operation beautiful / ‘Operation Beautiful’: Just say no to Fat Talk!

operation beautiful / ‘Operation Beautiful’: Just say no to Fat Talk!

Tired of watching women pick themselves apart in front of the mirror, 24-year-old blogger Caitlin Boyle scribbled a note on a Post-it — “YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!” — and slapped it on the mirror of a public bathroom. With this one small act, a movement was born. Women of different ages, races, lifestyles and geographic locations began posting encouraging notes of their own. The messages are chronicled in Boyle’s new book, “Operation Beautiful: Transforming the Way You See Yourself One Post-it Note at a Time.”

This excerpt from “Operation Beautiful” highlights the damaging effects of “Fat Talk” and explains how to break free from it.

The real deal with Fat Talk 

Fat Talk isn’t about being overweight. In fact, Fat Talk has nothing to do with your size at all.

Women engage in Fat Talk for a variety of reasons, as it allows them to “express emotions, seek social reassurance, create an in-group with friends, excuse certain eating behaviors, and manage impressions,” according to Dr. Denise Martz, a clinical psychologist who has spent more than 20 years studying body image, eating disorders and Fat Talk.

Fat Talk is habitual, meaning that women often don’t realize they’re doing it. Fat Talk has become a knee-jerk reaction to eating an overindulgent meal, trying on bathing suits, or even getting dressed in the morning.

Fat Talk triggers unhealthy behaviors, whether the comments are consciously processed or not, putting yourself down verbally creates reverse inertia in all aspects of your life. Instead of inspiring you to get healthier, Fat Talk will motivate you to overeat, skip your workouts and stay involved in toxic relationships. Additionally, even if you don’t hear your own Fat Talk, your friends and family will, and it harms them emotionally, spiritually and physically as well.

Women use Fat Talk to bond socially. Women Fat Talk with their friends, and mothers Fat Talk with their daughters. Fat Talk is contagious, and if one woman does it, the next may feel compelled to engage in their behavior, too. “Fat Talk has become a form of chitchat,” says Dr. Susan Albers, a psychologist who specializes in relationship and weight issues. Dr. Albers has observed that women will often mirror a friend’s Fat Talk. “We tend to follow other people’s leads, particularly those who are close to us.”