As I sit here with my ADHD and long COVID-riddled brain, a belly full of anxiety, and a feeling of loss I have realized there is nowhere to go. No food to run to, no drug that can make me forget, no way to buy my way out of this, and so here I have to sit. In the grief, the despair, the pain, and the boredom of a world that is built of smoke and mirrors. In a world where we are told that if we just lose weight, get the right education, and try hard enough, this mystical oyster will appear and a pearl for all that hard work would be granted.

I call horseshit…

Hi sweet friends! There was a massive cold front the week before last and Portland, OR was struggling. We had snow, ice, huge power outages, and ice storms. I lost power for over 30 hours and realized that I was missing some vital tools. I also found that I had access to some pretty cool tools that I want to share with you!

I wanted to share some of my all time fav SHAME FREE body care tools so that yall could find them easily! These are all through Amazon because its an accessible way for me to share and get a little commission back if you shop through the links. I do know the problematic nature of Amazon, so feel free to use the info and shop for these products locally. I honor your values and want you to make the best choice for you!

I’ve been engaged in fat liberation and community organizing for over 10 years. And still, I notice the churn of “new year new me” culture poking me every January. It’s like a thorn in my side now, but when I started it felt like a dagger to the heart.

To my fat community,

I’m sorry your peace is disturbed every single New Year.

I’m so sorry you have to gear up and prepare your physical body for the bombardment of people’s hatred of their bodies projected on you.

I’m sorry people in your lives make you feel like your body is wrong because they hate their own.

We started the new year with this excellent conversation with the incredible Keeley Koch here to talk about Disability Justice, the reality of living with disabilities in the US, and how to start navigating the medical system. Keeley offers fat concierge services and medical advocacy to support folks in fat bodies navigate the world a bit more comfortably and with support.

December’s Fat Self-Care Club guest was Lilo @tropicannajuice! Lo has worked in the Cannabis industry for a long time. They discovered the power of cannabis during a dark time in their life after being seriously injured. As they were recovering, they noticed that weed felt like a miracle drug for them. Their body felt better and they sort of went all in on cannabis.

This month’s Fat Self-Care Club guest was Caroline @justmeandmymirror! Caroline is a fiercely fat-positive, anti-diet, and pro-joy influencer sharing her message through amazing style and joyful dance moves. I sat down with Caroline and the fat self-care members to hear about how she got started and what motivates her to share her dancing magic!

Three great Chub Rub Prevention Methods:

Monistat Chafing Relief Powder Gel: It’s easily applied like a gel or lotion, but has a powder finish when applied. You may need to reapply but this is a great go-to when you don’t want to wear anti-chafing shorts…

Have yall been following Caleb Hearon? Not only is he one of the most hilarious humans doing stand-up comedy, but he’s also a fat queer iconic actor and an incredible writer.

This post is meant to be a reminder for you, and an invitation to advocate for the kind of care and love you deserve in a partnership regardless of your body and the intersecting identities you exist in. This is also a place to be reminded of your boundaries and to practice honoring your “NO’s”.

Last weekend I had the complete and utter privilege of seeing LIZZO, perform live in Portland, OR. There were a few things I noticed about the experience that really got me thinking about the power of seeing fat excellence and how little of that we actually get to witness.

I’m not sure about the environment you were raised in, but for me, I was brought up in a hyper-mobile adventure family. I was the only fat person in my family and I saw almost no representation of fat people thriving in the media. I saw the headless fatties on the news and I saw the biggest loser shows where abuse of fat people was the main spectacle in trying to attain thinness…