Who Is Jessica Weiner?

Find out more about Jessica Weiner by reading her bio on her website.

What was life as a teen girl like for you?
I definitely struggled with low self-esteem and bad body image. I didn’t ever think I was pretty enough or thin enough and I let that rule my teen life. Even though I was a super over achiever and getting good grades and involved in school stuff - inside I was pretty depressed and withdrawn. I began dieting when I was 11 and fell into an eating disorder around 13. So I spent many years of my teen life really battling this tough mental health issue.

There’s really nothing you can’t do is there? Author, screenwriter, agony aunt, businesswoman - where did you get this go-for-it girl ‘tude from and more importantly, how do we get it?
Well, I think my ‘tude comes from my family and friends - they’ve always helped me to feel confident in exactly who I am! I also have survived a period in my early teens where I was the complete opposite of who I am now and so I am thrilled to be able to share that excitement and passion with others. And I think YOU guys can get this attitude by finding something you are super passionate about and going after it - whether it is body image, or the environment, or playing soccer - do something you love and it never feels like work - always fun!

You define the word “fat” as “F-A-T = Feelings. Actions. Thoughts.” What does this mean?
All women - no matter what their size - use the word fat. And clearly many of these women aren’t fat by clinical terms - so it had me go searching for more of a meaning when a woman uses this word to describe how she is feeling. So I broke it down into feelings-thoughts-actions. Because we are so scared of our feelings that sometimes we just lump them into one category of ‘bad’ like the word ‘fat. And when we have all of these negative feelings they become negative thoughts in our mind and those negative thoughts can become negative actions - like extreme dieting or eating disorders. So we have to be careful how we use our feelings, thoughts, and actions and remember that fat is not a feeling!

Interview from Pink World