Something has happened to me over the past 8 months. It’s not just a baby I’ve been baking in my belly…it’s been lots of anger.

Have you ever been so overwhelmed by life and responsibility that you become someone else and don’t even realize it? Well that is what I feel like today. I’ve been angry. Really angry. And it not like me to let it take over my actions, but it has.

A close friend of mine brought several of these things to my attention today, and I just cried and cried. Because she was right. And I didn’t want to face it. It would be one thing if it was just about me. I could ignore it and go about my day. But it’s not about me anymore, my life directly impacts thousands of people. I have a greater responsibility than most people when it comes to how I behave. I’ve been called a “beacon of hope”…”a example to all moms”…”an amazing leader for obesity prevention”…”a Godsend”…but not today. And lately, my spirit has been tainted with anger and frustration. It’s rubbed off on everything I do.

Watching from a distance you would have seen this in the past 8 months:

Chobani hijacks Mamavation hashtag. My response looking back was …probably not the best.

Anytime Fitness says “Money is Allergic to Fat People”…My response, although those words were pretty “asstastic”, I should not have ganged up on him.

Georgia Strong 4 Life Billboards. I’m very proud of the work I did here, but the anger I felt during the creation of this campaign has cost me tremendously.

Have I been a bully? Have I been intimidating to others instead of empowering? Hmmmmm….I’m sure that is debatable. No matter how you look at it, my “voice” is powerful no matter where it’s directed. I can be a force for empowerment OR for anger. It IS strong because I have a gift.

I do believe all things happen for a reason that bring about good, but it’s all in how you look at it. Perception is the difference between failure and success. It’s kinda like when I talk about picking yourself back up after you have fallen.

When my father died and my eating disorder took control of my life, I found my strength through it and created this social media empire. When I was bullied as a child because of my weight, it gave me a strong sense of empathy for others to be able to lead with passion and conscience. (I also don’t sit around and watch others get bullied.) My eating disorder gives me a very humble outlook on how perfection is not needed to attain things that are great.  And finally, sexual abuse…things that happened to me in my adolescence…things that created my eating disorder…stick with me today, BUT also help me to understand that you only need to be a victim once. You don’t need to victimize yourself over and over again. I really feel like there are so many women out there that have suffered in silence and do so with food. Just like I have. But it doesn’t have to be that way. One thing that is VERY true about me is I’m a flawed human being. I’m actually proud of it. It allows me to be less judgmental of others. I don’t judge others based on their “sins” but walk with them on their level because they ARE my equals. For instance, If I hear a rumor about you, I’m not necessarily going to think you are a monster while everyone else does. I’m gonna think you are human. And I actually like people MORE when I find out what their “sins” are.

I have to be honest with everyone. Gaining weight for pregnancy is very psychologically hard on me. After all my hard work, I have to go back into a body that makes me feel shamed. It truly is a sacrifice for me emotionally.  And I’m sure this is one of the root causes for all my anger. BUT even though this baby has brought feelings of anger to me, it’s also brought some major healing. My lack of strength has forced me to depend on others in a new way.  It has mended some relationship issues I had with my own husband. He felt very isolated in our marriage because I was married to my work and community.  I’m sure lots of bloggers have husbands that feel the same. Blogging can actually cause a rift in a relationship sometimes as you get more successful. Blogging and community start to take over your life and you begin to live in a world that exists only in the computer. As I’ve been pregnant, I’ve let MrBookieboo start to take some responsibilities in the Mamavation campaign and it has really improved our understanding of each other and mended fences that I’m sure were heading to destruction. He has a deep respect for the work I do now and enjoys doing it too. We have fallen back in love.

Now for my action plan. Cause you know I have one. I always do. I’ve come out to you and told you that my demeanor has been detrimental to the Mamavation community. But what am I going to do about it?

1. Lose the baby weight. You will get to watch me VERY SOON shed the pounds imperfectly. I think I’ll have about 45 lbs. or so to go. So I’m in the same boat as most of you. Anyone that puts me up on a pedestal shouldn’t cause at the end of the day, I’m just like you. (Baby is due late May)

2. Focus more on the positive. Does this mean I’m going to stop speaking out against things I think are wrong, no, but I’m going to change my demeanor while I”m doing it to empowerment. I can’t constantly be clouded by negativity. Also, I plan on giving more props to companies and communities that are doing things right. Obesity prevention is a murky battle, but there are several champions out there that deserve props.

3. Bring back a focus on Mamavation community members who have really shown leadership . We used to have a “Sista of the Week” spotlight. I’m going to continue that bi-monthly.

3. Turning the Mamavation private Facebook group into a more “safe place” where we can discuss our feelings AND plan things at same time.

4. Having some additional “beginner” challenges. Back to basics with water & steps. This is where I started and I know there are several people that need to start where I did. We will still be keeping the 2 Week Challenges with MrBookieboo, but also having some more beginner ones as well.

5. Focus on community development. I promise to comment on AT LEAST 5 Mamavation Monday posts per week. Who is with me in this endeavor? I think getting the focus back on each other as opposed to ourselves will greatly improve ALL our demeanors. That is how we started in the first place.

6. Creation of a Mamavation Leadership Team with some very set roles. Let me know if you are interested in participating. I need help with outreach, monitoring the hashtag, making people feel welcome and “part of the group”, etc. We may also need some committees.

7. More swag. Need I say more?

And finally, I’d like to apologize to my community. Some of you are already going to say I’m too hard on myself, but I have to be. I have a lot of responsibility here and I take it very seriously. Don’t worry I’m not mopping about the house calling myself names. I’ve gotten this out and I’m moving forward. But for me, I really HAVE to get things out first. To face them in order to move forward. I have to be honest first. And I have to be honest with you as well or I can’t sleep at night.

So join with me in reshaping Mamavation and making it a positive community again. Will you take my hand? Will you help me as I continue to fight for our families and our health? I’d love your help.

Every morning it seems I’m on twitter at about 6:30am (that’s PST while some of you are listening to this at 9:30am EST) talking about needing espresso by IV infiltrated through my veins so I can start my day faster. I literally look like the “walking dead” and feel the same way without my morning cup of joe. As the coffee starts to enter my system, I feel my face start to form back into something more recognizable as “human” and my children are more likely to give me a hug.

Don’t listen to what they say about coffee being bad for you. I mean really? In my opinion, God put everything on this earth for a good purpose. Even things like cocaine and heroin in their natural form have medicinal uses. Coca leaves were chewed by natives to ward off hunger as they are trying to “score some grub” and Cocaine is still the best local anesthetic. It’s very possible if your children have ever had nasal or eye surgery cocaine was used to help. “Milk of the Poppy”, what we know today as Heroin,  was one of the first anesthetics in history used for surgery & amputations. Today it is STILL used to treat severe pain in hospice care in the UK and other countries. Yes, abuse of anything is bad. But in my opinion, God wouldn’t put things on the Earth if we couldn’t use them to benefit us in some way. And don’t get me started on medical uses of Marijuana because I AM a supporter of that as well. In fact, when my father was dying of cancer, I used to sneak “pot butter” into his food so that he had two hours of bliss with us pain & nausea free. (Btw, he never had any idea.)

Now that I’ve scared you with the crazy stuff, here are some basic facts about coffee to show you it’s benefits. It was put on the Earth for us to enjoy. Read some more and let the guilt fall away.

• Coffee drinkers are less likely to suffer from Type 2 Diabetes, Parkinson’s and dementia
• Coffee drinkers have fewer cases of cancer, strokes & heart disease
• Coffee also helps you focus and problem solve
• Coffee lowers depression risk in women
• Coffee increases your stamina and allows you to partake in physical activity longer and with more duration
• And let’s face it, when you drink coffee you just “feel” better (as long as you are already used to it)

Blogging and coffee go hand in hand. You don’t believe me? Here are some of your favorite bloggers with their coffee.

Kelby Carr @Typeamom

Tina Haupert @Carrotsncake

Katja Presnal @KatjaPresnal

Tish Oxenreider @Simplemom & Erica Mueller @EricaMueller

Julie Meyers Pron @JustPrecious

Sugar Jones @SugarJones

Loralee @Looneytunes (far right)

Heather Spohr @Mamaspohr

Ciaran Blumenfeld @Momfluential

 Amy Bellgardt @MomSpark

 Sommer Ponquette @Greenmom

 Mommy Niri @Mommyniri

Amanda Henson @Highimpactmom

Amy Allen Clark @MomAdvice

 Annie @PhdInParenting

Trisha Haas @Momdot

Tania @Purenaturaldiva

Next time I see you all at a conference, watch out because I’m going to spike your coffee. THAT would make for an interesting time. Also note, I contacted several of my bloggy friends for pictures for this post. And *gasp* some of them were NOT coffee drinkers. My husband isn’t either. But I think they are all nuts. Coffee rules!

Here another fabulous post on coffee and its benefits to you:

Skimbaco Food

It’s not a secret that I’m disgusted by what they pass off as “food” to our young children. Every Thursday, I volunteer the entire day in my son’s Kindergarten class and every Thursday I eat lunch with the students and my son. Most of the time, I pack a lunch for myself and my son, but we still eat with them on the outside deck. I’m able to witness first hand what is served and it makes me shudder. This Thursday it was chicken nugget strips, tater tots, frozen strawberries in sugar, raisins (thank God), and chocolate chip cookies. Here’s the irony. The chocolate milk that was served had MORE SUGAR than the actual chocolate chip cookies. None of the kids ate their raisins (actual food), and frozen strawberry & sugar concoction had no nutritional information where I could gauge what it was.

Now let’s get to the pink slime….

My friend Lisa Johnson wrote a piece for the True Food Movement about the “pink slime” that will be served up to our children. I know, you are thinking…what? Yeah, it’s this goopey goo that is made of beef or chicken parts and cartilage that has been treated with ammonia. Check out this picture of what it looks like here…

Looks tasty, huh? No, that’s not strawberry soft serve ice cream. It’s part of the base that COULD be going into your child’s hamburger or chicken nuggets this year when they eat in the school cafeteria. And there is no way for you to know for sure because the labeling requirements are so lax. Good luck finding out if your local cafeteria serves it, but be warned because the USDA is purchasing 7 million pounds of this stuff to put in school lunches this year. This is not what I would consider REAL food. But let’s face it, do our kids actually get any real food? No. Lisa has also started a petition and I recommend you all sign the petition asking Washington to stop purchasing this crap and feeding to our children.

According to Snopes, “pink slime” or Mechanically Separated Meat (MSM) is still used in chicken nuggets and hot dogs and dosed with ammonia. Chicken and pork MSM is considered safe and used by the FDA, BUT meat products are different. They stopped the legal use of meat based MSM in 2005 because of fears of “mad cow” disease. Oh, but manufacturers found a way around that. Instead of MSM they use “lean been trimmings” where beef is extracted and sent through small tubes and exposed to ammonia gas to give it that pink color. So yeah, it’s still “pink slime.” This substance is mixed with other “beef products” and will be about 25% of your child’s hamburger according to Snopes.

The rest of this post can be found at MomsLA.

Because I’m seven months pregnant, I thought poking fun at my vagina would give me some comfort. Pretty soon, it’s not going to be funny anymore. Let’s laugh while it is…

My dear sweet Va J-J

I can’t see you anymore

Where have you gone?

I know you are there because you got me into this mess in the first place

You can’t hide on me…I know where you live

I don’t need to bust out a mirror to prove to myself you are there

I’m reminded every time I have to RUN to the bathroom

To buzz or not to buzz? that is the question

I ain’t gonna use no razor because I don’t have a death wish

How do you shave something you can’t see without slitting off your special parts?

So I got my handy dandy beard shaver…yup, for beards…it’s kinda similar

Buzzing is safer

I’ll call you “Redbeard” because that is what you are

It makes me want to talk like a pirate

So Redbeard, which side would you like to start with…the right or the left?

It doesn’t really matter, I can’t see either

Ah shit…this is complicated

Maybe I’ll let it grow out a bit more first

I’m back Redbeard

Now I HAVE to take care of you because I’m getting teased

Once I heard the word “Chewbacca” that was all the motivation I needed

Contrary to popular belief in this house, my vagina is NOT a “wookie”

Although secretly I’m agreeing with my husband because you HAVE gotten out of control

Okay, maybe I should have just taken care of this last week…this is a bit more complicated now

To be continued….do you think I really shaved? I guess only MrBookieboo can tell you that and he’s sworn to secrecy.

Next month, the current Strong 4 Life billboards are coming down.

Close to 700 mom & dad bloggers, fitness professionals, Registered Dietitians, doctors and other concerned bloggers rallied together for a common cause–The end of shame. We demanded the Strong 4 Life campaign take down billboards we believed created an environment in Georgia that perpetuated bigotry, increased bullying in schools, and “weight bias.” We all joined hands virtually and stood up against a non-profit with over 50 million at their disposal because they were wrong in thinking that it was okay to shame a child into better health. Trying to shame anyone into better health is ridiculous, but when you try to do it to children, the virtual gloves come off. We did this because this isn’t just a local issue, this issue effects us all as obesity prevention campaigns sweep the nation. (Having obesity prevention campaigns are a GOOD thing, but they need to be done humanely.) We all want to see the end to the obesity epidemic, but we believe in fighting obesity, not obese people. Partnering with families to help them instead of throwing daggers at them is the most humane way to get this done. My conclusion: This is a win for us all.

What did we do? Here is how we organized:

1. One  hour #Ashamed chat protest on January 27th. Outcome of 23 million impressions joined by 544 bloggers creating 4,859 tweets in support of #Ashamed. Numbers from the #Ashamed chat that night were HIGHER than most of the top trending topics on twitter that night.

2. The event was covered on Headline News, on the front page of CNN.com and then later on the Bill O’Reilley Show.

3. One hour #Ashamed chat protest on February 16th. Outcome of 41 million impressions, joined by 469 bloggers creating  3,570 tweets in support of #Ashamed. Numbers from the #Ashamed chat that night were HIGHER than most of the top trending topics on twitter that night.

3. February 17th organized a “nudging” on Facebook to Carter’s Clothing company, sponsor to Childrens Hospital of Atlanta parent non-profit for Strength 4 Life, which produced several status updates on their wall by mom bloggers and other concerned citizens asking Carters whether they “supported” the Strong 4 Life Billboards. Carters responded publicly that they did NOT support any advertising campaign.

4. From a tweet via @Nerdmom to Jillian Michaels during the Feb. 16th #Ashamed chat, Jillian Michaels responded and came out against the Strong 4 Life billbaord ads saying shame isn’t the answer on Facebook & twitter.

 What Now?

Now we must all stay vigilant. Since my background is in politics, community organizing and PR, this much I know: In order to keep shame ads away from our children, we NEED to control the rhetoric in the public sphere, i.e. the message. That means talking about shame, weight bias, the idea of “fighting obesity,  not obese people” needs to become a consistent message in the next year for all of us. In order to ensure that our children are safe in the future from these type of shaming campaigns, we need to keep pushing this agenda. This cannot stop. If it does we run the risk of this type of campaign popping up in another state with just as much funding. And we are not alone, Yale University is also doing their part to promote an environment free from “weight bias” as we tackle the obesity epidemic. You can learn more about what they are doing here.

Thank you all to who supported these efforts! And a special thank you to the following community leaders who rallied behind the cause:

1. Mamavation with Leah Segedie @Bookieboo
2. Resourceful Mommy Media with Amy Lupold Bair @Resourcefulmom
3. Type A Mom with Kelby Carr @Typeamom
4. 5 Minutes for Mom Community with Janice Croze @5minutesformom
5. Anissa Mayhew with Slightly Bent Productions @AnissaMayhew
6. Christine Young with Dates for Diapers @youngmommy
7. Cecily Kellogg with UpperCase Woman @Cecilyk
8. DietsnReview @Dietsinreview
9. Sue O Lear as @Mrsfatass
10. Amy Bellgardt with Mom Spark Media @Momspark
11. Stacie Haight Connerty with Divine Miss Mommy @Stacieinatlanta
12. Lisa Morris Frame with A Daily Pinch @Daily_Pinch
13. Social Media Moms with Kadi Prescott @kadiprescott
14. Bloggy Moms with Tiffany Noth @bloggymoms
15. Registered Dietitian Alysa Bajenaru, RD @InspiredRD
16. DrMommyOnline with Dr. Daisy Sutherland @DrMommy
17. Sugar in the Raw with Sugar Jones @SugarJones
18. Queen of Spain with Erin Kotecki Vest @QueenofSpain
19. Fitfluential with Kelly Olexa @KellyOlexa
20. Jessica Northley @JessicaNorthley
21. Loralee with Looneytunes @Looneytunes
22. Green & Clean Mom with Sommer Poquette @Greenmom
23. Runhers @Runhers Community
24. Pediatrician Dr. Jen @Playthisway
25. Fitbottomedgirls community @Fitbottomedgirl
26. Jenny on the Spot with Jenny Ingram @Jennyonthespot
27. Greeblemonkey with Aimee Giese @Greeblemonkey
28. Fun and Fit.org with Alexandra Williams @Alexandrafunfit
29. Skimbaco Lifestyle with Katja Presnal @Katjapresnal
30. Pure Natural Diva with Tania @Purenaturaldiva
31. MommyPR with Angela @MommyPR
32. Registered Dietitian Heather Bauer as @heatherbauer_rd
33. PHD in Parenting with Annie @PhdinParenting
34. Redneck Mommy with Tanis Miller @Redneckmommy
35. Kelly’s Lucky You with Kelly @girlslunchout
36. Dear Crissy with @Crissy
37. Dad Street with Josh @Dadstreet
38. Mommy Wants Vodka with Becky @MommywantsVodka
39. Princess Time Toys with Connie @Princesstimetoy
40. Dates & Diapers with Christine Young @Youngmommy
41. Good and Crazy with Carissa Rogers @CarissaRogers
42. Real Life Sarah with Sarah @Reallifesarah
43. The Virtual Assistant with Michelle Mangen @Mmangen
44. Erin Margolin @ErinMargolin
45. Tara Ziegmont @Taraziegmont
46. Curvy Girl Guide with @Curvygirlguide
47. Dr Mommy Online with Dr. Daisy Sutherland @DrMommy
48. Formerly obese blogger and fitness model Stefan Pinto as @Stefanpinto
49. Professional personal trainer and TV personality @AndreaMetcalf
50. According to Kelly with Kelly @According2Kelly
51. Momeo Magazine with Carla Young with @CarlaYoung
52. The Vacation Gals with Jennifer Miner @Jenniferminer
53. Run Eat Repeat with Monica Olivias @Runeatrepeat
54. Momfluential with Ciaran Blumenfeld  @Momfluential
55. The Soft Landing with Alicia Voorhies @thesoftlanding
56. Our Ordinary Life with Kristin @OurOrdinaryLife
57. Fitarella with Jacqueline Carly @Fitarella
58. The 818 with Morgan  @The818
59. Marketing professional Jessica Smith @Jessicanow
60 High Impact Mom with Amanda @Highimpactmom
62. Robyn’s Online World with Robyn Wright @Robynsworld
63. Registered Dietitian and consultant to Food TV Network @Tobyamidor
64. One By One Media with Jim Turner @Genuine
65. How to Be a Dad with Charlie N Andy @HowtobeaDad
66. Registered Dietitian @ScritchfieldRD
67. Registered Dietitian @MaryHartleyRD
68. Registered Dietitian @LeahMcgrathRD
69. Aspiring Mama with Pauline Campos @Aspiringmama

Additional information about what is ahead with Strong 4 Life:

Here is what I CAN report. The billboards are being phased out in March. They will come down one by one in several zip codes in Atlanta, and later replaced by the next phase of billboards. I haven’t seen the creative images from the next campaign, but I’ve been promised by Patty Gregory, Communication Manager for Children’s Hospital of Atlanta via phone conversation, that they will NOT have the same “tone” as the ones above. In fact, I’ve been told the theme is quite different this time and should not involve any negative portrayals of children. I’ve also been promised it will revolve around “one step you can take” to start down the right path. Or something to that effect. I should have more information about specifics soon. I can’t say whether I support these new billboards or their next phase because I haven’t seen all the specifics. Don’t automatically assume that I won’t like what they do next. Sometimes I may surprise you.

More of my opinion about how statistics CAN be used used for good and bad:
I don’t always believe everything I hear when it comes to the internet, studies and statistics and I’ll tell you why. Have you ever heard of the term “lying with statistics?” It basically means you can CREATE a number to suit your agenda very easily based on several things: (1) WHO is doing the asking, (2) WHO you are sampling, (3) HOW the question is asked, and (4) how many people you ask. Let me give you an example, if I asked all the bloggers who were on the list from above if they thought these depictions of children were shameful, I’m pretty sure about 100% of them would say yes. Then I could say something to the effect of “100% of bloggers sampled in social media think that the Strong 4 Life billboards are shameful.” Do you catch my drift? I know that would not be true, BUT I could say it. Then it’s up to YOU to decipher whether that is true or not, but most people really have no idea how these studies are actually created, so they don’t bother. As a population we tend to be intimidated by statistics. The only ones who are not are statisticians and people who have worked around them. So long story short, when the Strong 4 Life campaign defended their shame tactics by saying that 75-80% of parents in Georgia with overweight/obese children don’t even realize their children had a weight problem, I’m gonna say….hmmmm, I don’t think so. That doesn’t ring true to me. (Maybe if you survey a bunch of parents with children on the low end of the scale…but not the high end.) As parents we love our children, but we are not blind. And sometimes you gotta just use your bullshit meter when it comes to these things because we really don’t have anything else to go by. Strong 4 Life used this statistic to defend their communication tactics over and over again. Now the Strong 4 Life campaign is saying that 80% of parents in Georgia think these billboards are a step in the right direction. Again, my bullshit meter goes off. I’m thinking, it really depends on WHO you ask. I’m wondering if they were asking parents who HAD obese children that were bullied in school for their weight. They may have left that part of the population out of this. I don’t know how these surveys were conducted because they never released that information. They said they were going to, but they didn’t. So in my opinion, something was screwy with that study. Why else would you withhold the details? By the way, the original study  was partially funded by the State of Georgia. These are your tax dollars at work. Nice little piece of information as we are in an election year.

Help me further the cause:

1. Thank the people that helped me cause a ruckus. If you would like to help me in thanking all the thought leaders in social media that made this all possible, you can send out the following tweets. Thanking our community leaders and keeping them involved is going to keep our message strong in social media:

Thanks 4 making a diff. supporting #Ashamed: @bookieboo @resourcefulmom @typeamom @5minutesformom @AnissaMayhew http://bit.ly/wGfxOX

Thanks 4 making diff. supporting #Ashamed 2: @Youngmommy @Cecilyk @Dietsinreview @Mrsfatass @Momspark @StacieinAtlanta http://bit.ly/wGfxOX

Thanks 4 making a diff. supporting #Ashamed 3: @Daily_pinch @kadiprescott @bloggymoms @InspiredRD @DrMommy @Sugarjones http://bit.ly/wGfxOX

Thanks 4 making diff. supporting #Ashamed 4: @QueenofSpain @KellyOlexa @JessicaNorthley @Looneytunes @Greenmom @Runhers http://bit.ly/wGfxOX

Thanks 4 making a diff. supporting #Ashamed 5: @Playthisway @Fitbottomedgirl @Jennyonthespot @Greeblemonkey  http://bit.ly/wGfxOX

Thanks 4 making a diff. supporting #Ashamed 6: @KatjaPresnal @Purenaturaldiva @MommyPR @Heatherbauer_RD  http://bit.ly/wGfxOX

Thanks 4 making a diff. supporting #Ashamed 7: @Redneckmommy @Girlslunchout @Crissy @Dadstreet @Mommywantsvodka  http://bit.ly/wGfxOX

Thanks 4 making a diff. supporting #Ashamed 8:@Princesstimetoy @CarissaRogers @Reallifesarah @ErinMargolin   http://bit.ly/wGfxOX

Thanks 4 making a diff. supporting #Ashamed 9: @Curvygirlguide @Stefanpinto @AndreaMetcalf @According2kelly   http://bit.ly/wGfxOX

Thanks 4 making a diff. supporting #Ashamed 10: @Jenniferminer @Runeatrepeat @Momfluential @Thesoftlanding   http://bit.ly/wGfxOX

Thanks 4 making a diff. supporting #Ashamed 11: @fitarella @the818 @JessicaNow  @Highimpactmom @Robynsworld   http://bit.ly/wGfxOX

Thanks 4 making a diff. supporting #Ashamed 12: @Genuine @Howtobeadad @ScritchfieldRD @MaryhartleyRD @LeahMcGrathRD  http://bit.ly/wGfxOX

Thanks 4 making a diff. supporting #Ashamed 13: @Alexandrafunfit @PhdInParenting @Taraziegmont @Carlayoung  http://bit.ly/wGfxOX

Thanks 4 making a diff. supporting #Ashamed 14: @Tobyamidor @Ourordinarylife  http://bit.ly/wGfxOX

2. Help me continue to talk about the subject matter. If we simply stop our efforts, we run the risk of this happening all over again and us potentially losing the battle. So continue to use the #Ashamed hashtag, educate your audience on “weight bias” and how it’s prevalent in North America, and continue to keep this subject matter “top of mind” for people. We all CAN make a difference.

3. Become a healthy role model in social media. Let’s face it. We need more of them. I can’t be the only one. (Figure of speech, I know I’m really not.) If we band together and do this the RIGHT way then the “experts” can’t make claims about us in general to further their agenda. If we are all succeeding in this area, we are proving that empowerment trumps shame. Period. End of story.

4. When I do find obesity prevention campaigns that I like and I support them in social media, support me by retweeting, commenting and creating buzz for them. We want to be a force for positive change. Let’s reward the organizations that are doing it right.

Again, I’d like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for having an open mind and heart and supporting the Mamavation community in protesting shame. YOU made a difference this year. You really did.

And thank you to @Aspiringmama who brought this issue to my attention. Her original post about it is here.