The posters state things like “It’s hard to be a little girl if you’re not,” and “Chubby kids may not outlive their parents,” and “Fat kids become fat adults.”



We are not evaluating CHOA’s goal with the posters. We are opposing its method.

This shaming campaign is harmful to kids. It is a blunt message to parents at the extreme emotional expense of fat children. These posters are already creating breeding grounds for fat bullying and self-hatred by sanctioning both.

We stand and speak for the children who drive by these shocking posters daily but don’t have the power to say “STOP! This hurts!”

OUR GOAL

To put up a billboard combatting the emotionally destructive ones put in place by CHOA. A billboard that has a positive message, encourages health at all sizes without stigmatization and shows a different perspective telling all kids that they are valuable. And to do this, we need your help.

It costs $10,000 to put up this billboard for 2 months in a high-trafficked area of Atlanta. For every dollar you donate to The Billboard Project, we will match it up to $5,000. This is the More of Me to Love Match. But there are two challenges:

1. We must have at least 1000 donations (so even the smallest donations count)
2. We must reach $5,000 for us to match it with our $5,000.

Donate today so we can erect our poster and stand up to the public shaming of fat kids. Stand for a world in which all kids are taught healthy habits without feeling hated and worthless.

DONATE TO THE BILLBOARD PROJECT BY CLICKING HERE

Read more about The Billboard Project and other Stand4EveryBody Coalition projects in an interview with Ragen Chastain by clicking here.

Peace is the last thing most think of around the topic of food, especially here in the US. Just yesterday I was delighted to run into friends at a cafe. As we met at the soup bar they began a verbal assault on themselves for ordering the lobster bisque. “We just couldn’t resist, we had to get the worst thing for us,” was one statement. Three more self-loathing, diet drama comments followed. Finally they got around to the important stuff, like how the grandkids were doing. It was clear they were tormented by the decision to get what they would most enjoy, especially when they ran into, of all things, a dietitian! Negative food thoughts totally robbed them of a peaceful meal experience.

It’s not their fault. We are inundated with negative messages about food and our bodies constantly. The mind latches onto these and races with fears and judgements as we try to nourish ourselves. One way to change this dynamic is to actually change the thoughts and the culture that contributes to them. While these items are important and a part of my work with clients they tend to take a great deal of time and energy and keep the focus on the mind and the external environment. Real change happens internally and is holistic, therefore I also like to help clients cultivate peace with their bodies and food by teaching meditation. 

Meditation teaches us how to manage our thoughts differently. It teaches us to be aware of them in a way that gives us the space to decide if we want them to influence our experience in the present moment. It also helps cleanse the mind of old, negative or simply unnecessary thoughts. It’s maintenance for the mind. A great way to think about meditation is to liken it to taking a shower and putting on clean clothes. You wouldn’t start your day with a dirty body and clothes yet we go to bed and wake up with the same residual thoughts weighing on our minds accumulating into a fog that obstructs mindfulness and clarity. Meditation has the power to improve all aspects of your life so if you don’t already have a practice I highly recommend exploring your options. It will help put negative food comments in neutral and propel you to peace with your plate. Here’s a simple way to start:

1. Set aside 15 minutes in the morning and the evening just for you.
2. Create a sacred space. It can be a place in your bedroom, sun room or wherever you feel most peaceful.  It should be quiet, private and warm.
3. Sit tall yet relaxed in a chair or on the floor with a pillow under your sit bones. You many want to stretch or move for a few minutes before getting still.
4. Close your eyes and begin to bring your mind just to your breath. Make your breath the focus of your meditation. Notice the sounds and sensations of just breathing. 
5. Continue to stay as present as possible with simply yourself for the whole 15 minutes. Set an alarm if you are concerned about the time. As thoughts arise just let them pass and come back to breath awareness by saying out loud or in your mind “just breath.” 

Wishing you peace with your plate and beyond.

Well, this year, I would like you to think about what will happen for you in 2012. What do you want to be memorable for you in one year? What would you like to learn this year? What do you think could be the most significant thing that will happen to you this year, or it could just happen to be a surprise. I wonder what are going to be the significant things that happen around you and what will happen around the world that affects us.

This year, I am going to write down all the things that happen to me, around me and around the world that I find significant and will post them at the end of the year. You are more than welcome to do the same. I am quite excited about this project as I think it will really help us respect every year that goes by and remember what was significant about the year. I am not sure about you, but to me, the years are flying by and sometimes I have to think, which year did we do that or what year did that happen? So from this moment forward, I will have a diary account of what I personally think was memorable for me!

Here are some samples from my 2012 diary. Feel free to create a similar one for yourself!

Myself - January
- Experienced what Christchurch is going through first hand.
- Watch my son explore new things on holidays in NZ.
- Feel great about making the commitment to doing another ½ marathon this year.

Around Me - January
- Brisbane and surrounding areas of QLD being affected by week long rains causing severe flooding in some areas, fortunately not as bad as last year.
- Early elections in Brisbane forecasted.
- Some of my clients choosing for the very first time to enter their first ever 5km run and some, their very first ½ marathon. What an achievement!
- So pleased to be finally attracting clients who are interested in a HAES way of living. It has taken a very long time, but persistence has paid off.

The World - January
- Christchurch still having 5.+ earthquakes.
- What will become of the economy in the world by December 2012?

If you decide to create your own diary, remember, it can always be changed throughout the year as things happen, but just for the moment, think and write down what you want to happen this year, which will help you to fulfill your dreams. Happy Moments, 2012.

Consider this...

Did you know that people are 20 times more likely to complain about something than to show their appreciation for something done well. Twenty times! Can you imagine how many people are happy with something you’ve done but don’t bother to tell you compared to the amount of people who will tell you when you’ve done something wrong?

That means that as a society we are showing only 5% of the appreciation that we should be showing to at least equalize the display of appreciation with that of dissatisfaction. That also means that you are probably doing a much better job at, well, life, than you’re being given credit for.

But just because others aren’t showing their appreciation doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t show yours. After all, it is the time of year when we should be showing our thanks and appreciation!

Try showing some appreciation for everyone who pleases you. If the person checking you out at the grocery or store does a decent job, say, “Thank you for checking me out today,” (or something that doesn’t sound a little dirty, though the person may appreciate the pun). If, while driving, someone lets you go ahead of them in traffic, give an exuberant “thank you” wave to let them know that you appreciate what they’ve done. Spread the appreciation around as much as you can.

And don’t forget to show appreciation to those who really matter in your life: significant others, children, friends, family, co-workers or anyone else. Let them know how much you appreciate their friendship or advice or time or love or effort or whatever it is. Just tell them, “I appreciate x,” or “I appreciate you.”

Everyone loves to feel appreciated. And who knows? Maybe as you begin to show appreciation, others will show it back, and that’s going to feel great - almost as great as knowing that you’ve made someone feel good by appreciating them!

I know it’s not cool to say it, and believe me, I believe in a person’s right to do what they will with their bodies, but I miss fat Jonah Hill.

I think it’s because I like seeing “one of us” in the movies. His quirky humor was the only thing I enjoyed about Funny People. I liked him as genius sabermetrics guy opposite Brad Pitt in Moneyball. I could imagine a little, fat 10 year old who always gets picked last in gym class seeing him in a movie and saying, “Even if I don’t make the team, at least I can be the smart guy in the back office who gets to actually pick the team.”

Now he just looks like a thin guy who’s in movies, and it bums me out.

OBSERVATION 2: I won’t die if I see Melissa McCarthy‘s arms.

I love Melissa McCarthy. And apparently, she sometimes wears a 3/4 sleeve. But every time I see her at some awards thing, she has super long sleeves on.

Seriously, I can only imagine the pressure and scrutiny she’s under. I’m sure her size comes up in every stupid, useless interview for magazines that I refuse to read. But I’m just dying for her to pull a Gabby Sidibe and show some big fat arms!

OBSERVATION 3: All I want is to live in a world where Octavia Spencer doesn’t feel the need to “triple spanx.”

Speaking of award-winning actresses constantly being asked inane questions about weight, Octavia Spencer is sick of it. According to Jezebel, she posted about this on facebook, saying, “NOT DOING….I am NOT WORRYING ABOUT MY WEIGHT! I AM NOT TRYING TO CONFORM TO an unrealistic model of beauty.”  Amen!

But she also told Ellen, “I triple-Spank. Which is not good. Spanx really, really work, but you don’t need to overdo it.” This woman is a freaking award winning freaking actress. Can’t she be allowed to enjoy the moment without impinging on vital organs? I’m all for an end to the havoc of chub rub, but I’m sick of this Spanx crap.

OBSERVATION 4: Paula Deen didn’t get diabetes from cooking with fat.

Just read this, guys. Seriously.

OBSERVATION 5: Sometimes I miss the good ole days when Jennifer Hudson and Mariah Carey sang stuff, instead of just hawking weight loss b.s.

Remember stuff like this?

Now I only see her in this (real and awful) Weight Watchers ad:

I realize that all of these celebrities have incredible pressure put on them about their bodies. Do a google search for any of these people and add the word fat and you will see page after page of horrible commentary. That’s why it’s so important for each one of us to stand up to fat oppression.

In the meantime, at least we have Gabby Sidibe and Adele.

I think I need to go back on my media diet.

So tell me, does the state of fat celebrity-dom bum you out too?  Comment and tell me!

But then, in 1993, the movie Groundhog Day came out and similar to the old Hitchcock flick, Gaslight, the phrase Groundhog Day took on a new meaning. If you are not familiar with the Bill Murray film, he is thrust into a reality where he keeps re-living Groundhog Day over and over and over. Each morning he wakes up and it is the same day. Each day he knows what is going to happen and eventually begins using the predictability in ways that are helpful to others. He transforms into a more aware and less self-centered person as he plays with the hand that fate has dealt him.

One of the meta messages of the film was that for all of us, in some ways, life is like Groundhog Day. Each morning when we wake up, we have a chance to pay attention more closely to those around us and tune in to events that sometimes seem invisible to us because we are busy, distracted, or just unconsciously going through our daily routines. We assume that things may be the same because they look the same and we are not used to digging deeper. In fact, I am sure that some of you may have experienced a bit of that just now when you zoomed in on the billboard of the fat kids from Georgia.

“Enough already with this Deah, we’ve read about this already…so nu? You’ve decided to just keep writing about the same thing over and over and over? What is this…Groundhog Day?”

Well, yes…it was! But that’s just a coincidence. The reason I am writing about the billboards again is because there is an amazing event taking place RIGHT NOW!

If you haven’t heard about it yet, Children’s Hospital in Georgia is running an anti-obesity campaign that uses billboards of fat kids. In my last blog I wrote about the controversy surrounding these ads and the growing popular opinion that these billboards are more destructive than helpful. Whether or not you feel that there is an obesity problem among children, the question being asked by many is whether a shaming campaign is a reasonable solution?

Now there is a powerful action taking place to put a billboard opposite one of the Strong4Life billboards that challenges their use of shame as a healthful intervention when it also gives a message to bullies that it’s o.k. to shame fat kids.

Ragen Chastain has teamed up with several people and has ignited a campaign to raise money to buy that billboard in Georgia. She writes about it brilliantly in her blog and offers the opportunity to donate any amount of money.

The goal is to get 1000 people to donate, in order to trigger More of Me to Love’s matching fund of $5,000!

THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE A STAND AND BE A PART OF SOMETHING REALLY MEANINGFUL FOR AS LITTLE AS ONE DOLLAR!!!

Look, I wouldn’t be asking if this wasn’t really important. I NEVER use this blog for raising money; I have no advertisers, and barely plug my own book on this blog. So if I’m breaking one of my blog tenets to do this, trust me, it’s a big deal.

In Dr. Deah’s Hollywood, The Georgia Billboards, LapBand Billboards and Bypass Billboards would all disappear. But for now, I will settle for one billboard in Georgia STANDING up for the rights of the kids. Won’t you join me?

DONATE NOW BY CLICKING HERE

Want to learn more about the More of Me to Love Match of $5,000 and how you can unlock it by donating only $1? Then click HERE.