Day 111: Braveheart in action

If you haven't already seen it, you need to see this: a Wisconsin news anchor's on-air response to a anti-fat hate mail she received from a viewer.

Bravo to her! How brave, and also how smart she was to see this for what it was: bullying at it's most insidious. The people who write emails, Facebook messages, Tweets and blog comments pretending to be "helpful" when really they are just being mean girls (or boys) at heart are nothing more than bullies who somehow believe they have the right (or even the moral obligation) to point out the flaws and failings in the rest of us, as THEY perceive them. I've received such messages, although rarely (and not because of my weight) and it's not easy to set aside the inevitable hurt feelings, even when you realize that the kind of people who would try to bully you? Are people who are themselves emotionally and spiritually bankrupt.

If someone in your life is bullying you about your weight (even if that bullying is disguised as "I'm only trying to help you!"), then step away from those would would do that. You don't need to be around that kind of energy, I don't care WHO they are. I'm lucky: I don't have any "weight bullies" in my life at this moment (although my mom can still push my buttons from time to time). But if I did have someone like that, I'd be doing everything in my power to keep them at arm's length. It's hard enough to lose weight without that kind of abuse.

And we need to stop bullying OURSELVES, while we're at it.