This story was going to be about rude people at the gym. You know—judgy gym rats who feel it necessary to comment on your workout or your body, and those who cut down fellow gym goers via social media because they know what they’re saying is too S-H-A-D-Y to say to someone in person!
People like the person who told me after major surgery that I would ‘burn more calories if I ran instead of walked’ on the treadmill. Or the girl I found who uploaded photos of people in the locker room without their knowledge. I found so much negativity and lack of empathy for others that I didn’t want to write the story anymore.
TO THOSE PEOPLE: NOBODY NEEDS THAT SHIT.
Luckily there were also lots of really supportive people too—you know—TO GIVE ME SOME F*CK!NG HOPE FOR HUMANITY.
But then something much more significant began to stand out—the overwhelming self-hatred that people have for their body. Just type “fat” and “gym” into a Twitter search to witness an epidemic of self-loathing that could rival even the most heinous thinspiration site.
As I watched the near constant stream of self-depreciating tweets pour in from nearly every walk of life, I couldn’t help but see a bit of myself in there.
You see, my body issues and me go waaaay back. And while I’m currently not super pleased with my body and it’s something I’m working on, I am happy to report that I have reached a place where my weight is no longer the most important thing in my life. Having struggled with body image for many years, it ultimately took a serious health situation for me to realize that my health is more important that my weight.
TAKE THIS IN BECAUSE IT’S IMPORTANT: YOUR HEALTH IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR WEIGHT!
But I’m not gonna lie, THE NUMBER still effects me. It’s hard not to feel a bit self-critical when everywhere you look there are beautiful people complaining that they are fat and the media is yammering on about how fat people are the scourge of the planet. It’s hard not recognize the march of time in a culture that puts a premium on youth and perfection and it’s especially daunting when you know that being someone else’s ‘less than ideal’ can affect your income.
The fact is our culture sends hypocritical messages of self-acceptance and self-hate simultaneously and since we see these messages a million times a day they are bound to have an effect.
Me and my dog, Edie—totally not working out.
One thing I know for sure—self-hating does not lead to healthy changes and most importantly it does not lead to HAPPINESS!
As someone who has reached “the perfect weight” multiple times in my adult life, I can tell you that a perfect weight does not magically open up the gates of happiness—but life is admittedly more enjoyable when you are in a fit and healthy place. Most importantly, fit and healthy should not be a size range defined by someone other than you and your doctor!
You most likely know what your happy place is and I would love to share experiences and support you in reaching your goals. My personal mantra is peace, not perfection—given to me by my awesome blogger friend Leslie years ago. I am constantly reminding myself to be kinder to myself and to avoid the sort of self-hate messages that I saw on Twitter.
But like anything, old habits die hard. If you see a #FatTweet in my feed—forgive me? :p