Hey, hey, hey! Welcome to the Unapologetically Fat podcast with me - your FAT host Tish. In today's episode, I dive into an unexpected and emotional encounter I had at the beach. It all started with having breakfast with a stranger & her intriguing question: “Would you still accept, embrace, and love your body if you were bigger? Because you're not THAT fat!” This question sent me on a journey of introspection about body positivity, self-worth, and radical self-love.

[00:01:29] - Waiting to be seated at breakfast; this is where things got interesting!

[00:04:29] - The "strangers" question that led me down a road of all sorts of emotions the next few days!

[00:05:46] - The answer to her question.

[00:09:15] - The day after the question...

[00:11:17] - Pondering the question... yet again!

[00:11:52] - 3 things I walked away from this experience knowing.

Be open to conversations and experiences with strangers! You never know what might happen :-)

There's always a "message" - we just have to be open to hearing/finding it.

But the three most important takeaways from today's episode are:

[00:12:01] - Bodies change...

[00:12:24] - Body positivity will always have NOTHING to do with...

[00:12:43] - All people, regardless of body size, have inherent worth & dignity!

I would love it if you left a review and subscribed to the show on your favorite app that supports podcasts, such as Apple, Amazon, Spotify, and more!

Next week, unless another intriguing experience happens, I'll publish the episode that was planned for this week - body neutrality.

Welcome to the Unapologetically Fat Podcast, where I encourage plus-size women to find a sense of liberation through body acceptance & radical self-love! In today's episode, I delve into the meaning of body positivity and its roots. I also share a fun new audience segment - Body Positivity Wins - and share the first win from a listener (who happens to be a friend too) ;-)

Note Worthy Timestamps:

[05:37] - Fat activism called out reducing industries (aka diet culture), faced challenges.

[07:14] - Introducing fun new segment: Body Positivity Wins & a listener submitted win is shared.

[08:08] - Body positivity wins are inspiring and worth celebrating.

Key Takeaways:

• Defining Body Positivity
• Emphasis on the appreciation of body functionality rather than just physiological appearance
• The origins of body positivity to the fat rights movement, dating back to 1969.
• Body Positivity Wins (listener wins) - submit your wins to me: tish@unapologeticallyfat.com

Next week, I'll be talking about body neutrality, so be sure to tune in next Thursday.

Resources:

• Tigress Osborn article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z2w7dp3
• Wikipedia definition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_positivity
• Has Body Positivity Movement Forgotten Its Roots article: https://untitled-magazine.com/has-the-body-positivity-movement-forgotten-its-roots/

[00:00:00]: Picture this, you're in 5th grade and the school year is coming to an end. You're thinking freedom, swimming pools, ice cream and enough Doritos to die for. At least that's what was in my head when someone came to bribe me and that's where the story starts today. Hey. Hey. Hey. I am Tish. You're fat and fabulous host of the unapologetically fat podcast.

[00:00:31]: You can find me on any app that supports podcasts like Apple, Amazon, Spotify, and more. I would love it if you would subscribe and leave me a review. I left off mentioning the end of 5th grade was near. I was excited about swimming pools, eating ice cream, and tons of Doritos. But someone came to bribe me. That person was my aunt. And let me tell you, oh, she made that bribe good. She said she was gonna take me on a $300 shopping spree for the next school year.

[00:01:10]: I was so flipping excited. $300? That was so much money all on me. All I had to do was lose weight. That meant all I had to do that summer was diet and count calories. There would be no Doritos, no ice cream cones, no other quote unquote junk food, but $300. $300. I could do it. Right? I did get to go on that shopping spree, and it was really a lot of fun.

[00:01:50]: And I got some really cool clothes. But yet, it was still sad because my aunt took me and her daughter together. And, of course, she was able to get way cuter clothes and had way more choices because my cousin was thin and our society tells girls, big is bad. You don't deserve to dress pretty. Unfortunately, fat shaming is one of the few forms of discrimination that's still mostly okay in our society. I've literally had actual doctors tell me I'd gotten a cold because I was overweight. Women tell me to cover my arms because my arms are too fat and no one wanted to see that. The problem is, when you hear something often enough, you start to believe it.

[00:02:48]: And after a while, no one even has to tell you these things because you're telling yourself and you start to believe that you're too big to take up space in the world. And I'm not talking just physical space. I'm talking you shrink your life, your ideas, your expectations so you're not taking up too much space. When I got older, I finally had a boyfriend and I was so happy because little girls grow up and have boyfriends. Having a boyfriend meant that I was attractive enough to have gotten one and I was so thankful that he loved me. Except when I got so fat, he was embarrassed to be seen with me in public. But I was grateful. I mean, he didn't break up with me.

[00:03:44]: We just stayed in. And I thought that was okay because the stories in my head that I continued to tell myself about me was that I was lucky to have him. Oh, nowadays, I can't even believe that was me. So what changed? I had spent most of my life dieting, losing weight, gaining it back, plus more, holding myself back and shrinking who I was, all to try to fit into some fantasy mold that wasn't made for me. And I knew something had to change because I didn't even like me. So, I began to work on myself, not yo yo dieting and berating myself for being fat. I began working on my mindset, doing the inner work that would change my life. And I discovered I had value.

[00:04:51]: Fat Tisha had value. And I decided I deserved a hell of a lot more. I knew for certain I wouldn't be going out with anyone else who was embarrassed to love me for me. You know, it's funny how life works because I met a man, an actual man who loved me for who I was. And you wanna know why? All because I started loving myself. As I continued to want to, I don't wanna say improve myself or fix myself because I don't think I'm broken. I don't think any of us are broken and need fixing. But as I continued to want to live a better life, I decided mindfulness and yoga might help.

[00:05:49]: I needed to stop feeling...