America Doesn’t Have An Obesity Problem — You Do
This world profits off you hating yourself
Photo by AllGo - An App For Plus Size People on Unsplash
I knew I shouldn’t. I knew I’d regret it. But out of morbid curiosity, I stepped on the scale.
I was the heaviest I’d ever been. I looked at the mirror and tugged at my stomach fat.
My thoughts raced a thousand miles a minute and I was assaulted by internal doubts–Do I need to lose weight? Do I even want to? Am I doing it for society’s approval? Why is it so important?
Our society shames women who are fat. But does body size define who we are? Should we be ashamed of our bodies?
Fatphobia and the weightloss pandemic
Do I need to lose weight?
Maybe. Extra weight is associated with all types of diseases. Exercise is important too if you want a longer, healthier life.
But everywhere you turn, you see pretty pictures of women on beaches, touting their abs in bikinis. You see the inspirational before and after pictures, and people victorious over their weight loss.
What you don’t see is the underlying, menacing truth. Society has conditioned us to believe being thin will make you happy and healthy.
This mentality is everywhere and it’s dangerous. It contributes to mental health and eating disorders. It contributes to women, mostly fat people, not feeling safe and comfortable in their bodies.
Many don’t associate fatphobia with harassment. They fail to realize It’s as real as sexism, racism, and ableism.
It has become the norm to fat-shame people, especially women. Even disabled people are treated better. Fat people should be treated better because they’re human with feelings.
In a world that hates fat bodies, it’s a revolution to love bigger-size bodies.
By refusing to lose weight, I’m flipping a huge f*ck you to society. It’s liberating to not give a shit about how much I weigh.
It’s freeing to be unabashedly, unashamedly yourself. This world profits off you hating yourself. Having a larger body makes a statement. It’s taking power back and asking why we should be ashamed of our bodies.
My story
I’m scared of becoming obsessed. You see, I’ve struggled with disordered eating for a long time.
I used to count calories obsessively. I couldn’t eat a handful of pistachios without calculating in my head if it was a half cup or quarter cup and ‘what’s the caloric difference in this?’
Photo by Maksim Shutov on Unsplash
I went through spells. I counted calories and restricted the foods I loved until nobody was watching and I snapped. Immediately, out came the chips and ice cream, and I would binge it like nobody’s business. Guilt would accompany it in waves.
The one thing I had going for me was that I didn’t purge. I convinced myself I didn’t have a problem because I didn’t have a real eating disorder. I was in a bad mental state.
Now, for the first time in my life, my mental space has never been better. I feel clear and happy. But when I consider losing weight, I panic. In my head, I go back to when I would count out the number of pretzels I would eat. I fear an inevitable decline. I don’t want to go back there.
When I was losing weight, I seemed fine physically, but mentally I was in ruins. And I’m not the only one.
This pressure to lose weight affects so many young women and men. The pressure to look a certain way leads to starving themselves until they can count their rib bones.
We equate health and body size. You think a fat person isn’t healthy and a thin person is. But there are thin people who are much unhealthier than fat people.
Being thin isn’t necessarily a good thing. It could mean they’re sick or struggling with an eating disorder. Being fat isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I know fat people who literally run miles.
Then there’s the secret life of those who are struggling.
Take writer, Roxanne Gay. She discusses how food and her body became a shield for her. After being gang-raped at 12, it was the only thing she had.
It was a way for her to cope after a traumatic experience. So you never know what others are going through.
Final Thoughts
Being fat is not a crime. There are more important things to worry about than somebody else’s health and weight. Fatness is not a problem for you to fix.
You can’t go around policing other people’s bodies. The only thing you can do is make the best decisions for yourself.
My weight doesn’t define who I am as a person. It doesn’t change who I am.
I’m more than my body size, and so are you.
I tell stories and give advice to those battling depression, anxiety, insecurity, and low-self esteem. Join my email list here.
