Overweight America and Body Positivity - Comments

I try my absolute best not to judge anyone on their weight. Of all things to judge someone on, it says very little about their person.
Because I mean I'm a healthy weight. I look thin enough to pass as "attractive" as defined by many. But I'm incredibly unhealthy. I hate exercising and I eat WAY too many lollies. But I have a good metabolism. I just stay thin, within reason.
You can see someone plus-sized but you have no idea what they're going through. Maybe they do eat junk all day and sit on the couch doing nothing. But maybe they eat really healthy, and exercise, and look after themselves. You can't tell by just looking at someone.
I think it sucks that I never get anyone telling me I'm gross and to stop eating Mc Donald's etc. but I am not a healthy person. Whereas someone plus-sized and healthy may be getting this every day.
I think the focus should be switched to healthy living and not to how people look. Because it tells us nothing. And really, it's none of our business. Life is more than healthy eating and going to the gym for a lot of people.

Posts like these aren't helping anybody. They're destructive. I don't understand why people care what other people look like? If it doesn't affect you, then why do you care?

Honestly, it takes people an insane amount of time to learn to be comfortable with themselves. Overweight people, "fat" people, live in a society where it's not okay to be look like that. We (because yes, I'm also fat) grow up feeling ashamed of ourselves, ashamed of our bodies, embarrassed about eating in public, about taking up too much space on buses and in cars. It takes years to undo socialization and learn not to hate yourself.

And then one day, some anonymous person on the internet writes a post about how being overweight is "unhealthy" (like we don't already know, haven't read the posts, looked at the science of it all, considered alternatives) and what? We're supposed to feel guilted into wanting to be skinny? Even though it took some of us YEARS to not hate ourselves?

I was fat before I was 6 years old and I hated myself before I was 11. I'm 21 now and learning to undo everything that's been said to me, every taunt, every anonymous jab, every weight loss commercial and infomercial that were created by people to make money off of shame.

I've learned that there's more important things than being skinny. I can never imagine myself being skinny, don't even know if I want to be. I didn't become fat because of a medical condition - I have no "excuse" and I don't want one. I played sports for 10 years, every school year and summer and I'm still fat. I would have to devote my life to losing weight if I want to be skinny, but I don't want to. I'm too busy becoming successful, becoming happy, teaching myself to ignore BS and people who are concerned with the way I look.

The thing is, someone may look fat/obese to you, but they might actually lead a super healthy lifestyle. I've always been a fat person. When I was young I had to take pills because of a leg surgery I had. The weight gain from the pills and being in a wheelchair caused me to put on a lot of extra weight. However, fast forward about six years. I played soccer and softball. I walked to and from school every day (with the exception of winter and rainy days). I was active. When depression really started hitting me, I gained even more weight. I had to take more pills due to health problems that weren't part of my weight, but everything else. Now, I'm off the pills. I don't take anything. However, my severe anxiety and depression make going out torturous. I am terrified of going out because I know I'm fat. I'm always worried about people talking about me and laughing or about someone taking a picture of me and posting it everywhere (something that's starting to happen much more). It's terrifying to think about. So I have to work out at home. I want to go to the gym and walk like I used to. Having mental issues and the immune system of a kitten sucks. The point of all this is the fact that you have absolutely no idea what kind of life people lead. It doesn't matter if the person in question is fat or skinny. Body shaming of any kind is not okay. Putting down one weight to up another is not okay. Honest to God, I'm a firm believer in the 'every body is beautiful' thing.

It isn't your body. It isn't your concern. There are so many people out there putting down fat people (mostly, but it does happen to thin people) and saying, "you're fat, you need to lose weight. I'm just trying to save you- to help you." Like??? Unless you're a doctor you have NO RIGHT to say that to me or anyone else. It's the same thing when people joke around about skinny people needing to eat a burger. It's not right.

I will add this, though: As someone that is fat (I'm larger than a size 16), seeing fat-shaming going on hurts me. It makes me close in on myself even more. People can say bullying works for them. They can say it helped them lose weight. But for me, personally, I have a long history of being bullied and it makes me close myself away. It fucking hurts, tbh. I like being pushed, but not bullied into working out.

Idk, I've been wanting to vent about this for a long time. All of the 'you's in this are general. I swear I'm not calling you out or trying to be a dick.

My opinion: The only person you (general you) should be concerned with about anything is yourself. If someone wants to be size 0, size 12, size 16, that's quite frankly no one's concern but that persons'.

Body shaming is not okay.

I just don't think anyone should tell anyone, "skinny" or "fat", whether or not they're healthy.

Obesity is a problem in America, I'm not denying that.

But I do not think it's necessary or helpful for people who are not doctors or who are not properly educated on nutritional health (myself included) to tell others that they're unhealthy. Especially when their statements are based solely on what they look like.

The biggest issue, in my opinion, is that people are too focused on LOOKS. You can be "fat" and eat healthy. Some people are just naturally bigger and have a higher percentage of body fat than others, even if they eat perfectly healthy, exercise regularly, etc. Same with some "skinny" people - I know people (my boyfriend, for example) who are sticks. He's so skinny, but he eats like shit. You wouldn't guess that by looking at him.

People's sizes are not relevant. A size 16 does not equal "fat" nor does it equal "unhealthy". A size 8 does not equal "skinny" nor does it equal "healthy".

The size isn't the problem. You can't look at someone and know if they're healthy or not. A size 16 can EASILY be a healthy weight.

My opinion is that people should not tell other people that they need to lose weight or anything like that. I'm not pro-fat shaming as I think it won't be effective at all and I think that it's no one else's business (unless it's a close family member). However, I completely agree with you that fat people shouldn't be promoted as having good and healthy bodies. Because it's not healthy, obviously, and because it furthers the delusions that are prevalent in society these days. These ideas that reality isn't reality. That there are no definites, absolutes; "everything is a social construct." That being unhealthy isn't really unhealthy because everything is an illusion. It's just another factor leading to the breakdown of people's strength, their minds, their will.

Also, I used to have hypothyroidism and it runs in my family. Yet, when I had it, I was able to lose about 25 lbs (this was when I was 11). So I don't get why that is an excuse to not be a healthy weight (especially if you're taking meds). Since then my thyroid levels have gone to normally. Its really not that hard to lose weight if you are a healthy state of mind. If you are in an unhealthy mindset, yeah, it will seem impossible. In my opinion, most fat people need to fix their minds before they can fix their bodies. There's something wrong with you if you don't want to be healthy. I've lost about 15 lbs in the past month and it's been really easy for me because my mind was completely clear when I started - and then after I started, I became even more mentally clear because all the sugar and stuff stopped clogging my brain.

Anyway, yeah, that's my long winded opinion.