on A Fat Rant

All the diet blogs are talking about A Fat Rant. On the one hand, I think it’s fabulous: of course we should love ourselves. Of course we shouldn’t put off living our lives because we weigh more. It’s been years since I bought anything — shoes, accessories, anything — from a store that doesn’t carry clothes that will fit me. I look at Joy Nash, who weighs very close to what I weigh and wears a size that I wore until just a few months ago, and I think she looks good. I wonder if I look that good and just don’t know it? Maybe. I know several people who would say so.

But when does acceptance cross over into complacency? Is it helpful to remind everyone that 98% of all diets fail? (Where does that statistic come from, anyway? And how does it account for folks like YP and Shauny?) We should be kind to ourselves and understand that we are beautiful, but at the same time not use these things as an excuse not to exercise, or to eat unhealthily because we think trying won’t make any difference. As I’ve been reading the stories of people who have maintained significant losses, it seems that trying again and again is part of what makes it work, much like with smoking cessation. If you keep trying, your chances of succeeding increase.