by Traci Jo Shaffer

Created on: May 19, 2009

Living Large

Jenna is a fat young woman of size and substance, a woman whom takes up space. She has been fat her entire life.She has tried dieting which never really worked.

She decided to stop dieting several years ago. There was no specific event that propelled her decision. She said that she had just had it with food obsession controlling her thoughts.Anything, even the thought of forever remaining fat, seemed preferable to that.

By esablishing a normal relationship with food through a non-dieting lifestyle as she stepped awat from culture's expectations of her as a larger woman. She threw off the chains of always having to be "doing something about her weight" which meant always being on a diet.

The consequences of that decision have been miraculous. She has done something about her weight. She has accepted it. She has learned many different lessons that she wouldn't have learned while dieting. The most important lesson of all is, She has the life she wants in the body she already has.

Living Large is what title she has given her journal which she keeps every day. She fills it with affirmations which are positive.

She says that affirmations are important because with time and perseverance they will replace her negative, critical thoughts with positive loving ones.

She does some other processes that help her as well. She titles each journal page and then she ends it with a (size-wise action) as she calls it.

Let's get down to how she has made such changes in her own life and in how she keeps her journal. She does have a sponsor whom helps her through such a process.

First she buys a notbook that has a hard cover on it like a regular journal. She chose the color purple. It's about a 160 page journal. She starts off each page with The Big Idea: Self- esteem can't be weighed or measured. (this is the topic she writes about in her own words.In her own words which are called, Fleshing it out- She writes about self-esteem, about 20 sentences long. then she writes an affirmation which for this particular topic is, I am a good person and I feel good about myself. Now the size-wise action would be, Practice putting away your judgements about size and weight, if the numbers on the scale throw you into a panic, don't weigh yourself. If the size of your dress size bothers you, cut the label out of the garment. Practice feeling good about yourself based on who you are.

She also dates each page for her own benefit.

Her sponsor helps her by giving her a list of topics to write about and a list of affirmations she can use Then they decide about what the size-wise action should be together.

Jenna realizes that keeping a journal is very important for her.It's a safe place to reflect on her process of body size acceptance. it's like having quiet time and letting thoughts flow from her mind on paper.

Jenna sums it up that this method has helped her a great deal. She can have abundant living in her abundant body. Abundant means having a great or plentiful amount of something, a fullness to overflowing wealth.She celebrates her life abundantly.She has a life full of creativity,joy,peacefulness, and love. Overflowing with all good things.

Jenna says that you should allow your larger body is to symbolize all that is larger in your life, so when you look in the mirror, you can smile and know that the size of your body matches the size of your life.Celebrate your abundance. Live Large.

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