Has self love gone too far?

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Replies

  • 1PatientBear
    1PatientBear Posts: 2,089 Member
    I just want the topic of this thread on my news feed. Just pretend I'm not here....
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
    Fat people know we're fat. We know it's unhealthy. And we know most people hate us for it. Seriously. So, do you think that internalizing that hatred is constructive and helps us get and stay motivated to get healthy? Or does it tend to make people hate themselves enough to keep being more and more unhealthy?

    "Everyone knows that the reason I am fat is because I am a gluttonous, lazy sack of *kitten* with no self-control. They're probably right. It would take me months, years even, to lose weight and be healthy. I can't do that. I'm too weak and horrible. TO EVEN TRY TO BE HEALTHY WOULD BE FUTILE, I AM SUCH A BROKEN LOSER. Since I am already disgusting and fat, and it doesn't matter what happens to me because I'm not a worthwhile person, and since I can't do anything about it, why not try to spackle over the wound in my heart with another slice of cake? Or more bacon. Bacon will never reject me. Bacon doesn't think I'm a loser. "

    And the cycle continues. Congratulations for concern trolling obese people with the totally insincere fear that they are sending the message that it's okay to be obese, that it glamorizes obesity. AS IF there's any real possibility that people are in danger of thinking obesity is healthy, or purposefully getting fat to be glamorous. YOU ABSOLUTELY KNOW THAT'S NOT TRUE, NO ONE ACTUALLY BELIEVES THAT, so stop it.
  • bvincentelp
    bvincentelp Posts: 36 Member
    i'm of the mindset that if you are genuinly comfortable with yourself, then you don't have to go to extraordinary lengths to prove it to the world.

    Very true.

    If I saw someone dressed (or rather undressed) like that in public, brave is not the word that would come to mind, crazy would be the word.

    STOP THE BOAT!

    Wait a minute!

    I didn't even look at the article, but are you saying a woman who dresses to show off what she is proud of is crazy???

    Doesn't even have to be a woman, let me rephrase - anyone walking around in public in their underwear I would think is a bit nutty, off their meds, or in other words - a bit crazy. When is the last time you walked around downtown or rode a bus or went to work in only your underwear?
  • CorvusCorax77
    CorvusCorax77 Posts: 2,536 Member
    i'm of the mindset that if you are genuinly comfortable with yourself, then you don't have to go to extraordinary lengths to prove it to the world.

    Very true.

    If I saw someone dressed (or rather undressed) like that in public, brave is not the word that would come to mind, crazy would be the word.

    STOP THE BOAT!

    Wait a minute!

    I didn't even look at the article, but are you saying a woman who dresses to show off what she is proud of is crazy???

    Doesn't even have to be a woman, let me rephrase - anyone walking around in public in their underwear I would think is a bit nutty, off their meds, or in other words - a bit crazy. When is the last time you walked around downtown or rode a bus or went to work in only your underwear?

    ....I tend to find excuses to wear my bikini in public with booty shorts. Close enough?
  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
    So the key finding to inner peace and acceptance is seeking validation from outside sources in the form of over the top displays in which you have to call to other peoples attention with a sharpie that you are beautiful?

    Well take that sharpie and color me skeptical.

    1. Accepting the fat you carry around on your body is completely optional and perfectly reversible. Every one has to decide on their own how much of it they are willing to carry around. It doesn't make one person better than the other.
    2. The second this lady or anyone else attempts to lose weight they are saying they don't accept their current physical condition which is also fine. It doesn't mean you hate yourself.
    3. The people you never hear peep out of about their own self acceptance are likely the people that have self acceptance.
    4. Obesity is not a healthy condition. Smoking is not healthy. Drug addiction is not healthy. Anybody who this applies too should love themselves or whatever, doesn't mean its good for them to not make changes.
  • Papillon22
    Papillon22 Posts: 1,160 Member
    But I do believe everyone should take care of themselves.
    What do you guys think?
    I think that your idea of self-care is different from hers.
  • bvincentelp
    bvincentelp Posts: 36 Member
    i'm of the mindset that if you are genuinly comfortable with yourself, then you don't have to go to extraordinary lengths to prove it to the world.

    Very true.

    If I saw someone dressed (or rather undressed) like that in public, brave is not the word that would come to mind, crazy would be the word.

    STOP THE BOAT!

    Wait a minute!

    I didn't even look at the article, but are you saying a woman who dresses to show off what she is proud of is crazy???

    Doesn't even have to be a woman, let me rephrase - anyone walking around in public in their underwear I would think is a bit nutty, off their meds, or in other words - a bit crazy. When is the last time you walked around downtown or rode a bus or went to work in only your underwear?

    ....I tend to find excuses to wear my bikini in public with booty shorts. Close enough?

    No, not close enough. The clothes you mention were actually made for public wearing. You might want to at least look at the pictures in the article, like the subway shot of her in bra and panties. Once again, I see someone running around in their undies where undies are not the normal attire, I would think mental health issues.
  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
    Well I think she is brave.

    Honestly, I really hate seeing people criticize someone for an action like this. I mean, honestly, when people allow themselves to become obese, it is usually (NOT ALWAYS) because on some level, they do not love themselves. And sometimes, before you can work on your body, you have to learn to love yourself. And part of learning to love yourself is accepting your body.

    So no, I do not think self love has gone too far. I think that as she learns to love her body, she will decide to take better care of it, and in time, she will craft herself a healthier body.

    Most of the time people become obese because they eat too much and are lazy.

    Why does someone have to love their body to love themself? Isn't that still putting just as much emphasis on looks as before, which is what they're all trying to stop?

    (disclaimer:I'm not being hostile or picking on you. I would have said it to anyone who posted this)

    For what it's worth, I agree with you.

    I think I'm pretty awesome. I thought that at 311 lbs (my starting weight). I think that now at 201 lbs.

    I was fat because I ate too much and exercised too little. And at the time, I valued other attributes much higher than fitness.

    "You're fat because you're mental" is a creepy projection that some people seem to clasp onto here.

    It's great that she found a project to work on - if it makes her feel better about herself somehow - even better.

    But I don't really see the point.
  • yustick
    yustick Posts: 238 Member
    Last night I took a club boxing circuit class at LA Fitness. Usually I stand behind the music equipment stand, so I can't see the lower half of my body in the mirror during the class. This space was taken, so I was stuck watching all of my fat jiggle and wiggle with every movement. It took everything I had to keep going and not break out in tears in the class. The overwhelming disappointment with myself truly didn't help me.... not one bit. So, I have to say that I'm happy for this lady.
  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
    There is a reason why we don't find obesity too attractive. We are biologically wired to be attracted to health. Clear skin signals health...

    :)

    I don't know about that one.

    Since I started running - I've broken out like a freaking teenager again.
  • leannems
    leannems Posts: 516 Member
    I think it has. This is just my opinion - I have had a hard time with the whole "fat acceptance" movement and all that it involves for several reasons. First of all I do believe we need to love ourselves and take care of ourselves. That said, I don't think at my highest weight of 382 pounds I was loving myself. I truly believe that it isn't normal to get to that weight, or 311 lbs like the woman in the article. I think there are deeper issues involved when someone is morbidly obese and by promoting acceptance I think there is a certain level of also promoting avoidance.

    Here's a different opinion: At my highest weight, I hate myself. I think I'm disgusting and ugly and unworthy. Because that's what I've been told. While I try to do things for my health, I end up taking minor slip ups as giant failures because, I don't deserve health. Why is that? Because I'm disgusting and ugly and unworthy - remember? That's what I've been told. And so minor slip ups turn into failures turn into more eating and more unworthiness.

    But the girl - the girl in the article - gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, I'm not disgusting and ugly and unworthy. Maybe I am beautiful at this weight, and worth investing in my health. So a minor slip up doesn't mean that I need to give up - it's just a blip on the radar on my way to being healthier, which, sure, will likely mean I weigh less. This is exactly the way thin, healthy people think (they eat pizza one day and don't worry about it because they know they are healthy, and beautiful the rest of the time, and a minor slip up doesn't mean they are a big, fat, disgusting failure).

    Finding beauty in myself now doesn't mean that I will be avoiding the fact that I'm obese and unhealthy. It may, however, allow me to determine that I am worth something, and that I deserve good, healthy habits, which would eventually lead to being more healthy and no longer obese.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    'eh. I try not to concern myself with what other people do. I'm glad she thinks she's beautiful. No, it's not healthy to be obese. I don't see how the two facts are related.
  • divalbeckham
    divalbeckham Posts: 10 Member
    I do love myself and have high self esteem but in reality I am morbidly obese and its unhealthy. This is why I am doing something about it...Its no excuse!!
  • tonynguyen75
    tonynguyen75 Posts: 418 Member
    If a woman who was 80 lbs at 5'6" tried to do something like this, she would get chewed out to no end.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Well I think she is brave.

    Honestly, I really hate seeing people criticize someone for an action like this. I mean, honestly, when people allow themselves to become obese, it is usually (NOT ALWAYS) because on some level, they do not love themselves. And sometimes, before you can work on your body, you have to learn to love yourself. And part of learning to love yourself is accepting your body.

    So no, I do not think self love has gone too far. I think that as she learns to love her body, she will decide to take better care of it, and in time, she will craft herself a healthier body.

    Most of the time people become obese because they eat too much and are lazy.

    Why does someone have to love their body to love themself? Isn't that still putting just as much emphasis on looks as before, which is what they're all trying to stop?

    (disclaimer:I'm not being hostile or picking on you. I would have said it to anyone who posted this)

    No hostility taken.:flowerforyou:

    It is commonly known that eating too much and being lazy are behaviors that lead to obesity and health issues. Why would you do that harm to yourself if you loved yourself?

    I also said this wasn't true for everyone.
  • Skrib69
    Skrib69 Posts: 687 Member
    Like it or loath it, it is clear what this woman is doing. She is learning to accept herself for what she is through Neuro Linguistic Programming - NLP. It's a common Life Coaching technique, but more usually involves you and a mirror every day telling yourself that you are worthwhile, that you are beautiful or whatever self image issue you may be dealing with. It took amazing courage for her to do this in such a public way (most people find it hard enough to look themselves in the eye in the mirror) , and she should be commended for completing the whole month. Personally, I would love to meet her and talk to her - I bet she could be really good fun to be with.

    In answer to the OP's original question, no - self love has not gone too far. We all have to be happy in our own skin and for most people on MFP, to criticise this is to be hypocritical.

    (Edited for typo's)
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    I love myself
  • brraanndi
    brraanndi Posts: 325 Member
    No it hasn't.

    It should go further.

    People put too much importance on their physical looks. A 300 lb woman shouldn't be anymore shameful than the plethora of underweight, scantily clad chicks I see in any fashion magazine.
  • NavyKnightAh13
    NavyKnightAh13 Posts: 1,394 Member
    All I can say is that I would never do this, simply because I wouldn't have the courage to. Now more power to her for doing it, and while it may not be healthy as far as her weight, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

    :ohwell:
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    What do you guys think?

    I think there is no way I'm clicking on that link.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    It is up to everyone individually to define what beauty means to them.

    This is true - and it applies equally for everybody - which means someone can yell "I am beautiful!" all day long from the tippiest top of a mountain top, but nobody else is under any obligation to agree and/or accept that person's definition.
  • elenathegreat
    elenathegreat Posts: 3,988 Member
    Well I think she is brave.

    Honestly, I really hate seeing people criticize someone for an action like this. I mean, honestly, when people allow themselves to become obese, it is usually (NOT ALWAYS) because on some level, they do not love themselves. And sometimes, before you can work on your body, you have to learn to love yourself. And part of learning to love yourself is accepting your body.

    So no, I do not think self love has gone too far. I think that as she learns to love her body, she will decide to take better care of it, and in time, she will craft herself a healthier body.

    ^^Brilliant. A positive attitude beats a negative one, hands down!
  • NonnyMary
    NonnyMary Posts: 982 Member
    I couldn't take a pic in my undies on the train. too many strangers there...

    i guess she is one of the fat acceptance people. I was wondering if she was trying to lose weight, or if she was accepting herself as she is overweight. Do you know if she is losing weight, or not?
  • NYCNika
    NYCNika Posts: 611 Member
    No it hasn't.

    It should go further.

    People put too much importance on their physical looks. A 300 lb woman shouldn't be anymore shameful than the plethora of underweight, scantily clad chicks I see in any fashion magazine.

    Btw, I'm fit and proud of my body. Would even appear scantly clad in professional fashion magazine if ever asked (doubt it).
    But I would not just wake up and go on a bus in my underwear just because I feel I'm beautiful.

    If her message is "every body is beautiful, no matter what it looks like", does that imply that everyone should commute in their underwear? Try picturing this for a minute.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Honestly, I didn't even consider losing an ounce of weight until I decided that I deserved a better, healthier body. If she needs this to help her get to a place where she recognizes that she deserves to treat herself better than she has up until now, then more power to her.
  • Nicolee_2014
    Nicolee_2014 Posts: 1,572 Member
    I think good on her for being confident enough to do it but not everyone has to see that!!!

    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder for sure.
  • Nikoruo
    Nikoruo Posts: 771 Member
    Well i adore what she's symbolizing. Though a side note should be *it's okay to be chubby, just be healthy!* you know... something like that.

    I adore that she had the bravery to do this :)
  • victoriavoodoo
    victoriavoodoo Posts: 343 Member
    I think the fat acceptance movement is positive and progressive in theory, and that society and tons of young girls would benefit from some more realistic ideals of beauty(some models with more realistic bmi's etc).

    BUT I think the movement isn't working like it should because a lot of its followers are using it to remain in denial about their health.
    If a woman on the heavier side of healthy took photos like this, I think it would be a better message because extremes of thin and of fat are unhealthy. That's why many of us are here right?
  • mooie70
    mooie70 Posts: 70 Member
    I'm sure it's just the fact that she's semi naked that bothers people so much. Call me old fashioned, but s'far as I'm concerned, stripping down to your knickers and bra should only be done at the beach, in a swim suit. And that goes for big people and skinny people alike. I actually agree with the OP in as much as people are SO determined to show off their bodies, for whatever reason, that they have to flaunt them all over the place (like DP's on here). Big, skinny, short, tall...it's just MY OPINION that it is NOT ok to dress like that anywhere but in the privacy of your own home, or at the beach. The sexiest women can be fully clothed. They don't need to be popping out everywhere for everyone to see.
  • bridgie101
    bridgie101 Posts: 817 Member
    So I read this article from Huffington Post which is basically about a 311 pound woman who took pictures of herself for 30 days scantily clad with "Be Beautiful" written all over her (in very public places). You can read/ see pics here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/denise-jolly/be-beautiful-how-30-days-nearly-naked-changed-life_b_3943938.html

    I'm all for body love, no one should be forced to look like a fitness model if they don't want to. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication that is unrealistic for the vast majority of people. But I do believe everyone should take care of themselves. I feel like this project is just validating "it's okay to be obese even if it's dangerous to my health, because I'm still beautiful." Unfortunately beauty is not the issue here. It's sending a bad message in my opinion.

    What do you guys think?

    She's part of the God Squad. I think there's always someone out there for you, who will love you as you are - but I am not convinced that all that self-hypnosis is any good.

    All that visualisation and looking in the mirror and saying 'you're beautiful' and stuff - I think it's gob****e. i think time is better spent staring in the mirror putting your makeup on. Making yourself more beautiful.

    It's great that she had the courage to get real and face her body. I admire that and I respect it. but I feel she's been led astray by someone or some idea and at some point in her future she's going to wake up to just what she did, and she will be very embarrassed. :)