Do I Have to Be Thin to Be Happy?

 
The polarizing fat acceptance movement is on many minds lately, as evidenced by the fact that TWO people have recently asked for a vlog on the topic of whether we really need the “thin” in “Happy, Thin, and Free.”

Comments

  1. Donna

    Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this topic. Acceptance is so important and is a key stone to happy. Acceptance is empowering. For myself, I know I need to be thin. For my health and for me and my knowing of what’s right for me. When I dream the me in my dream is slender, always. I think that’s my soul, my higher self saying, “this is who you are”. Wonderful vlog. Take care and enjoy your trip.

    Reply ·
    1. Steve Grant

      Hi Donna, my name is Steve Grant and practice Osteopathy, Voice Dialogue and Acupuncture here in Australia.
      We all have a very powerful Inner Critic that will look at who we are, especially in the mirror. This critic is a part of our inner subconscious that is there to protect our inner child. Voice Dialogue is a great technique to explore this…

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    2. ILONA MONTEL

      Dear Susan, I agree with you that only the person involved can decide what ‘happiness’ entails for her/him. Happiness in the broad term, in my opinion, is not depended on outer appearance or being thin. Being thin / slender / healthy sure can be helpful in our search for happiness but it is not depended on it. Happiness is a state of mind with many aspect factoring in. Being thin itself does not lead to happiness. Self appreciation, being free of worries, having compassion for others, finding beauty in things – to name a few. I am sure that in your wonderful and supportive BLE program one would not imply that being thin and free are requisites for becoming happy.
      I adore and respect so much who you are and your compassion is so clearly defined in the work that you do. You do help people to become free and hopefully thinner. That is huge! Thank you dear friend! Love and hugs from Ilona Montel

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      1. Joseph

        I think Susan would agree with you if you mean that thinness is not in itself a necessary requirement for happiness. And I think she said as much in this current vlog. That said, I think she would not agree with you if you mean thinness and happiness cannot be correlated. For the world’s hundreds of millions who hate being overweight or obese, staying thin over the long term is a dream, that if fulfilled would indeed make them happy. How else would one explain away the billions of dollars that they spend in order to lose weight?

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        1. Beverly Scarpulla

          Being thin does not automatically make you happy. It makes you healthy and makes some parts of life easier, but it will not solve your problems that are not related to weight. Many people live in “if only” worlds. If only I had a different job I would be happy, if I had a nicer car, if my thighs were thinner, etc. When they become thin and find out that they are still essentially the same person, it can be a huge letdown. That said, I have been both fat and thinner. I did not expect being at a healthy weight make my life perfect, but there are lots of ways it makes my life better. I love the quote, “Losing weight is hard, maintaining weight is hard, staying fat is hard; CHOOSE YOUR HARD.” :0)

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    3. Diane Cornish

      Cool. I recognized Lamborn Mountain and Landsend in the background. My friends the Torkelsons live on Sunshine Mountain. We’re from Paonia. My daughter sent me your video and I agree with you.

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    4. Susan Raja-Rao

      I want to thank you with my whole heart for your remarkable honesty, sincerity and beautiful caring heart. You are an inspiration and merciful help to many people ,myself included. Thank you and bless you.
      Susan Raja-Rao

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    5. Shara

      Wonderful response, Susan?

      Reply ·
  2. Stephen

    Thank you. Appreciate the non judgmental aspects of this blog as well as BLE overall. I heard you say that it wasn’t until BLE that you found a way out . But you have also acknowledged the FA program as getting you on your way, well before BLE. Could you comment on that?

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    1. Julie Carver

      Hi Susan.
      I truly appreciate your point of view.
      I have been really heavy , only once in my life. For 6 years. From age 53_59. I am 5ft7inches. Was always 118-130. I got up to 170. This heaviness was accompanied by alcoholism. I hated being fat. I hated dtinking.I was very uncomfortable. Could not bend over etc. I still wore normal size clothes. Size 14. But I hated it. I was not obese. But I hated being fat. It isn’t me. I tried acceptance. Didn’t work.
      Now I am in recovery. I am happy,thin,joyous,andfree.
      ???
      Thank you for your service
      Julie

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      1. Maria

        Thank you Julie for sharing your journey….you have encouraged me to continue what I am doing and be more mindful in mine !

        Maria

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    2. Susan Peirce Thompson, Ph.D.

      Hi Stephen,

      In deference to the spirit of anonymity and the tradition that states that people should “always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films”….which, in this digital age, needs to be extended to online media, I do not, actually, talk about any particular 12-Step food program in public, and I respectfully request that you don’t in public either (especially with my name attached). I am open, yes, about the fact that I attended two different 12-Step food programs, cumulatively for over 20 years and I still can be seen at various meetings here and there, as I get my support from a variety of sources these days.

      But please let’s be respectful about anonymity and not mention specific programs in a public forum. These programs request this of us.

      Thanks.
      Susan

      P.S. — In a global sense, “Bright Line Eating” refers to the 4 Bright Lines of Sugar, Flour, Meals, and Quantities, and in that sense I was introduced to these principles many, many years ago. There are people around the world following many traditions who use Bright Lines for food. The Bright Lines, and in that sense, Bright Line Eating (before “Bright Line Eating” per se existed) gave me freedom. Hence, I will sometimes refer to “until I found Bright Line Eating” to mean 2003 when I was first introduced to this way of life.

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  3. Lisa

    Thanks for sharing…this is an important topic. I always love your honesty.

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  4. Bill

    Though I not female, I’ll comment anyway. First I agree with Donna. That was an excellent blog post. In my 70 years I am reasonably sure that I have met quite a few ‘heavy’ people that were happy as they were… at least I hope such was the case particularly since the aforementioned people were themselves a wonderful inspiration to others and a real delight to be around.

    Society and certainly the media does make great effort to instill the idea that one, especially if female, must be thin. This societal pressure undoubtedly affects many people and I have no doubt that the fight is a tough one to take on.

    I don’t do Bright-Line eating. However, for health reasons I did dramatically change my diet. I avoid almost all process foods, eat only pastured beef, chicken, eggs; raw dairy (milk butter and cheese), wild caught fish, fresh or frozen (preferably organic) vegetables. My weight dropped about 70 lb in six months.

    What you recommend will result in a healthy diet for anyone following your program and, I believe, success for those with serious eating disorders (cravings in particular).

    I find your podcasts to be very interesting and I don’t believe that I have yet encountered one that I did not agree with.

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  5. Kathleen

    Great Vlog! I know I have tried to convince myself for 5 years that I can be happy as an obese person, but I always felt like I was trying to hide and shield myself with a layer of fat. Since I have started using the BLE plan, I feel much more in control and I am able to stick with the plan and know that the meals with the variety of food selection I plan will be enough. I do not have to overthink things since they are simply written out for me. We all have free will and I freely choose to be happy, thin and free using the BLE plan which is so delicious and satisfying, especially with the help of recipes from katie@plantbasedkatie.com I love knowing there are healthful choices that are satisfying.
    Thank you Susan!
    PS I also want to be an inspiration for my 11 y/o twin nephews who lost their mother (my sister) to metastatic breast cancer 4 years ago and they are struggling with weight issues now.

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  6. Hanna Weber

    Hi Susan! It looks so beautiful there! That was an interesting subject to talk about. I know that I will be very happy when I lose my extra weight because of having so many physical problems that it is making worse. It is very hard to do my job because of being in pain. I have been trying to accept and love my body because it has given me 4 awesome children and gotten me through many hard situations. I am so glad I found you,you are so inspirational!

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  7. Joan Sommerfield

    Susan, I always look forward to your posts. Thanks for sharing from your heart and experience, both personal and scientific. Each time I have felt encouraged and enriched and make more effort to make additional dietary changes. Additionally, when I fall off the wagon, because of you speaking about some of your own challenges, I have not been beating myself up about it. Instead I decided to be aware of what I was doing, listen in my heart for the triggers that got me there, and go ahead and indulge for a bit and stop the behavior. Major. At the point of awakening, so to speak, I could remember that you told us how addictive sugar and flour is and that it is mind altering. While I don’t use that as an excuse it has helped me to understand why I want to leave for the store in the middle of the night to get chocolate, etc. when under intense stress. I don’t do that anymore, but certainly did in days past. Often. Stress still trips the trigger, but you are helping me to become more and more aware. I find that the more deep green veggies I ingest the less I crave the sugars and flour. AND that when those cravings come and I give in…..like the brownie several days ago…..it did not taste all that great. Instead I found that I wanted the wonderful juicey apple I had earlier. The body saying, “I want real food.”
    Thanks, Susan. For being real.
    Have a wonderful trip home. It was great to see a glimpse of Colorado and California again.
    See you next week.

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  8. Robert Vincelette

    This is much more sane than fat acceptance. It faces reality. I regard obesity as how the commercial food industry is willing to disfigure our bodies in the course of selling more of their product for more profit. To me, the fat that this psychopathic industry is willing to put in my body is in the same category as the semen of any other kind of rapist who is willing to violate my body and soul.
    I have in my advance directive that I will never submit to any life-saving medical treatment that would make me fat because if I have to be fat I do not want to live. It is not just the fat and the health consequences, which are important but minor in comparison, but the kind of culture a beer belly represents and transform your body into a trophy that drags you down to that culture: country western music, football, the surplus rights of smokers, trailer parks, and getting drunk to prove how normal you are.
    That is why I keep a list of the commercial food companies that I use the same way a school principal would use a sex offender registry when screening candidates for a job working with children. If it says Kellogg, Nestle, Del Monte, etc, I don’t bother to read the label. If it is on the list of health food companies that have been secretly acquired by these corporations I treat it the same way.
    I rely on amateur bodybuilding diet and exercise to protect myself from society and its junk culture doing to me the physical and spiritual violence of putting its blubber in my body.

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    1. Carllie

      UUUUummmmmmmmmm Robert???????? You have officially blown my mind! Thank you for your comments. I have always felt disdain for the food industry but your comparisons to being violated as someone who has been raped.. opened my eyes is SUCH a powerful way. This is my 4th day on BLE and recently I was thinking about how there is a rebellious side to myself that gets on and off programs that I am in. I was thinking…. Why get rid of that energy if it is a part of me? Why not use that energy to be rebellious about something that could actually help to keep me on course. You have reminded me of where all of that energy could go in SUCH a powerful way. I don’t have regular television… I just stream. One of the things that I have done to protect myself was to pay an extra 3 bucks a month with HULU so that I do not have to be prey to the commercials every few minutes. Again… THANK YOU for your posting!!!!

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    2. Stefi

      Robert Vincellete- WOW! I agree with the big picture of what you’re saying , but if I may add. Although I’m female, being obese, I didn’t fall into “category look ” ever & Im sure somewhere there is a male obese man that hasn’t either & in fact ,has nothing to do with those “typical” things that you describe. Just saying. I get your point TOTALLY & applaud your discipline but not all fat/obese people do that . That’s all.
      Thanks for your rapist view – that is powerful.

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  9. M.A.

    My experience has been that I have to be willing to be right where I am before any change can take place. If I’m always reaching for something just out of reach, I’m frustrated and grouchy. So I didn’t lose weight until I stopped thinking about being “too fat”. I got myself a nice wardrobe at the weight I was, and I made peace with myself. Then I retired and lo, the weight began to come off, with no particular effort on my part. I’m only sad because now I have all these lovely clothes that don’t fit! But, at least for me, “fat acceptance” was the first step. Obsessing over what I “should be” didn’t help at all.

    Reply ·
    1. Stefi

      Hi M.A. Lovely post, can you give away some of your lovely things to ladies that are transitioning ( or not) at a local church or help center? Someone would surely love them!
      Btw, I did just like you , acceptance then transformation:)

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    2. Joseph

      On the other hand, I could only quit smoking when my loathing for cigarettes and hate for their manufacturers revved up to a crescendo. I told myself that they (the cigarettes and the companies) were trying to kill me, they were my personal enemy, and I would not let them win. After umpteen attempts to quit, that was the prescription that finally worked. That was 36 years ago, and I’ve been smoke free since.
      In other words, what worked for me was the exact opposite of acceptance: hate and loathing. Point is, whatever works, do it. Check out Susan’s BLE method. It’s worked for thousands.

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  10. Deb

    Very well said! Thank you!

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  11. Jen

    You don’t have to be thin to be happy. But there are many miserable people who aren’t satisfied with their weight. Their weight is a symptom of their overall unhappiness. This is not true of all people. You can also lose weight, become thin and STILL be unhappy if you don’t address the underlying issues for your unhappiness. The two are not mutually exclusive.

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    1. Joseph

      I think that for most, the opposite is true: that the unhappiness is an effect of their mindless addiction to processed food, most notably sugar and flour.

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    2. Barbara B Loyd

      I agree.

      Reply ·
  12. esther pearlman

    Hi Suzan, I was on a macrobiotic diet. Now I am eating chicken. I do indulge with deserts once a week. I think I have candida now. I know I am not suppose to eat fruit, bread and anything that is packaged. Do you think a macrobiotic diet is healthy? Also, do you that a candida diet is healthy. Enjoyed your blogs. Have fun in Colorado.

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    1. Evelyn

      Hi Susan. Enjoyed the blog. I never thought about the food industry raping us, with all the processed food. good analogy. Doing boot camp and liking the results. enjoy your trip back home. Love Evelyn

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  13. Mine

    Hi Susan,
    I agree with most of what you said. But you said you had polycistic ovarian syndrome problem in the pass which was definitely the result of being over weight. I do not agree with you about it at all. I had that sydroom when I was super young and slim. 2 of my friends who are very slender “looks like model” still have that PCOS. It is caused by highly level of Androgen hormone in our bodies. There is no actual fact why someone would have higher androgen hormone but there are done speculation that it is hereditary abd also could be a result of low grade of inflammation. But no one knows the fact about the cause.

    Reply ·
    1. Lisa

      Doesn’t sugar cause inflammation?

      Reply ·
      1. Stefi

        Yes Lisa! And it’s often the starting trigger

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  14. Mine

    Hi Susan,
    I agree with most of what you said. But you said you had polycistic ovarian syndrome problem in the pass which was definitely the result of being over weight. I do not agree with you about it at all. I had that sydroom when I was super young and slim. 2 of my friends who are very slender “looks like model” still have that PCOS. It is caused by highly level of Androgen hormone in our bodies. There is no actual fact why someone would have higher androgen hormone but there are some speculation that it is hereditary and also could be a result of low grade of inflammation. But no one knows the fact about the cause.

    Reply ·
  15. Christie

    Hi Susan
    I just wanted to say I like the authenticity with which you share your message. Made me want to continue to listen even though it’s not my personal topic. Thank you.

    Reply ·
  16. Annamarie

    Very well said. I appreciate your gentleness, commitment, and insights. You help me stay motivated!

    Reply ·
  17. Megha

    Hello Susan:) I deeply love Wednesdays now because they are your VLOG days! Great topic, as always. I’m with you; when I was 10 pounds overweight, eating late at night and too much nut butter (gaining weight on “healthy junk food”) I knew I was NOT happy in the body I was creating. Since Bright Line Eating began for me in late March, that weight has come off and I am just about back to my right sized dancing body. The only thing I struggle with in bright line eating is the word THIN in the tagline: Happy, Thin, and Free. I sure wish the word could be SLENDER, as in Happy Slender, Free….. “Thin” to me connotes moving in the direction of anorexia, or even a body that could end out down the road with osteoporosis (thin women are at greater risk). Be that as it may, I think you are right on the money that overweight in our culture has so much to do with the dreadful foods sold to us in the big grocery stores. THANK YOU! Hope the book is going beautifully! Safe travels home. The east coast is GORGEOUS right now too:)

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    1. Lisa

      I don’t like the tagline for BLE either. I think it should be Happy, Healthy and Free.

      I have finally realized something about myself which I think will finally put me on the road to being Happy Healthy and Free. I am only 5′ tall and I have always felt a comfort in carrying around some weight. So many really frightening things happened to me when I was a child and teen when I was thin. I think one of the reasons I haven’t wanted or been able to take off the weight is because I have felt safer being bigger. Now for me the solution is getting out of the unhealthy range of weight but putting on more muscle. I want to be very healthy and strong. Being really strong and fit is what feels comfortable to me not being thin.

      Reply ·
      1. Joseph

        Happy, Healthy, and Free might be a tagline for something else but not BLE. BLE is about losing weight and keeping it off. That said, since obesity is antithetical to health, BLE can be the ticket for the obese to finally get a lot healthier, like sending diabetes into remission.
        The healthy eating lifestyle is PBWF, without sweeteners, flour, or processed oils. I believe Dr. Thompson said that her diet is 90% PBWF, and of course with no sweeteners, processed oils or flour.

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  18. Rachel

    Great video! I agree with both of your points! It is good that society is no longer harshly discriminating against weight. However, in order to truly be free & happy, most people need to feel good and that involves being healthy enough to do the things they need to & want to do in life.

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  19. Lucinda

    I love seeing you “in person” and in such a beautiful setting…always appreciate your insights. x Lucinda

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  20. Anne Harm

    Good post! Glad someone sent you that radio show, and glad to hear your perspective. Sounded (to me) like: ‘Fair enough, but I wasn’t happy, having boldly tried to accept that I was fat and was going to be fat and that’s the deal. We each need to be able to find our own individual happiness though, so I went ahead pursuing mine in other ways; and good for the interviewee that she’s found hers. Bottom line it’s up to her for her happiness, and it’s up to me for mine.

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  21. Andrea l

    Terrific thoughts/observations as usual. But I still think that one of the key issues is whether anyone, at any weight, is healthy. I suspect most overweight ( and almost definitely obese) people are not. This is why ‘thin’ is so important and why this movement toward self acceptance is potentially so dangerous. I do not think accepting being unhealthy is a good thing.

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  22. Stefi

    Thanks for showing us Sunshine Mesa today Susan . LOVE what some above didn’t hear – you CLEARLY said you have NO JUDGEMENT but rather offer A SOLUTION to those who are at a point as you once were not happy in your own skin, let alone healthy, that’s the main take away
    Really enjoy your vlogs!! Safe & fun trip home ?

    Reply ·
  23. Steven Benjamin

    Hi Susan,

    I consistently appreciate your honesty and authenticity. I do have continued concerns however over the tag line, “happy, thin, and free”. While you explicitly insist that being thin is not a prerequisite to being happy, that tag line is evocative and carries a strong implication of the opposite – especially in view of so many less charged adjectives like “happy, fit, and free” or “happy, healthy and free”. I tend to have an ectomorph body type with a middle age spread (that has significantly reduced thanks to your influence!), but what about somebody with an endomorph body type? Doesn’t that tag line put them at risk of forever feeling on the outside – especially with how mass media tends to define thin? I would love your thoughts on this.

    Best regards,

    Steven

    Reply ·
  24. Patty

    Love your mission! I like that you are trying to help others who are fighting the same fight you did – showing them a path that works. I cannot wait for your book!!

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  25. Deborah W.

    Thank you for sharing your happy road trip with us all, Susan!
    I agree with you commentary on personal acceptance. When a person has been unsuccessfully combating obesity for years or even decades, that sometimes translates into deep personal and psychological loathing. As you described, society has set up a situation that supports obesity, and the illusion that the extreme thin, young body image is what is touted as beautiful. This ensures failure for the majority of people. Even health care advocates and medical professionals are eager to attribute blame on poor lifestyle choices and lack of personal effort. Finally when you acknowledge that absolutely nothing works to lose weight, it’s either learn to love yourself fat and all, or resign yourself to failure, non-acceptance, and never measuring up, (or down as the case may be.) Learning to accept oneself is a must and a good starting point. However who can say that not being able to tie your own shoes is acceptable? Who can say that it’s pleasant to not be able to bend over to pick up something off the floor or not be able to get up off your knees without painful acrobatics? Who can say that having to increase blood pressure medicine, year after year and still not being able to get the readings under control is not depressing? Who loves to age prematurely and have their energy zapped day in and day out? If self acceptance is only truly, self resignation, what kind of freedom is that? What kind of self love? It’s only allowing the whole system get you down! That’s not acceptable as far as I’m concerned! Accepting oneself as one is, is the starting point. You must see yourself as worthy of, deserving of love. That means deserving of the very best! Not resignation to the status quo! I want to be able to move without pain! Get in and out of the car with easy! Go up and down staircases without huffing and puffing! Be able to navigate not only slight elevations, but be able to ‘run’ up hills! All of the challenges have been mislabelled as due to “aging” but it’s really due to abusing the body. Obesity is due to having abused the body. These conditions are reversible! Sure we age. However my experience with BLE has turned back the clock for me and it keeps on ticking!!! All of my health conditions have improved. I am medication free! And when the next 109 pounds come off my movement and stamina are sure to improve! Self love through resignation? No. Self love resulting from the best of tender loving care, and the bright clear road map of BLE! Thank you Susan!!! ?

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    1. Ann. Wedel

      Deborah, My inner guidance has led me to write to you. I would like to stay in contact if possible. I am not very good at using a computer so it is somewhat challenging. I so identify with you and am so grateful for what you shared. I started out at 369 and am hoping to get to be 140. I have a loooong way to go. I work at loving myself and it was my love for myself that helped me find the Bright Lines as a solution. I would love it if we could stay in touch. I know I will need the support of someone who is working at a large weight loss. Bless you for your sharing. I am so grateful that I stayed to read it. Thanks… Ann

      Reply ·
  26. daphne

    I believe we are most emotionally content when we FEEL good physically – and that only happens when we are eating healthy, being physically active and tending to our spiritual life. That being said, I also believe that if we are eating healthy, keeping physically active and spiritually grounded, our bodies will be their most natural weight – some thinner than others, but certainly not obese. Sorry if I sound like I am over simplifying, but oftentimes we just tend to over complicate…

    Reply ·
  27. Jen

    Thank you for putting out an amazing vlog. It was moving and touch my heart. To hear that there are so many people living in the wrong body and finally finding a way to get to where they want to be .. amazing! But what really is such a simple solution, can be hard for the brain to understand. I did have a weight in mind, but after hearing this vlog, that doesn’t matter. What matter is that I will get to a point where I stand on the scales and I can be happy with the number – because I no longer have pain or swelling in my joints. That is what people should be taking away from all of this. If you manage to get to a be a size 4 great – size 10 great – as long as at the end of the day you are happy and not in pain or embarrassed by your weight – that BLE has done what it has set out to achieve. Thank you.

    Reply ·
  28. Anne

    Listened intently to your vlog, and the episode you referred to on “TAL.” In the west, we constantly dither between an either/or paradigm. For example–either fat acceptance or self-loathing. When really, it’s more of a both/and paradigm. I think Susan is able to capture this in her BLE program by starting from the research based information that sugar is addictive, and it wreaks havoc on the body, mind, and spirit. As we deal with the addiction we need to accept ourselves where we are in the process of dealing with the addiction and work to eradicate the enemy that is causing the problem. This work is only effective when I can admit, yes, I don’t like myself this way. It’s like any addiction–nicotine, heroine, alcohol, sex, whatever. “Fat Acceptance” alone is not dealing with the addiction element of the issue. Happiness alone isn’t happiness either.

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  29. M. Vayanos

    Please unsubscribe me. Thank you.

    Reply ·
  30. Pat

    I was so interested in this topic. I’ve been on this roller coaster for my whole life. My lowest adult weight was in the 120’s my highest at 270. Now I’m 10 lbs or so over a normal BMI and feeling better than I have in 25 years, both about myself and health wise. My goal now is simply to reach and maintain a healthy BMI. I agree that the decision about weight loss is a personal one. At my heaviest, I also believed that I was ok with that. I wasn’t. During that time when a friend asked about my food addiction I was incensed. I wasn’t a food addict! But I was. I’ve been reading about the positive body image at any size movement also. I’ve watched the popular tv show on just that topic. I wholeheartedly believe that we have to embrace and love who we are at any moment. For me, I had to be honest that I was miserable when I was fat and it’s been so freeing for me to move away from that. It’s a struggle sometimes and it always will be but for me, it’s worth it. I think the key is to be honest with ourselves and then to live our best life.

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  31. Susanne

    Great vlog Susan, as always. Have a safe trip back home!

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  32. Marcee

    I loved this Susan. I needed to accept and love myself at my highest weight, no matter what. I also was very unhappy at that weight and decided to do something about that. For me, being very overweight limited my life. Whatever someone decides to do with their life, I wish them peace and joy.

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  33. Stephanie Ariel

    I love this. It’s exactly how I feel (almost 40 years overweight and at least 20 trying the acceptance model). New to BLE and excited.

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  34. Jenna C Reed Livingston

    Oh my goodness what a beautiful place. I really loved this vlog because it didn’t force the BLE agenda and there were no ‘absolutes’ stated. Just the science and the necessity for everyone to take the responsibility of choosing which path is right for themselves. Thanks Susan.

    Reply ·
  35. Emily

    Just to offer an additional perspective for body-positive and fat-positive folks who love their body at any size and still want to follow BLE for reasons other than “thinness” — you can! I do. What I truly wanted was FREEDOM from bingeing and food addiction. The rhetoric of “thinness” kept me away from BLE for a long time, because it’s so triggering and politically loaded. But I’ve found that I’m able to follow BLE and participate in the community support while ignoring the rhetoric of thinness, which is actually not nearly as foregrounded as I feared it would be. There are lots of people doing BLE who are body positive — thank goodness!

    Reply ·
    1. Bright Line Eating

      Oh Emily, I totally understand your point! Here’s an older Vlog where the issue of being “thin” and how important is it (or not) is addressed… I’d love to hear your thoughts on it? https://brightlineeating.com/2016/07/do-i-have-to-be-thin-to-be-happy/ And please know you are so welcome in our community! We do not tell anyone what their body should look like, or try to convince them to have a lower goal weight than the one they want for themselves. oxo

      Reply ·
  36. Dina Grossman

    Happy, Thin, and Free is a great motto. However, if there is going to be some kind of a BLE V.2 (to reach the masses more widely?) , perhaps a new motto could be: Right Sized, Free and Happy? And there could be even more emphasis on goal weights being individual …. that the important thing is being free from crippling addiction and able to love life.

    In any event, I love you and I love the program.

    Reply ·
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