I love you guys.
You’ve made huge strides towards helping people accept themselves just as they are.
You’re putting an end to people feeling like they have to lose weight to improve their self worth.
You’re helping people make choices with their bodies that are rooted in self-care instead of self-hate.
But I take issue with your all-or-nothing mindset against weight loss and the hypocrisy among much of your community when it comes to body autonomy.
Having a desire to lose weight does not automatically mean you’re not body positive or that you’re a victim of diet culture. It doesn’t mean you don’t love or accept yourself.
You can accept yourself for where you currently are on your journey while also having a desire to change. Change can be accomplished from a place of self-love.
People lose weight for many reasons – to feel their best, to improve quality of life, to improve performance, and even to achieve physique goals.
They are allowed to do these things without you being the body police. They are allowed to do these things while being body positive.
Please do not preach body autonomy and positivity while shaming people for wanting to lose weight when their body and goals are none of your business.
Please do not tell me I am promoting diet culture because I want to help people achieve their goals of feeling their best in the most mentally, emotionally, and physically healthy way possible.
I struggled for a lifetime with a debilitating body image and a binge eating disorder. I’ve lived the differences in body positivity.
So please don’t tell me to “look it up” as if I have to live my life based on your definition of body positive. I will define my own version of body positivity and do what I need to do to feel my best while continuing to love and accept myself and others independent of how they look.
Try to be more inclusive of the people who want to be body positive while also having the goal of feeling their best, instead of shaming anyone who wants to change their body.
And for those in the body positive community who get what I’m saying – thank you for your more balanced approach to a healthy lifestyle ❤️.