Dear Fat People... Dear Thin People!

We wanted to respond to the video that got massive attention last week.  We don't even want to link to it but if you are so inclined to watch it you can find it by typing "Dear Fat People" into a Google search.  The person that created the video is a comedian so you should take everything she says with a grain of salt.  That said her basic premise was if we shame "fat people" enough that they will feel so bad that they decide to change.  Makes perfect sense, right???  If someone is in enough pain, they will clearly choose to do something different.  The problem with her argument lies in the physiological component to being overweight.  She clearly has no training in anything and she just thinks that if people eat less and exercise more, presto change-o they become skinny.

Just to be clear, we should probably just blatantly say it out front, shaming people is an absolutely horrible way of treating people and it does NOT get results.  

This video also brings up the the topic that goes viral every other month or so of #loveyourself and "body positive" blogs that are out there.  This is always a tricky subject to us especially since we are in the business of helping people get healthy and lose weight.  This is where we want to dive in a little deeper...along with giving you a strategy to navigate your own health and weight loss.  Within the "body positive" movement there is a theme of loving yourself for who you are whether you are fat or skinny. No matter your shape or size you should be ok with that and embrace who you are, #loveyourself.  We totally agree with this...but what if we asked ourselves this:

"Can you love yourself for who you are, and still try to improve yourself?"  

The question itself is contradictory in nature.  Why do you need to change if you love who you are?  This is where some people in the "body positive" movement lose us.  They take that thought and solely stick to the love yourself side of it.  Thinking "I'm good enough the way I am and I don't need to improve".  (For a little more reading on change and being "good enough" you can check out another post of ours where we talk about that exact topic, The "Good Enough" Principle - Ambivalence!)  There are some in that movement that are certainly trying to improve their body composition and health.  There are also people tucked away in a shack in Mississippi that are oblivious to all of this, they are "fat" and just don't care.  I safely say that because those people probably don't have the internet and will never read this!

The graphic below is really helpful in helping distinguish where you might fall in your own personal health.  We know that these categories aren't perfect and you may find some overlap in your current situation.  We believe that everyone should be on an active journey to improve themselves AND that you can and should love where you are at currently.  In fact we think in order to move forward in your health and fitness it has to be done out of love for yourself and wanting the best for yourself.  In order to do that you need to take a good assessment of where you currently are though.  Ask anyone that has navigated using a map and compass, the most important thing to know is to know your current location.  That means getting honest with yourself and asking some tough questions...

• Am I working out the best way to achieve my fitness goals and get healthy?  
• Am I using my time wisely?  Could I dedicate more time to exercise, preparing healthy meals, educating myself about nutrition, and interacting with like minded people?
• Is what I've been doing working? 
• What could I give up that is taking up my time, attention and resources that isn't adding value so that I can add something that will make me healthier and happier?
• Where is my HEALTH on my priority list?  

This graphic and our descriptions might also help you understand that not all "skinny" and "fat" people will be in the same categories.   Often times skinny healthy people just assume all overweight people are lazy and uneducated.  Also skinny people are often thought to be healthy solely based on their body size, which we know isn't true.  We breakdown these categories a little more below to bring clarity to these stereotypes.  

So before we dive into each of these descriptions you should know why we chose Aware and Willing as the category headings and what they mean.  By saying aware, we mean that people that fall into this category are knowledgeable with what it takes to be healthy.  The science of what it takes to be healthy is constantly changing and there is new information coming out all the time.  People in this category follow that information and know what it takes to improve their health and/or lose weight.  By saying willing, we refer to the people that make an effort to do what they think or know is right.

Aware & Willing

They are "aware" of what it actually takes to be healthy and are "willing" to prioritize the things it takes to improve their health.  It is because of this that this section of people are generally in good physical shape and generally healthy.  This group doesn't have to be physically fit, but more importantly actively working towards improving their current situation.  They actively seek out the latest in health trends and science to see what works best for them.  They have made a commitment to their health and may even work in the industry.  

Aware & Unwilling

This group is "aware" of what they need to do to improve their current health situation but have yet to make it a priority in their daily habits.  There is a sense of ambivalence. They know why they should change and the benefits.  They even know what they need to do in order to create a change.  However they have a pull to keep things as they are. Change is hard. They may not have the support system in place that will support them if they start making changes.  They may have a stubborn husband that enjoys his pizza and pasta, or coworkers that frequently go out for happy hour.  They may feel they will be outcast by these people if they start making different decisions.  

This group will likely not make a change until their health begins to affect something that they currently find a bigger priority.  An example would be a mother with a toddler or young children that values time with her family above all else.  Her kids are constantly wearing her out with all of their activities to the point where she can't keep up anymore.  That may be the breaking point for her where she decides she needs to get in better shape.  

Unaware & Willing

This group makes up the biggest group of people from my experience.  They all want to be healthy and even go to the effort of eating what they think is healthy food and working out in a way they think will improve their health but may or may not be seeing results.  This group reminds us of the saying, "Work smarter, not harder!"  This group hasn't quite figured that out yet.  

Common things we hear from people that would fall into this category are;

• Fat makes you fat
• Low calorie foods are healthier than high calorie foods
• If it says healthy or natural on the box it must be good for you
• If I just eat less and exercise more I will lose weight
• You have to stay in your fat burning zone to lose weight faster  
  
  

Those are just a few of the common things that people picked up somewhere.  These people are fighting an uphill battle.  The desire is there to make improvements but the process and plan that they have is faulty.  

This group of people, as stated in the chart, will likely cook a lot of homemade meals..but those meals will likely be comprised of packaged goods and will be heavy on the starches and unhealthy fats and low in protein.  If we could sum this group up in one thought it would be... 
We eat "healthy" cereal for breakfast group.  

How do people move out of this group?  It mainly comes through education from credible and current sources to formulate a  plan that's going to work for them.  The key there is individualized plan because what works for one doesn't work for all.  One of the most common things we see here is with running.  Often times runners are inherently skinny.  We can say that because we both were former runners and both were skinny prior to starting our running careers.  People from this group see skinny runners and think that running must have made them skinny, therefore they should run to get skinny.  This would be like saying playing basketball makes you tall.   Yes, running will work for some but it isn't the best way to lose weight in a healthy way for a majority of people.  

If you fall into this group and are curious about some resources that we have used to learn more about nutrition and exercise, we would love to share some of those with you.  Just comment below or send us an email.

Unaware & Unwilling

This group unfortunately makes up a decent percentage of our population.  People in this group tend to have never done any research into health or nutrition other than what a doctor or the media may have told them.  They may know that certain things like sugar and fast food are bad for them but fail to connect what they are eating to how they FEEL and their overall health.  They may know exercise is important but their knowledge of what to do might be rooted in what they did in junior high gym class 30 years ago.  The fate of people in this group usually tends to be more grim than positive.  These people will likely battle chronic disease throughout their lifetime and will likely struggle with being overweight.  

Thankfully people in this group can reverse the course they are on.  It usually takes a friend or family member to intervene.  Unfortunately it might take a health issue to force people to change. 

If you know someone in this group, reach out to them let them know you care and love them for who they are right now as they are!

Where Are You Right Now?

The reason we wanted to write this post was because we want to share a BETTER strategy for losing weight than shaming someone.  With that, we also want to put the focus on HEALTH because skinny doesn't mean healthy and carrying a little extra weight doesn't mean unhealthy. We do believe that we should all love, yet acknowledge where we are with our health, and actively be trying to improve upon it.  

This world is going to bombard us with toxic things that harm our body and deteriorate our health.  We will also face toxic things mentally that will try to break our will, lessen our belief in ourselves, and crush our dreams.  That is why we need to constantly be working to improve our current situation because we just don't know what might try to trip us up next.  

If this post inspired you to make a change we would love to hear from you.  If you need someone to just talk with about your current situation we are here for you!!