Burning Man

In the past, I've been accused of having a somewhat dysmorphic view of my body.  I will admit that I've often seen fat and flaws in proportion that may not be realistic.
When I was 118 pounds at age 19, I used to walk around wearing a girdle so my "fat" wouldn't stick out. 
To me, the overweight proportions of my body are very, very real.  Startlingly, humiliatingly, real.
For 4 years now, I've been struggling with the fact that I suddenly have and extra 30 lbs on my body and it's made me feel terrible about myself.
At Burning Man this year, I had to make some decisions regarding how much skin I was willing to expose and how neurotic I was going to be about it.  Burning Man is full of half-naked women with perfect figures.
There are so many, in fact, that you stop comparing yourself to them because it just becomes overwhelming and depressing if you let it.
Granted, there are plenty of out-of-shape naked people as well, but that's a cold comfort when you're as self-obsessed and vain as I am.
However, walking around half-naked in the inescapable sweltering heat in front of 30 thousand people has taught me a few valuable lessons;
1) I'm really not nearly as fat as I think I am
2) My legs need some serious work, but this doesn't mean I'm fat and need to starve myself to death-- rather, I can just-- you  know-- work out my legs and build some more overall muscle and I should be fine

3) Even with an extra 30 pounds, I am proportioned very well, with nice firm breasts and a small waist.

I've decided to only weigh myself once per month from now on as well as stop obsessively counting calories.  I will try to eat as close to a Paleo diet as possible and spend at least a few hours a week on the stationary bike at the gym.
Most of all, I'm going to try to stop hating myself every damn time I look at more than just my face in the mirror.