Is It Wise to Promote “Fat Acceptance” for Body Positivity Movement?
In one episode of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” the American political commentator and television host criticized the culture in America that promotes not only “fat acceptance” but “fat celebration.”
I don’t really know how to talk about this topic without offending anyone. However, as a Fitness coach and a passionate advocate for women’s healthy bodies, this has been on my mind for the last two years.
Reading the article about Bill Maher’s reaction to the direction America is heading regarding the respect and care of our bodies has brought to the surface all of my emotions and thoughts on the subject — thoughts I have been suppressing so hard and for so long, I can’t contain them anymore.
And so, I am just going to “let it all out.” I respectfully ask that you please read all the way to the end and allow me to explain the “whole situation” before you judge either Bill Maher or me.
I want you to know that I am on the side of ALL women, and my burning desire as a Fitness coach is to help women free themselves completely from food slavery and body shaming.
Imagine you are in high school, and you have a new boyfriend. Neither your parents nor your best friend approves of this young man, and for a very good reason: he is Big Trouble, and he has a history of alcohol abuse, cheating, and abusive relationships.
But this time, because of you, he will change…because you are special, he says. However, your best friend sees the whole picture, and she is trying to save you from harm — so she tells you the TRUTH you don’t want to hear.
So, you find a new ‘best’ friend who tells you exactly what you want to hear: that your boyfriend is madly in love with you, and he will do anything for you…which is a lie because she is actually Big Trouble, too.
But, swept away by your “whirlwind romance,” you can’t see your new ‘best’ friend’s true intentions: she is trying to get into your new boyfriend’s circle of popular friends, to get one of those cute troublemaker boyfriends for herself.
So how does this relate to the ‘fat acceptance’ topic?
We are the naive girl who is madly in love with the bad boyfriend in this scenario. Bill Maher, in his article, expresses it perfectly:
“We are rewriting science to fit the ideology, to fit what you want reality to be.”
He is the TRUE best friend in this scenario, who is trying to warn us and keep us healthy and safe.
Let’s say I am your coach, and you have hired me to help you lose weight. After six months of working out, you haven’t lost any weight and aren’t happy about it. But instead of evaluating what went wrong and examining the reason(s) why my coaching wasn’t effective, I simply shrug and tell you that you should just embrace your body the way it is because it will never change anyway.
Well, the same scenario is happening within the Medical Community, with Dietitians and Nutritionists — because they are not able to change the obesity stats. In fact, the numbers are getting worse every year.
Today, 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese. But these medical professionals are just shrugging and telling us to accept it and celebrate it. And here is another of Bill Maher’s reactions:
“‘Healthy at any weight’ is an unchallenged lie that people tell themselves so they can go on eating whatever they want.”
I understand the war against the “skinny model” look. I have always been against it because I know how unhealthy it is. The ‘skinny model’ look is extreme, but so is the “fat celebration” look; they are both harmful to our health, and they both destroy our mental balance. Both looks make a person a slave to either food, alcohol, or drugs.
When a person who is 30 pounds overweight accepts her body and celebrates it instead of doing something about it, it doesn’t change her cholesterol level, doesn’t lower her heart rate, doesn’t heal her diabetes, doesn’t cure her cancer, and doesn’t give her the freedom to do physical activities like hiking, biking, or playing tennis, because of knee problems.
What kind of “best friend” tells her best friend to go ahead and date the bad guy — go ahead and celebrate it?
Does this “fat acceptance” actually work in reality?
Let’s say a person has been ashamed of her weight, and she realizes it is time to lose it. But then she discovers that it requires some food control and exercise and dedication, so instead, she publicly embraces and accepts her weight.
However, deep down, nothing changes (and I will be very detailed and direct about this due to my many years of competing and coaching, and I absolutely understand the body-shaming mind).
She still stays home from events because she doesn’t feel comfortable being around people; she still doesn’t go on vacations because she doesn’t want to put on a bathing suit, and it is also physically painful to travel; she still doesn’t go shopping because every mirror and reflective window reminds her of the size of her body; she still doesn’t change her eating habits; she still doesn’t like going to work because her co-workers are trim and fit; she still doesn’t pursue her dream career because of her low self-esteem; and most importantly, she still doesn’t boost her zest for life.
Yes, we may accept and embrace our physique publicly — but what about on the inside (our mind and our health)?
So, the question is, how exactly is “fat acceptance” helping?
It definitely doesn’t help to heal the illness that excess weight is causing, and it doesn’t fix our feelings of unworthiness. So, the person with an overweight body is not benefiting from this movement at all, just like YOU with your new bad boyfriend in my scenario. YOU are the only person who will pay the price if you listen to your new ‘best’ friend and stay with your new “madly in love” boyfriend — and tragically, the price you’ll pay is huge: physical injuries, illness, depression.
So, WHO benefits from this ‘fat acceptance” movement?
I have been watching this trend in the athletic clothing business for the last two years. Maher has mentioned it too (so I am not the only crazy one): “Companies like Nike, Sports Illustrated, and Victoria’s Secret, that are specifically about fit bodies, have nevertheless begun to promote people who are clearly not into fitness.”
Sadly, I really wish I didn’t have to mention them because they are my favorite clothing stores; women’s athletic clothing companies like Athleta and Lululemon have fallen into this trend as well. But why would any of these athletic companies want to follow this trend, seeing as how they are Health and Fitness advocates?
Because they are about business first, Health and Fitness second. By promoting “fat acceptance,” they gain a huge new marketing demographic with many new customers. Just like your new not-so-best friend in my scenario, they don’t care about the consequences of your choice to stay in a bad relationship.
Instead, she only cares about getting access to the new social territory where she will be better able to find a new boyfriend. (And I am not even opening the “Big Money in Pharmaceuticals” kind of worms, which includes diet pills, heart medications, diabetes medications, and blood pressure medications.) Instead, we embrace the illnesses because, “Thankfully, there’s a pill for that.”
But please don’t just take my word for it. Check it out on your own and try to picture your life, should you choose to follow the TRUE best friend’s advice versus the not-so-great friend’s advice. Which advice will take you farther? Did you know that obesity is associated with a reduced life expectancy, largely because obese individuals are at increased risk of so many medical complications?
The Oxford University researchers found that even moderate obesity, which is now common, reduces life expectancy by about 3 years and that severe obesity can shorten a person’s life by 10 years. Also, a study shows that exercise is potentially linked to longer lifespans and lower death rates.
An overweight body is not
just dealing with extra weight!
I know that something much bigger is going on with a person who is enslaved by her bad food habits and choices, and therefore the solution will not be a quick fix. However, telling her that she should simply embrace it and celebrate it is basically telling her that she is too weak and incapable of being in charge of her body, health, and life.
In my scenario, your true best friend and your parents know your talents, value, and worth. Thus, they know that you deserve a much better boyfriend — someone who is loving, respectful, and loyal! You, too, deserve a healthier and more capable body!
We all came into this world with our skills, talents, and abundant love to share. Those talents and skills come first as gentle nudges, and later they turn into those big dreams that burn within us, just waiting to burst forth.
How many dreams are trapped inside of you simply because you are ashamed of your body? Are you sharing your talent to its fullest potential, or are diabetes, high blood pressure, back pain, knee injuries, headaches, shortness of breath, and other restraints holding you back?
I know it is easy to decide with a high sign — but as a naive high schooler, it might be confusing and challenging to decide whose advice to follow.
Here is a Five-Star Tip: Answer this question as honestly as possible (no one is watching): Will those who follow your current path (for example, your children) find TRUE HAPPINESS?
Will the path of your lifestyle (food choices, physical activities, and self-respect) take them to become Who they will respect, love, and be proud of? If the path won’t take them there, why would YOU choose to remain on that path?
If you believe something to be very bad,
yet you do it anyway,
you will have a detrimental experience.
Ladies, let’s be honest ☺, we kind of knew when we were dating the ‘bad boy’; but regardless, we wanted to believe that “this time it will be different.” Before the “fat acceptance” movement, our culture, our businesses, and all the media portrayed and sold the idea that the perfect body took the shape of a skinny, starving model.
Now, they tell us to ‘celebrate fat.’ That’s quite a difference in opinion. So, what makes you think that this time it is truly only about our well-being and not about the profit?
Before you can master the world,
first, you must learn to master yourself.
Don’t fall into the feel-good trap of “Fat Celebration” just because others think you are too weak and incapable of getting your body into fit and healthy shape! You are 100% WORTHY of your wholesome body! And you absolutely can transform your body if you truly desire it.
It is never too late to get on a healthy path because if you lose weight, it can prevent (and even reverse) your health problems.
Yes, the best time to start healthy habits was 20 years ago — BUT!!! The second-best time is now. Just remember to celebrate ‘Health and Self-Respect’ instead of the big fat lie called ‘Fat Acceptance.’
A healthy body not only holds less weight;
it holds more JOY and PEACE!
