Body Positivity.

[Anonymous]

Body positivity has been somewhat of a "trend" lately. But, in my honest opinion, it's a good trend! People need to be able to feel comfortable in their bodies. Because we never get another one, so it needs to be loved. We need to cherish the body we have and care for it lovingly.

I've seen several people insist that body positivity is nothing more than a way to glorify obesity and unhealthy living. Why? Why is is so important to you for you to hurt other people? That is nothing close to what body positivity stands for!

Yes, a lot of advocates for body positivity are overweight. But they are happy, and you have no right to police their body. Most people who are overweight are perfectly aware of the health risks it poses, and don't need to hear it from you. Somebody who is likely a perfect stranger.

Some people can't even help being overweight. Many women, myself included, have health conditions that make losing weight very difficult. So why shouldn't they love their body? Their choices do not affect you. It is their life and they can live it however they choose.

In fact, body positivity has helped some women start to live a healthier life. Because body positivity helped them love their body, and because they love themselves they now want to get healthier. That is me. Despite the fact I have a health condition that makes losing weight extremely difficult, I've been doing my best. I haven't lost much but every pound is still a step towards a healthier life. I truly don't care about being skinny. Inbusy wakt to live a healthier life. A longer life. Isn't that wonderful? You would think it would be. But so many people are still against this movement.

But don't be confused, the body positivity movement isn't just for people who are overweight. It is also for those who suffer from being underweight. Contrary to popular believe many girls who are very skinny get criticized as well. My sister knows this first hand as she has never been over 100lbs in her life. And she has tried to hard to lose weight. It's been a hard road for her.

But because women like this do get criticized, they have poor self image as well. And that's sad. Body positivity helps these women accept themselves for who they are. They are able to find beauty in themselves, sometimes for the first time ever.

Its people of all body types. You don't have to be over or under weight to appreciate how amazing body positivity is. So many people who have joined this movement have gained amazing self esteem.

Its even helped people who have disabilites find beauty in themselves. People who are missing limbs or can't walk. The list goes on. It helps them too. It helps them accept how their body is and find love and self acceptance.

isn't that a wonderful thing?

I know so many people who have learned to not care so much about what other people think of them after joining this movement.

I will never understand why some people think complete strangers want to hear their opinions on their bodies. Their body does not effect you.

People are allowed to like what they like. I am not disbuting that. But, if you truly believe that being thin or full of muscle is the only way for everybody to truly be happy than you are poorly mistaken.

Please, educate yourself on the true meaning of body positivity. And if you see somebody who doesn't meet your body standards, than please keep your opinions to yourself. Theirs no need to put them down.

You're allowed to not like it. But don't be a bad person and make them feel like crap. Especially for things that they may not be able to change. All you're doing is hurting their self image. Especially if they haven't learned not to care about others opinions yet.

Please remember that all bodies are beautiful in their own way.

Here are some links to help you in your body positivity journey of you're interested.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/norawhelan/body-positivity-101?utm_term=.tp9g4RMXj#.vkA2lYpP6

https://people.com/bodies/ashley-graham-parents-teach-children-body-positivity/

https://www.bustle.com/articles/121093-13-body-positive-bloggers-to-turn-to-when-youre-feeling-crummy-about-your-body

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/body-positivity-fat-skinny-shaming

https://greatist.com/live/the-men-making-male-body-positivity-mainstream

[Phoenix98]

"You have no right to police their body."

Well actually I do it's my job and begin a fitness professional I know what being fat, overweight and having a horrible lifestyle does to the human body.

Body positively is a load of bullshit if you really loved your body then you wouldn't be killing yourself and destroying it with bad after bad after bad life decision and choice. there is nothing cool about being 300lbs and eating McDonald's everyday. You want to know what that leads to? Catastrophic organ failure and the slow lose of feeling and use of your legs.

You don't have to be a super model but you do need to be healthy otherwise your life is going to be a short one.

You can accept obesity the short life span and the long list of major health problems that come with it but I am not going to.

[Crapulux]

So much win in your post.

https://i67.tinypic.com/jfkvnt.jpg

[Phoenix98]

@Crapulux Lol thank you.

[Dez22]

Exactly!! Encourage body positivity with a healthy lifestyle and I think we would have a lot more confident people in the world who are also healthy. Focusing on a healthy lifestyle is more imperative than focusing on losing weight to be skinny because your size doesn't indicate health, your lifestyle does the majority of the time.

Unless you are so big you can't walk on your own, then don't pay attention to the numbers, and focus on healthy eating, daily exercise, and self love. That's for ALL body types!!

[Nyx_85]

Actually size does indicate health. You can't be 200 pounds overweight and say "Oh I'm healthy because I can still walk". Waist size is directly linked to an increased risk of certain conditions.

www.hsph.harvard.edu/.../

[Dez22]

@Nyx_85 read the sources you provided and it tells me the same thing any other health PSA tells me:

Size indicates risk and severity of health problems. Size does not indicate health. Lifestyle indicates health. Losing weight is a great way to improve your lifestyle, but WEIGHT shouldn’t be the MAIN focus when trying to get people healthier because it dismisses the fact that normal weight people develop the same health problems as a result from lifestyle choices. Thus weight is not the main factor when we speak of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cancer, liver disease, kidney diseases, etc…It’s unhealthy LIFESTYLES that bring on these health problems across all body types, NOT WEIGHT.

Even when we speak of obesity we speak of lifestyle. For most people, obesity is a possibility resulted from poor LIFESTYLE choices. And there are people of normal weight with bullshit lifestyles who don’t gain weight but still have health problems.

[Dez22]

@Nyx_85 In other words, obesity and normal weight by itself is NOT an indicator of health, only the LIFESTYLE you lived behind, causing the health problems overall is the indicator of health across any body type period.

Focusing on weight only reinforces the idea that healthy = skinny. We need to focus on lifestyle to improve the health of everyone. I can’t tell you how many times people assume i’m healthy because I’m of normal weight…

99.9% of the time it's your lifestyle choice that are the main cause of preventable health problems at any weight. So because it's lifestyle choice that causes everyone the issues, it's lifestyle choice we should focus on the majority of the time!!

[Nyx_85]

Lifestyle and weight often go hand in hand. Sometimes they don't (i. e I know someone who gained more weight than normal when they were pregnant because they are diabetic and had to take a lot of insulin) but the majority of the time they do. Yes the focus should be on lifestyle but as that article clearly points out, size (in particular waist size) does matter. Saying "Oh those are just risks..." is making excuses. Yes smaller people have health problems. Nobody is saying they don't. The article said everyone with a larger waist is at risk. Plus a 'healthy lifestyle' depends on who you ask.
You can get a person who is overweight and they think have a 'healthy' lifestyle because they do a workout at the gym for an hour then go get ice cream and fast food after. I know some people like that. They say "I don't understand why I'm not losing weight... I work out like four times a week..." Yeah well they destroy their progress by adding in more calories than they burn.

[Nyx_85]

If you want to focus on healthy lifestyle then educate people on what that is exactly. If MOST people had a healthy lifestyle they wouldn't be overweight. That is a fact.

[Nyx_85]

Yes you don't need to strictly focus on and talk about weight all the time, especially if it's getting counterproductive, but ignoring it completely is just being foolish.

[Dez22]

@Nyx_85 Like I said before, unless you are having breathing problems or can't walk because of your weight, i don't think it's necessary to acknowledge the weight, it's more necessary to focus on eating whole organic foods the majority of the time, cooking for yourself, eating balanced meals, watching your portions, growing your own food, and exercising daily <<That is a healthy lifestyle. And you're right if more people ate like that then we wouldn't have a huge obesity problem, but the weight isn't the main issue here.

[Nyx_85]

There are a lot of issues relating to weight that aren't just breathing troubles and having issues walking. Not saying it has to be discussed all the time but I've heard people say "My doctor said I need to lose weight but I feel fine. It's just society..." That's an excuse. Obesity leads to problems. Yes it's better to focus on healthy eating and lifestyle and overweight people shouldn't be criticized every minute of every day but people who don't listen to medical professionals are being idiots to be frank.

[CubsterShura]

Do people here realize that although weight is a factor of health, weight itself does not define health?

Lemme tell you about two of my friends:

My best friend is overweight. But she is a very hard worker. She does everything from sweeping her own room, cleaning her own toilet to even help her mother in cooking. She's great at dancing and a fond of veggies. Like literally if you present her many dishes she will first choose the vegetables. She doesn't eat any fat except nuts and fish oil (healthy fats) and she's freaking energetic. Like literally she never learned martial arts but can easily defeat guys twice as big as her.

Another friend of mine is skinny af, like she only has skin and bones. But her catchphrase is "I'm hungry!" And literally she is eating all the time, sometimes I even give her to eat the food I have and she happily accepts it. She doesn't do it to solely gain weight (although she tries to) but mostly because she gets hungry very easily. Now people look at her and assume that she eats very less/is anorexic and people always tell her how skinny she is, I really hate it. Except being skinny she is prefect from all angles, she's also very energetic and active and, of course, a big big foodie.

Then there's me. I'm the perfect weight for my height, and I even posses the body that people call a figure 8 or hourglass body. People automatically assume I'm very fit and healthy but in fact the opposite is true. I have very unhealthy habits including sleeping too much, eating very less (let alone veggies lol), skipping meals, and I'm very very inactive. Even a bit of walking gets me fatigued, I'm also very sensitive to weather I'm either drenched in sweat or shivering in cold despite having two jackets on. I'm not healthy at all but people would still believe I am. It's just genetics and fluctuations of weight that makes me look like I'm perfect. Even my skinny friend could easily defeat me in wresting.

Even in case of weight loss there is a healthy weight loss and an unhealthy weight loss. Most of the weight I lost from being a former fat kid is because of studying a lot, no way is it a healthy weight loss. I wish people understood these things.

[elinaas]

I feel you so well. People always tell me "you must love doing sports!" "how do you have so fit body? How do you exercise?" When in fact, all I do is sleep, eat, sleep more, study and bike a bit.. So I'm actually very unhealthy from the inside, but people are too superficial to think of that.

[vonasaurus]

no, my body isn't perfect and it never will be. but i've made peace with that.

i have thyroid issues that make weight loss very difficult, even with a strict diet & exercise regimen. i danced for 10+ years, competitively for 4 of them; i took gymnastics lessons, played sports, taught aerobics, and rode my bike to and from work every day for years... and i never lost a pound.

now that my leg is broken and i've been sidelined for 3 months, i'm terrified that the trifecta of said broken leg +my age + thyroid issues=weight i'll never lose in this lifetime, unless someone invents a miracle drug that makes my body do what it's supposed to.

the diet & exercise combo as a means of weight loss only works for people with normal, healthy bodies, but you'll never hear me argue against physical activity, even if i can't lose weight that way; there are other benefits too.

that said, you should be working out because you love your body, not because you hate it. promote what you love, instead of bashing what you don't.

[skykid1992]

Weights anything g else is for pussys

[vonasaurus]

as a licensed fitness professional, i can confirm that (assuming you have a normal healthy body) you need a mix of cardio and weight training in order to lose weight.

[skykid1992]

Cool tks for your input

[I-am-a-nobody]

In response to some things...
And keep in mind, I'm preaching to myself as much as anybody...

"Most people who are overweight are perfectly aware of the health risks it poses..."
No they aren't! Being overweight is deadly. So deadly, I can't imagine that people are really aware of the risks. Risks go up about 50% being overweight and 100% with obesity. My BMI is about 30. People who look at me don't think I'm overweight because I'm taller (6'1"), but there are repercussions.

According to this chart at https://stateofobesity.org/obesity-by-age/
Around 25% of folks in Alabama age 18 to 25 are obese.
It goes to over 40% at age 45 to 64, then it drops to 30% for 65 and over. It's not that 10% difference lost the weight... it's because they DIED!

"Some people can't even help being overweight."

And for the 98% of the rest of us, we just need to suck it up and lose weight.
You might want to ask... why do only 3.6 percent of Japanese have a body mass index (BMI) over 30, whereas 32.0 percent of Americans do?

"So why shouldn't they love their body?"
And isn't it loving to exercise self discipline?

We could probably cut the cost of healthcare in America by half if we just exercised self control!

Stop the enabling!

[Rachel_is_gay]

To be honest, body positive is good and self love is really important... but if you just kept on saying "body postive! No proper diet! No excercise!" Then it'd be just an excuse for people to feel comfortable while staying in their current zone without any motivation to be a better version, or at least be healthy.
If you choose to eat a tons of junk food and don't excercise then you'll end up obesed, simple as that. No body positive bullshit. If you're fat then you're not healthy. If you're healthy then you wouldn't be fat. If you're fat but eat healthy and have a healthy life... then good for you, BUT that means that you're only at the first stage of being healthy and of course that your body will transform through time into a better version. So that still means that healthy people are still NOT fat.
For example: Ashlyn Harris is a plus size model, but she workouts and eats healthy, and it's obvious that she isn't fat (some of you would say that she is... but the fact is that she isn't, her body is far different from fat and obese people) And of course that some fat people can be pretty too (mainly is because of the face lol) But the point is that being obese ISN'T beautiful and it is extremely unhealthy, plus, health damaging.
And I'm not body shaming anyone, of course. Being happy with your current body is not wrong. But my point is that we shouldn't encourage people to be unhealthy or obese.
Being healthy and fit doesn't mean being skinny, of course. (but there are still people who aren't healthy and still skinny, but not fit) I'm not saying that we have to be all super skinny or fit with muscles to be considered "healthy" (because the fact is a lot aren't)
But from what I'm seeing, a lot of obese and unhealthy (or skinny but unhealthy) people have been taking this whole "body positive" thing seriously and encourage people to just stuff their faces into unhealthy stuff without any guilt, OCCASIONALLY.
so just to make it clear what I'm trying to say...

[Rachel_is_gay]

This isn't fat:
www.enigma-mag.com/.../Katya-Zharkova.jpg

so don't even dream about eating KFC everyday and make excuse that you're gonna look like that... It's all bullshit. She isn't all skinny or super fit, of course. But having and maintain that body also needs a healthy diet and exercise. Flat abs don't come out from eating shit... just saying. And the fact is that a lot of plus size models excercise too, and they are far from obese.
This is obese: i.dailymail.co.uk/.../...ge-a-22_1443009306791.jpg

Having a disease something that a lot of people have been suffered, and i honestly think it's fine... but blame it on your genes isn't an excuse

[Rachel_is_gay]

*is something

[Rachel_is_gay]

*suffering

[AleDeEurope]

No. Body positivity is trash. If you really love your body, you wouldn't destroy it by being overweight.
The problem with this movement is that it ignores all the negative effects being fat has on your body, and just tells you "be happy with the body you have". That's bullshit.
I don't wanna live in a society where my kids are gonna be told it's ok for them to balloon up to 600 pounds.

[chowmain]

Body positivity is fine, as long as it doesn't make people believe it's fine to be unhealthy.
Weight doesn't matter as long as your healthy. So I draw the line at people telling unhealthy weighted people (obese/anorexic) that they are fine as they are, they are not. That is a scientific fact, not one invented by society.

[myTake Owner]

Some people are naturally incredibly thin and can't gain weight. My sister, for instance, has only been able to get up to 100 lbs her entire life. And that was while she was pregnant. She eats all the time. She wants to gain weight. She gets sad that she can't and was so excited after she gave birth cause she was hoping the weight would stay. She tried to make it stay. But it didn't. Are you saying her body is wrong because she only weights a wopping 80 lbs?
And me? Because I have a health condition that makes it hard for me to lose weight even though I'm trying? I'm obese by medical standards. I weigh 219 lbs. I've already lost 16 lbs at that. But that's me trying to lose weight for OVER A YEAR. I hated my body because of this but body positivity has given me the strength to love myself in my health journey and that just because I'm not thin doesn't devalue my worth

[Dude_91]

does she lift weights and exercise?

[chowmain]

Is she anorexic?
If she is, than yes it is wrong. Sorry.
But if she wants to gain weight, I recommend she drink exclusively full-fat milk for the next couple weeks. Regardless of her metabolism, she will put on fat (it's what I do when I'm bulking).
As for you, you are obese (you said it yourself). Sorry, this is not ok by medical standards. I'm not going to shame you, but it isn't ok.
The fact that you are trying to lose weight tells me that you know this fact too.

The bottom line is, if you are literally killing yourself, then it's not ok. It's self-murder.
It doesn't devaluate your worth, but it does devaluate your lifespan, which I am pretty sure you and all the people you love want to ensure is maximised.

But if you want to lose weight quickly, I recommend you eat exclusively boiled potatoes (no spice, no salt, no butter etc) for 2 weeks. Don't do any strenuous exercise either. This will ensure that your calorie intake is less than your calorie burning.

[rjroy3]

Acceptance > Body Positivity.

If you accept that you're not where you want to be physically you can be happy right now and continue working towards where you want to be. And when you get where you want to be you can appreciate it, because the goal being attained isn't what your happiness was tied to. It was based in accepting yourself.

If you go with Body Positivity you do absolutely nothing. You lie to yourself and tell yourself you're 100% happy with where you're at right now and that looks don't matter. While at the same time still being super self conscious about your looks.

Carlos Mencia said it well. "Either be Fat and Happy or Lose Weight".
I'm not against body positivity. I just think the whole thing is a charade.

[RJGraveyTrain]

I agree that body positivity and loving oneself IS important.

However some people allow posivity and self love to become total complacency. Where they no longer acknowledge their health and wellness, claiming they are "healthy" when they haven't seen a doctor in years and are clearly not well off. Of course, it isn't my place to tell people they have to take care of themselves, and that self love and acceptance should exist no matter your body size and weight, but you can't delude yourself to the point where you no longer take care of yourself at all in the name of "self love."

Self love also involves treating yourself well and taking care of yourself. That doesn't mean "OH GO LOSE WEIGHT OR YOU CAN'T LOVE YOURSELF!" But it does mean that you need to know the difference between complacency in an unhealthy lifestyle and actual self love and acceptance.

[jacquesvol]

May I present you the Belgian secretary of Health:

hbvlcdn.akamaized.net/.../...93377_0.0993377__.jpg

[RandomBritishGuy94]

It matters in the UK because we have a health service that has to look after those people paid for by our tax. If you're large and at risk health wise you shouldn't be told that's ok. You should be told it's bad for you, that there is a better way. Will people ignore it? Sure, I mean people still smoke after all, but making it socially acceptable at a time other unhealthy habits are being dealt with (such as smoking, excessive drinking, etc) is just asking for trouble.

[RandomBritishGuy94]

For people in your case you're targeted by the same stuff. The NHS would support you because of health problems.

The issue with this "movement", like so many, comes from the online thread. People who just scream you have to accept everyone and everything regardless. It doesn't work like that. It SHOULD work how you described - encouraging them to help themselves. You should want to be more proactive about health. It makes most people happier by default.

[Lishka]

If by acceptance you mean accepting people with scars, amputed limbs, blemishes etc... totally go for it. But if all I see is accepting fat chicks (why aren't there any chubby males on your picture?) because obesity-related health issues are sooo damn positive, then, no... ;)

[Indian-African]

Feminism:

"Accept me for who I am and if you judge me according to my appearance you're a sexist jerk"

"I only date tall, six pack ab, rich men"

[myTake Owner]

I'm married to a chubster soooo...

I don't see where you're going with this

[JustCallMeLeon]

Many people want me to feel that their body is beautiful. Nope. Beauty is not a number. It all depends on what everyone likes or not. I dont like overweight or unathletic and weak people. I dont have anything against them but if they start flaming me because i find athletic and stronger people better, i will become rude.

You love your body? Good for you as being confident is sexy and good. But also respect my opinion and my choice to like what i want.

[KingRamesses]

"We need to cherish the body we have and care for it lovingly."
How? Balanced diet, exercise etc.
The problem is not that people are fat or thin. The problem is that fat people tend to give a big lecture on fat acceptance when our preferences don't include plus sized people.

[Anonymous]

it favors women, but I could care less honestly. I do hate how the internet posts about overweight girls and 'we're so happy being overweight'. if obese or very fat, it's just unhealthy. I don't see any overweight fat guys getting the spotlight online like instagram or whatnot.

[myTake Owner]

notoriouslydapper.com/tag/plus-size-male-blog/

www.bustle.com/.../84920-7-body-positive-men-with-fashion-blogs-to-follow-now-for-all-your-chubby-fashion-daydreams

www.buzzfeed.com/.../grab-some-water-bbs

[NatashaBeauty]

I honestly think that there is a right and wrong way to have a body. In the 1st picture, none of the girls fit into the category that I consider and my family considers to be right. If you have an ugly body, you have an ugly body. If you don't, you don't. Just accept it.

[Paul09]

Yes, people should mind their own buissness. But! we are super lucky we have the Internet to look up information to help us through the downs of our lives. I believe we should all live a happy and healthy life, respect one another. Everyday I try to find was to improve my body, and my mind. Too many people do choose to be unhealthy tho. In the end that's their problem, and are not allowed to complain about health problems when they choose to live that way.

[Anonymous]

We should NOT be telling fat girls that it's ok. Obesity is not ok.
NO you can't be fat and healthy. Even if you aren't currently dealing with health issues, you are much more prone to health issues because of the fat.

[Dred1614returns]

"Body positivity" is fine as long as it doesn't make folks think that it is acceptable to be unhealthy. Don't tell people that are morbidly obese or skin and bones that they look good.

[John_Doesnt]

I think those fat Dove chicks are getting annoying, also sexist. Where's the fat Dove guys?