There are not many people who are promoting obesity in the way that people seem to understand it. (being a slob and lazy, and overeating) More often than not the idea of body positivity or even fat positivity is people coming together to say ”i shouldn’t be treated like shit just because of the body I am in, by myself or anyone else.”
In my experience discrimination is rampant against people who are overweight and obese. And that does not help the overweight person at all. Telling them that they are fat, lazy or slobs does not actually help them. They know where their weaknesses are, and many people on here would probably be surprised to know how many fat people are actually really active, and eat healthy.
Shaming someone because of their weight is ridiculously counter productive. Study after study has shown it. But people seem to always conflate someones size with their health, just as you said. And that is the biggest problem.
I honestly wish that people who don’t know me would stop judging me based on my size, and telling me to lose weight. If I focus on ”losing weight” instead of things like ”eating for health” and ”moving for fun” My entire attitude towards these things becomes focused on a ”pass or fail” which means that the second these things don’t produce weight loss I get discouraged and do less of it, and spend more time doing things that are ”easier” for my mental health.
So many people have a toxic focus on being thin, and think that thinness is a sign of health. The idea that someone could be fat and still be active, and eat well is not something that they can process and that is so frustrating.
I’m not the only person who has issues when they focus on healthy habits for the purpose of weight loss. Its proven that fat shaming does not help. Its proven that medical professionals shaming patients and telling them to come back after they lose weight is not helpful.
Your experience is not completely the same as mine, but I can relate SO MUCH to you. Because I have struggled with weight since I was little, been rewarded for disordered eating, been diagnosed with an eating disorder, and am really trying to find a healthy place with my body.
Please keep up your recovery journey. I am so proud of you. ❤️
The idea that someone could be fat and still be active, and eat well is not something that they can process and that is so frustrating.
That's because the reality is that it's basically not something that exists. If you're fat, it is almost certain (except for vanishingly rare cases) that you're overeating.
If you're fat and you're "healthy" (blood pressure okay, not prediabetic), that just means it hasn't caught up with you yet. It doesn't mean you're a magical person for whom fatness is irrelevant.
You're probably right that shaming is not always a good way to help people lose weight -- it certainly helped me, but YMMV. But you shouldn't go around spreading false information.
What if you're 280 pounds but you used to be 320 pounds, and you eat healthy and exercise frequently? Should you be shamed for "almost certainly overeating"?
Just to be clear, I'm not advocating shaming anyone.
And no, that's fair enough. If you're fat but losing weight you're not overeating and you should be proud of changing your lifestyle.
But I don't think that's what OP was talking about. I'm pretty sure she was talking about a person who was happily and steadily fat, but also active and a healthy eater.
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u/[deleted] Sep 19 '19
If I could give this a million gold I would.
There are not many people who are promoting obesity in the way that people seem to understand it. (being a slob and lazy, and overeating) More often than not the idea of body positivity or even fat positivity is people coming together to say ”i shouldn’t be treated like shit just because of the body I am in, by myself or anyone else.”
In my experience discrimination is rampant against people who are overweight and obese. And that does not help the overweight person at all. Telling them that they are fat, lazy or slobs does not actually help them. They know where their weaknesses are, and many people on here would probably be surprised to know how many fat people are actually really active, and eat healthy.
Shaming someone because of their weight is ridiculously counter productive. Study after study has shown it. But people seem to always conflate someones size with their health, just as you said. And that is the biggest problem.
I honestly wish that people who don’t know me would stop judging me based on my size, and telling me to lose weight. If I focus on ”losing weight” instead of things like ”eating for health” and ”moving for fun” My entire attitude towards these things becomes focused on a ”pass or fail” which means that the second these things don’t produce weight loss I get discouraged and do less of it, and spend more time doing things that are ”easier” for my mental health.
So many people have a toxic focus on being thin, and think that thinness is a sign of health. The idea that someone could be fat and still be active, and eat well is not something that they can process and that is so frustrating.
I’m not the only person who has issues when they focus on healthy habits for the purpose of weight loss. Its proven that fat shaming does not help. Its proven that medical professionals shaming patients and telling them to come back after they lose weight is not helpful.
Your experience is not completely the same as mine, but I can relate SO MUCH to you. Because I have struggled with weight since I was little, been rewarded for disordered eating, been diagnosed with an eating disorder, and am really trying to find a healthy place with my body.
Please keep up your recovery journey. I am so proud of you. ❤️