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Can you both desire to lose weight and be body positive?

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Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    eliciaobrien1 wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    micahnelson wrote: »
    If you hate yourself you wont love yourself enough to lose weight. But if you delude yourself into thinking that being overweight is positive, you're doing mental gymnastics to make up for your inability to do physical gymnastics.

    Nobody looks better overweight, nobody feels better overweight. You aren't a bad person and you shouldn't feel embarrassed about having a problem. My problem is just more visible than other people's problems. But it would be dangerous for me to call my problem a part of who I am, except from the perspective of a challenge to be overcome.

    people don't always look worse overweight and some do actually feel better overweight...

    and its' not mental gymnastics ...as I know lots of obese women (not personally) that can get into yoga poses I wouldn't dream of.

    I don't think that people who are overweight shouldn't lose the weight but....it shouldn't be an either/or thing.

    Being obese is not healthy. You can do all the yoga poses you want but just being obese, just having more fat on your body is not healthy.

    I think there's a difference between loving yourself and then thinking being overweight is okay. This is the slippery slope of "body positivity" and "fat acceptance". You hear these instagram stars say things like "I swim 2km a day" or "I can do yoga". The thing with these exercises is they're not very taxing on the body. I went hiking with my completely out of shape boyfriend when I was 230lbs. He is thin but not active and I almost died while he hadn't even broken a sweat.

    People usually look bad obese and I guarantee you they would all feel better if they weren't.

    I never said being obese was healthy but don't tell me obese people can't do gymnastics etc...they can.

    and actually as a woman having enough fat on the body is a requirement to be healthy.

    and not there isn't (imo) a slippery slope between Fat acceptance and body positivity ...

    you can look at yourself and know that you are fat or overweight but know that doesn't define who you are...and feel good about yourself and what your body can do while not liking that you are fat.

    and the hiking analogy doesn't prove anything...
  • whosshe
    whosshe Posts: 597 Member
    edited November 2017
    Oh stop kidding yourselves. Swimming cuts your weight significantly so it's literally less taxing on the body.

    Being overweight is not in and of itself unhealthy. It can raise your risk of disease, but regular activity can decrease it.

    No. Having more fat on your body raises your risk of disease, yes, which makes it unhealthy. Regular activity, unless you're burning fat, does not decrease it. Regular activity with no change in how much fat is on your body does not change how much fat is on your body. So it wouldn't change your risk of diseases.

    http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/14/health/fat-but-fit-myth-heart-disease-study/index.html

    https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/17/obesity-health-no-such-thing-as-fat-but-fit-major-study

    http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/fat-but-fit-myth-diet-fitness-obesity-complications-inclusive-a7741126.html (this one might give you "fat but fit" but definitely not fat and healthy)

    https://www.nhs.uk/news/lifestyle-and-exercise/fat-but-fit-still-at-higher-risk-of-heart-disease/

  • yskaldir
    yskaldir Posts: 202 Member
    Rosemary7391 wrote: »
    yskaldir wrote: »
    Once you have a nice body you can be quite positive about yourself.

    How do you know you've got a "nice body" if you're never positive about yourself?

    It's easy once people ask what your fitness youtube channel is called.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I find that ALL my fitness goals support the body positivity ethic. I can do more stuff, which makes me happy. I am also of the age as I lose weight I won't turn back in to a twenty year old. I sag. I wrinkle. I jiggle. Still happy. Spandex is for the jiggly bits.

    http://fatgirlrunning-fatrunner.blogspot.ca/

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toH4GcPQXpc

    I do find it harder to engage some larger friends, as they just don't see me as being in the same club any more. I have sympathy for how much harder things are for them, but if I'm not living large, they don't think I'll understand.
  • whosshe
    whosshe Posts: 597 Member
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29020414
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    edited November 2017
    eliciaobrien1 wrote: »
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    eliciaobrien1 wrote: »
    Oh stop kidding yourselves. Swimming cuts your weight significantly so it's literally less taxing on the body.

    Being overweight is not in and of itself unhealthy. It can raise your risk of disease, but regular activity can decrease it.

    No. Having more fat on your body raises your risk of disease, yes, which makes it unhealthy. Regular activity, unless you're burning fat, does not decrease it. Regular activity with no change in how much fat is on your body does not change how much fat is on your body. So it wouldn't change your risk of diseases.

    http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/14/health/fat-but-fit-myth-heart-disease-study/index.html

    https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/17/obesity-health-no-such-thing-as-fat-but-fit-major-study

    http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/fat-but-fit-myth-diet-fitness-obesity-complications-inclusive-a7741126.html (this one might give you "fat but fit" but definitely not fat and healthy)

    https://www.nhs.uk/news/lifestyle-and-exercise/fat-but-fit-still-at-higher-risk-of-heart-disease/


    All 3 of those reference the same study... which didn't actually review anything about "fat but fit"

    They literally all reviewed "fat but fit". Why would you need to do more than one study if one study proves "fat but fit" wrong?

    The thing with science is that once it's proved with evidence you don't really need to look at it again.

    what????

    and he said the study the 3 articles reference didn't touch on fat but fit...

    no woooo science...
  • whosshe
    whosshe Posts: 597 Member
    Woooo science!
  • ccruz985
    ccruz985 Posts: 646 Member
    edited November 2017
    Why on earth wouldn't you be? You can be positive and positively decide it's time for a change. Wanting to lose weight doesn't equate with hating yourself. I felt just fine about my body when I was 310lbs, I just decided there needed to be less of it.
  • Treece68
    Treece68 Posts: 780 Member
    Why not be whole self positive because you are making changes for all parts of you not just your body.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Treece68 wrote: »
    Why not be whole self positive because you are making changes for all parts of you not just your body.

    not sure i get that?

    I made changes for my health only.

    that's it.

    I have/had enough self esteem etc...
  • whosshe
    whosshe Posts: 597 Member
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    eliciaobrien1 wrote: »
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    eliciaobrien1 wrote: »
    Oh stop kidding yourselves. Swimming cuts your weight significantly so it's literally less taxing on the body.

    Being overweight is not in and of itself unhealthy. It can raise your risk of disease, but regular activity can decrease it.

    No. Having more fat on your body raises your risk of disease, yes, which makes it unhealthy. Regular activity, unless you're burning fat, does not decrease it. Regular activity with no change in how much fat is on your body does not change how much fat is on your body. So it wouldn't change your risk of diseases.

    http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/14/health/fat-but-fit-myth-heart-disease-study/index.html

    https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/17/obesity-health-no-such-thing-as-fat-but-fit-major-study

    http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/fat-but-fit-myth-diet-fitness-obesity-complications-inclusive-a7741126.html (this one might give you "fat but fit" but definitely not fat and healthy)

    https://www.nhs.uk/news/lifestyle-and-exercise/fat-but-fit-still-at-higher-risk-of-heart-disease/


    All 3 of those reference the same study... which didn't actually review anything about "fat but fit"

    They literally all reviewed "fat but fit". Why would you need to do more than one study if one study proves "fat but fit" wrong?

    The thing with science is that once it's proved with evidence you don't really need to look at it again.

    what????

    and he said the study the 3 articles reference didn't touch on fat but fit...

    no woooo science...

    can you find me any studies saying the contrary? Honestly. I've given you more evidence then you could ever give me and some how I'm wrong? okay.
  • SkylerisSquid
    SkylerisSquid Posts: 17 Member

    clicketykeys wrote: »
    I think a big part of body positivity is not only learning to love your own body, but supporting others in their decisions about what's best for their bodies, even when their goals are different from yours. I would suggest being careful about what you're saying when you're discussing what your goals are and how you want to "better" yourself. It's easy for that to come across as you saying that your goals are better in a GENERAL sense, even if that's not what you mean.

    I put it in quotes for that very reason because what I feel is better for myself may not be better for anyone or everyone else. Losing weight will never make you better than anyone else. I love the plus sized community (fashion in particular) and would never want to ostracize anyone in it.
  • NadNight
    NadNight Posts: 794 Member
    I think it is possible to be both. I am body positive but not body satisfied. I'm proud of where I am and the effort I've put in, I don't try and hide away and I'm confident. But I still see room for improving, getting stronger and more toned. I know that no matter what I weight or what clothes size I am or how toned I am, I'll probably never be 100% satisfied, there'll always be that one little thing so I learn to accept that as much as I can, focus of the positives and the things I can realistically improve
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Swimming was highly recommended by my weight management team as it is much easier on the joints. The obese often avoid exercise because of pain in the back, the joints, and the genuine fear of injury. The pool takes the strain off and allows for greater range of movement.

    One can put in enough effort in the pool to raise the cardio. So the muscles ARE working.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited November 2017
    I guess it depends what you mean by "body positive". When I motivated myself to lose weight it was because I decided I would benefit both in terms of appearance and in terms of health to be lower weight. I had gotten an unslightly paunch and I was more lethargic than I would like.

    In those terms I was negative towards my appearance but it was that negativity that inspired me to change what I didn't like. I never hated myself or disliked myself. I've never tied my appearance at any given point in time to "me" as an individual if that makes sense.

    So yeah I wasn't "body positive" in that I thought, yeeeash, I need to do something about this (pinching several inches). But it didn't make me feel particularly bad or anything. So not sure if that counts or what.

    I get confused when people act like their bodies ARE them and to be negative towards your physical appearance at a given moment is to be "mean" to yourself or something.

    If you want to change your appearance then you, by definition, don't like your current appeareance. There is nothing wrong with that. If you couple that with positive affirmations about how happy you are with your current body then you are just bullsh*tting yourself and I'm not sure really what that accomplishes.
  • cbohling1987
    cbohling1987 Posts: 99 Member
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    eliciaobrien1 wrote: »
    Oh stop kidding yourselves. Swimming cuts your weight significantly so it's literally less taxing on the body.

    Being overweight is not in and of itself unhealthy. It can raise your risk of disease, but regular activity can decrease it.

    No. Having more fat on your body raises your risk of disease, yes, which makes it unhealthy. Regular activity, unless you're burning fat, does not decrease it. Regular activity with no change in how much fat is on your body does not change how much fat is on your body. So it wouldn't change your risk of diseases.

    http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/14/health/fat-but-fit-myth-heart-disease-study/index.html

    https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/17/obesity-health-no-such-thing-as-fat-but-fit-major-study

    http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/fat-but-fit-myth-diet-fitness-obesity-complications-inclusive-a7741126.html (this one might give you "fat but fit" but definitely not fat and healthy)

    https://www.nhs.uk/news/lifestyle-and-exercise/fat-but-fit-still-at-higher-risk-of-heart-disease/

    this is a quote from the last link above:
    Most of the coverage repeated the line that it is not possible to be overweight and healthy, which is not what the study found.

    The study results showed obese people were at an increased risk of certain diseases, but that doesn't mean they will all get these diseases.

    It would seem you are going with the media spin, rather than the actual study results.

    That just points to the fact that "healthy" is a vague term (just like "body positivity" and "fat acceptance.") Where the precise line between "healthy" and "unhealthy" is isn't always clear.

    Instead of categorizing things (and activities and people) as "healthy" or "unhealthy" we should be looking at "more healthy" vs. "less healthy." An overweight person may already have a reasonable level of health, but they could certainly become more healthy by losing weight. A non-overweight person may also already have a reasonable level of health, but they could also become more healthy by exercising more and increasing their stamina.
  • clicketykeys
    clicketykeys Posts: 6,577 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    IIf you want to change your appearance then you, by definition, don't like your current appeareance.

    Ehhh. There are other reasons. Variety. Other peoples influence.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited November 2017
    clicketykeys wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    IIf you want to change your appearance then you, by definition, don't like your current appeareance.

    Ehhh. There are other reasons. Variety. Other peoples influence.

    Those are just a list of reasons why one might not like their current appearance. If someone is going to undertake the effort to change their appearance it is because they now prefer an appearance that is not their current one. You can get semantic about it but really that is just another way of saying that someone doesn't like their appearance. Again though, that isn't a bad thing nor does it mean that someone dislikes themselves. In my opinion a person and their appearance are not the same thing. One can dislike ones own appearance without saying anything about whether or not one dislikes themselves. I dislike it when my hair gets too long, that doesn't mean in that moment I think less of myself as a person. If I want to change my hairstyle for the sake of variety, it means I have gotten bored of what I currently look like. Again, doesn't mean I somehow dislike myself....but it does mean I like my current appearance less than a desired appearance.

    I think there are people who tie their personal self-worth to their appearance and I think those people likely project onto others that if those other people don't like their appearance they must have self-esteem issues. I'd argue that the ones who associate their self-worth with their appearance are the ones with self-esteem issues that need to be addressed...even if they are currently happy with their appearance at the moment.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    I get confused when people act like their bodies ARE them and to be negative towards your physical appearance at a given moment is to be "mean" to yourself or something.

    I said above that I am my body, but my point (as I said) is that wanting to change my body, make it healthier or even more aesthetically pleasing or stronger isn't, IMO, contrary to being body positive. The result of getting active again and taking better care of myself was feeling better about my body in some ways -- I appreciated that my body could do all the amazing things that are inherent to humanity (that it worked), as well as that I could walk and run and get stronger and better with work and so on, and I focused more on what I could do, not just how I looked. I stopped looking at myself just focusing on the aesthetics and the lacks (the "what's wrong with me gaze of self-hatred that I'd had when perfectly thin at other times) and was able to see eh, I'd like to improve that, or fat there that needs to go without feeling hatred or emotional about it.

    I don't think positivity means not seeing anything wrong or that one would want to improve, but the whole "ugh, disgusting" thing also would not work for me.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    cbohling1987 wrote: »
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    eliciaobrien1 wrote: »
    Oh stop kidding yourselves. Swimming cuts your weight significantly so it's literally less taxing on the body.

    Being overweight is not in and of itself unhealthy. It can raise your risk of disease, but regular activity can decrease it.

    No. Having more fat on your body raises your risk of disease, yes, which makes it unhealthy. Regular activity, unless you're burning fat, does not decrease it. Regular activity with no change in how much fat is on your body does not change how much fat is on your body. So it wouldn't change your risk of diseases.

    http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/14/health/fat-but-fit-myth-heart-disease-study/index.html

    https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/17/obesity-health-no-such-thing-as-fat-but-fit-major-study

    http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/fat-but-fit-myth-diet-fitness-obesity-complications-inclusive-a7741126.html (this one might give you "fat but fit" but definitely not fat and healthy)

    https://www.nhs.uk/news/lifestyle-and-exercise/fat-but-fit-still-at-higher-risk-of-heart-disease/

    this is a quote from the last link above:
    Most of the coverage repeated the line that it is not possible to be overweight and healthy, which is not what the study found.

    The study results showed obese people were at an increased risk of certain diseases, but that doesn't mean they will all get these diseases.

    It would seem you are going with the media spin, rather than the actual study results.

    That just points to the fact that "healthy" is a vague term (just like "body positivity" and "fat acceptance.") Where the precise line between "healthy" and "unhealthy" is isn't always clear.

    Instead of categorizing things (and activities and people) as "healthy" or "unhealthy" we should be looking at "more healthy" vs. "less healthy." An overweight person may already have a reasonable level of health, but they could certainly become more healthy by losing weight. A non-overweight person may also already have a reasonable level of health, but they could also become more healthy by exercising more and increasing their stamina.

    But similarly if one is fat and sedentary and wants to get healthier one could focus on getting more fit through exercise vs. dieting. I don't think it's going to prohibit later focusing on weight loss and it's a positive change.

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