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No Fat Chicks - Lisa Sargese

Brunetteandred

Officially a loser
Lisa Sargese is an American woman who's had 2x bands and a bypass. She was orginally 400lbs and is a huge inspiration. Check out her website Lisa's Life Lessons where you can see You Tube videos of her early days and read hints tips and Lisa's blog as she learned to live with her WLS and helps others do likewise.

Below is a poem Lisa wrote... I love it. How many of us feel the same as she did when we see such blinding discriminaton?

No Fat Chicks
by Lisa A Sargese
Rated "PG" by the Author.
No Fat Chicks by Lisa Sargese is a spoken word piece inspired by an insulting bumper sticker!

No Fat Chicks

I saw a bumper sticker…
3 simple words that floated like a turd
into the punch bowl of my day
it said,
NO FAT CHICKS
It was
a warning
a barricade
an insult to me and my big sisters.

I laughed and knew the car belonged to a man
the kind who drives an “I roc Z-28”
and hangs a Playboy-bunny air freshener from
his rearview mirror.
I knew it did not belong to a lesbian
a big fat earth-mother with rolling hills
of flesh,
Flesh that holds the greasy yellow remnants
of rice and beans and jugs of wine consumed
with joy amongst friends.
I knew it did not belong to a housewife,
an oversized mother of 3
who kept her weight after the second baby,
who drives the kids to school
then smokes Marlboro lights
while she watches Pokemon underwear slosh
around in the soapy waters
of a front load washer at the local laundromat.
I knew it did not belong to an overweight teenager
who self-consciously dresses in black so as to darken her figure
and keep herself hidden from the penetrating eyes of her peers.

And yet
those three words belong to all of us
the throw aways
the not-good-enoughs
the too bigs
who would not be welcomed into that driver’s world
NO FAT CHICKS
means “no means no”

No,
fat chicks are like me
the carriers of extra weight
the burdens of our emotional distress stuffed away
with the comfort of chocolate, and sugar and crunchy bags of carbs
the survivors of too many diets that ruined our organs
and malnourished us so badly.
Deprived of acceptance we starved, then binged, then starved
then binged and eventually gave up the struggle
and accepted our place outside the
cars of the handsome, shallow young men who will only look at the
girls with flat plains for stomachs
horizons easily seen,
landscapes easily navigated
hips that hold no secrets, only bones.

I love my skinny sisters
their bodies are as sacred and beautiful as any other
woman’s
yet they hold privilege and favor
they can ride in any car
there will never be a bumper sticker banning them, telling them
in no uncertain terms, that they are not wanted because of their size.

I laughed and shook my head
and thought
NO FAT CHICKS
would want to ride with you any way
you could not hold even one of us
your arms would not know how to treasure such
a bounty, such bigness, such girth
then I sat down and cried
my shield of flesh does not protect me from the hurt
I am abjected
dejected
a reject from the assembly line of cookie cutter
magazine beauty standards that tell us to
hack off our extended bodies
to trim the fat before serving ourselves
to the scrutiny of others.

I weep and hold my heavy belly
like a basket of eggs
all my eggs in one basket
I have a womb in there you know
underneath the buttery basket
my giant egg of an abdomen
feels so heavy, and I wonder
am I holding the weight of a whole ‘nother person in my arms?
If I made it disappear could I hold you there instead?
Who is this that I hold?
the critical castrating father?
the controlling competitive mother?
the bully who teased me in school?
the baby I have yet to conceive?

How big was Mary when she rode into Bethlehem that night
and after she pushed out the savior of humankind
Did she keep some of her weight?
Did Jesus drink so longingly from the Mother of God
that he retained some baby-fat?
and if so, would we deny the world of even an ounce of it?

I cradle myself.
I’m swaddled in the guilt of my round mother shape
of my mountainous frame
my thighs like torpedoes not even worth shaving
NO FAT CHICKS
I think,
as the driver of that car…
some FAT guy
wearing a giant gold crucifix
his hair shiny and solid as the hood of his car
strides mightily toward his
chariot machismo
“Do you drive your mother in that car?”
I wonder as I get on with my day.

Copyright © 2003 Lisa Adele Sargese
 
Great poem!

I'm pleased her bypass is working for her. Pity her 2 bands and a bypass ... wow I guess 400Ibs is a lot of weight to carry.
 
Sadly, she is not a complete successtory (see below), but has turned her problems into a positive thing by helping others.

Had my first weight loss surgery at age 23 in 1988 as part of Dr. Lubomyr Kuzmak's experimental control group receiving the first adjustable gastric band in the USA (not called the lap band as it was installed via full abdominal incision). When that sprang a leak I received another gastric band via full incision in 1993. After the port flipped over inside me I decided to just live with it rather than undergo another surgery.......................... My weight reached its highest (400+ pounds) in 2006 as the old gastric band dug painfully into my stomach causing complications that scared off most of the surgeons I approached looking for help. Finally had a revision (by the very competent Dr. Daniel Davis of NYC) from the band to an RNY gastric bypass in 2006. Riding the honeymoon high of rapid weight loss from post-op deprivation and pounding energy drinks to fuel my compulsive exercising, I lost over 140 pounds in under 2 years. Then I hit a plateau and my energy bottomed out. Half the weight came back. My body began to break down. Spent the past 2 years in a wheelchair..................

Have been blogging EVERY DAY since the RNY as I recover from a severe binge eating disorder, depression, sleep apnea, diabetes, anemia, adrenal fatigue and crippling arthritis. I'm learning that being gentle on myself, practicing self acceptance, responding to what my body needs and embracing size positivity is difficult but provides enduring wellness.........My recovery has centered around real, whole food, self-care and the Health at Every Size Movement..........Real Recovery can happen when we take the emphasis off of dieting, deprivation and weight loss and instead focus on holism, worthiness and well-being.
 
Sadly, she is not a complete successtory (see below), but has turned her problems into a positive thing by helping others.

Had my first weight loss surgery at age 23 in 1988 as part of Dr. Lubomyr Kuzmak's experimental control group receiving the first adjustable gastric band in the USA (not called the lap band as it was installed via full abdominal incision). When that sprang a leak I received another gastric band via full incision in 1993. After the port flipped over inside me I decided to just live with it rather than undergo another surgery.......................... My weight reached its highest (400+ pounds) in 2006 as the old gastric band dug painfully into my stomach causing complications that scared off most of the surgeons I approached looking for help. Finally had a revision (by the very competent Dr. Daniel Davis of NYC) from the band to an RNY gastric bypass in 2006. Riding the honeymoon high of rapid weight loss from post-op deprivation and pounding energy drinks to fuel my compulsive exercising, I lost over 140 pounds in under 2 years. Then I hit a plateau and my energy bottomed out. Half the weight came back. My body began to break down. Spent the past 2 years in a wheelchair..................

Have been blogging EVERY DAY since the RNY as I recover from a severe binge eating disorder, depression, sleep apnea, diabetes, anemia, adrenal fatigue and crippling arthritis. I'm learning that being gentle on myself, practicing self acceptance, responding to what my body needs and embracing size positivity is difficult but provides enduring wellness.........My recovery has centered around real, whole food, self-care and the Health at Every Size Movement..........Real Recovery can happen when we take the emphasis off of dieting, deprivation and weight loss and instead focus on holism, worthiness and well-being.

Wow oh wow! :wow:

She's been through an awful lot hasn't she?!

Here I am feeling totally despondent and she goes and turns a negative into a positive.Much to be admired there. I wonder if I need to take heed from her remark about her exercising?

Thanks for sharing Brunette and like I said on an earlier post ... it's lovely to see you around - I used to secretly read your posts on Minimins from over a year ago.

x
 
Wow Thanks for sharing that, what an excellent poem! She is such a brave and positive lady......Im sure we could all learn something from her :D XX
 
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