Body Shaming is Bad, But Obesity Harms Your Health

Last Updated on January 17, 2020 by Paula

Have you seen all the recent press about body shaming that’s come out over the last few years? Women around the world have taken to the internet to expose their perfectly imperfect flesh in the name of showing what “real women” look like. They’re tired of the unreasonable and often unhealthy expectations set by magazine cover models sporting air-brushed, Photoshopped looks that very few normal, real-life women could achieve.

The truth about body shaming is this. We shouldn’t feel ashamed of how we look, whether in our own personal opinion we’re too fat, too thin, too oddly shaped, too flat, too curvy, or something else. And… we also should not feel guilty for wanting to look attractive. An hourglass figure is something that always stays in fashion because it’s a sign of good, robust health and fertility. The truth is that women who weigh more than is healthy can run into fertility problems because they can develop hormone balance issues as a result of being overweight. So there always seems to be science-based evidence to support why trying to maintain a healthy weight makes the most sense for anyone.

While many people say that the expectations created in the media are unrealistic, the truth is that there still are plenty of people out there who would be considered to have a “great body”. If you want to be one of them, why not give it a shot? The worst that can happen is you never do make it into that bikini… but you’ll still be fitter than if you never put forth the effort at all.

And in reality, if we are overweight or obese, we are doing a disservice to our bodies by treating ourselves poorly.

People who carry high amounts of body fat put themselves at risk for chronic disease, including diabetes and high blood pressure which can lead to a heart attack or stroke.  While we’re still young, we aren’t likely to think about chronic disease much. However, it’s worth having the foresight to recognize that being a healthy weight can actually usher us into old age more gently and gracefully than would have otherwise been the case.

So if we strip out the emotion attached to how we look, and simply view ourselves as being either physically healthy or unhealthy, we will have a more reasonable gauge to measure what the ideal weight should be for us.

And in fact, the less emotionally hung-up we are about how we look, the sooner we can stop the guilty feelings that drive so many women to repetitive dieting cycles where they try like mad to drop the extra pounds, then fall short and lose hope, only to give up and gain all the weight back.

From a practical, non-guilty standpoint, it’s just better for us all around to be a proportionately healthy weight. If you’re curious about what the ideal weight is for you, versus what would be considered overweight or obese, you can head on over to one of the many online BMI (body mass index) calculators and punch in your numbers to see where you fall. If you’re weighing in with too-high numbers, it might be the right time to embark on a healthy eating plan and exercise routine.

For guidance, you might consult with a nutritionist or health coach… or speak with one of the personal trainers at your local gym. And if it’s your wish to have a great body, there’s no shame in that. Love your body, treat yourself well, lose the weight if you need to and always be proud of who you are and how you look!