Fat And Anorexic?

BIG TRIGGER WARNING: Pictures of women with eating disorders, and talk about eating disorders. Scroll down to see.







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What do you think of when you  hear the words "anorexic" or "bulimic"? What mental picture do you have?

This?

This?

This?

What about this?

What exactly is "dieting" for fat people? Dieting is "restrict[ing] oneself to small amounts or special kinds of food in order to lose weight." It is constantly obsessing about your weight, how much or little food you eat, what type of food, when, where, why. It is:

• Obsession with calories and fat content of food
• Preoccupation with food, recipes, or cooking; may cook elaborate dinners for others, but not eat the food themselves
• Dieting ...
• Rituals: cuts food into tiny pieces; refuses to eat around others; hides or discards food
• Purging: uses laxatives, diet pills, ipecac syrup, or water pills; may engage in self-induced vomiting; may run to the bathroom after eating in order to vomit and quickly get rid of the calories
• May engage in frequent, strenuous exercise

.....

• Becomes intolerant to cold and frequently complains of being cold .... body temperature lowers in effort to conserve energy
• Depression: may frequently be in a sad, lethargic state
• Solitude: may avoid friends and family; becomes withdrawn and secretive

 It is:

• fixation on number of calories consumed
• fixation on and extreme consciousness of weight
• low self-esteem
• low blood pressure
• irregular menstrual cycle
• constant trips to the bathroom
• depression

Whoa, wait a minute! Did I just tell you the signs of anorexia and bulimia nervosa? Yes I did.
Counting calories, fixation on weight, preoccupation with food or cooking, and strenuous exercise are all dietary requirements for fat people, but if you are thin, you have an eating disorder.

It is so easy for overweight and obese people to have an eating disorder nowadays. It is even advocated. Here, just look if you don't believe me:

You hear these things all the time. I know I do. On the TV, on the radio, in songs and movies, in the street, on the internet, oh so much on the internet. You hear it from doctors, from politicians, from the First Lady, from scientists, from your friends and family.

"Just stop eating so much."
"Do you really need to eat that?"
"Why don't you exercise instead?"
"Your height to weight ratio is not as good as it needs to be."
"Put down the donut."
"I am concerned about your health."
"If you continue the way you are, you are going to die."

On and on, and you wonder why eating disorders in children under 12 have risen. Not surprisingly, so has adult eating disorders. That's what happens when "[o]n any given day, nearly 40 percent of American women are on a diet." There is not a thin line between dieting and eating disorders. They are, in my opinion, one and the same.

Tune in tomorrow for a first hand account of an eating disorder.

EDIT: Due to the response of this post, I have written another post addressing issues from here.


 

Why I don't like Biggest Loser

The Biggest Loser is on its 14th season, and recently decided that they would include children on their program. You might be saying, "Oh, this is great. The child epidemic is finally being addressed in a successful program like BL." Well no, this is actually a bad turn of events. While I can sit here and retell you everything these next links will, I'm not. So go and read these, because holy crap.

Season 3 Biggest Loser Finalist, Kai Hibbar, recounts her traumatic experiences on the Ranch, and the horrible conditions people were forced to endure for the sake of Reality TV. 

Biggest Loser contestants can't talk out about it though, or they risk a million dollar fine.

Meanwhile, Jillian Michaels says on air that she was "proud I made [Season 2 contestant Greg] vomit." She also says she makes the contestants vomit when they work big muscle groups and that vomiting expels toxins. Where the fuck did you get your health degree, because it needs to be revoked!

How about the fact that the Biggest Loser destroys contestants metabolism?

There are other things, like previous contestants saying they have gained almost all their weight back after they left the ranch and have very bad food issues afterwards. And to have these things now pressed on children? I think not.

From Body Love Wellness. An awesome blog!!! (click on pic for link)

Skyclad, Body Issues, & Opinions

What do you see when you look at this picture?

Click here for a bigger picture.

If your first thought was "A Pagan ritual", you are probably a female and/or Pagan practitioner with a few years under her/[his] belt.

If your first thought was "Are those women naked? *shock*" or "Damn, those women look good!", you are probably a man and/or a novice Pagan or not a pagan at all.

(If, by chance, you noticed right away that there was a clothed woman inside the dolmen/Faery Gate, I don't know what to make of you. If, by chance, you noticed that this picture was shot in Scotland, or that this is a scene from The (original) Wicker Man, congratulations, you have too much free time on your hands. Also, I <3 you.)

Skyclad is the principal of being "clad with the sky" -- or in other words, naked. It is supposed to allow the practitioner to feel like s/he is completely natural, that s/he is presenting hirself* to the Gods without omission or reserve, and moves past the body shame that our culture has cultivated.

Within a group, it is supposed to foster Perfect Love & Perfect Trust, a feeling of total openness among coven members in which they can see all your flaws, all your faults, the whole of your self (spiritually, physically, mentally) and still accept and love you. Keep in mind, this is supposed to be without lust, longing, or sexual desire. Now, I have not heard of a coven that is skyclad and abuses it unless the entire group or the leaders are there only for sexual gratifications, and I definitely have not heard of coven orgies (cuz I would do that in a heartbeat! Kidding. Maybe.). However, predation in our community does happen, and let's not sugarcoat that or dismiss it.

I want to comment that Perfect Love & Perfect Trust are misnomers in the English language. Nothing in life or death is completely Perfect. Our Gods are not Perfect, we are not Perfect, even Nature and the Universe are not Perfect. From Dictionary.com:

A few usage guides still object to the use of comparison words such as more, most, nearly, almost, and rather with perfect on the grounds that perfect describes an absolute, yes-or-no condition that cannot logically be said to exist in varying degrees. The English language has never agreed to this limitation. Since its earliest use in the 13th century, perfect has, like almost all adjectives, been compared, first in the now obsolete forms perfecter and perfectest, and more recently with more, most, and similar comparison words: "the most perfect arrangement of color and line imaginable." Perfect is compared in most of its general senses in all varieties of speech and writing.

Note the fourth entry on Perfect. We can use a host of other, better suited (but poetically shattering) terms such as defectless, faultless, matchless, supreme, unblemished, unequal, untainted, or untarnished. Unblemished Love and Untarnished Trust. Hmm.... Point being, it is not about being perfect, but about a quality that cannot be matched elsewhere. Your coven is your family; they are sometimes thicker than blood and know you as well as or better than your birth family. That is your safe place, your refuge, your one space that allows you to be completely yourself without reserve. Being skyclad in front of your covenmates is the physical representation of this bond and relationship. It is supposed to be the highest form of worship.

They are pissed off about body shaming assholes

But this brings up whole new issues, specifically body issues. I know people who do not undress unless for showers and cannot even begin to take off their clothes in front of a mirror, let alone other people. How many of us can undress in the locker room without going and hiding in the stalls to get dressed? I am comfortable in my own skin and still have trouble with that. I used to torture myself over imagined comments about how my body looked when I was in middle and high school. How are we supposed to feel good in our bodies when we are told over and over and over again that we shouldn't be viewed, that we are less than, that we even don't deserve to live? And, do we bring this shame to our Gods?

Can you stand in front of your Deity completely natural and feel absolutely no shame or embarrassment when They look at you? I personally felt embarrassment the first time I presented myself. It is a conditioned response. It is the same feeling one gets at undressing in front of a lover; timidity, shyness, and apprehensiveness. Almost like waiting for another shoe to drop, for him to say something that you "always knew someone would cruelly say." Of course, it never happens, esp since the Gods don't care out how your body looks. It is a vehicle in which your spirit resides.

Skyclad rituals are completely and utterly your decision. Whatever you feel is best for you is what you should do. Try it once, see how you like it. Try it once more just to confirm your feelings. If you like it, Yay! If you don't, Yay also. All I can say is blessings upon you, my friend.



*(note: I like to use gender neutral terms like s/he and hir because I don't want to omit any gender and believe that inclusion is important. I don't like "it" because it is too impersonal.)