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Writing Prompt 1: Considering Weight Neutrality

Might as well get going while I have a moment.

So the first writing prompt has to do with weight neutrality. I'll put all the prompts in Courier so they can be spotted more easily...

Make a list of at least 5 reasons it may not matter what you weigh.

 For example, ‘My aunt has always been fat, and she is everyone’s favorite and a famous painter.” “My health was better before I started dieting.” “My weight was not a question on the bar exam, so it must not affect my ability to do my job.” “The happiest relationship of my life was when I was fatter.” These are just examples. My aunt is not really a famous painter.
You can take from your real life or from this book. Go for even more than five if you can.

1. My job, which I really love, does not depend on me being a certain weight.

2. I have a great relationship with both my teenagers, again despite my weight.

3. My health markers are all really good -- cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, cervical cancer screening, etc., even if the BMI charts label me as overweight or even obese.

4. I have really good friends even if I'm not thin.

5. I have a good relationship with my mom and sister, and a bit with my brother though I don't see him as much, and none of these relationships are dependent on my weight, though my sister is a bit obsessed with hers and weight loss.

6. I've done well in college and am hopefully starting a new grad program in the spring, and nowhere in the application materials does it mention weight.

7. I was married for almost 24 years*, even with a weight that went up and down.

8. My weight has never stopped me from laughing, being artistic, hiking, or being nice to anyone.

Thoughts:
This exercise was harder to start than I thought it would be. Once I got going though, it was a lot
easier.

EDITED TO ADD:

On my walk this morning, I thought of some other things that are certainly not dependent on what I weigh:

  • Generally speaking, I am a very nice and polite person
  • I can stay calm in a crisis or other stressful situation (again, usually....not always)
  • I have a good sense of humor
  • I like to be helpful to people
  • I am very accepting of a lot of things in people (though not willful ignorance or blatant acts of cruelty or pettiness)


*More on this later. I'll just say for now that he passed away this summer very unexpectedly.
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