What’s your Motivation? : Raven’s Story

I started my first diet at the end of 8th grade. It was 900 calories of fruit and meal replacement shakes. I ate this for three months and worked out to Richard Simmons’ “Sweating to the Oldies” every damn day. I can still see his room full of fat-burners skipping to the beat of “I…

What’s Your Motivation?: Farrah’s Story

I walked into the gym for the first time in December 2011 at 266 lbs. It was cold and smelled like the beach, a combination of Pina-colada and suntan lotion, mixed with sweat and plastic. I didn’t want anyone to look at me, so I would only go after 10 pm, sometimes as late as…

Share your body positive story

When I started this blog last year, I wasn’t sure where I wanted it to go. So, as a result, it has taken on many different forms from poetry to recipes to philosophical essays on body image and eating disorders. One thing I did not want to do was turn my blog into the “Me…

“I am not my hair”: A Mother’s Mantra

“I made you to find me.” – Anne Sexton Through sleep, I feel breathe on my face, warm and salty, and a small tapping on the tip of my nose. “I want mommy hair”; my four year old son is saying, standing in front of me with his jaw slack, a paci suspended from his…

Flirting with Bulimia

“…intellectual belief without the corollary of emotional roots; feminist power understood in the mind but not known, somehow, in the body.” –Caroline Knapp, Appetites: Why Women Want After my divorce, I slowly and gradually began to shrink. Some of this was conscious and some of it not. Some days I would teach all day on…

Middle School: Female Acrimony’s First Battle Field

…everyone harbors a secret hatred for the prettiest girl in the room, Ani Difranco I ended last week’s post with a particularly poignant memory from middle school. You can read about the specifics here, if you’d like. Over the years the incident has stuck with me but not because of who said it or even…

Let’s Talk Tofu: Tofu Stir-Fry

Let’s talk tofu. For me, tofu is this amazing and versatile protein source. And, lately I have been forcing it upon my family more and more. My 12 year old daughter loves it! My 4 year old son doesn’t eat what we eat anyway and my husband, well, let’s just say he is ‘surviving.’ My…

Fat Shaming or Glutinous Self-Promotion?

Last October,  Maria Kang, “Hot Facebook Mom,” surfaced with what many women viewed as fat shaming as she posted a pic of herself, less than a year post-partum with rock hard abs, toned arms and legs, and well to be honest a more toned physique than I could ever hope to have, pre or post…

Hoisin Glazed Quinoa Lettuce Cups

If you’ve tried quinoa and can’t quite get with the hype, or have a quinoa hater in the house, you need to try this recipe! It will appease even the most reluctant palate. In fact, the first time I cooked this I did not cook enough for the husband (who is anti-all things vegetarian) and…