Hey folks,
I’ve been mulling over this question and I’d love to know what you think. When it comes to living a body positive life, is there ever room for deciding to lose weight? Not “If I don’t lose 10 pounds I’ll be a worthless human being!” (which I think we all agree is unhealthy) and not “My doctor said if I don’t lose 10 pounds (insert horrible thing) will happen” (which no one would judge you for- though they may judge your doctor) but middle-of-the road deciding one is not the size they want to be and changing that. Is there room for that in the world of body positivity? I’ve made a little poll so you can weigh in (no pun intended). Let me know what you think and feel free to leave any additional thoughts in the comments field.
Thanks, folks!
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I actually wrote about this in a post last week: http://wp.me/p5UnlJ-1S
The short version is I feel very positive about my body, but I still want to lose 20-30 pounds. I lost that weight a few years ago but have sadly gained it back. I simply feel better at a bit lower weight. My energy levels are higher and I’m more active and less sluggish. Having the weight off previously felt amazing.
Now, if I get back to regular exercise and build muscle, and the number on the scale doesn’t actually go down, I’m fine with that. As long as I’m stronger, have more energy and feel healthier. I love my life so much right now, I just want that extra boost to be able to fully enjoy it!
It’s such a complicated question. Should you love your body? Absolutely. But you must also be kind to your body and that means some TLC. I am a size 18 and have been both strong and healthy and struggling and out of shape at the exact same size. I know which one I prefer. Sometimes exercise and healthier eating comes with a side of weight loss, sometimes it doesn’t. I wouldn’t love my body more if I lost weight but I know I would feel better. I watched my mother die recently from largely from health issues that came from her weight and lifestyle. I don’t want that to happen to me. So, while I love my body, I don’t necessarily love the side effects that can come from carrying more weight than is good for my frame and my organs. Does that make sense?
I’m a pilot. Losing 20 pounds, in some light aircraft (Cessna 150/152, for example), can be worth nearly an hour’s worth of extra fuel. You might also decide to lose weight to be more competitive at a sport. Rock climbing, for example, takes strength, but it is also helpful to be light, for obvious reasons.
I’ve been waiting to reply to the comments because I’ll be writing on this topic soon but I had to get to this one immediately because that aircraft thing is so cool, I love when readers teach me stuff! Thank you!
As any person who has known me for awhile could tell you, my (minor but existing) body issues, the result of growing up overweight (and high school wrestling), are balanced by generally high self-esteem. Still, I was basically the same size in 11th grade (5’11”, 193) and 2013 (6’3″, 195), then in 2014, I gained 35 pounds of pregnancy weight! Now my clothes fit weird and I couldn’t (can’t) run far bc my knees and shins hurt when I do. As much as I philosophically hate weighing 222lbs (I’ve lost some in six months) for my ego–and the little fat kid I was–the extra weight for me is also requiring lifestyle changes I’m not comfortable with. So yes, I still have a positive body image vis a vis what I look like but I’m no longer sure I can outrun the cops! And because I’m male, I have the luxury to only concern myself with whether it works, regardless of how it looks. Culturally, if that were the measure of body positivity, how well it functions, it would probably prove easier to convince folk to change their lifestyle, just by detaching our body image from our mirrors, phones and selfie sticks.
Of course, I’m a shallow New Yorker so I’m not holding my breath or even hopeful for this outcome.
Oh, here I was thinking it would be a multi-question survey and then it was like, “You’re done!”
I think that you can be body positive and simultaneously critical (not negative) about your size or the size of others. Kind of like how I think you can be sex positive but still sex critical and it’s not the same as being sex negative. Body positivity doesn’t have to be “never change your body.” I think we should all endeavor to accept and love our bodies, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t change them.
Body positivity is an ongoing, conscious endeavor. It’s also a way of supporting yourself and others. So, in my opinion, you can want to lose weight and be body positive, particularly if you are supportive of others’ bodies and are treating your own body well. And no one is perfect. People with disordered relationships with food can endeavor to be body positive, but that doesn’t mean they won’t still have the same struggles.