The Pro-Fat Culture and You

I'm not gonna comment because I don't feel I live in a pro-fat culture. I think it has to do with your family/friends/coworkers. I was the "fattest" girl in my family with a BMI of 28.

It does irk me but I know the intention behind it is good. It mostly irks me when those same people aren't just encouraging me to love myself, but are also actively trying to discourage me from losing.

If I could do everything physical I enjoy without the extra pounds limiting me in some way, I might not care as much about losing it. And if I felt awesome physically with the extra pounds, I probably wouldn't care either. But if, say, I REALLY enjoy challenging hikes and the main reason I'm not doing that on the weekends is because I will get short of breath and I will have serious back/knee/hip pain later from hauling my 217 pounds (my starting weight) up and down the mountain, then it makes sense for me to change that, since it's within my control. Same thing if there's a good reason to believe that the extra weight I'm carrying is contributing to health issues, and I have a strong family history of heart problems and diabetes.

If someone is hiding from the world in shame because they are overweight, then the message to 'love your body like it is' can be helpful, I think, in getting them to get out and engage with the world and do the things they enjoy anyway. I hid when I was younger and had gotten to my highest weight at that point in my life of 199. I lost and regained the weight and then some, and this time, at my heaviest weight, I DID get out and live my life the best I could. But feeling that the extra weight is holding me back from fully enjoying outdoor activities or being at my healthiest (which makes everything in life more enjoyable), is what prodded me to try again and I DO resent coworkers who have been actively discouraging of my progress or who have accused me of having 'self-esteem' issues, just for the effort.

It urks me when people judge me for not being overweight and for being passionate about fitness.

Just like it urked me in the 80s when I was obese and people were NOT telling me to love my fat.

I think there's a distorted view of curvy. Curvy is beautiful. I'm not a naturally curvy person and wasn't when I was obese, either.

There's a HUGE difference between curvy and obese. I think a lot of people are mistaking the two.

Curvy won't give you diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure...obese will.

I want the freedom to love or hate myself for my own reasons and not just based on my weight.

We are, afterall, much more than that.

If someone is happy fat, more power to them. If someone is happy skinny, more power to them. What others do with their bodies should be less of everybody else's problem and left up to them.

I just tell people I'm trying to get rid of the parts of me that I'm not using. Why take it with me everywhere I go if it isn't doing anything for me.

I want the freedom to love or hate myself for my own reasons and not just based on my weight.

We are, afterall, much more than that.

If someone is happy fat, more power to them. If someone is happy skinny, more power to them. What others do with their bodies should be less of everybody else's problem and left up to them.

This.

You don't have to accept your fat or be happy with it, but it seems unhealthy to hate it. If you lose weight in a negative way, you may still hate your body later.

A MILLION TIMES YES! I get so pissed at the Pro-Fat movement. Being obese is not healthy or okay & we need to stop accepting it. We can want to improve our health without hating who we are as people. Why can't people see that??

I think it is healthy to embrace your body as it currently is, in that you should love yourself now, wear clothes that flatter you now, and do activities that you love now. You shouldn't feel ashamed of your body so that you hide away, wear ugly, baggy clothes, and stay home from that party because you are embarrassed about the way you look. I think this is a positive message from the pro-fat movement. I also think that loving your body will lead to taking better and better care of it by feeding it healthier foods and giving it exercise, and for most people this will mean inching their way toward a healthier weight. Abusing your body with unhealthy food, overeating, and a sedentary life is not self-love.

I am a pole dance fitness instructor and we have ladies of all shapes and sizes. I think it is wonderful to have an overweight or obese woman come into the studio and learn to love her curves and move in a sexy way, with the body that she has walking in the door. What usually happens though, is that ladies want to come to more and more classes, and over time their bodies start to change...new muscles develop while pounds of fat begin to melt away. But I love that we have such an accepting environment there that everyone feels welcome and can feel beautiful in their own skin even if they are a little (or a lot) overweight.

from above -" I think this is a positive message from the pro-fat movement."
I agree with plenty of what you said, but why the need for a pro-fat movement? How well would a pro-skinny movement do? Or pro-fit?

I just tell people I'm trying to get rid of the parts of me that I'm not using. Why take it with me everywhere I go if it isn't doing anything for me.

Really like this.

I does not bother me when people love their bodies, it bothers me when they accept that that's ALL they can do or make excuses.

Precisely this.

Plus, loving your body as it is now doesn't preclude the desire to lose weight or get fitter at all. These things are not mutually exclusive, nor should they be.