My Journey With Health And Fitness – Stop The Fat Shaming!

Got up early this morning fully intending to do a 12k run. However, for the 2nd day in a row my Fitbit was demanding I do a recovery day. Sigh, ok maybe I pushed a bit hard this week so decided a 10k walk was in order. As I was leaving the promenade at kilometer 8 there was a woman talking to a man about how great it was walking the promenade each day. She saw me and said to the gentleman, this lady jogs pretty much every day. I told her I had to do a recovery day so was just doing a 10k walk today. Her response, you put me to shame. Made me feel good because I’ve got about 20 years on her.

I’m a bit of a Twitter addict (reading, not tweeting) and sometimes the things I read on there just makes me want to scream. This past week a young activist in Texas posted her disappointment that the legislation that would cap the cost of her insulin had not passed. Right away several people felt the need to tweet that maybe if she lost weight then she wouldn’t need insulin. Huh? She’s a type 1 diabetic so no amount of weight loss is going to change the fact that her pancreas doesn’t secrete insulin! Regardless, no one other than a medical professional should be advising people about their weight.

There were further tweets along the lines of type 2 diabetics on insulin and the fact they should change their lifestyles, start exercising more and lose weight. I got very frustrated and tweeted that it is estimated that diabetes is hereditary in 20% of cases and that race can also play a role in the likelihood of developing diabetes. This led to a bunch of replies telling me how any type 2 diabetic can get rid of the disease by losing weight (you really can’t get rid of diabetes, only put it in remission) and that basically if you have diabetes it is your fault. Silence only fell when I gave the example of my brother who was diagnosed in his mid thirties, was not overweight and worked in a very physical job. I also noted the disease was trying its best to kill him.

Diabetes aside, why do people feel the need to fat shame? Better yet, why does fat shaming seem to be more accepted than other forms of discrimination? How is it any of my business what anyone else weighs? I remember being on a vacation in Mexico and seeing a woman who I would say was about 250lbs and she was absolutely comfortable wearing a 2 piece bathing suit, something I would never have even considered doing when I was obese but she obviously had far more self-esteem than I have so I said, good for her.

Look, I’ll be honest, I am happy I have lost all the weight and that my health is so much better. Having said that, I also know how hard I had to work to do this and how hard I continue to work to try and maintain it. Pretty sure not many who read this blog spend at least 2 hours a day, at 6 days a week working out (note most days it is 3+ hours). I’m happy for all the people who don’t gain weight just by looking at a cookie, but I and many others do.

Just stop the fat shaming. The only shoes you walk in are your own so focus on your own life. Oh, and before you think making your behind the back comments don’t hurt, you are wrong, they can be life destroying. Instead maybe find a way to be supportive and inclusive.

End of rant.