Just Because It Will Cheer You Up...

Weight Stigma

Today marks the start of BEDA's Weight Stigma Awareness Week. A very important week for us at Guiltless!

What is Weight Stigma?
Weight stigma as a form of bullying, based on a person's size or weight. It encompasses a wide range of behaviors where a a person’s character, work ethics, and personality is judged based on weight. It can happen at home, on the playground, in the workplace or in a doctors office. Here are a few staggering stats: 1 of 3 overweight girls and 1 of 4 overweight boys report being teased by
their peers at school. 43% of overweight people report weight stigma by employers or supervisors. 69% of overweight people report being stigmatized by doctors and 52% reported doctors stigmatizing them on more than 1 occasion. So much for this free country eh?

Change Starts with You!
You have to heal yourself first, reclaiming a positive relationship with your body, and then spreading this positive self-love to those around you-friends, family and strangers. You need to be the first one to start using positive body talk. Recommit to taking care of yourself-Recommit to standing up for healthy body image and taking care  of yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Join the Discussion
Tweet @BEDAOrg using the hashtag #weightstigma!
Check out the weight stigma awareness blog!

What can you do to fight weight stigma?

Going Off The Grid

I live a very connected life. My boyfriend and I counted 10 different systems that connect to the internet in our household. Our household of 2 people and 1 cat and 1 dog. When i'm not face-to-face with a client, or doing a training, my work is almost entirely online; writing, outreach and scheduling. I love twitter, instagram, facebook, blogging, gmail and outlook. But it can be a little much

Challenge to myself: 3 days of no phone, no computer, no ipad. Yes all of Labor Day Weekend

I read. We talked. We went to the Berkshires. I got ice cream without instagraming it. I made meals that didn't have to be recorded. Most importantly, the world did not collapse because I wasn't responding to emails on the weekend or tweeting up a storm. I did have a very realistic dream that i was checking my gmail and had 400 unread messages. (not too far from reality-Tuesday morning=300 unread).  When you start dreaming about tech connectivity that's when it starts to get scary.

Like Jenna Wortham put in her great NYTimes article about turning off her phone:

"My revelation — relearning the beauty of living in the moment, devoid of any digital link — may seem silly to people who are less attached to their devices. But for many people, smartphones and social networks have become lifelines — appendages that they are rarely without. As such, they can sway our moods, decisions and feelings."

You're going to want to read the rest here 

Because FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is a scary reality in our world (as Steph explained here) It's time that all took some time to learn JOMO (Joy Of Missing Out)

I'm going to go back to my  tweeting, blogging, emailing and writing with a reminder that it is OKAY and in fact, NECCESARY to turn it all off every once in awhile.

How connected are you and how do you feel about that?

Good Graffiti

There's always someone out there who will advise how you can be better. But you're the only one who truly knows how to make you happier. Usually, it's not the same thing.

Really enjoy your weekend!