The Dark Side of Body Positivity

All our bodies are stunning, proper?

No less than that’s what we’ve been advised. And over the previous few years, this physique positivity and anti-fat shaming motion has virtually taken on a lifetime of its personal, to the purpose the place questioning it might even put you vulnerable to being canceled.

And whereas on the floor it would seem to be celebrating all physique sorts is the type and inclusive factor to do, what if it’s really NOT? 

What if it’s a message that’s really hurting us?

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And I do know this can be a hot-button situation, so let me begin by clarifying that I don’t imagine in fat-shaming, nor do I feel that each lady must be a measurement 4 to be wholesome or stunning. Our bodies are available in all styles and sizes and colours, and that may be a stunning factor and positively one thing that ought to be celebrated.

What I’ve an issue with is the concept that we’re presupposed to embrace weight problems as one thing that’s completely regular and wholesome and fascinating.

That’s the place physique positivity crosses the road into toxicity as a result of it’s a message that’s actually killing us. And whereas the physique positivity motion could have began off with noble intentions, I feel it has been usurped and used as a manipulation software by corporations who, fairly frankly, don’t all the time have our greatest pursuits at coronary heart.

As a result of actually the extra I assist folks with shedding weight and remodeling their well being, and the extra I learn and analysis and dive into the science and the historical past of well being and weight reduction over the previous 100 years, and the extra I see simply how a lot the meals and drug trade has been influencing us behind the scenes in a approach that I can solely describe as deeply sinister, the extra I really feel like we have to speak about this. 

A bit historical past lesson

So the place did this physique positivity motion come from? How did it begin? In any case, it didn’t simply come out of nowhere, proper?

Nicely, it really has its roots within the feminist motion of the late Sixties and early Nineteen Seventies. It was a approach for girls to reject what society was telling them they needed to seem like—that’s, be skinny and match into sure conventional magnificence requirements—and as an alternative rejoice their very own distinctive magnificence, no matter form or measurement that could be.

And that’s positively a noble trigger.

Nevertheless it wasn’t till Dove got here alongside in 2004 with their “Marketing campaign for Actual Magnificence”, that the physique positivity motion kicked into full swing. It featured a various group of actual girls in white cotton underwear. No make-up, no airbrushing. Simply actual magnificence.

An Picture from Dove’s Actual Magnificence Marketing campaign in 2004

You in all probability even bear in mind it, as a result of it was an enormous deal. 

And actually, it was a motion that was straightforward to get behind.

In the event you return and take a look at these authentic Dove adverts from 2004, they are surely inspiring, as a result of it was such a distinction to every little thing we had seen within the media and promoting as much as that time, to the supermodel tradition of the 1990’s, which was all about “heroin stylish” and tremendous skinny fashions that impressed a numerous variety of consuming problems, which was clearly not a superb factor, and completely damaging in its personal proper.

And so this was seen because the pendulum shifting in a special path, to one thing extra constructive and wholesome and inclusive. 

However like so many issues that begin out good and constructive and wholesome, in some unspecified time in the future the motion shifted to the intense, the place as an alternative of celebrating all completely different our bodies of a wholesome weight versus the scary skinny supermodels, it has slowly morphed into celebrating weight problems. The ladies being featured are now not of a wholesome weight, however usually what can solely be categorised as morbidly overweight. 

And never solely that, the message being given is “This isn’t solely stunning, that is wholesome. You may be wholesome at ANY weight.”

Not solely that, anybody who disagrees is accused of fats shaming. Within the 20 years since Dove first launched that marketing campaign, it has grow to be culturally unacceptable to say something damaging about being chubby.

The Darkish Aspect of Physique Positivity

And whether or not it was a deep darkish conspiracy by the meals trade (Dove is owned by one the most important meals corporations on the planet), or simply an efficient advertising concept that developed into one thing extra, it doesn’t really matter, as a result of the end result has been the identical both approach. 

Presently in the US, 41% of adults and 19.4% of youngsters are thought-about overweight. Meaning 2 out 5 of adults, and 1 in 5 children.

That’s an enormous improve from 2004, when solely 31% of adults in the US had been categorised as chubby.

All this physique positivity has solely made us extra chubby.

And that’s not wholesome.  Right here’s why.

First, weight problems will increase your danger of growing Coronary heart Illness by as much as 73%. It additionally will increase your danger of Sort 2 Diabetes by as much as 90% and your danger of stroke by as much as 50%.

Being overweight additionally places you at increased dangers for growing hypertension, despair, kidney illness, sleep apnea, most cancers and extra. 

Plus, when you’re overweight or chubby, it’s nearly assured that you’ve some type of insulin resistance and leaky intestine syndrome. Meaning you’re additionally in all probability coping with every little thing from heartburn and irritation to digestive points, pores and skin points, continual ache, continual fatigue, and autoimmune dysfunction.

After which there’s the truth that as your weight will increase, so does your danger of an early loss of life.

Backside line—there’s NOTHING constructive about weight problems.

So let’s cease mendacity to ourselves.

Balancing Self Acceptance with Well being

On the finish of the day, I actually suppose all of it comes right down to this—we now have to discover a solution to stability loving ourselves with good well being.

And actually to me meaning loving your self ENOUGH to truly get wholesome.

It’s probably not about being skinny. It’s probably not about being fats both. It’s about being wholesome sufficient to dwell your greatest life.

It’s about therapeutic your physique from the within out in order that it capabilities the way in which it was designed to. It’s about having the power to do the stuff you wish to do. It’s about reversing insulin resistance and therapeutic your intestine and balancing your hormones in an effort to really feel higher.

It makes me indignant that we dwell in a society that has normalized poor well being. It makes me indignant that we predict it’s completely okay to take medicine for each symptom whereas we ignore all the basis causes of what received us right here within the first place. It makes me indignant that we predict getting older must be synonymous with aches and pains and going to the physician on a regular basis. It makes me indignant that so many people are having what may very well be our greatest years stolen from us.

As a result of there’s a higher solution to dwell!

Backside line—we are able to and will rejoice wholesome our bodies in all styles and sizes, however let’s be actual about what wholesome really appears like. It’s feeling your greatest. It’s having extra power. It’s being free from medicine. It’s not getting sick on a regular basis. It’s having pores and skin that glows. It’s no extra aches and pains.

And you recognize what else?

It’s completely attainable.

There’s a solution to have all of this and a lot extra, and it’s really fairly easy.  

And if that is your first time visiting this web site, I encourage you to dig somewhat deeper.  Begin with Learn how to Lose 40 Kilos and Hold it Off, then hold studying in regards to the root causes of why we acquire weight within the first place.

After which, if you wish to go deeper, go watch our free coaching video. It is going to stroll you thru the science and make it easier to perceive why nothing you’ve tried till now has really labored.

Subsequent Steps

Able to take the subsequent steps in the direction of getting wholesome? Listed here are a couple of actions to take. 

Contemplate TAS

If you wish to discover extra help, contemplate becoming a member of the TAS Program as a result of we go SO a lot deeper into all of this in our program—and there’s a group of almost 800 different girls who’re on the journey to therapeutic their our bodies and feeling their greatest too!

TAS stands for Skinny Tailored System and is our primary program right here at Thinlicious.

In case you are READY to get critical about remodeling your well being in a very important approach, then please be sure you take a look at that coaching video linked above.

Be a part of the dialog

I’d like to get a dialog going about this matter in our Thinlicious Fb group! So in the event you’re in there, please share your ideas! 

Take heed to the podcast

In the event you preferred this put up, you’ll additionally completely LOVE the podcast I’ve on this matter. Take heed to the Ditch the Carbs podcast HERE!