Abstract Thinking: A Review of FCJ studies
2) Requiescat in Pace
3) What Is the Connection Between Ghrelin and Leptin?
4) Explaining the difference between the BRFSS Obesity tracking versus the NHANES Obesity Tracking
5) Obesity, Health, and Metabolic Fitness
6) Charging Fat People More for Health Care
7) Understanding Universal Healthcare
8) What is Health? What Does Good Health Mean?
9) What Is Healthy Eating? What Is A Good Diet?
10) Gut Bacteria Linked to Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome Identified
11) Gut Flora May Be Tied to Obesity
12) The Fat Trap: New York Times Report
13) Relationship Between Poverty and Obesity or Overweight
14) Overweight and Obesity in the US
15) Physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, and adiposity: contributions to disease risk.
16) Commentary: Current perspectives on obesity and health: black and white, or shades of grey?
17) The Biologic Basis of Obesity: A Lecture by Jeffrey Friedman, MD, PhD
18) “The most dangerous issue (for overweight people) is not being heavy per se but being sedentary,” Bente Pedersen

What If

What if you are not actually good enough?
What if you don't realize the strengths that others strive to be like?
What if you are in denial about your size?
What if it is really just a small number of people who scream at the top of their lungs and convince others to follow their lead?
What if we win against the hate, bigotry and intolerance?
What if we don't?
What if that person who is looking at you while you eat thinks you are disgusting?
What if that person who seems to be looking at you is actually looking through you, entrenched in their own world, their own problems?
What if someone says something hurtful to you today and you go home and don't eat again for weeks?
What if you just punch them in the face, maybe mentally, maybe physically, and go on about your day?
What if  you are just looking for evidence to validate your own viewpoints for your own ends?
What if the real evidence is being buried by the billion dollar industries that rely on our fears to make their profits?
What if you are made fun of for doing something, like exercising or just shopping?
What if you are not?
What if it is you?
What if it is me?
What if it is us?
What if it is them?
What if you question yourself to death and never live?
What if you are never able to live up to your potential because you are so worried about what others think of you instead of what you think of yourself?
What if the hateful words turn to shame?
What if the shame turned to anger?
What if the anger turns to a sense of loss?
What if that sense of loss turns into acceptance?
What if that acceptance leads to internal peace?
What if that peace is what you always looked for but couldn't find outside of yourself?

What if you died tomorrow?
What if you lived today?

"In the seventeenth chapter of St. Luke it is written that the Kingdom of God is within man; not in one man or a group of men, but in all men, in you. You the people have the power, the power to create machines, to create happiness. You the people have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of Democracy let us use that power; let us all unite! Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men the chance to work, that will give you the future and old age, security. ...Let's fight for a world of reason, where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness." 

Hashtag Love

I recently started to get onto Tumblr, and boy am I glad I did. If you follow the HAES and Fat Acceptance movements, you will hear a lot about tags called thinspo, fitspo, pro mia, and pro ana -- thin inspiration, fitness inspiration, pro-bulimia, and pro-anorexia, respectively. While there are other, more fat friendly tags like healthspo and fatspo (although they are not entirely safe) and that fitspo isn't completely asshole-ish, I was graciously notified that there is another one. I fell in LOVE, people!

It's HAESpo, and OMG what a wonderful idea. I have been tagging it for like a week now (but I have no idea why only three show up in that feeder box...).

Let's have SAMPLES YES!

BEACH BODY RECIPE - Step 1, go to beach. Step 2, done!

My Embrace Body Love submission.

If you have a Tumblr, tag away! Also, tell me about it and I will follow you.

YAY GO PEOPLE!!!!

I hope that this will catch on and not be taken over by trolls. Of course, I expect some people to do just that, but don't let them win.

Also, did I tell you just how much I LOVE haespo?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?