Jessica Bowser Nelson Fitness

Fat Shaming is in All the Headlines

If you haven’t heard of fat shaming by now, well, then congratulations.
It’s a term blasted all over the place after a controversial youtube video was released by Nicole Arbour titled: “Dear Fat People”. The premise of the video was berating obese people in a sarcastic, in your face, kind of way..fat shaming them for their poor choices, but that’s not what I really want to talk about today.

Fat Shaming.
Fit Shaming.
Skinny Shaming.
WHATEVER…
These things all exist. People are quick to make snide, jabbing comments that really can hurt.
WHY? 

WHY do we think it’s okay to tear people down on a REGULAR basis for whatever reason we feel like in that moment? THAT is the issue here. I’m not saying I condone obesity (heart breaking) or that I don’t genuinely care and worry about anyone that isn’t taking care of their body whether overweight or not…because you CAN look good and not “be good” (FYI). Because I DO care. Our bodies are the only place we have to live and if we don’t take care of that, then what do we have? I’ve been miserable in my own skin before. And it sucks.
But is guilting or
shaming or
berating or
tearing someone down going to help with that???

What if INSTEAD, we took ownership FOR OURSELVES?!!?
In the Bible it says, “Let him who has no sin, cast the first stone.”
I’m thinking we all have some “work” to do in a certain area in our lives, right?
What if we put our effort THERE?
What if we looked in the MIRROR instead of pointing fingers?
What if we also stopped making excuses/ listening to the “story” we’ve accepted as truth, and overcame our circumstances that are currently holding us back in life NO MATTER WHAT?

What if?

What if people had NO ammunition against you because you were invincible?

When you are working on YOU and giving your absolute BEST (because that’s enough), the “fat shaming” or whatever it is you deal with, will hold NO WEIGHT (no pun intended 🙂 ).

I get “fit shamed” on a regular basis:
“You’re heads too big for your body.”
“You look gross.”
“You can eat anything you want..WHY DON’T YOU?”
“You need to eat more.”
“I bet you can eat every dessert here.”

These things don’t bother me. Why? I’m healthy. Which means I feel GREAT (and I didn’t always)! I also work on my insides just as much as my outsides, so I know who I am. Ridiculous false accusations don’t bother me ANYMORE. They used to. But I know each and every day, I’ve made a commitment to show up, to work on me and I strive to be better than I was yesterday, so I can’t let the words of someone who ISN’T kill my stride.

My challenge to you is simply to self reflect.
Realize your “story”, your history, the fat shaming, the skinny shaming, your big boned-ness, even what the doctors might have told you, doesn’t have to dictate who you are yet to become. You decide that.

I’ve seen people bed ridden on 10+ medications morbidly obese with an autoimmune disease and left with no hope, GET UP and change their future.

I’ve seen people that were told they’d never walk again, WALK.

I’ve seen a man with no arms and no legs go on to achieve GREATNESS.

I’ve seen women emotionally destroyed with just a shell of a human left, FIGHT their way back to mental freedom and aliveness.

My point is life is waiting for one person: YOU.
YOU make the choice.
YOU have the reigns.
Shame shouldn’t have any part of it.
But no matter what, don’t give up on you.
YOU are stronger than you think and you CAN rewrite your story no matter what the odds.

I BELIEVE IN YOU!

P.S. If you need help getting started on your health and fitness journey from the inside out, shoot me a message at jessica@jessicabowsernelson.com and we can work together to change your story!

Digging Deeper,

Jessica Bowser Nelson