Don't be "tricked" into joining a gym

I hope you all had a happy and haunting Halloween. 

Speaking of Halloween hauntings, the upcoming holidays that follow Halloween often spook us. 

A candy overload on Halloween leads into a turkey explosion on Thanksgiving. We latke and Christmas cookie our way into a Chrismahakwanzakah feast. Just in case that wasn't enough, we top it all off with a night of drinking champagne before we ring in the new year. 

Once we finish wearing sexy ghost costumes, our "healthy lifestyles" fly into a tailspin. 

It doesn't help that everybody is repeating this too. I swear every local news story covers "holiday weight gain." It's usually right after they show you the "best" cranberry sauce recipe. 

When I was more disordered, this dread of food that I was going to lose control over was extremely intense. 

I remember one New York Sports Club (NYSC)  advertisement that was scarier to me than any zombie. I can't remember the exact words. It made it sound like failing to join their gym was sealing your fate for holiday weight gain. 

Frankly, it was brilliant advertising. It hit me in all the right places. It tapped into my innate fear at the time (gaining weight). It made me want to do something about it (join a gym).  More than anything, it celebrated the most eating disordered thought: 

 "I'm going to be better than everyone else."

That's fucked up, right? Well, it's at the heart of a lot of eating disorders. It's part of the reason that you can't hear it when people say, "Don't worry about it. I'm eating the apple pie."

Iliza Shlesinger talks about this in her comedy special on Netflix. She says, "It's not enough to be skinny is it? It's not enough to be thin. You have to be the thinnest out of your friends."

via GIPHY

So, when your sweet and loving friend offers you a slice of pie, you think. "Well, sure you look good. But, I want to be thinner."

I'm pretty sure I bought a NYSC membership that year. And that sucks. 

Not just because they messed up my credit card on file (I ended up overpaying for my 3 months of membership). It sucks because people shouldn't be afraid of gaining weight (especially during the winter). People shouldn't want to be better than other people. 

If you want to go to the gym, that's fine. If you don't want to go to the gym, that's fine. 

Body Posi Puppies!

 I was traveling this week. So, I didn't exactly have time to perfect all my latest thoughts on body positivity. 

Some pups, some koalas, and some cockatoos did though. ; )

In the meantime, I wanted to show you what I've been up to lately.

Check out this Instagram page and share it with your friends. 

Next week, I'll be back with more musings on how to quit dieting. 

Ted Talk: Why Dieting Doesn't Usually Work

A lot of people don't really believe me when I say that dieting doesn't work. 

Which is why I mention set point theory like erryday 

If you're one of the Debbie Doubters, here's a cool video from Sandra Aamodt. Aamodt is a neuroscientist and science writer. 

She does a kick-ass job of explaining set point theory and why diets don't work. 

Check it out!

Not giving a fuck about being "fat"

Hi. I'm Noel. 

And I don't give a fuck about my cellulite

It didn't always used to be this way. 

This is me eating churros in a bikini. And I don't give a FUCK. 

I remember when I  learned about the shame of weight.  I overheard one my handsome male classmates describing Lizzie McGuire as "a fat cow." 

I was subconsciously aware that I didn't want to be fat. Until that moment, I was suspicious that other people cared. This classmate confirmed it. People are watching and even if you're a cute Disney star, you're still not good enough. 

 If Lizzie McGuire didn't measure up, I certainly did not. 

I felt the shame of not looking like a cover girl. 

And that shame stuck with me for years. Through high school. Through college. Through a few years after college. I felt like I always needed to show how sorry I was about not measuring up. Dieting was the easiest way to repent. 

This is an unspoken part about dieting. Dieting isn't just a way to lose weight. It's social and cultural capital that represents your desire to be better.

When you don't measure up to the standard, your only recourse is the act of trying. "Sure, I may not weigh as little as supermodels, but I'm trying to". It somehow makes us "better" to people who might feel disgusted with how we look. 

If we quit dieting, we quit apologizing.

We quit easing the tension. We quit the people-pleasing. We have to own who we are and not give a shit about somebody else noticing our zits, our belly rolls, our cellulite. 

This is terrifying. 

Embracing intuitive eating and embracing your natural body shape requires courage. 

But, on the other side of this courage is freedom. 

Freedom to not give a fuck.