How to Reduce Your Shame with Obesity

It’s very interesting to me, the dynamic that goes on in America, especially with obesity and overweight, and what I mean by that is, there’s such an obsession in this culture about being thin. And I quote a wonderful teenager I met years ago whom I was counseling; she said, “I went on a diet for a month and I lost 30 days of my life.” And I think the big message in that is not only about dieting, but it’s about, regardless of one’s weight, it’s simply, simply, simply not who we are. It simply is not who we are, and I do understand, I have cousins who are obese, and that means your body-mass index is above 30. On the average that might mean 30 or more pounds overweight, to give you a general concept there what obesity might mean.

And, it’s so normal to be overweight in this country and to be judged by it in terms of what kind of person you are and how you look, that the whole culture, in my opinion, really would benefit by undergoing a shift. And I say that in terms of the culture and people start thinking in terms of valuing, valuing who we are and what we are eating in terms of real food, not food products, and valuing how you are living your life, and how you are eating, and how you are nourishing yourself with food, and how you are nourishing your family with food, and how you are nourishing your spouse. And it’s always on, very frequently on females to feed themselves and their children and their parents.

And it’s a huge responsibility, and so from my perspective, the key focus is let’s eat optimally, let’s eat fresh delicious food, let’s turn food into a nourishing social, ceremonial, central pleasure rather than focusing on weight, weight, weight, weight on ourselves and on other women especially.