It’s resolution time.

So fuck the weight loss resolutions, and the beach body resolution (as they say, for a beach body – take your body to the beach – all done.)

So my resolution is to try to love myself.

As I am.

Now.

Not easy.

Might be one of the hardest things there is to do.

Now, you may think this message is for everyone – not just fat folk.

And it is kind of, but I don’t know the experiences of other communities and the battles they live with.

I know what it is to be fat.

Fat people are my people.

Fat people are people I feel (meagerly) equipped to speak to, because their battles are my battles.

So, how do you learn to love yourself?

Don’t know.  I’m not there yet.

I’m still on the journey.

One thing I would like to be better at is treating myself with the same kindness, patience, and understanding as I try to treat others.

Won’t cost you a dime.

And it is something that will not only do you a goodness but is a goodness you are giving to the rest of the world.

For one thing, there will be one more loved person in this world.

And for another, you can be a shining (or in my case, much tarnished) example that fat people can be happy, confident, and value themselves.

I also believe that if everyone took care of themselves, then everyone would be taken care of.

That’s why I don’t think it’s selfish to take care of yourself first.

You can’t help anyone else, if you are in a miserable heap in the corner (and sadly, that is how we all feel sometimes).

I’m not saying life is all sunshine and roses.

It’s not.

Not even close.

There is a lot of sadness and anger in this world.

Especially when you are going through this world as a fat person.

I want to take that sadness and learn the lesson that is in it and become stronger and hopefully wiser.

And I want to learn how to turn that anger into energy to stand up for myself and others.

To stop turning that anger on myself and learn to direct it to the problem that is causing that anger.

And I am not the problem.

I am not a problem.

I am a fat old lady doing the best I can at any given moment, and, more and more often, I love this fat old lady.