Fat & Beautiful: A Book About Why You Can Be Both is a story of joy, a lesson in empathy, and a guide for parents and educators navigating conversations around body image and weight stigma.

I used to hate my body. My mother hated hers too. Sadly, most children start thinking negatively about their body as young as age six. One in four diets goes on to become an eating disorder. Someone dies of an eating disorder every 52 minutes. 

I wrote Fat & Beautiful so children and families could see beauty in ways they maybe hadn’t thought of before, while dispelling harmful myths about fat. In a world where dieting is sold to us as self care, and weight loss surgeries are being pushed on children as young as 12, this book is a tool for families to combat diet culture and break the cycle of self hate.

Body Positivity vs. Body Neutrality

Body Positivity is the idea that all bodies are fabulous, and you should love them no matter what. Theoretically, that works. Realistically, it does not. We live in a culture that moralizes health and subscribes to the mythology that “healthy” looks a specific way. Body Positivity perpetuates the myth that loving your body feels good 100% of the time. Body neutrality teaches us that our body and our lovability are mutually exclusive. 

We have created a world where people feel immense shame when their body does not live up to societal standards. A world where not feeling continuously happy about your body adds to the list of ways you just aren’t getting life “right.”

Body Neutrality is the belief that the way you feel about your body is not a reflection of your (body’s) value. You are allowed to hate your hips, or stomach, or arms, because those body parts don’t detract from your value as a person. 

Body Neutrality allows room for frustration for people in marginalized bodies, without adding the burden of needing to “fix” those bodies. By removing the need to “fix” bodies, we lessen the (odds, chances, instances) of individuals inflicting self harm when their body doesn’t naturally conform to societal standards.

About the Author

Debbie Saroufim is a Body Acceptance Coach. Like many children of past and present, Debbie was introduced to the idea of “good” and “bad” bodies as young as 6 years old. Debbie internalized that, and by her tween years had developed an eating disorder.

After years of recovery and boundless personal growth, Debbie now works with women, teens and tweens to help them make peace with their body and build up their immunity to diet culture. 

Debbie also works with schools to help teach a Body Neutral and Diverse Health Education. Follow her on Instagram for news and updates on her work! @bodyacceptance_coach