August 2002. As my mother would say, she was screaming bloody murder. It was 5:30 in the morning and I wasn't yet fully awake, so it was hard to make out what she was saying. As I listened, my skin crawled and I was troubled. She was angry and bitter, and she was screaming, literally, at the top of her lungs, repeating something over and over. While trying to understand the words, I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't still in bed dreaming. It was surreal.

After playing back the recording 2 or 3 times, it began to get clearer and I could make out the words "Oh my God, oh my God, I'm a size 6, oh my God!!" Writing it down to you now causes me to giggle, but at 5:30am on a Wednesday morning, the tone was aggressive and as Michael said when I shouted down to him to ask him if he heard it -- evil.

It was immediately clear to me that this woman had just read my transformation story and was offended by it. If you haven't yet read it, you can go to my web site. In it, I explain that I have transformed myself physically from a size 6/8 to a size 2 by proper diet and exercise, and have helped literally hundreds of others do the same thing -- beginning at all sizes. Some clients start at over 300 pounds and some start at 110 pounds. Anyway, I understood fully that this woman had gone completely out of her way to pick up the phone and call me at 8:30pm on a Tuesday evening -- simply stated, to be mean.

I took this story to all of my clients on that day. While they were exercising I said, "Let me tell you a story" and then when it was finished asked, "what kind of a person would do that?" The answer was unanimous. She was deeply angry and miserable about her own weight, and she wanted to strike out at me because my journey was such a small one in her eyes.

Well, I would like to tell you that although the journey was perhaps a smaller one, it was still a journey. It literally took me 2 years and many guinea pig experiments to get where I wanted to be. I wanted the healthiest and most effective program so that I could deliver it to my clients, and it took a while to figure it all out. Yes, it was challenging for me, too, because like to eat -- a lot!

I guess what I want to share here is that smaller people's journeys are challenging and important, too. They may not have hundreds of pounds to shed, but they, too, have to adopt a new lifestyle, have to stand in the face of adversity, and have to sacrifice what they want for what they need. This is not just an obese person's journey -- it's a journey that most of us face and it's one that we should all be able to share and gain comfort for and take pride in. Attacking someone because, literally, they are smaller than you has never been acceptable behavior.

This isn't the first time I'd experienced someone else "belittling" me because I was smaller than them, but it is probably the meanest and most "in my face" someone has ever been. I don't think that most of us are usually subject to this level of attack, but we smaller women are barraged with milder incidents which might involve things like rolling eyes, snickering, and relatively harmless comments like, "We don't want to hear it. We only wish we could look like you! You have nothing at all to talk about."

As I shared this story with my clients throughout the week, several of them confided similar stories and asked me if I would write something specifically addressing this issue of relativity for them. Why is it that only those women who are obviously fat have any right to talk about it? Why is it that simply because someone is smaller than you, they don't have any reason to want something better for themselves? And why is it that a smaller person's 10 to 20 pound fat loss isn't something to celebrate? There are all kinds of weight loss programs and support groups for the overweight, but you rarely see someone who only has 10-20 pounds to lose at these programs. Why is that? Excess body fat at any height and weight increases the risk of high blood pressure, cancer, and cardiovascular disease, just to name a few. It's important for all of us to adopt healthier lifestyles, even if our journeys are shorter.

During the same week a couple of my clients confided that they were embarrassed and ashamed to tell others about their unhappiness with their bodies because they were a size 4 to begin with. They were previously made to feel like there was something wrong with them for being concerned, and learned to expect being laughed at and patronized with statements like "Oh honey you are obsessing. Have some cake!" In fact, I was recently saddened to hear one of my favorite people, Oprah, say something like "and I don't want to hear from you size 6's!" She meant it in good fun, but it drives home the point I am making.

These smaller women have experienced the woman on the phone in a number of different ways, and therefore have grown hesitant to share what they are going through, and are isolated by society.

Let me assure you that the women I am talking about are not "skinny." These particular women do not have any sort of eating disorder, and are not obsessing. Some carry as much as 30% body fat as indicated by my skin fold assessment in their first fitness session. Healthy levels are generally considered to be between 20% and 25% for American women. Even though these ladies wear smaller sizes, among other things they might have little-to-no muscle tone and have a higher probability of insufficient bone density, but they are perceived as being "healthy" and "slim." Do you know that a risk factor for osteoporosis is never having been heavier than 127 pounds? Smaller women have a higher risk factor than heavier women in this area.

I think everyone's journey is important, but I think it's time that there be a place strictly for smaller women so that they can share their stories without fear of being minimized. They should have their own place with people who understand and appreciate what they are going through.

My client, Nora, said it best when she said "cellulite on a small body is still cellulite." We admire each of you for taking control of yourself before things get too far out of hand. She and I and all of the smaller women everywhere fully appreciate how much you hate those 20 pounds of fat, and we will support you as you get rid of them. We applaud you for doing the right things week after week, even when you don't want to, to keep your bodies healthy and strong. So join us at the:

S-maller
L-adies
I-n
M-otion

"SLIM" Club. Log on to www.thebodysculptress.com and find "The SLIM Club" button. Put your own personal story on the internet for us. We'll look for you there.