There’s a lot of talk about the UK’s weight issues being bandied about at the moment. What caused the problem? Who’s to blame? What can be done?
I’m an avid reader on the subject – everything from cutting edge scientific papers to tabloid headlines but there were two things that caught my eye this morning – both from one of the social media groups I follow.
One was a story of a woman openly stared and talked about in a gym because of her weight.
And another ridiculous meme about how fat people should just get out there and get thin.
Firstly, who criticises someone for working out at a gym? You’ve got to have a serious self-image problem yourself or a tiny intellect if you think that crushing words or cat-like staring is helping anyone.
Secondly, exercise is all about raising your heart rate and your self esteem – if you’re looking for radical weight loss on exercise alone, you’ll be sorely disappointed. It’s all about the shits n giggles, building mental and physical strength and changing your body shape. It isn’t about pleasing the small minded who’d rather you have a tiny, toned physique because somehow they have a right to dictate what you look like.
So I got thinking. It’s often the absences that say more than what’s actually there – all it takes is a little creativity*:
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What lies beneath? Bother to think and you’ll be enlightened stare too much at my fatsuit and you’ll miss the powerful legs beneath
- whisper about the rolls the big girl at the gym is carrying and you might miss the ones she’s managed to lose in the last six months
- laugh about the guy with a round belly and you’ll not know that the meds he’s been taking for the past year have kept him out of the psychiatric ward but gained him six stone – he’s now on a low GI diet to shift the weight but it’s tough
- ridicule the curvy red head in her crop top and shorts but miss the fact that she’s conquered a childhood of domestic abuse and now supports her young son from the proceeds of an international modelling career
- chide the cake eating sofa queen for her laziness and sloth and be completely ignorant of the fact that because of idiots like you she struggled to leave the house to take her toddler to the park yesterday
- rant about the availability of the fatkini and how it’s promoting obesity as a lifestyle choice and miss the more intellectually challenging concept that self worth can be a lifestyle choice regardless of your clothes size
- look down your nose at me and see me as a disgrace and you’ll be ignorant of how far I’ve come and how many people I’ve helped along the way
Yep, I’ve got a big arse
but there seems to be an epidemic of small-mindedness out there and for the future health of the nation it needs to be dealt with
Do you agree? Take a moment to share using the buttons on the top right and drop me a line.
Not agree? Do the same.
Have you been shamed (for whatever reason) and how helpful was it?
I feel like we can make a positive change one person at a time.
* all true stories
To read more rants discussion on the subject:
Feeling Uncomfortable About Obesity?
This girl bloody well can
What a fat lot of good weight shaming does – an alternative view of the plus size row
At the weight-loss clinic at my GP surgery the nurse told me in no uncertain terms that if I ” ate less I wouldn’t be so fat ” !!!!
No shit Sherlock !
I replied that if it were truly that easy I would not have gotten so “fat” in the first place !
Rather than support I was shamed.
Instead of help I was just given leaflets.
Even though she had my medical history to hand I doubt if she took the time to read it.
Had she done so she would have seen the vast amount of medication I was on for various conditions, at least one of which had the side affect of gaining weight, and conditions that inhibit the loss of said weight !
All I wanted was someone to help me help myself.
In-turn saving the cash struck NHS thousands of pounds.
In the end I shifted some of my “Lady Lard” myself and came off all my meds.
Recently having put on some of my weight I returned to my GP to be patronised and belittled yet again – silly me for wanting to be healthy and asking for help…….
My GP’s response was to insist I go back on my meds (they make my brain go to sleep so not a route I wanted to take ) instead of helping me shift the weight that was causing my problems to resurface !
Obviously too much effort to help me help myself become healthy again and save the NHS some money – it seems they would rather I be fat, unhealthy and a drain on the system until I eventually die from obesity related conditions.
A change in GP is on the cards – any suggestions welcome.
From a fat, frustrated female xxx
I hear you Michelle. I once went to the doctor, told her I thought I had a problem with food and walked out confused, frustrated and with another diet subscription in my hand. If it was as easy as calories in vs calories out, this country wouldn’t have a problem – unfortunately it’s too popular a myth to be easily debunked. Well done for having a good go at doing things on your own. I’m well into empowerment and taking control. Move (walk, swim, cycle, whatever) because it makes you feel good and eat healthily (whatever that means for your metabolism – we’re all different) because it feels good. I’ve lost more weight and gained more confidence since I gave up dieting nearly a year ago.
Onwards and upwards, Michelle x
I have a couple of medical conditions that have caused me to gain and struggle to lose weight. I eat very healthily, having spent years fighting with disordered eating.
My Dr knows how hard I am working, and supports me. But being stared at for daring to eat my lunch in public between meetings and appointments is cruel and pointless. We have all had a day where lunch has been grabbed between everything else going on, just because I have a little more weight where I don’t really want it, doesn’t give you the right to judge me before knowing me.
I know what you mean, Madeleine. I read some comments on a forum saying exactly the same thing just the other day. You feel even more conscious if you’re eating ice cream or chips – regardless if it’s an occasional treat or a regular part of your diet, it doesn’t matter to the staring people. Unless you’re Tess Holliday, in which case you post pictures of yourself eating what you want with a fabulous frock on and pay no heed to the haters (I follow her on Instagram) – Rock on Tess!