The Complicated World of Body Positivity (a mini documentary) - Blogilates
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Date: 2022-04-28
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Comments and reviews: 10
Fayerweather
I appreciate the work and research that went into this video. I think you're right that body positivity is a somewhat amorphous term that means different things to different people. And I am sorry that you received so many negative comments and hate from people you thought were your fans. There's just no cause for that.
For myself? I came to body positivity (or lets say body acceptance? fat acceptance) through a long history of self hate, judgement from friends and family about the size and shape of my body and relentless messages from health gurus, commercials, movies, television shows, gyms, workout videos, clothing stores etc etc that told me that if I was not thin, I had no worth. Lots of women and girls, men and boys suffer from this cultural pressure. I was always chubby as a kid and when I hit puberty, my sister put me on the first of a long string of diets. The ole dry toast and frozen grapes and low fat yogurt early 90s diet, where fat was the enemy and carbs were fine.
Fast forward twenty years and I had lost and gained over a hundred pounds through a series of crash diets, low carb diets, work out routines and binge eating. I was exhausted and hated myself.
Then I found Intuitive Eating. I think this may be a missing component of your video. Intuitive Eating (IE) focuses in on the (fact) that the human body does not like to lose weight. We have developed over hundreds of thousands of years to find calories and consume them and hold onto them at all costs to avoid starvation in a world where food wasn't always as easy to get as a trip to the supermarket. Food restrictions, even small sensible ones cause our body's physical and mental systems to go into starvation mode and increase hunger hormones. When the body senses any sort of food restrictions, even minor, sensible ones, it will trip off a series of biological defense mechanisms to keep you from starving.
This is why 90+% of diets do not last past a few months or years. We are not built to starve. It doesn't matter if the restrictions are for our health, or if they're for weight loss, or if they're because we're stranded in the wilderness somewhere. If you cut portions or cut out food types and groups, your body will rebel.
I, like virtually every woman I know who is on some long series of yo yo diets, learned this the hard way. So I stopped restricting and just ate what I wanted. And yeah, I gained quite a bit of weight. My body was sick and tired of starving and made me eat until it felt sure I wouldn't starve again. On the up side, my binging, which had plagued me for decades evaporated the minute I stopped restricting. And with the help of body positive bloggers and podcasts and writers, I learned to accept who I am without restrictions.
Now this is not the same as wanting to become stronger, faster, healthier through non-restrictive methods. Drinking enough water, getting enough sleep and enough rest. Adding enough movement into your day, or weight lifting/jogging/pilates/yoga? All good! So is making sure to eat enough fresh fruits and vegetables. But taking food away? Restrictions have been proven not to work long term for most people.
HAES - Health At Every Size is connected to IE and means that a person can pursue health from a weight neutral perspective. If you're fat, you can still work out and add nutrient dense foods to your diet and not have to starve.
And the final component is the psychological one. Very little research has been done into the role self hate and the stress of living life in a fat body in a culture that hates fat people has done to the health of fat people. If stress kills, than what happens to a person who hates themselves virtually every second of every day. Health includes pleasure you feel from eating ice cream or pizza with your friends. It includes spending time with family, hugs from your kids, playing with your pets and being fine and dandy with your body no matter how it looks.
So when someone says they want to lose weight through dieting, I mostly hear I want to restrict my food and starve my body. You don't have to see it that way, but that's how lots of body positive/IE/HAES people feel, and might be behind why they say you can't lose weight purposefully and be body positive. I think if you look into IE and HAES and maybe talk to people like Christy Harrison or Page Smathers, or talk to Evelyn Triblole or Elyse Resch who wrote the IE book, you'll get a broader perspective. Good luck!
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I appreciate the work and research that went into this video. I think you're right that body positivity is a somewhat amorphous term that means different things to different people. And I am sorry that you received so many negative comments and hate from people you thought were your fans. There's just no cause for that.
For myself? I came to body positivity (or lets say body acceptance? fat acceptance) through a long history of self hate, judgement from friends and family about the size and shape of my body and relentless messages from health gurus, commercials, movies, television shows, gyms, workout videos, clothing stores etc etc that told me that if I was not thin, I had no worth. Lots of women and girls, men and boys suffer from this cultural pressure. I was always chubby as a kid and when I hit puberty, my sister put me on the first of a long string of diets. The ole dry toast and frozen grapes and low fat yogurt early 90s diet, where fat was the enemy and carbs were fine.
Fast forward twenty years and I had lost and gained over a hundred pounds through a series of crash diets, low carb diets, work out routines and binge eating. I was exhausted and hated myself.
Then I found Intuitive Eating. I think this may be a missing component of your video. Intuitive Eating (IE) focuses in on the (fact) that the human body does not like to lose weight. We have developed over hundreds of thousands of years to find calories and consume them and hold onto them at all costs to avoid starvation in a world where food wasn't always as easy to get as a trip to the supermarket. Food restrictions, even small sensible ones cause our body's physical and mental systems to go into starvation mode and increase hunger hormones. When the body senses any sort of food restrictions, even minor, sensible ones, it will trip off a series of biological defense mechanisms to keep you from starving.
This is why 90+% of diets do not last past a few months or years. We are not built to starve. It doesn't matter if the restrictions are for our health, or if they're for weight loss, or if they're because we're stranded in the wilderness somewhere. If you cut portions or cut out food types and groups, your body will rebel.
I, like virtually every woman I know who is on some long series of yo yo diets, learned this the hard way. So I stopped restricting and just ate what I wanted. And yeah, I gained quite a bit of weight. My body was sick and tired of starving and made me eat until it felt sure I wouldn't starve again. On the up side, my binging, which had plagued me for decades evaporated the minute I stopped restricting. And with the help of body positive bloggers and podcasts and writers, I learned to accept who I am without restrictions.
Now this is not the same as wanting to become stronger, faster, healthier through non-restrictive methods. Drinking enough water, getting enough sleep and enough rest. Adding enough movement into your day, or weight lifting/jogging/pilates/yoga? All good! So is making sure to eat enough fresh fruits and vegetables. But taking food away? Restrictions have been proven not to work long term for most people.
HAES - Health At Every Size is connected to IE and means that a person can pursue health from a weight neutral perspective. If you're fat, you can still work out and add nutrient dense foods to your diet and not have to starve.
And the final component is the psychological one. Very little research has been done into the role self hate and the stress of living life in a fat body in a culture that hates fat people has done to the health of fat people. If stress kills, than what happens to a person who hates themselves virtually every second of every day. Health includes pleasure you feel from eating ice cream or pizza with your friends. It includes spending time with family, hugs from your kids, playing with your pets and being fine and dandy with your body no matter how it looks.
So when someone says they want to lose weight through dieting, I mostly hear I want to restrict my food and starve my body. You don't have to see it that way, but that's how lots of body positive/IE/HAES people feel, and might be behind why they say you can't lose weight purposefully and be body positive. I think if you look into IE and HAES and maybe talk to people like Christy Harrison or Page Smathers, or talk to Evelyn Triblole or Elyse Resch who wrote the IE book, you'll get a broader perspective. Good luck!
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Emma
I'm not sure if I'll be talking into a void, or if it really would be helpful to assist in understanding? But I may as well hope its the latter & try help a little
16: 12 - I think the issues start to arise when there's a bit of mixed messaging. By that what I mean is, if someone's saying their goal is to get stronger, than a way to help display/share their progress (if that's what they want to do) would be showing actual strength progress, (eg. If they can now do a pull up, or can lift more than they used to etc etc) rather than using before/after photo's of their size/physique as the thing they choose to share in a comparitive fashion (as in by doing the side by side thing.
I hope I'm making sense? But basically, we're finally starting to come out of a time where our bodies are something for display/pleasure of others, & starting to come into a time where people are seeing the benefits of seeing our body as a tool. Obviously there is slight overlap, because sometimes when we feel like we're being good to our bodies then we want to show it off. But the problems lie in the side by side before/after type pictures where it is about physique, rather than function/how we feel etc.
If the physique aspect is someone's goal (say for example a body builder etc) than fair enough, they can do their thing. But its about being transparent & upfront with that - The thing that tends to make people angry, is when they feel like they've been dooped, eg. If someone states their goal is strength/mental health etc, & yet they choose to display their before/after in a way that reflects they in fact had a different goal.
I hope that made a bit of sense? Fingers crossed it helps at least one person All the best from Australia - Emma
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I'm not sure if I'll be talking into a void, or if it really would be helpful to assist in understanding? But I may as well hope its the latter & try help a little
16: 12 - I think the issues start to arise when there's a bit of mixed messaging. By that what I mean is, if someone's saying their goal is to get stronger, than a way to help display/share their progress (if that's what they want to do) would be showing actual strength progress, (eg. If they can now do a pull up, or can lift more than they used to etc etc) rather than using before/after photo's of their size/physique as the thing they choose to share in a comparitive fashion (as in by doing the side by side thing.
I hope I'm making sense? But basically, we're finally starting to come out of a time where our bodies are something for display/pleasure of others, & starting to come into a time where people are seeing the benefits of seeing our body as a tool. Obviously there is slight overlap, because sometimes when we feel like we're being good to our bodies then we want to show it off. But the problems lie in the side by side before/after type pictures where it is about physique, rather than function/how we feel etc.
If the physique aspect is someone's goal (say for example a body builder etc) than fair enough, they can do their thing. But its about being transparent & upfront with that - The thing that tends to make people angry, is when they feel like they've been dooped, eg. If someone states their goal is strength/mental health etc, & yet they choose to display their before/after in a way that reflects they in fact had a different goal.
I hope that made a bit of sense? Fingers crossed it helps at least one person All the best from Australia - Emma
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Mala
Weight loss should to be purposeful. it needs to have a good personal reason. It needs to go beyond a smaller number on the scale or a smaller number on a pair of jeans. There should be a clear answer as to Why someone want to lose weight. (Why because I want to feel more energetic and more mobile. I want to move freely without having to hold on to something to get up from a seated to a standing position. I want the feel endorphins exercise without feeling pain afterwards which will stop me from working out tomorrow. )
It shouldn't be comparison shopping for another person's body or an image that may not exist.
This is why I got so upset when women were asked to compare their weight to someone else's in another video that was made.
It's such a superficial and personal thing to look at someone and to be almost forced to make a comparison to themselves.
People do buy into an image. They buy into the idea of that model/photo/whoever it is that is larger than life is relatable to me. That's how I personally feel anyway.
As a follower, I am following someone who I believe is similar to me in views and perceptions of myself.
This is what makes a personal journey for the person who is being followed in the public eye so painfully hard.
Especially when you have the size of a small country following you around all over the place, people are definitely going to feel the seeds of change and it may not be in the most positive light. (My fitness guru/model/mentor/teacher/instructor/ is re-designing herself in the public eye. so is there something personally wrong with me (too)
reply
Weight loss should to be purposeful. it needs to have a good personal reason. It needs to go beyond a smaller number on the scale or a smaller number on a pair of jeans. There should be a clear answer as to Why someone want to lose weight. (Why because I want to feel more energetic and more mobile. I want to move freely without having to hold on to something to get up from a seated to a standing position. I want the feel endorphins exercise without feeling pain afterwards which will stop me from working out tomorrow. )
It shouldn't be comparison shopping for another person's body or an image that may not exist.
This is why I got so upset when women were asked to compare their weight to someone else's in another video that was made.
It's such a superficial and personal thing to look at someone and to be almost forced to make a comparison to themselves.
People do buy into an image. They buy into the idea of that model/photo/whoever it is that is larger than life is relatable to me. That's how I personally feel anyway.
As a follower, I am following someone who I believe is similar to me in views and perceptions of myself.
This is what makes a personal journey for the person who is being followed in the public eye so painfully hard.
Especially when you have the size of a small country following you around all over the place, people are definitely going to feel the seeds of change and it may not be in the most positive light. (My fitness guru/model/mentor/teacher/instructor/ is re-designing herself in the public eye. so is there something personally wrong with me (too)
reply
2thestarswholisten
I'm new to body positivity and for me it's choosing to love my body and wanting to take care of it.
.
Before when I would focus on weight loss and hating the way I looked I could never stay on a healthy plan. My aesthetic was never going to keep me motivated. I always gave up.
.
But deciding to treat my body with kindness and love was a total game changer. Looking at food as fuel for my body and a way to love my body instead of punishing it was a game changer. Wanting to making my body stronger and more able instead of punishing it with exercise was a game changer. My non scale victories and goals are the new finish line. I want to have less pain in my knee and feet. I want to be healthy and fit for an upcoming surgery and give myself the best chance for recovery. I want my body to make a baby and feed my child. I want a healthy pregnancy and lower risk for complications like gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. I want to celebrate my body for what it can do!
.
I'm on my way to a healthier life, and part of that journey does include weight loss. I have to be very careful not to make weight loss the goal. It's not the goal! Weight loss is only one of the tools I will use to reach my goals. It might seem like a subtle difference, but it's making a huge difference to me. And I think that's what counts.
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I'm new to body positivity and for me it's choosing to love my body and wanting to take care of it.
.
Before when I would focus on weight loss and hating the way I looked I could never stay on a healthy plan. My aesthetic was never going to keep me motivated. I always gave up.
.
But deciding to treat my body with kindness and love was a total game changer. Looking at food as fuel for my body and a way to love my body instead of punishing it was a game changer. Wanting to making my body stronger and more able instead of punishing it with exercise was a game changer. My non scale victories and goals are the new finish line. I want to have less pain in my knee and feet. I want to be healthy and fit for an upcoming surgery and give myself the best chance for recovery. I want my body to make a baby and feed my child. I want a healthy pregnancy and lower risk for complications like gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. I want to celebrate my body for what it can do!
.
I'm on my way to a healthier life, and part of that journey does include weight loss. I have to be very careful not to make weight loss the goal. It's not the goal! Weight loss is only one of the tools I will use to reach my goals. It might seem like a subtle difference, but it's making a huge difference to me. And I think that's what counts.
reply
LeDiskoLove99
What a wonderful video. I hate that a lot of women think that being body positive is only for fat people and tear down those who are smaller, it's not fair, we're all humans at the end of the day why should we hate each other? I'm a fat woman, I don't plan to stay that way I do want to get healthier and make better decisions, but that does not in anyway mean I dislike thin/skinny/smaller than me women just for them being smaller. I think that's such a toxic mindset, and discouraging people from making a change that would benefit them whether it be mentally or physically or both is just so not what this is all about. To me it's just about accepting people how they are and supporting them regardless, and if they want to make a change, like losing weight or just gaining a healthier life style then you show support and encouragement for that too. I don't agree with shaming anyone no matter their size or body shape or type, but I also don't agree with tearing someone down who wants to make a healthy and safe change.
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What a wonderful video. I hate that a lot of women think that being body positive is only for fat people and tear down those who are smaller, it's not fair, we're all humans at the end of the day why should we hate each other? I'm a fat woman, I don't plan to stay that way I do want to get healthier and make better decisions, but that does not in anyway mean I dislike thin/skinny/smaller than me women just for them being smaller. I think that's such a toxic mindset, and discouraging people from making a change that would benefit them whether it be mentally or physically or both is just so not what this is all about. To me it's just about accepting people how they are and supporting them regardless, and if they want to make a change, like losing weight or just gaining a healthier life style then you show support and encouragement for that too. I don't agree with shaming anyone no matter their size or body shape or type, but I also don't agree with tearing someone down who wants to make a healthy and safe change.
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Little
So, from a different perspective, but for me body positivity is not hating my body for being sick. I'm dealing with health problems all my life, some visible, some not. It's not that I don't want to get better (my biggest wish of all, but learning that it's also okay to be sick, since it's not something I have a lot of control over, and I shouldn't hate my body for being sick all the time.
I have rosacea all over my face at the moment, but body positivity means for to want to try to find beauty in it as well, and trying not to hate it (I now actually like how it look, it reminds me of freckles. I only want it gone because it feels weird and it iches, and since my skin is obviously not healthy. It's not necessary to love it, but it is about accepting it, and not hating it or despising your skin.
It's about coming to terms with scars I have.
Body positivity is not just about weight, it's also about health, disabilities, dealing with scars, skin imperfections, and things like that.
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So, from a different perspective, but for me body positivity is not hating my body for being sick. I'm dealing with health problems all my life, some visible, some not. It's not that I don't want to get better (my biggest wish of all, but learning that it's also okay to be sick, since it's not something I have a lot of control over, and I shouldn't hate my body for being sick all the time.
I have rosacea all over my face at the moment, but body positivity means for to want to try to find beauty in it as well, and trying not to hate it (I now actually like how it look, it reminds me of freckles. I only want it gone because it feels weird and it iches, and since my skin is obviously not healthy. It's not necessary to love it, but it is about accepting it, and not hating it or despising your skin.
It's about coming to terms with scars I have.
Body positivity is not just about weight, it's also about health, disabilities, dealing with scars, skin imperfections, and things like that.
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Izzy
Honestly, what happened to people getting praised for the goals they make and the progress they receive from working hard? Being body positive should mean encouraging people (both those who feel down and discouraged and those who aren't going to give up when they've come so far) to KEEP PUSHING to get what they want, not calling them out on trying to change, claiming they hate themselves. If you aren't comfortable in your own body, I'm not going to judge you for being insecure or mean to yourself- you already give enough criticism to you. But if you're willing to put in the work and consistency to reach your goal, while still having fun, THAT'S BODY POSITIVITY! I think people need to realize that it's not a competition of who is making the bigger difference or who is doing the best job at maintaining their weight. Do what you want, wear what you want, and be happy with who you are. If people still give you hate for it, they're just trying to spread their own insecurities.
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Honestly, what happened to people getting praised for the goals they make and the progress they receive from working hard? Being body positive should mean encouraging people (both those who feel down and discouraged and those who aren't going to give up when they've come so far) to KEEP PUSHING to get what they want, not calling them out on trying to change, claiming they hate themselves. If you aren't comfortable in your own body, I'm not going to judge you for being insecure or mean to yourself- you already give enough criticism to you. But if you're willing to put in the work and consistency to reach your goal, while still having fun, THAT'S BODY POSITIVITY! I think people need to realize that it's not a competition of who is making the bigger difference or who is doing the best job at maintaining their weight. Do what you want, wear what you want, and be happy with who you are. If people still give you hate for it, they're just trying to spread their own insecurities.
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Katie
blogilates Dear Cassie, I love your videos so much! I want to put out there the aspect of body positivity that people don't seem to be talking about. that when you are healthy and feel better you can do more. I have always been relatively thin. When I was 26 even being a thin person I would huff and puff going up stairs or doing activities like hiking! I wanted to respect my body by getting into shape not for weight loss but to feel stronger. Your videos really helped me with bicycle hill climbs- something I have really struggled with. I incorporated your videos into training for a bicycle century! I did lose weight a long the way and also got a lot of negativity from coworkers seeing me eat healthy, But I felt healthier! no more huffing and puffing! To me being able to bike or climb to a summit using my body is body positivity no matter what size I am.
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blogilates Dear Cassie, I love your videos so much! I want to put out there the aspect of body positivity that people don't seem to be talking about. that when you are healthy and feel better you can do more. I have always been relatively thin. When I was 26 even being a thin person I would huff and puff going up stairs or doing activities like hiking! I wanted to respect my body by getting into shape not for weight loss but to feel stronger. Your videos really helped me with bicycle hill climbs- something I have really struggled with. I incorporated your videos into training for a bicycle century! I did lose weight a long the way and also got a lot of negativity from coworkers seeing me eat healthy, But I felt healthier! no more huffing and puffing! To me being able to bike or climb to a summit using my body is body positivity no matter what size I am.
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siriuslyconfused1
I am a plus size individual, and I dont think body positivity has to be just for fat people, if you have a body you should be able to be positive about it. I do think that people who look outside the norm have a tougher time finding acceptance from the public, but body positivity isnt about the public, its about you accepting your own body. I hate to be that person but when I was a part of this kind of thinking most of it was me being jealous of people who have healthier or thinner bodies than mine, not saying thats everyone in this movement at all but I know it must be a percent because I cant be the only one who felt that way. I believe you can absolutely love your body and want it to be healthier and fed with better foods. If you love your goldfish you dont over feed it or it will die, same with your body in my opinion.
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I am a plus size individual, and I dont think body positivity has to be just for fat people, if you have a body you should be able to be positive about it. I do think that people who look outside the norm have a tougher time finding acceptance from the public, but body positivity isnt about the public, its about you accepting your own body. I hate to be that person but when I was a part of this kind of thinking most of it was me being jealous of people who have healthier or thinner bodies than mine, not saying thats everyone in this movement at all but I know it must be a percent because I cant be the only one who felt that way. I believe you can absolutely love your body and want it to be healthier and fed with better foods. If you love your goldfish you dont over feed it or it will die, same with your body in my opinion.
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Anabelle
I noticed that most of the body positivity and body shaming is always aimed at women since women are given high expectations for beauty, can't be too slim or too thick. I think the skinny to fat differentiation is a means to separate women as a class and get us to childishly attack each other instead of the rich dudes who sell expensive make up and waist trainers. Picking and choosing the women you want to respect even though we all experience the same pain is just meaningless garbage that oppressors need to cling to in order to get a word in. Which is why I think women need to love and uphold each other instead of only upholding a very small subsection of women. Remember that every woman fights for something like being curvier, being thinner or being stronger, we're always seen as not good enough regardless of how good we look.
reply
I noticed that most of the body positivity and body shaming is always aimed at women since women are given high expectations for beauty, can't be too slim or too thick. I think the skinny to fat differentiation is a means to separate women as a class and get us to childishly attack each other instead of the rich dudes who sell expensive make up and waist trainers. Picking and choosing the women you want to respect even though we all experience the same pain is just meaningless garbage that oppressors need to cling to in order to get a word in. Which is why I think women need to love and uphold each other instead of only upholding a very small subsection of women. Remember that every woman fights for something like being curvier, being thinner or being stronger, we're always seen as not good enough regardless of how good we look.
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