Why I Don’t Body Shame

Trigger warning: This post talks about weight which can be a sensitive topic for some people. If these are sensitive topics for you and are triggering please don’t read any further and read through some of my other posts.

People often are a lot more critical of someone else’s body than they are of their own because it’s easier to pick fun at someone elses’ body than it is to focus on improving yourself. Body shaming can come in two different forms and you are either too small and need to eat a chocolate bar or fat and need to hit the gym. Some people will body shame every chance they have because nothing is ever good enough for them and it makes them feel better about their own bodies. You can always make improvements on your mental and physical health and it’s okay to help someone who is struggling that wants to make healthier choices but it’s not okay to body shame them because you’re not going to achieve that. Body shaming is happening everywhere and I see people do it online and in person which makes me wonder how people are okay with bringing others down instead of lifting them up. I can understand why some people may say rude things and not know but sometimes I don’t get it and you had to know that comment was going to hurt someone’s feelings. . Body shaming is something that has happened to most people at some point in their life but it is not okay to do in any form because it can affect the way someone views themselves. In this post, I am going to talk about why I don’t body shame and why you shouldn’t either.

Know their story-    There is nothing I hate more than when I see people judging the bodies of others whom you have not even met. I follow a bunch of fitness channels for my workouts and have gotten wonderful results from it. One of the fitness influencers I have been following for years experienced some serious body shaming within her own community and it made me think how easy it is for your community to turn on you because your body changed. Hundreds of people were saying that she was not fit to be a trainer and her workouts didn’t work because she was too fat but when she lost weight she was too skinny. I don’t understand how people can say such horrible things to someone that you only know through social media. I wouldn’t follow this woman’s nutrition advice because sometimes it can be kind of questionable but the workouts are very well done and I would highly recommend them. Please stop body-shaming family members, coworkers, or social media influencers because it helps no one and often leads to bad habits. If you are producing content that gives people results it shouldn’t matter what your weight is because it plays zero role in your ability to do that job well. Fitness influencers often have more pressure to look a certain way than people who don’t create content about fitness but it still doesn’t make it right. It is difficult to escape body shaming online because people expect so much of you and there will always be that one negative person. You can’t control how someone feels about your body but you can choose to not let it control you. Most of the time comments are out of pure hate but sometimes it’s not and there is some truth to that rude comment. Some people don’t approach situations in the best way so you need to ask yourself is this statement true? If it serves no purpose in your life and isn’t true learn to let it go! Try to keep an open mind before making negative body remarks about someone you don’t even know because there may be more to their body image than you are aware of. It’s unfair to judge someone before meeting them because for all you know these accusations could be totally wrong!

You could cause a body image or eating disorder-  Some people are confident in their bodies and will ignore rude body remarks because they expect it from some people but not everyone will be that way. Some people will not brush it off and will take it very personally which can lead to unhealthy choices. When I was in high school I gained about thirty pounds because I was making unhealthy choices which caused me to gain weight but it wasn’t that which made me want to change. One of my peers called me fat and it was that comment that struck me and I took it probably a little too personally. I started a fitness journey but the problem was I was desperate to get results and would do whatever it took to get them quickly even if it wasn’t the healthiest choice. I restricted my calories as much as I could and exercised more than necessary but the problem with that was I was not fueling my body properly so I was just tired. After I realized this was no way to live I healed my body but it wasn’t easy. I was in the mindset that I had to look a certain way and it took years of working on myself to get out of that. You never know what someone is going through or what bad habits they have because that one negative body remark can bring someone over the edge.

You could kill someone’s self-esteem – There is nothing worse than when you have been feeling good about yourself because you have been working out consistently or eating healthy and someone says do you even go to the gym? First of all, my fitness habits are none of your business, and secondly what decent human being say this? Some people may have just started going to the gym and it’s too soon to see their results while others may be physically unable to work out so it’s much more difficult to maintain your weight. You are only killing someone’s confidence when you give them workout tips they didn’t ask for and basically tell them they are looking rough. 

You can’t change genetics– Sometimes people try really hard to get super skinny but they have the most difficult time getting to where they want to be because it’s not in their genetics. It’s not even fair that you can eat super clean and the scale never budges while your friend eats garbage pretty much 24/7 and actually loses weight. Some people have faster metabolism’s and fitness is not hard for them because it’s in their genetics to be that way. You can blame your parents for giving you bad genes but even with bad genetics it is still possible to reach your goals and you just might have to work harder at it than some people. Some medical conditons and medications also have a huge impact on weight making it incredibly difficult to reach your goals.

Body shaming in any form is wrong because it affects the way someone views themselves and some people take it to the extreme to get results. It takes much longer to break free of a body image or eating disorder than it does to create one and once it’s there it stick with you forever. Society expects us to look a certain way to be beautiful but you don’t need to change your body to be beautiful and you already are. If you are unhappy with yourself and want to make healthier choices of course you can do something about it but remember that beauty is within you. You are your own unique person and there is no amount of plastic surgery or diet that will change that or make you more or less beautiful. People shouldn’t be making negative body remarks but there will always be that one negative person who will show no no shame in attacking someone else’s body. I wouldn’t take it personally and I almost feel bad for these people because that means you are unhappy with yourself and it makes you feel better to hurt someone else. What is your experience with body shaming?

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