I finally grew up"If I ever hit 120, just shoot me!"
I was a histrionic teen as I made this statement.
How could a diet of denial and despair be right?
This revelation led to others.
I am curvy, not willowyand it suits me.
I live in Queens now, and I love it.
I desire a gorgeous ripe tomato above all things.
Finally, I stepped off my scale.
In the no-weighing year that followed, not tracking my pounds made about 20 of them disappear.
I went shopping and was thrilled by my new size: 8, my happy number.
Of course, 8 is also a way to measure myself, but it’s forgiving.
If my pants get snug, the blow doesn’t devastate the way a 10-pound gain would.
Instead, it’s a nudge to which I respond with a clear headno tears or self-loathing.
VALERIE FRANKEL
__I took my dog for a walk__My happy weight is 147 pounds.
This was fine until college, when I moved in with my boyfriend.
He ate enough for four people, I ate enough for two; my happy weight seemed long gone.
I was so disoriented, I kept losing thingsmy wallet, the car keys, 30 pounds.
I hadn’t noticed gaining while abroad.
I was always standing before paintings or running or walking.
I’d plot a route from the Metro to school based on the patisseries.
Before class, I’d consume apain au raisin, achausson aux pommesand apalmier.
Then I might have aneclairon the way home.
I savor the memory, conjuring tastes, the sounds of quick voices calling out in bakeries.
At 46, there is still no problem I don’t want to solve with a diet.
“Oh, you,” a mother of one of my daughter’s friends said one day.
“I can tell you’re one of those women who has never really worried about her weight.”
That’s itthat’s the look I want.
KATHRYN HARRISON
__I watched tabloid TV__I’ve always liked my curvy hips.
Sure, it would be nice if my thighs were slimmer, but overall, my body pleased me.
Even when I gained 65 pounds while pregnant, I saw it as a sign my baby was healthy.
At my checkup, I almost fainted to find I’d gained 15 pounds.
Their bodies were gorgeousand they looked more like mine than the skinny white models on the runway.
After that, I started seeing my softer body as sensual, not heavy.
REBECCA WALKER
Photo Credit: Stephanie Rausser
