Have You Seen ‘Dear Fat People’ Video?

Have you seen the latest fat shaming video?  A Canadian comedian named Nicole Arbour posted a video called “Dear Fat People.”  Here’s the clip:

I know she’s a comedian and says she is doing this as a wake-up call for fat people to get healthy, but honestly this is just mean spirited and isn’t even funny.

I’m not sure why shaming is such a trend these days.

There’s water shaming in California, and the aforementioned fat shaming and there’s even a shaming haircut that parents have been giving their teenagers who have been acting up.  For real!

There’s a guy in California who drives around posting YouTube videos up of people who watered their lawns showing their address so people can drive up and yell at them.  I understand there is a draught, but who the hell appointed this guy water sheriff?

And I know that parents get frustrated but in one instance at least a girl whose father cut her hair off to shame her, and then the video got posted to the internet, ended up committing suicide.  (The incident was pretty complicated, but the end result was devastating.)

A few years ago Atlanta put out a fat shaming campaign to combat obesity where they targeted kids with advice to ‘stay away from the buffet line.’

I used to be overweight.  I didn’t need a comedian or a government agency to point it out to me.  Trust me, I was painfully aware of my food struggles every time I had to try on jeans or walk past a mirror and the negative speech running through my own brain was loud enough on its own and didn’t need a comedian chiming in, thank you very much.

The truth of the matter is that people are overweight for a variety of reasons and you can’t possibly tell why just by looking at them, as the comedian implies.  Maybe they are on steroids for breast cancer treatment, or maybe they were raped as a child and carry their weight as a shield; maybe their mom just died and they are emotional eating, or they’ve tried every yo-yo diet known to man and don’t know about proper nutrition because they are reading the BS labels on food packages that say ‘low-fat-reduced-calorie-gluten-free’ but don’t realize all the extra sugar, salt and fat that the big food industry has added to get them hooked on these processed food products.  Or maybe they just gave up, thinking ‘I’ll never be fit, so I’ll just eat whatever.’

Whatever the reason, obesity is indeed a big problem and I’m like 99.9% sure that fat shaming isn’t the solution.

Here’s what I think is the solution:

1. Get a check up.  There are all sorts of medical reasons why a person’s weight could be fluctuating (thyroid issues, hormone imbalance, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.) Your doctor can tell you if you need to take care of a condition you may have.
2. Eat clean.  Notice I didn’t say ‘diet.’  Here are three articles if you would like more information about how to do that:  The Secret to Being Slim, It’s Not Your Fault Entirely,  The Bikini Diet ™
3. Exercise.  Depending on your fitness level your doctor may have you just start out walking.  If you are able, add in strength training.  I post exercise videos all the time to my Instagram and Facebook pages if you’d like some workout inspiration.
4. Notice if you self-sabotage. If you have no medical conditions, are eating nutritious balanced meals with protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats, and exercise consistently, your body should balance itself out over the course of time.  But if you begin losing weight and then sneak junk food or stop exercising for ‘no reason’, you may have something deeper going on that you’ve been avoiding dealing with.

   

   Keep a journal to see what is triggering you to self-sabotage.  If it’s a problem you need help with, talk to a friend, counselor or therapist and get the support you need.  I was totally guilty of this, as I wrote about in my memoir, She’s Losing It!  It took my friend, Regina, to calm me down and get me to re-focus.

There’s a name for people who fat shame: bullies.  There’s also another word that comes to mind: karma.  Anyone can gain weight at any point in time, including a skinny comedian who has a thing against fat people.

Don’t be part of the problem, be part of the solution.

Be healthy.

Lisa 🙂

Lisa Traugott is a Mom’s Choice Award winning writer, fitness blogger, wife and mom of two. Her book, “She’s Losing It!” is available at Amazon.com (and has a 5-star review rating!)

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