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Can you both desire to lose weight and be body positive?
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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.6 -
SkylerisSquid wrote: »Can I want to lose weight and be body positive.
IMO, absolutely. One of the things I found happened when I started exercising again -- way before I hit the weight I wanted to be -- was that I felt better about my body, and what it could do, and even kind of fond of it. But I'd separate my body from "how my body looks." I didn't have that old hatred of how my body looked, but I could neutrally look at it and think about the things I wanted to change or watch progress and be proud. But I still loved my body in that it could do things and is necessary for me and, indeed, is me.
Does that make any sense?1 -
kommodevaran wrote: »Many of the things we think of as mutually exclusive, really aren't. This is one of those things. Being or wanting to be normal weight, is certainly in line with loving one's body. In fact, you love it so much that you want to take care of it. You'll actually need to love it, in order to make the effort it takes to take care of it properly. You like your friends because they're nice, not because they are thin - I hope?
And this is a really great point/way of thinking of it, IMO.1 -
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.3 -
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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.
I like what you did there.
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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.7 -
eliciaobrien1 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.
You mean like the Obese guy next to my name? He's 253-260 lbs.2 -
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eliciaobrien1 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.
There are many types of yoga and some will definitely tax your endurance. And swimming? Are you joking? Swimming can be every bit as taxing as hiking.
Being overweight is not in and of itself unhealthy. It can raise your risk of disease, but regular activity can decrease it. I doubt being fit and overweight carries more risk than being unfit and in the healthy weight range.8 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »eliciaobrien1 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.
There are many types of yoga and some will definitely tax your endurance. And swimming? Are you joking? Swimming can be every bit as taxing as hiking.
Being overweight is not in and of itself unhealthy. I can raise your risk of disease, but regular activity can decrease it. I doubt being fit and overweight carries more risk than being unfit and in the healthy weight range.
Unfortunately the HAES advocates Generally don't get that part.
An overweight to moderately obese person who can
Run/swim continuously for 20-30 minutes/walk briskly for 60 minutes
Climb several flights of stairs without stopping
Lift half their bodyweight from the floor(without injury) and safely walk/turn with that weight
is no less unhealthy than a sedentary person within normal range who cannot do these things(or at least does not do them regularly)
Additionally, the overweight-moderately obese person has a huge head start when he/she decides it's time to drop a few pounds of bodyfat.
OTOH, an obese to Morbid individual who struggles to get from the couch to the car before work and cruises 20 times around the lot to find a convenient spot... has the worst of all worlds regarding health... although if they have hit the genetic lottery they may still outlive you and I.5 -
eliciaobrien1 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...4 -
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/
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Rosemary7391 wrote: »
It's easy once people ask what your fitness youtube channel is called.1 -
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.3 -
I don’t view body positivity as an endorsement of obesity (or any body size/shape/type). I take body positivity to mean a love and appreciation of all that my body can do and my value and worth as a person regardless of how much I weigh, my appearance, my bodyfat%, disability status, etc. So many people (myself included for a very long time) take their appearance/body size/weight/shape/etc to determine their self view of their value and worth as a human. And that’s simply not the case.
Body positivity (to me) means loving and appreciating myself regardless of the status of my body. That doesn’t begin to preclude me from taking steps to care for my body or change it into whatever I want (keeping in mind that body positive in my view extends to any person of any size who may want to be smaller/larger/more muscles/softer/whatever-er). It only means that they are already fantastic humans now. And a body that is more “er” than their current one doesn’t change that. One does not become a better or more valuable human by becoming a different weight.
There’s an additional movement that seems to focus on loving and embracing one’s obesity (my apologies if that’s not the case-I don’t follow those very closely). I don’t think that’s the same thing as body positivity.
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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)
If something lowers your risk of disease, it lowers it whether you have other factors that raise the risk or not. So yes, being overly fat raise risk of disease (I think everyone agrees on that) but that does not prevent regular physical activity from lowering that same risk.5 -
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"
6 -
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.10
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