I have a pretty messed up body. And I don’t mean mutilated in any way. I just mean that I haven’t really taken the utmost care of it through the years. While I have had a couple of years in my early 20s and a couple of years in my late 20s where I can confidently say I was 100% healthy; I was also clinically obese in college, weighing almost 200 pounds in my 5’0″ frame – way at the end of the Body Mass Index chart – and I was also borderline underweight after I gave birth, weighing only 95 pounds at 5’0″.
My weight has been fluctuating all my life. And while I never let comments about my weight bother me, I also know for myself when I’m being unhealthy and when I’m not. After all, while there is nothing wrong with being fat, obesity is a whole different matter.
I was hella confident when I was obese, though. I wore whatever I wanted and never let haters bother me. And confidence is great… but that doesn’t make obesity right. Especially now that I’m a mom, I am all for self-love and accepting your body shape, whatever shape you’re in. However, if it involves unhealthiness, that’s where I draw the line. There’s a BIG difference between being fat and being obese. The latter is unhealthy and should never be celebrated.
Recently, an obese woman made it onto the cover of a popular women’s magazine. And while she is indeed beautiful, I worry about the message that this might send to younger women all over the world. Obesity is a serious health condition that puts people at higher risk for illnesses like high blood pressure and heart disease that could even lead to death.
There’s nothing wrong with being fat or with loving yourself, no matter what size you are. However, obesity is not a laughing matter and there shouldn’t be anything beautiful about it. After weighing almost 200 pounds in my short stature, it took me becoming a mom and realizing I had a little human being relying on me to live to actually get my act together and lose weight. Of course, it’s not easy to stay fit, especially when you love food as much as I do. In fact, I always see myself reverting into old habits and as such, I consider myself to be a work in progress each and every day.
Today, I am considered to be 5 pounds overweight and a lot of people call me fat. And there’s nothing wrong with that because there’s nothing wrong with being fat. Despite the negative connotations of the word, ‘fat’ is just a state of your body in which you may be a little flabby or a bit overweight. However, if you’ve reached that point where you are considered obese like I was, please do not preach about self-love and instead re-evaluate your lifestyle choices; think about your health and your future. Trust me: once you go down a healthier path, that’s when you’ll learn to really love yourself.
For media partnerships, possible features or other inquiries, you can find answers on our "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) page here - WhenInManila.com/faq
There’s Nothing Wrong with Being Fat, But We Shouldn’t Glorify Obesity
I have a pretty messed up body. And I don’t mean mutilated in any way. I just mean that I haven’t really taken the utmost care of it through the years. While I have had a couple of years in my early 20s and a couple of years in my late 20s where I can confidently say I was 100% healthy; I was also clinically obese in college, weighing almost 200 pounds in my 5’0″ frame – way at the end of the Body Mass Index chart – and I was also borderline underweight after I gave birth, weighing only 95 pounds at 5’0″.
My weight has been fluctuating all my life. And while I never let comments about my weight bother me, I also know for myself when I’m being unhealthy and when I’m not. After all, while there is nothing wrong with being fat, obesity is a whole different matter.
I was hella confident when I was obese, though. I wore whatever I wanted and never let haters bother me. And confidence is great… but that doesn’t make obesity right. Especially now that I’m a mom, I am all for self-love and accepting your body shape, whatever shape you’re in. However, if it involves unhealthiness, that’s where I draw the line. There’s a BIG difference between being fat and being obese. The latter is unhealthy and should never be celebrated.
Recently, an obese woman made it onto the cover of a popular women’s magazine. And while she is indeed beautiful, I worry about the message that this might send to younger women all over the world. Obesity is a serious health condition that puts people at higher risk for illnesses like high blood pressure and heart disease that could even lead to death.
There’s nothing wrong with being fat or with loving yourself, no matter what size you are. However, obesity is not a laughing matter and there shouldn’t be anything beautiful about it. After weighing almost 200 pounds in my short stature, it took me becoming a mom and realizing I had a little human being relying on me to live to actually get my act together and lose weight. Of course, it’s not easy to stay fit, especially when you love food as much as I do. In fact, I always see myself reverting into old habits and as such, I consider myself to be a work in progress each and every day.
Today, I am considered to be 5 pounds overweight and a lot of people call me fat. And there’s nothing wrong with that because there’s nothing wrong with being fat. Despite the negative connotations of the word, ‘fat’ is just a state of your body in which you may be a little flabby or a bit overweight. However, if you’ve reached that point where you are considered obese like I was, please do not preach about self-love and instead re-evaluate your lifestyle choices; think about your health and your future. Trust me: once you go down a healthier path, that’s when you’ll learn to really love yourself.
Related
About The Author
For media partnerships, possible features or other inquiries, you can find answers on our "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) page here - WhenInManila.com/faq