I have become incredibly annoyed with all of the diet ads that I get bombarded with every day (dude, magical weight loss tea is not a “movement’ that people can “join”, what the effing crap.)
Whenever they are online I mark them as “misleading” or, at least, “I don’t want to see this” and hide them. Unfortunately plenty of the ads are not deletable – magazines at the grocery store, billboards, even diet ads at the movies now. So I decided the next best thing to deleting them is making them into a game.
In that spirit, I offer the Diet Ad BINGO card below. You’ll note that “Disclaimer” is the free space because, since they don’t work, they all have some sort of disclaimer/fine print (like “results not even close to typical” or “this diet may kill you.“) As always, people are allowed to diet if they choose (underpants rule!), and people are allowed to poke fun at the diet industry which makes over $60 Billion a year selling a product that is such a failure that they are legally required to say that it doesn’t work every time they advertise it. Happy BINGO-ing:
European Speaking Tour
I’ll be in Europe later this year. I’m putting together a European speaking tour so if you’re in the area and interested in having me come speak shoot me an e-mail at ragen at danceswithfat dot org and we’ll work out the details!
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Dances With Fat 
I love this, it will make me smile now whenever I see one of those ads.
Anyway, go bingo! I already got “one weird trick” and “Lose belly fat”
Lose belly fat!? Blasphemy. I love my belly. It’s big and round, like a belly is meant to be.
I never get why people want a flat hard tummy – that is just not having a tummy at all. You wouldn’t want your boobs to be flat and hard, now would you? 😀
I’m super glad that you love your tummy – I think your tummy is awesome! I also think that flat hard tummies and flat hard boobs are awesome! All bodies are awesome!!!
~Ragen
You are so right! So wise, Ragen. I do apologise to people with flat hard stuff – I meant no disrespect. I was carried away by my love of soft round things, that I knew not what I did.
I love you all, all bodies are awesome! 😀
ps since my last message I have got three more of the bingos!
Any body that is alive is a miracle, and beyond anything any human being could create! Better than any painting or sculpture. The beauty is in the sheer complexity, the impossible to grasp-it-all massive intricacies that make the body sustain life, move around, and accomplish so many great things, such as creating paintings and sculpture, and dance and song, and words and love.
Without a functioning body, we couldn’t do any of those things. Note, I didn’t say “fully-functioning.” Just functioning. As long as there is life, we can love, and that alone is amazing.
That really ought to be enough. That’s my new mantra. Being alive is enough. And as long as I’m alive, there is always the possibility of wonder and surprise.
Brilliant, this is really inspiring to me. I am definitely going to tell people my belly sticks out because of muscles 😉 We definitely should love our bodies for the ways that they are. I imagine a lot of people would adjust my figure, but I think: I eat pretty healthy, I walk my dog each day, so the shape I am is my right shape. And so it is beautiful.
We are all beautiful.
Brilliant to talk with you, you have made my day. 🙂
I took belly-dancing classes from two women who literally worked out ALL DAY LONG. For 8 hours a day, they exercised, teaching both dance and pilates.
Both of them had little pooch bellies. When asked why her stomach was not concave (by another student – not me!), the lead teacher said that belly dancing strengthens the core muscles that push the belly OUT. Those exercises that lead to washboard abs are focusing on completely different muscles. Further, the muscles that her routines strengthen also happened to be the same muscles that women need to carry and give birth to a baby.
She did not approve of washboard abs and concave bellies, especially in women, but she didn’t even like them in men.
She had her own body issues, though. Hated her thighs. Go figure.
Accepting your body – ALL of your body – is very hard in our culture. Even naturally thin people are getting surgery to reshape themselves and try to reach an ideal that nature did not intend for them.
“Be your best self,” isn’t enough, it seems. And good enough, isn’t enough. Only “perfection,” as defined by someone else!
It’s taking a long, long, LONG time, but I am hoping to form my own definition of perfection, for all of my body, and love all of it, including every last wobbly bit. Fortunately, I have a good foundation, as I have always and always loved my nose and my lips.
Brilliant, this is really inspiring to me. I am definitely going to tell people my belly sticks out because of muscles 😉 We definitely should love our bodies for the ways that they are. I imagine a lot of people would adjust my figure, but I think: I eat pretty healthy, I walk my dog each day, so the shape I am is my right shape. And so it is beautiful.
We are all beautiful.
Brilliant to talk with you, you have made my day. 🙂
Oh, this is great! I so totally love this! Laughing so hard right now. Ain’t it the truth, though?
Oh, wait, I know one: “That was when I knew I HAD to do something.”
‘Lose weight, start living’
It finally happened yesterday. Mr. Twistie finally had a doctor specifically suggest lap band surgery to cure his high blood pressure. Sheesh! He told her in no uncertain terms that he will not be doing that.
So you have high blood pressure? Hmmm. I know! I know! Let’s add general anesthesia and surgery that breaches the abdominal wall to that profile. Because nothing could possibly go wrong.
Let’s add a lifetime of torturously starving yourself, with a high risk of complications including death! That will REALLY reduce your stress-levels!
To be fair, dying DOES simplify your life.
I think I will take this to work, where they are on round 2 of an (employee driven) “Fitness Challenge.” Fitness is measured entirely by pounds lost and disordered eating is rampant.
But, what if the participants were thin to begin with?
Here’s one I hate: “We could ALL stand to lose a few pounds.” Ugh! Way to make thin people invisible!
Sometimes, I think that’s the goal. The mysterious “they” want to make people, and especially women, simply disappear.
Bingo!
This. Is. Effing. Brilliant.
YOU SHOULD TOTALLY COME TO THE UK.
Yes you really should come to UK – where in UK are you oxymoronic tonic I am in Manchester
Manchester for me too!
Hull for me!
Hey JaneB, I’ve always wanted to go to The Deep. Let’s make a date!
This is amazing. I get to livid watching these ads that all I can is sputter at the screen and angrily click “no, this is not relevant to me.” Now I’ll be looking for them 😉
When I get the option to click whether or not an ad is relevant to me, I have taken to clicking “Yes, it’s relevant” when it’s something I absolutely know I will never buy.
I save a lot of money that way, and I know that it’s the perfect time to leave the room and get a snack, because I won’t be missing anything interesting or relevant.
Test, trying to post. 1234567890
If you add http://red3.blogspot.nl/2007/06/fat-hate-bingo.html into the mix you’ll REALLY have all the fun :-).
That’s a great website. It’s a pity it shut down.