I recently stumbled upon this blog “The Body Love Blog” where a young lady posted the bikini pose of her big body with fuming comments about what other people have told about her body. I am sorry for what she has gone through and I strongly object anyone who mocks at obese people. You can, of course, provide constructive feedback and help. This blog post triggered a series of thoughts and I dug a little into the fat world and found that a lot of activities are going on which I am not aware of.
Fat Acceptance, Fat Liberation, Fat Activism, Fat Power Movement, Fat Feminism etc. There is even an association formed, way back in 1967 - NAFFA - “National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance” - which fights the discrimination due to size. There is contention within the Fat Acceptance community itself. Some fat activists define Fat Acceptance as fighting for equal rights, opportunities and freedom from social stigma, whilst remaining open to the pursuit of weight reduction. Other fat activists define Fat Acceptance more strictly, applying that phrase only to fat people who are not trying to lose weight.
Great. But, Why do we react so much to the symptoms (discrimination), but not to the core issue (being overweight)?
I have only one question.
Why is that I never met an obese/overweight person who eats a well-balanced food with lots of raw veggies, greens, and fruits, who follows a regular exercise routine and sleeps at least 8 hrs a day?.
Surprise!. There is no one.
Isn’t your body size, the direct output of your lifestyle?.
I am not just talking about fad diets. I am not just talking about rigorous workout regime. I am talking about everything you do with your life. Your lifestyle.
Changing your lifestyle to a healthy one will change your body to its healthy weight.
Maintaining a healthy weight can be summarized in two sentences.
Everybody knows that. But, why many people are not willing to put in the extra effort required to shed those extra pounds.
It’s their personal choice. Who am I to comment?.
Right. I am writing this post, just to understand the reason behind it.
I don’t think so. At least, I did not like being fat when I was overweight. For a while, let’s forget reality. Let’s assume few scenarios.
If I tell FA people, “Give me $100. I will turn you into a curvy voluptuous female forever. You don’t have to anything”. How many FA people will give me $100? I guess everyone. No one is going to tell me, “Fuck off. I love being fat”.
Even if I increase the amount to $1000, I don’t expect much of a difference, except that poor people will take time to earn that money.
Instead, if I tell them, “Give me 1 hr of your time and let me control your food plate, every day. I will turn you into a healthy person. You just have to do what I say”. How many would opt for that offer?. I don’t expect many, except the few individuals who want to shed their weight, more than anything else in their life.
Am I saying that fat people do not have the urge or the will-power to change to the better version of themselves?.
No. I am not. Its a very basic human tendency to stay in the comfort zone and 95% of the world’s population does that, irrespective of their size.
All they need is a consistent source of inspiration and encouragement to improve their health.
Yes and No.
Yes. It is good for a healthy person to accept the overweight/obese person, just like us. It helps to foster a collaborative, encouraging environment for obese people to think about changing their lifestyle.
No. It’s not good to accept & love your obese body. Be discontent with your body and make every possible effort to make your body perfectly healthy. By healthy, I mean the real healthy body. Not the anorexic, size zero thin bodies.
Encouraging an obese person to be happy with their body is actually encouraging them to stay unhealthy. - Unknown
Hats off to Mr. Arthur for being such an inspiration to us !!!
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