Stop the Fat Talk. #fightfattalk

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Let's shhhhhhut down fat talk! #FightFatTalk

In February of this year, I started a series on my blog called Skinny Saturday. At that time, the object of these posts was to chronicle my weight loss efforts and create “skinny” dessert recipes (you can read the first post here). I hoped having my readers know my weight each week would (frankly) mortify me into losing the weight I was so publicly planning to lose.

The weeks and months began to pass… and I didn’t lose any weight.

More months passed. And still no weight loss.

I found myself writing a weekly blog series about losing weight, but not actually losing any myself. So I decided to switch gears and write about some of the things that I thought might be keeping me from my goals, and many of my readers participated in the discussion via comments and emails. We talked about will power and self-restraint. We talked about focus and motivation.

But eventually, we started talking a lot about developing a positive body-image and learning to love ourselves at whatever weight or shape we might be in. I recently asked my friend, Shanna, to help me with Skinny Saturday and to continue this more positive discussion regarding weight and body image.

In her first post, she said: “So you hate your thighs, who doesn’t? You are not a sum of the cellulite on your limbs. You are a sum of many beautiful parts, physical and mental. Don’t ask other people what they like about you; learn to give yourself that positive validation.

You are a sum of many beautiful parts, physical and mental.

 

It stuck with me, and I repeat it to myself often to combat the ugly and discouraging thoughts that try to sneak in. Because, while I haven’t found the golden ticket to weight loss, I have discovered something that will absolutely, 100% hinder it:

Fat Talk.

 

Let's shhhhhhut down fat talk! #FightFatTalk

“Fat talk” is probably something you already know all about, maybe even participate in, and maybe you don’t even know it. Because it’s something we often do with a smile on our faces in casual conversations all the time…

We joke about not being able to squeeze into a tight space or how we have to unbutton a pair of pants to feel comfortable. Or we say, “Omg, I’m such a pig! I just can’t quit eating these!” with a chuckle as we grab a second chocolate chip cookie.

“You look seriously amazing in that dress. I could never pull something like that off with these hips!” (please compliment me in return)

“I love how this shirt hides my tummy.” (with a wink and an inward sigh)

“Oh geez… is it bathing suit season again? You don’t want to see the likes of me out there!” (laughing on the outside…)

Somewhere along the way, we’ve been conditioned to think that self-deprecation and having a negative perception of ourselves is some twisted form of humility. That it’s good-natured.

It’s not.

It’s very, very much not.

Fat talk hurts. It’s damaging. And did you know that it could actually be keeping your from losing weight?

Let’s stop the Fat Talk. Right now.

 

I’ve subjected myself to fat talk my entire life. All of my friends in high school and college were skinny and perfectly proportioned (or so I thought). And I thought vocalizing all the bad things I thought about my body was some sort of defense against my skinny friends ever having those same thoughts all on their own. And if I laughed about it? Even better. That way they’d never know how uncomfortable I was with my body in comparison to theirs.

Sound familiar at all? If it does, you’re in good company.

Did you know that approximately 93% of women fat talk?

 

93%! That’s almost all of us! And that’s why I’m teaming up with Special K and Tyra Banks in a campaign speaking out against fat talk and encouraging women everywhere to speak more positively about themselves. We believe that every woman deserves to feel beautiful and confident more often whatever weight or shape she may be.

Fight Fat Talk is a movement that will empower women everywhere if we push it along by simply ending our own participation in fat talk.

I’ve been fighting fat talk in my life by eliminating the word “fat” completely from my vocabulary. I don’t use it in my thoughts or in my conversations. It’s a small, simple start. But I think it’s a good one.

 

How will you Fight Fat Talk?

Spread the word by using #fightfattalk

 

Follow the movement here:

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10 thoughts on “Stop the Fat Talk. #fightfattalk”

  1. I am in love with this post and the whole idea of fighting against fat talk. I’ve been trying to keep those negative thoughts out of my head and I do my best to not discuss my body issues with other people so as not to be negative. When others around me engage in fat talk, I really do try to switch the gears of the conversation into something positive and away from that body-hate that so many of us have.
    I will say, as someone who had finally come to terms with her body, it can be so uncomfortable to hear someone talk about how unhappy they are with their body.
    Thanks for writing this and being awesome Ashton. Keep getting the message out there!

    Reply
  2. This is WONDERFUL. I never did a lot of outward set-top (because I didn’t want to attract attention to things that hopefully only I was seeing), but I have always beat myself up mentally. Since I’ve been pregnant and d tabby, it’s really hard to say nice things about my body. I never thought about the fact that this “fat talk” actually hinders progress, not to mention makes me feel bad and my poor husband, helpless. This is a fantastic movement/program/whatever you’re calling it, and I can’t wait to follow along!

    Reply
  3. Love. This.

    I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Something I’ve tried to start doing is interrupting myself when I’m in the middle of a negative thought pattern. Instead of looking at my thighs and thinking about how fat they are, I’ll think about how they carry me from place to place and allow me to climb steps and jump up and down and dance. It helps me be grateful for my body as it is rather than wishing it was something else.

    Reply
  4. I apologize if this hurts your feelings, but I call bullshit on Special K’s Fight Fat Talk program. If they want to stop the fat talk, they why is the bottom line still losing weight? Come on people, start loving yourselves AS YOU ARE RIGHT NOW!!! If you lose weight, great, but if you don’t lose weight or even gain it, you’re still an amazing person.

    Fight fat talk, but whatever you do, do not do it because you secretly believe it will help you lose weight!

    Reply
    • You aren’t hurting my feelings. The entire point of the campaign is that negative body image and fat talk is that it hinders you from losing weight. So…. weight loss IS the point of the campaign. But we’re suggesting that it should be done in a healthy, happy way. I’m afraid you’ve imagined a different end-goal to this campaign…

      Reply
  5. Wow this post is so powerful! I’m guilty of fat talk. One of my biggest concerns is that no matter how much weight I lose, how much muscle I build, I’ll never be happy with my body. A lot of women I know, including myself, joke about how fat we are – almost to downplay it. But the truth is, I’m not joking. If self-hatred works when you condemn your body, self love has to work the same way, right?

    Thank you for writing this post <3

    Reply

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