'Fitspiration'

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harriyot
harriyot Posts: 58 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm scared. A good friend of mine regularly sends me 'fitspo' and it scares me. I'm all in favour of the 'Keep going! You go, girl! Work those crazy legs!' type of fitspo but what I have received recently is... wow. Thinspo. That's the word for it. Pictures of women in their pants with captions like 'Jealous?' and 'You can have this body in months if you start today' are very damaging.

I implore you - turn away from this demented body-hating fitspo and shun the idea that thin=beautiful/better/worthier. Let's just go with health, love, acceptance and personal brilliance. Please?

Replies

  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
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    Tell it to Hollywood, too. The women are so scary-thin it boggles my mind. How about the ones who have just had babies? The camera adds weight, and they look so thin that a strong wind might blow them away. I'm so tired of it. But nothing changes. (sigh)
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Sounds like you need to tell your friend that you don't care for them and to please stop sending them.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Sounds like you need to tell your friend that you don't care for them and to please stop sending them.

    Yup. If this is a good friend, then tell them that you think those photos are damaging and counterintuative.
  • mimieon
    mimieon Posts: 182 Member
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    Sounds like a plan.
  • harriyot
    harriyot Posts: 58 Member
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    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Sounds like you need to tell your friend that you don't care for them and to please stop sending them.
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Sounds like you need to tell your friend that you don't care for them and to please stop sending them.

    Yup. If this is a good friend, then tell them that you think those photos are damaging and counterintuative.

    Absolutely - I have done and she has accepted my complaint and stopped. I just wanted to make the wider point that this stuff is potentially concerning and we should be aware that, just because we call it 'fitspo' rather than 'thinspo', does not make it any 'better for us' or 'body positive' or whatever.

    I suppose what I'd like to see is lots of healthy people who are happy and content with their healthy bodies, eating well and moving lots, building up and encouraging others with no back-biting or bitchiness or shaming (fat or thin). Ah, pipe dreams!

  • loribethrice
    loribethrice Posts: 620 Member
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    I have a whole fitness motivation board on my Pinterest full of stuff like that, but for me that's what I want to look like. I think they should have different fitspo things that go with every body type so that people can look at how they want to look instead of how someone else may want to look.
  • MargueriteMuguet
    MargueriteMuguet Posts: 230 Member
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    I agree with you. It seems to be a good source of motivation for some people (and it's their choice of course) but I feel like the bigger picture isn't as 'healthy' as it makes it look. Plus, it's a good reminder to think about those things. These images are popping up everywhere...
  • harriyot
    harriyot Posts: 58 Member
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    loribethrice wrote: »
    I have a whole fitness motivation board on my Pinterest full of stuff like that, but for me that's what I want to look like. I think they should have different fitspo things that go with every body type so that people can look at how they want to look instead of how someone else may want to look.

    That's a great idea and I would do the same if I could work out how to use Pinterest. I have a photo of me at my largest to remind me of how unhealthy I was.

    Here is a Buzzfeed post that really encapsulates my issue with these sorts of images.
    http://www.buzzfeed.com/carolynkylstra/fixed-that-fitspo-for-ya

    I'd like to clarify that, if this works for you and you're keeping healthy, then great! If this becomes your benchmark and the scales measure your weight and your mood then that's probably the start of something that isn't going to end well.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,459 Member
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    Yes! With you 100% :)

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