Laura asks…
Why is everyone so defensive to overweight people?
ALRIGHT. BEFORE I GET A BUNCH OF HATERS.
I do NOT think i’m better than ‘chubby’ people, nor do I avoid them or do not like them.
Most my friends are overweight. I don’t care what you past as the answer as long as it’s not rude to me; go against me all you please.
But I’m so fed up with the “be happy with your body shape” movement that’s getting more and more support. Don’t get me wrong, a girl with curves is very attractive. But I want to roll my eyes when a down right fat person wants sympathy for their self inflicted health problems and low self esteem that was brought on by their own bad habits and lack of concern for themselves. Doctors try to educate fat people by bringing it to their attention how bad being overweight is for their health, but then the fat people take the facts as -critisism-! Are people really so lazy that they’d rather fight the facts, than exercise and eat better? Maybe there’s something I’m just not getting about this reasoning, so fill me in
admin answers:
Not all fat people are fat because of their bad habits.
I’m overweight plainly because I have a crappy metabolism. And I do exercise and eat less than what I used to, but I’m still overweight.
Linda asks…
what can I do to like myself more?
im a 21 year old college student and in high school and early college I have always been very thin (but healthy) with a flat stomach and everything. I really liked myself then cuz I looked good in my clothes and I was just happier. But when I was 18 I went though a major trauma (and I also had hyperthyroidism go into remission) so ever since then, I think my metabolism has slowed down and I also have been exercising much cuz I have arthritis in my knees so I cant run, whenever i do sit ups, I cant sit up AT ALL the next day, and almost any exercise at all, even speed walking, my heart speeds up so quickly so I feel exhausted and struggling to catch my breath after only a few minutes. ITS NOT CUZ IM LAZY so keep those kind of comments to yourself! it literally hurts to exercise. ive also tried dieting but the only times i diet and actually see change is when i have less than 1000 calories a day but then i have no energy. im a vegetarian so i get a lor of soy protein like those meat replacement things but (ironically) other than veggies in filled pastas like spinach and mushrooms, the smell of vegetables literally makes me gag, im serious, if i smell or taste most vegetables (besides only a couple exceptions like sweet corn and mushrooms), I will throw up. now I dont look good in my clothes and I have a very small chest (my 14 year old sister is bigger than me, how humiliating) so im really unbalanced and ackward. all this does nothing good for my self esteem. I dont think theres anything i like about myself except possible my eyes. my fiance tells me im beautiful and he loves me no matter what I look like and I know that im lucky to have someone who loves me like that but its hard to believe it when I look in the mirror and feel miserable. what can I do? dieting tips? easier exercise tips? anything nice?
please, please keep any nasty or rude comments to yourself. its really the last thing I need now 
admin answers:
Your fiance loves you and you are beautiful to him. He loves you for more than your looks, and so should you! Throw away the magazines, the television, and the mirrors. Go for daily walks together. Just stroll down the street or at a neighborhood park. As you smile and make eye contact with people you pass by, look carefully at them. They are ordinary people, just like you. They come in all shapes and sizes. They are not air-brushed, and there are no special lights to enhance their looks other than the same sun shining down on you. They wear clothes from the same stores where you shop, they eat the same foods you eat, and they struggle with the same issues about themselves as you are facing about yourself.
If you smile at them and see the beauty in these real people, it will help you to like yourself more and help you feel better, too. We are herd animals and we need other people around us. Walking before eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner will boost your metabolism when you do eat. At the same time it will lift your spirits. Most of all, it will give you a healthy daily dose of reality. You don’t have to be physically beautiful to be beautiful to yourself and to other people. If you were to stop these people and ask them if they are happy with the way they look, they would likely tell you that they don’t like this or that about themselves, either.
I’ve struggled with self-image, chronic pain, and depression. Going for 15-30 minute walks, even alone, was how I took my first steps toward a happier and healthier future. It made me stronger in body and in spirit. It will work for you, too, if you make a commitment to yourself and keep it.
James asks…
Thoughts on fat acceptance as a feminist issue? What are your thoughts?
I have been thinking about this topic for a while, let me start by saying I am by no means a hardcore feminist, but some issues do interest me. I started reading into the fat acceptance movement and it got me thinking, and even I have to agree with the points a lot of fat acceptance bloggers make. I know that what you eat and how much you exercise is a personal choice, and should be left at that. I am appalled though by some of the stories of discrimination and poor treatment some people have faced just because of their size whether they be slender or plus sized. Is society really this concerned with how others look? I mean, look at the labels we stick on people who are larger, we think they are lazy, stupid and unhealthy, and these labels seem to be especially hard on women. I hate to admit it, but there have been times I have thought these things about others, but that was when I was in high school. Are adults actually that judgmental and juvenile towards each other? I am concerned because I would hate to gain weight and have people perceive me as lazy for not being rail thin, and reading about this movement has opened my eyes to my own problems with binge eating and extreme diets, and body image.
admin answers:
Fat prejudice is the last socially acceptable prejudice. You can see the attitude in some of your answers.
Women end up bearing the brunt of it more so than men because women are still valued by how conventionally attractive they are.
Despite the fact that there are statistically more overweight men than women, men get a pass on being fat because a man’s worth is more determined by what he achieves and the amount of money they can make.
As a proponent of size acceptance I became much less judgmental of other people’s size when I finally got that I am not solely the size of my body but that it is only one component of who I am. A strong, healthy, artistic woman who happens to be fat.
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