For those who missed our presentation at the  Southern Festival of Books last Friday, here are links to mp3 recordings.

Bunkie led off the Oct. 10, 2008 "Tell Me Why I Should Love My Body" session. I was next, addressing some of the "why," followed by Pat providing some of the "how" from her book 10 Steps to Loving Your Body (No Matter What Your Size).

Click on the links to listen online, or right click on the links and "save as" to download.

Bunkie Lynn's intro
Peggy Elam's talk
Pat Ballard's talk
Closing chat with attendees

We also staffed the Pearlsong Press booth at the Festival all weekend, handing out chocolate and "swag bags" with flyers, postcards, bookmarks, and pens, and selling books, prints, and beaded bookmarks. Lots of fun.

The National Organization for Women holds a contest every year for its Love Your Body campaign. The winning posters are distributed to schools, sold online,  and can be sent as e-cards. Check out the 2008 winners here. Past years' winners are here.

Inspired? You can submit a poster of your own design for the 2009 campaign. They're especially looking for posters that "demonstrate beauty is not limited by body size, body type, ethnicity, age or physical appearance." See further requirements here. Deadline for submission is Dec. 1, 2009.

By the way, Love Your Body Day is October 15, 2008. But love your body all year round!

Robin Marantz Henig of the New York Times has an excellent article in today's Times magazine section on "Losing the Weight Stigma."

The article critiques the "no-holds-barred war on obesity" that is the "public-health crusade of the moment." It even points out that fat acceptance activists "deliberately use the word 'fat' as a way to reclaim it, much the way some gay rights activists use the word 'queer.'"

(I like to encourage people -- a little tongue-in-cheek -- to count the letters in "FAT" so they can see it's not a four-letter word. The word "obesity" is the real obscenity -- especially in the way it's used in contemporary medicine -- because it pathologizes people simply because of their weight, size or body composition. The Latin root of "obesity" also implies "excessive" eating, which is not the case in all fat people AND is true of some lean people.)

Henig mentions the recent Archives of Internal Medicine study reporting that half of "overweight" and one-third of "obese" adults had normal blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar. She also gives a heads-up to Linda Bacon's new book Health At Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight, as well as Bacon's research supporting HAES.

Henig even understands that mainstream programs like Weight Watchers are co-opting Health At Every Size & size acceptance terminology without walking the talk -- while Weight Watchers, for instance, claims it isn't a diet (Oh, really? Since when?), "it still tracks weight loss down to the decimal point."

There's more, so by all means check it out yourself here.

Peggy Elam hosts the Health At Every Size show on Radio Free Nashville every Monday morning from 10-11a.m. (Central). The show is streamed live over the internet & telephone -- see how to listen to the live stream at www.radiofreenashville.org. Access posts & recordings of previous shows at www.healthateverysize.info & the Audio section of the Pearlsong Press website.

Today's Fat & Happy Music: "Happy Being Fat" (Big Dee Irwin), "The Voice" (Eimear Quinn), & "The Waters Edge," "Please Don't Miss Me I'm Not Gone," "Freedom," "This Must Be Paradise," "Be At Peace" & "When I Was A Child" (Suchi Waters Benjamin).

Food for Thought: Today's music was offered to encourage peace in the "war on obesity" (and all wars on our bodies) and liberation of mind, body & spirit.

Audio: Listen to and/or download the mp3 recording of today's show here. (Right click on the link & "save as" to download.)

I've discovered a program called One True Media that allows you to upload photos and create slide show movie/montages out of them.

Pat, Bunkie & I had so much fun taking photos for the launch of our Love Your Body Blog (and to promote our upcoming presentation at the Southern Festival of Books -- more about that that later) that I couldn't resist creating and sharing a montage. Click on the link below to view. Now if I can only figure out how to get this on YouTube......

Love Your Body Blog

Peggy Elam, Ph.D.

www.peggyelam.com

As a tall, formidably sized woman with a penchant for chocolate and all things caloric, it's safe to say that I've abused my poor body over the years in ways that are only now becoming readily apparent.

Arthritis, torn ligaments, joint pain and wrinkles are just a few of the devices my body uses to remind me that I've over-indulged, whether through too much baby oil at the beach during my teens, a zealous need to win the corporate volleyball trophy during my twenties, or the idea that somehow I could stand my Big Girl Self poolside officiating my son's swim meets for 4 hours on end without suffering the consequences.

Aches, pains, creaks and pops are part of my morning routine these days...it's my own wake-up cacophany reminding me that I'm still on the planet, what a joyful noise I make, OUCH!

But gravity and arthritis do take their toll, so a mere 5 weeks ago, I endured a radical new surgical procedure to insert a steel implant in my right knee where my meniscus used to be. This implant, called a Conformis, prevents the bones in my knee from grinding together the way they did for oh-so-many years, and it's ecstasy. I can walk like a regular person. I can go up and down stairs again, I can even ride an exercise bike, which I hadn't been able to do for years. I mean, I won't be riding pole in the Tour de France or anything, but hey, this is a Big Deal for a Big Girl!

Some folks have criticized me for needing this operation: "if you would only lose weight, your knee would feel better." Hmmm...let's review: I'd worked with a trainer for 18 months to try and strengthen my knee, and as a result I lost 40 pounds, but the damage was done, and no weight-loss program exists that can regrow your meniscus. Hindsight may be 20/20, but pain is a huge motivator, and it motivated me right into the office of a great orthopedic surgeon.

Was it 'cheating' to have major surgery in order to help my body heal, so I could regain control? Maybe, but I believe in using the tools at your disposal. I'd exhausted every other option: therapy, Synvisc shots, cortisone, exercise & PT, and I was tired of being physically limited by my disintegrated meniscus. No doubt my family was fed up with my irritability and inability to participate fully in life.

My body is much better for this operation...sure, it's a pretty big, risky ordeal, especially after they take the morphine drip away.  Recovery is no picnic but I'm over the hump and progressing nicely. I go to PT three times a week where I grind and sweat and slowly see tangible results. I also go to the Y for water therapy, and guess what?

With all this physical activity, I feel great, because my amazing body is healing, moving the way it was meant to, and that boosts my spirit, which reenergizes my soul. Thanks, Doc!

Does that mean we're 'disposable' with respect to our body parts? Wear something out, get something new in its place? We Baby Boomers do love our throwaways, and most of us can't take no for an answer, so no wonder there's an entire industry out there creating new methods of knee, hip, ankle and shoulder replacement parts. I can look back on my past and count the ways I abused my joints, but that doesn't mean I have to live in misery, if there's a remedy out there...

Our bodies have a remarkable capacity to repair themselves, but sometimes they need a little boost. Sometimes they need a major boost. This Big Girl is thankful for the boosts, in any form or fashion, but mostly I'm thankful for the amazing body that I have, one which responds so well to my 11th-hour rescue attempt.

Anybody up for a bike ride with a Bionic Big Girl? Just keep me away from magnets, ok?

Copyright 2008 Bunkie Lynn, author of The Big Girls' Guide to Life.

Click Here to visit Bunkie's website

Welcome to the Love Your Body Blog, featuring the prose stylings, wit & wisdom of authors Pat Ballard & Bunkie Lynn & publisher/psychologist Peggy Elam, Ph.D.

We are volcanoes. When we women offer our experiences as our truth, all the maps change. There are new mountains.

Ursula Le Guin