Size acceptance. Dieting. Weight loss...Can they go hand in hand?
Today I shared this photo on facebook:
Melissa Mccarthy has lost some weight recently, citing that she wants to be a good mom and be around for her kids. So, I guess that could be summed up by saying health reasons.
I felt the need when I shared the above pic, to add a comment, about how I believe she's lost weight, and it's hard to walk that line between size acceptance and weight loss. I once suggested my blog to a friend and she said she didn't want to read it because she believed in size acceptance. This was kind of annoying, because so do I. At the same time, I have diabetes, non alcoholic fatty liver disease, high cholesterol, and I'm teetering on the edge of high blood pressure. Basically I'm dying, I get that we're all dying, I'm just dying a little faster than I should be. Given my family history, (dad died at age 48 I believe, didn't even see 50, before he was lost to complications from diabetes. He died in pieces.) Sorry if I don't want that to be my future. WHEW! Sorry got off on a little rant.
So is it possible to be size positive while trying to get healthy? She told me, she believes in health at any size. So do I! I just happen to know from measurable data that at this size I am slowly killing myself. I know someone else may be fine. I am not.
I really don't know the answer to this question, what are your thoughts? Leave your answers in the comments below!
I'm so glad you posted this, because this is something I've been trying to reconcile for a while. On the one hand, I want to prove that there's nothing wrong with being fat and that we should stop making fun of fat people and calling them unhealthy - but at the same time, I think I personally am unhealthy, and I would like to lose weight. But I feel like I would be a hypocrite for doing so, like by trying to lose weight I'm agreeing that I'm not worth as much or something.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to find a balance in two ways:
1.) While I agree that people CAN be healthy at (almost) any size, I know that I personally AM NOT healthy at this size. When I was in college, I weighed 244 pounds, and I was healthy. Now I'm 314-ish, and that 70 pounds has made a huge difference. I now have high blood pressure. My knees and back hurt all the time (not sure if back is related to weight or not but I know the knees would like me to lose a bit). I think what everyone needs to remember (myself included!) is that just because I'm not healthy right now doesn't mean that other people at my size aren't healthy. There are so many other factors, and I really think weight is more a symptom of those problems than anything else.
2.) Going along with the first one, I keep trying to remind myself that the number on the scale doesn't really matter. It's the quality of food that I eat. It's the exercise I get. A fat person who exercises regularly and eats lots of fruits and veggies is most likely going to be healthier than a skinny person who sits on the couch and eats processed junk all the time. I try to remind myself that as long as I can move and get the right nutrients, I will fix my health problems, and if the weight comes off, too, great - if not, it doesn't matter.
That said, I still would like to be smaller simply because I don't want to have to buy more clothes. I want to fit in a desk at school (I'm a teacher) without having to worry that I won't fit. I want to be able to climb the ladder to the attic and not worry that it will break. I want to not have to worry about fitting into seats other places. Which is why I still feel like a fraud anytime I talk about size positivity. The last thing I do to convince myself I'm not too much of a hypocrite is remember that I'm not trying to be skinny, even when I do really want to lose weight. I want to get back down to a size 18, MAYBE a 16. I still like being soft and squishy. I'll still be fat according to most people and BMI charts. I just won't be as fat.
And sorry for such a long comment!
No problem, I welcome the comment. All of your last paragraph was full of "I" statements. Clearly you want to do this for your, I get the fitting into a desk thing, I get wanting to still be squishy, I have a similar goal. There is a conversation going on over on my personal facebook about this post. The most useful comment that was left said:
ReplyDelete"First of all keep posting your blog stuff on Facebook because it reminds me to read it... Second of all your friend that will not read your blog seems a bit pretentious. There is nothing on your blog that would indicate that you are not size positive. However, it is about your personal journey to health...and if your friend doesn't want to read about that they are an idiot. The two have nothing to do with one another."
I suggest you take that to heart, since you are worried about what other people in the size acceptance movement might think of you. It's rough, but our health is very important and honestly, even if you WANTED to lose weight on the way to getting healthy (as I do, I want my boobs to shrink! Buying bras, hell, buying CLOTHES is a challenge at this size!) I mean it's your body and bodily autonomy is important, I want to be smaller for all sorts of reasons, health and ease of shopping and having greater MOBILITY are all reasons for me. I don't hate myself NOW in the body that I'm in, I don't think I'm ugly and I'm not down on myself about my weight because I think fat people are gross so being fat is a bad thing. I want to be healthy, I want to be able to get to my condo on the third floor without feeling like my heart will burst. If anyone can't understand these things, sorry, but my health and happiness comes before worrying about what other people think of me. That goes both ways. I give not a single shit if people think I'm fat and ugly and I give not a single shit if people think i'm wrong for wanting to be healthy. The other side of the argument clearly does just as much damage if people like you and are are ashamed to treat our bodies well and strive for good health because another size positive person might criticize us! It's a damn shame, and I invite you to really look inward and see what YOU want, WHY you want it and to go about changing your life for all the reasons that are important to you and you alone.