To wonder if ‘body positivity’ has gone too far?

[WildUmberScroller]

While I fully accept supporting everyone for who they are, sometimes I feel like the body positivity movement is promoting unhealthy lifestyles. AIBU to feel like there should be limits?

Weight loss injections don't work that way; you can't eat takeaways and be sedentary on them and still lose weight. That's a really common misconception.

I'm so sorry that those people treated you so cruelly, and that you have had traumatic experiences too. People harping on about obesity being "glorified" or "glamorised" must be completely ignorant to the day to day stigmatism that larger people experience.

@LolaLouise
fuck off is the same answer my sister gives me when I suggest we go for a walk instead of sitting on the couch.

im well aware that injections work but i really believe that you are discounting the hard work most slim people put into looking the way they do. Try celebrate that!

Absolutely. There has to be a reason for the rise in people who are deficient in GLP1 receptors, and huge influx in ULP's particularly in childhood is probably a contributing factor. Some of these medications have been around for 20 years though, so we have some insight into there effect. The bigger issue is these medications need to be life long to work. They dont cure, they provide synthetic receptors, so when a person comes off them, they are likely to regain some weight. However the lifestyle changes made whilst on them hopefully go some way to allowing a person to stay at a more healthy weight in the future. But they are designed to be a life long medication, not a quick fix.

It's a shame you only exercise to be slim. I love the gym for its mental health benefits, same for getting up early and out in nature. I'd hate to be resentful of it and slogging it out just for weight reasons.

What are you on about? I never said that I only exercise to stay slim. Exercise has literally saved my life from the pits of infertility and the happy side effect is weight loss.

im just so sick of fat people who can barely walk the block judging me for putting in the effort to fix myself without any medical intervention.

I have pulled myself from the depths of hell to get where I am today and I can promise you that most people do not know hard it is to be committed to a healthy lifestyle!!!!

No one is disputing its hard for everyone to maintain a healthy lifestyle, especially in today society with 1000 calorie drinks on every corner and virtually every take away imaginable delivered to you in under 30 minutes, along with life being busier and finding the time and motivation to exercise. Its hard, for everyone. What im saying is there is an added reason for a lot of people that makes that even harder, a medical, genetic, biological hormone imbalance as they are deficient in the hormone that regulates digestion and hunger.

Sorry to point out the obvious but isn't Mumsnet social media you know where you've commented on?🤔🙄 Yes it's anonymous unlike most but you are online chatting to people and everyone gives their own opinions.

But you said you'd cancel your gym membership and live off burgers so you could take weight loss injections and be slim that way instead?

I'm confused about whether living a healthy lifestyle is a terrible sacrifice that you're making and need to be congratulated on, or if it's something you enjoy because of your moral superiority to fat people? You seem to be arguing both.

I like weightlifting, swimming, walking and cooking healthy meals because those things make me feel better. I don't expect anyone to admire me for it or celebrate it and I wouldn't want to give it up to sit on the couch and eat burgers. I don't think that's what all fat people are doing either; I think it's much more complex than that and yeah, it seems like hormones and genetics really play a role. But it doesn't take anything away from slim people to acknowledge that.

@FruityShampoo Tbh as much as I think what you've listed is sad and I'm sorry if it happened, I do however find it quite hard to believe. Size 20 is scarily common now, and I was nearly that size at 5'1 not that long ago. I never experienced those types of comments, in fact every time I would say I feel like I'm fat, I would get a barrage of comments saying no I'm beautiful.
I really don't think what you experienced is common.

Don't worry, OP. I'm fat and not at all positive about it. In fact, I feel like a disgusting, worthless second class citizen most of the time. Does that cheer you up?

You’re being very pedantic. If you cannot understand sarcasm then I cannot assist you.

There are many fat people who think slim people are just that way because of good genes and are ‘lucky’ and cannot comprehend the effort and self regulation it requires to be that way.

my own journey started out as a weight loss journey from years of hormonal imbalance brought on by countless rounds of Ivf. I slogged away on the road and gym to lose the pounds I had piled on. I thought if I couldn’t have a baby I would at least be thin. The realization soon came that my mental health was in fact the biggest winner in my conquest. You are discounting the sheer amount of will power it takes to get to that point. I would hazard a guess that most women who are looking to injections as their solution have not even explored the depth of what they could achieve if they made a commitment. im not sure there is any medical test or exam which can sift through those who need the help or those who are are not being honest with themselves. And my issue with that is that whilst fat people don’t like to be called fat they some of them are happy to take the shortcut and call the rest of us putting in the hard work stupid.

I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand I know it's better to promote a healthy lifestyle but on the other I've spent my entire life not doing things because I'm too fat, too thin, not the right shape, too old etc.
I decided a few years ago that I was going to do everything I wanted regardless. I am embarrassed about the horrible scars on my body from an accident and now I don't let anything stop me from wearing shorts swimsuits and doing what I want.
Body positivity allows people to get out there and live their lives instead of hiding in the shadows.

Same.

We should know our place in society as the disgusting, fat worthless morons that we are.

We wouldn't want anyone to think we like ourselves. We don't deserve to.

Every GP and surgeon I know really does eat healthily. I think the stress is unavoidable though.

I would love the government to have a healthy living channel on the TV (instead of bloody baking and cooking programmes that just encourage us to eat more fat and sugar).
Even more, I would love them to invest in cycle paths, to make cycling safer and more mainstream for everyone.

I live in the countryside but the roads near me are A roads and are horrendous to walk or cycle on. I have to drive to a safe place if I want to go for a walk or bike ride with children.

I agree, but I imagine ordinary bodies that are of a healthy weight don’t get much attention on social media and so they don’t sell as much. People are always fascinated with extremes. Obese, ultra thin, big muscles, oversized boobs and bums are entertaining to a lot of people.

As a former fat person you should understand the impact weight has on a person. Many, many people try all their life to lose weight unsuccessfully, or bounce between 2 weights for years. These WLI's are not a miracle fix. They still require will power, they still require good food choices, high protein, low calorie, low sugar, they require exercise and dedication to the journey. Its a tool that makes it a little bit easier. If losing weight was so difficult for you, and requires that much effort and will power even now you are a healthy weight, may be you are deficient in GLP1 receptors and this tool probably would have been useful for you at the time too? Instead of berating people who are using them to make lifestyle changes and become healthier, maybe try being happy for them they are now able be nearly as successful as you were without it?

@LolaLouise
so you are telling me that you are not worried at all that there may be a non-medical route for a lot of these women that may just involve a bit of fortitude and hard work? Are you telling me that it’s ok for an injection to be a substitute for what I’ve managed to achieve (and many others) …

It seems extremely twisted logic to deduce from the existence of weight loss injections that people who lose weight without using them are judged negatively - from looking at Mumsnet threads it goes the other way: people taking the jabs are dismissed as lazy and stupid, while people who lose weight in other ways are praised.

You think I'm discounting the importance of willpower; I think you're dismissing what the other poster said about hormones and the huge impact that they can have. I think you're ignoring eating disorders, many of which end up causing obesity - I know some people assume all eating disorders make sufferers thin but that isn't the case. I think you and the OP don't really understand how complicated and multifactorial obesity is - it's not something caused by seeing a fat person wearing nice clothes on Instagram or doing a yoga tutorial on TikTok. It isn't down to fat people having inferior morals or being dreadful people. I think all of us could do with having a bit more empathy and acceptance and understanding that other people's lives are different to ours.

I don't think you have any insight into whether or not people taking injections are 'honest' with themselves or that they haven't tried hard enough. It's possible they might have tried just as hard as you but failed, for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes willpower isn't enough to change what your body and brain can do. Mind over matter doesn't work every time. I don't think it costs us anything to be compassionate to other people and to extend them the benefit of the doubt rather than making assumptions.

Gosh I shudder to think what may happen when we discover an injection for intelligence or academic success … sorry for all those who study hard and put in the hours because we must then be happy that there is a shortcut for others so they don’t have to endure the hard work of the process but can still reap the benefits of its success.

Everyone should be free to be whatever bloody size they want - big or small. People who’ve got the time or headspace to think about and comment on others are the ones with the problem. Ps I’ve had anorexia and struggle to maintain a ‘normal bmi’ and I’ve had comments the other way and people looking me up and down - saying ‘for gods sake will you just eat some cake’ and ‘it makes you feel sick when you see her arms’ . I even had a ‘friend’ comment when I got out of a hot tub on a girls weekend ‘omg she’s so thin it makes me feel ill’ (I wasn’t particularly thin at that point). It hurts all ways. Just let people be.

Oh I would be quite happy to have a society full of intelligent people! It would be of enormous benefit to everyone. Why on earth would I begrudge it because I worked hard? I love studying! I did it because I found it enriching and valuable and I wouldn't care if anyone else did it differently to me.

Its not a substitute. It still requires good choices and exercise. It allows the brain to recognise when the body is full by providing receptors for the hormone the body releases. It allows a person not to constantly think about food, as the hormone that tells a person they aren't hungry is working as it should.

I get how its frustrating that they are now available when you did it and achieved it by sheer will and determination, but that isnt possible for everyone. You come across as quite bitter you had to do it by yourself and how hard it was for you when others are having their journey made a bit easier. What you have achieved is very admirable. But not everyone has the same journey.

Of course, if the injections ARE a short cut then those ex-fatties won't be quite so tired (or bitter) as those that did it the old fashioned way. In the end, they'll be the winners.

And, just like lab diamonds, in the end it won't matter how they did it - because no one will know the difference.

My point is that he is accused of fat phobia just for talking objectively about health and weight.