Can you lose weight and be body positive? | Day 7 of 90
Even after 7 days of blogging how honestly happy I am to finally be speaking my mind, how great I feel to be on top of my workout game, how good I feel to be eating better food, I still get people saying I am an “embarrassment” and “disappointment.” Sigh.
I thought I was pretty clear about why I wanted to share all my goals publicly (this blog is my diary and my readers are my accountability partners). I have never seen anyone so heavily in the public eye do this before. Maybe that’s why it’s such a shocker?
For example: Do you know exactly what actors do to lean down for a role? Do you know what Beyoncé ate or did everyday to lose all the baby weight and prepare her body for her Coachella performance? No, you just saw her bangin’ body afterwards. And by that time, all the people who probably would have complained about her diet are probably asking HOW DID SHE DO IT?
Look, I am no Beyoncé (no one is and we shall all bow down to the queen!!!) so I don’t need to go as hard as her. Does her diet make me feel bad about myself? No. So my diet and my goals should not make you feel bad about yourself. My goals have nothing to do with your goals because our bodies are different. Our DNA is different. Our lifestyles are different. Our careers are different! My goals are for me and your goals are for you. You know the quote “Comparison is the thief of joy”? Repeat that to yourself and STOP COMPARING.
Which now brings me to a topic I think we all need to discuss.
What is Body Positivity, and where did it come from?
I’ve seen people say that I’m not being body positive or that I am misusing the term itself. To be honest with you, I have never actually looked up the origin of the word. I just thought if I am loving my body, then I am being positive with my body. But maybe it’s more complicated than that. And if I’m wrong, good! I’d love to know why.
After doing hours of research, here’s what I learned:
“The Body Positive” was first trademarked in the 1996 by Connie Sobczak, a psychotherapist, and Elizabeth Scott, a woman who overcame an eating disorder and her sister’s death due to an ED, and has made it her life mission to help improve people’s self image.
In their book, Embody: Learning to Love Your Unique Body (and quiet that critical voice), they describe being Body Positive as…”a way of living that gives you permission to love, care for, and take pleasure in your body throughout your lifespan. Struggles will inevitably occur, especially during times of transition or imbalance.” Practicing true body positivity…”allows you to find what you need to live with as much self-love and balanced self-care as possible. Experiences of conflict and suffering become opportunities to learn what is required to further your growth so you can find greater contentment and peace.”
Wow, that is a whole mouthful!
But what I am reading is that being Body Positive, in it’s ORIGINAL definition, means to love and care for your body, while allowing yourself to grow in order to find happiness.
I then wanted to hear from someone who would willingly describe themselves as fat. What would her take on body positivity be? I came across young adult writer Kelly deVos, the author of Fat Girl on a Plane. In her opinion piece for The New York Times, she says, “I’ve come to feel that loving yourself and desiring to change yourself are two sentiments that should be able to peacefully coexist.”
There was another part of the article that I found super interesting. Kelly said, “It’s worth noting that body positivity is the convergence of a few movements. The fat acceptance movement was pioneered in the 1960s by black and queer women to fight discrimination in public spaces, the workplace and doctors’ offices. Fat positivity, which is more of a reaction to fat shaming, and body positivity, which is a more commercial self-esteem movement, came later.”
Interesting.
I decided to look into Fat Acceptance first. According to NAAFA, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, founded in 1969, their mission is “To eliminate discrimination based on body size and provide fat people with the tools for self-empowerment through public education, advocacy, and support.” From what I read, fat people are less likely to be hired for a job when compared to their thinner peers.
In Googling further, I found a TIME Magazine article talking about the first fat activists. In the 1960s they “…staged their own event in New York City’s Central Park, dubbed it a “Fat-In” and ate ice cream while burning posters of über-thin model Twiggy.”
So…why the backlash on my 90 Day Journey?
I always want to know when I am doing something wrong and how I can fix it. So I went searching for viewpoints that differed from my own.
VICE did an article featuring Fat Positive Activists in 2017 and I was super interested in hearing their thoughts.
Jessica Hinkle, the owner of Proud Mary, a plus sized fashion site said, “If people want to work out and eat only salad, go for it. Do what makes you feel good. The problem comes when people are posting “before and after” images, which inherently champions being smaller as better. If that’s how you feel, fine, but do not call yourself body-positive. In order to be body-positive, you have to acknowledge that people truly deserve respect and autonomy over their bodies without judgement. Fat people aren’t “before” photos. We need to stop centering conversations about body-positivity around health in general.”
Okay, I can understand how before and after photos can make looking smaller seem better. But when she says that in order to be body positive, we have to acknowledge that people “deserve respect and autonomy over their bodies without judgement” – I definitely feel like there are people who are not not being body positive with me and my body AT ALL. Telling me that I am already small, or that I shouldn’t blog about my journey, or that I am an “embarrassment” and “disappointment” really does not respect my right to self govern my body, now does it?
There’s a very strongly-written article called “Here’s Why the Definition of Body Positivity Isn’t Up for Debate” published on everydayfeminism.com saying that, “The actual intention of body positivity is not any action that makes you feel positive about your body. The intention is size acceptance.”
Okay, so body positivity is supposed to mean accepting the size you are at.
The writer goes on to say, “Body positivity is about reducing potential disordered eating and distorted body image triggers, while reducing the oppressive language that excludes fat people from access to resources.”
Okay, I can understand how my talk of weight, scales, and diets can be triggers for people with distorted body image, which helps explain why my 90 Day Journey has been upsetting for some people.
But then she goes on to say…
“Let’s make something clear: Having a goal for intentional fat loss is not body positive. Period. That’s literally antithetical to the definition and intention of body positivity. Fat loss goals are about intentionally changing your body weight…Body positivity is about not intentionally changing your body weight. The two things don’t mix.”
Wait, so if fat loss is antithetical to the intention of body positivity in her definition, what about Connie and Elizabeth’s original definition 1996?
UGH.
So, am I Body Positive or not?
I was hoping that after all this research, I’d either be 100% right or 100% wrong, but I realize that I am neither.
In fact, no one is right or wrong. It seems like Body Positivity in the 2019 sense is an opinionated definition at best.
You literally can’t look it up in the dictionary.
What I think happened is that the definition of the term “Body Positive” changed over time. And me going on a 90 Day Journey while also being known for my “body positive” brand is controversial because no one can agree on the actual definition of Body Positivity.
So what now?
Now, we move on! To…
DAY 6 RECAP:
Here is my day 6 entry in my Fit Journal. In my weightlifting class, the instructor surprised us with 60 burpees at the end. I ALMOST DIED. He said we could add a pushup if we wanted to. To be honest, I didn’t want to, but I had no choice. Hard Core Cassey was like – DO NOT BACK DOWN. Heart rate got up to 166 BPM!
For lunch I ate leftover chicken shawarma with butter lettuce and meal prepped turkey chili. Ha, I am almost done with it – I promise. Will cook something new next week.
Snack. Brie cheese and Thai Chili Almonds. Nothing new here folks. I love that George is just staring at my snack. My the way, he loves plain cashews and peanuts more than he loves traditional dog treats. He truly is my dog 🙂
Dinner was much more interesting! I bought this bag of frozen zoodles from Costco months ago but never felt like cooking with it. Until last night!
Overall, it was good, but kinda mushy. You can also see that water kept seeping out after I microwaved it, even though I drained it and paper toweled it. Next time, I think I’ll defrost and then put it on the pan. Topped my zoodles with marinara sauce and chicken sausage. YUM!
You guys. I had PIZZA!!!! I used my keto flatbread recipe (egg + almond flour + mozzarella cheese) as the base and then I just added marinara, cheese, and chicken sausage on top! Sam was like, “ummm is that okay for your 90 day challenge?” I was like yeah, taste it!! He tried it and actually liked it. WHOOO!!
145 thoughts on “Can you lose weight and be body positive? | Day 7 of 90”
There are Array145 comments posted by our users.
I definitely agree with your definition of body positivity Cassey! Personally, I struggled with over eating/binge eating for years before I even realised I had an eating disorder, and it took such a mental shift to help myself overcome it because it seemed like it wasn’t ‘body positive’ to restrict my eating! But over time I came to realise that the eating issue I struggled/struggle with is literally the exact opposite issue that people who struggle with restriction/scales/deprivation. You have to do what works for you! As long as you love/appreciate your body on the journey, if you are looking after it while working towards a better mental/physical/healthy state, then you’re being positive about your body!
Unpopular opinion here, but I don’t understand how trying to be a healthy weight isn’t self-love and body positivity!!! I get loving your body as it is, but I can’t see how 300lbs is healthy for ANYBODY. I am obese at 220lbs and it’s REALLY uncomfortable. Nothing fits me. It hurts when I bend over because my gut. And my thighs are always covered in sores from friction. I have lived a life of yoyo diets and just eating whatever i want and that’s how i got this way. I guarantee if every obese person only ate healthy foods and worked out every day for 45 mind and drank all the water… They wouldn’t be obese. Which means losing weight is loving yourself because you’re treating your body with RESPECT. Like, if you only fed your children candy and fast food people would consider that abuse. So why isn’t it abuse when you do it to yourself? If you’re unhappy, change it, unless you’re hurting someone or yourself. End of story. You should love yourself as you are, yes, but loving your body means taking care of it! Just like brushing your teeth and wiping your ass.
Thank you for your honesty!!!
I totally share your opinion of body positivity! If you’re not harming it but instead loving it by taking care of it by making some healthier choices, that should definitely be considered body positive!!
Body positivity definition should include the healty choices… what is positive for your body to function properly, being to skinny can’t be heathy, you didn’t feel well on your bikini contest, the body starts feeding on muscle for example. But being overweight is also not heathy, you can develop some diseases like diabetes, high blood preassure, etc.
Forget weight, size or how clothes look, body positivity definition should be based on what you’re putting your body through INTERNALLY with your food and drink choices. We should be kind to our organs and not over-work them, I’d love them to still work properly when I’m 80 and for that I have to treat them with respect now.
Honestly, if body positivity were supposed to mean once and forever making absolutely no conscious effort to change anything about my body, as some of those attitudes seem to suggest, count me out.
I absolutely agree that one’s self worth should not be tied to the individual’s weight. But that also means that the worth doesn’t change if the weight changes, up or down, shouldn’t matter either way.
Accepting our bodies as they are, including their limitations is important, but why not see what we can do within those limitations, if we want to try?
Wish you all the best on you journey 🙂
God! These people seriously are annoying and hypocrites. Yes, you know better. They don’t live in your body, they don’t have the same thoughts, they don’t see their body the way you see YOURS.
Maybe they only think of you as a trainer – they might think that you’re giving a bad example which is stupid of course. Or maybe they’re not used seeing you wanting changes in your body. Not in that way at least. I hate how “controversial” this whole deal is. So Beyoncé can do it but no one else can??? COME ON! (not bowing to her or anyone by the way haha). It’s not dangerous for her but it is for you? YEAH, RIGHT.
Ahhh I really like these researches and learning interesting things. The book seems like a good read. The Fat Acceptance part was thought-provoking as I was expecting a completely different meaning. I get what Jessica means with the “before-after” pics but…!!! I also think of it as YOUR victory. What’s better for us might not be the best for others and THAT’S TOTALLY FINE as long as our health isn’t in danger. The writer on everydayfeminism.com doesn’t seem very body positive, which I find ironic.
Your lunch and dinner look delicious, I need to do that pizza!
I am personally in total agreement with you. I feel like if someone is not healthy and happy, then it is MORE positive to make changes that WILL make you healthy and happy than to try to force yourself to be happy with how you currently are. Sometimes, you just need a change in life. It could be a change in job, a change in location, a change in your way of thinking, or a change in your body. No one says “you’re not being job-positive” or “stop being location negative.” If you don’t feel like you are at your best, in ANY area of your life, the POSITIVE thing to do is change it – and that includes your body. If losing or gaining weight is what you need to do for YOURSELF, then doing so is being body positive. If you love how you look and feel, awesome. If you don’t, that’s ok. Do what you need to until you DO love how you look and feel. Taking care of our bodies IS BODY POSITIVE!
And as for before and after photos, to say they’re negative because they encourage people to be skinny is utter crap. Would it be bad for an anorexic person to post a before and after photo of them self showing how they worked hard and gained necessary weight? NOPE. So why would it be bad for someone who wants to slim down and/or tone up to do the same? Before and after photos, no matter what they show, are a way to mark progress on a person’s INDIVIDUAL goals and as long as they have made progress toward their happiness, people should be happy for them instead of projecting their own insecurities onto the other person.
Okay I’m a little behind on the blog posts (exams and stuff) but I just need to say that THIS quote hit home so hard.
“My goals have nothing to do with your goals because our bodies are different. Our DNA is different. Our lifestyles are different. Our careers are different! My goals are for me and your goals are for you.”
I needed to hear it because I’ve been feeling so much guilt lately . I used to be in what I cosnider to be great shape but then university and a chain of illness came along and I got off track so badly… Seeing people absolutely killing their workouts made me think “Why aren’t you like that? Why are you so weak?” (Which in no way shape or form means that I’m not rooting for those people)
So thanl you for saying this, keep going, you’re making us proud <3
First off, I wanna say that I love that you’re doing this. I’m thinking about starting my own 90 day journey now to maybe finally find some peace again. And on the body positivity debate, I think being body positive is supporting and accepting all body types, as well as supporting and accepting the PEOPLE, including yourself. If a person is comfortable and happy with who they are, that’s amazing! If a person wants to eat more wholesome foods and move their bodies because it makes them feel good, awesome! It’s all about acceptance and loving your body in my opinion.
i’m happy for you 💗💗💗
Hi Cassey,
THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR JOURNEY! It’s a big inspiration for me who’s always been commented on for being ‘small’ and how ‘weird it is I want to lose weight’ because I’m ‘small’. It’s been empowering to read your posts and I am rooting for you! You go girl!!
I’m happy that you are examining both sides of this. Having been in recovery from anorexia for over 10 years, I can say that although it is possible for an eating disorder to trick you into thinking you’re losing weight for the right reason, it’s also possible to improve your health by controlling your diet/weight.
I began binge eating after “recovering” from my eating disorder. No one said it was a problem because they were relieved that I wasn’t looking skeletal anymore. They saw me at a normal-looking weight and assumed that I was healthy, when in reality I was far from it. I have learned that the way I used food and exercise to hurt myself was the problem, not my weight. It was the loss of control I really feared. Either not enough, or too much…balance was the toughest part. After I gained some weight from bingeing, I found myself giving up and eating even unhealthier, which only caused me to become depressed. Of course I realized that I needed to change, but given my history with anorexia (being hospitalized 3 times as an adolescent), I knew that others who knew me well (mostly my family) might be worried if I went on a diet. I’ll admit that it is triggering at times to lose weight. But! I am also immensely proud of how far I have come mentally. Gone is the urge to eat so little that I shrink away to a 00. I have learned how to control my diet while also loving my body along the way. I’ve seen how ugly life can be when I’m in the depths of anorexia, and that is something I NEVER want to experience again. So I agree that you can be body positive while losing weight. It’s all about where your mind is at. I lost the few pounds I gained from binging and am still in a healthy weight range, with no intention of going lower than what my doctors determined to be my “happy weight”. It’s not worth it. Instead of undereating or overeating, I now appreciate my body type and make eating healthy a priority. I will never be able to eat mindlessly like someone who has never experienced an ED, but that’s ok.
For me, it’s better to feel happy and comfortable in my skin than to worry about what other people might think. As I have lost the weight I put on by binging, I have felt more empowered to eat healthy and exercise. Instead of letting food rule my life, I have finally found a balance where I can enjoy eating without feeling guilty for having too much or too little. I feel my best physically and mentally and try not to let what anyone else thinks bother me, because at the end of the day I am the one who lives in my body.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Anyway Cassey, I want to add that I appreciate your blog, I’m getting some inspiration and healthy meal ideas from you. Write about whatever you want and don’t worry about anyone else! You’re doing fine.
Yes. You are doing great Cassey
I think it’s possible to be “body positive” and still want to lose weight. It’s about loving yourself and wanting what is best and healthiest for you.
Finding you on YouTube was the “kick in the butt” that I needed to start my journey of being healthy and fit. And you helped me lose a lot of weight from just having fun on the mat and loving my body every step of the way. I do yo-yo (and I am currently on the up side of the yo-yo in terms of weight) but you encouraging us to love our body no matter which part of the journey we are on really helped me keep myself in the perspective that I wanted to be. Even if I gained some weight now, I love my body enough to give it the time and care it needs to healthily lose the weight. And you taught me that, Cassey!
That is MY definition of body positivity that I learned from you. And I wouldn’t change it at all.
Cassey, I’ve been following you for years now and have watched how you’ve had to keep defending yourself against these comments time and time again. I think a lot of the difficulty in defining body positivity is a result of how much some people associate their size and what they look like with who they are as a person. I am overweight and I want to lose weight, and I do think I would look and feel better if I lost some fat (and gained some muscle, lol). However, that doesn’t mean that I hate my overweight body or other fat people’s bodies, and I wouldn’t judge any one for being happy with themselves at whatever size they are and not wanting to change. I like myself because of my character, and I choose not to see other people’s weight loss as a threat against who I am, because I try to keep that separate. I understand that some people see losing weight as conforming to society or betrayal to the ‘body positive’ movement, but the fact is that it’s easier to function in this world when you are slimmer, and since we only live one life, some of us choose to conform so that we can get better opportunities. Not to mention the numerous health risks that can be reduced by losing excess fat. I agree that fat people should definitely NOT have to face discrimination, and I agree that there should be more positive and nuanced representation of fat people in the media, but I disagree that posting before and after pictures of weight loss is against body positivity. People post those pictures to showcase their own hard work and progress, not necessarily to say ‘ew look at me, I was disgusting when I was bigger’. As long as you love yourself and are treating others with respect, I personally don’t see a problem in you doing what you feel is best for your own body. But I’m fine with anyone who doesn’t agree with me, we can agree to disagree. Cassey, you’re doing great. Don’t let other people kill your motivation. We’ve only got one life, so I’m glad you’re making the most of it! All the best!
I have been following your workout calendars for about half a year now. I have not lost much weight, but I hav’nt felt this good about and in my body for years.
One big thing I had to learn to get there, is that everyones actions are not a criticism to my live and weight. Whenever someone who was already thinner than me said something along the lines “I don’t feel good, i want to lose some weight” I automatically wondered, what they must be thinking of me who CLEARLY needed to lose weight more badly and did’nt.
Once I finally understood that most of the time those people did’nt care if I lost weight and/or honestly didn’t think I had to and that that was ALL IN MY HEAD I finally started to work out for me, eat better for MYSELF and not feel guilty when I ate a bag of gummibears once in a while because I felt that that was what I needed.
I believe a lot of the hate and disbelieve that is directed at you comes from that very place of feeling judged by what you do ONLY for yourself.
You are on an incredible journey. Keep at it and make us proud 😉
Hey Cassey, I think a lot of people are reacting in such a negative way because most of them have immersed themselves completely into your workouts and tips; for example many believe that they don’t have to expand beyond pilates to achieve their goals. In your videos you’ve said that a gym membership or lifting weights aren’t needed, so people have mainly been living in the pilates world. Although I love pilates, I’ve mixed it strength training and the gym.
This is why when your followers see you going into slightly more extreme measures, then they feel out of sorts and a bit lost. It’s like if your doctor needs medical help, you doubt they can treat a patient. This is my view on it, and it’s not anyone’s fault. I think pilates has become the comfort base for many people’s journeys and they’re now afraid that it isn’t enough so their lashing out at you instead of opening up.
Regardless of all of that, you’ve done a lot to help us in our journeys and you deserve to be accepted for the changes you want and your own goals. XOXO
I’ve always gone with the original definition of being body positive. You need to accept and love your body whatever it looks like etc. But that doesn’t mean you grow stagnant. You grow and better yourself. Do what makes your body happy. If eating junk food and lying around not doing anything honestly makes you and your body happy, then that’s fine. I see absolutely nothing wrong with it. But if you feel bloated and gross from eating junk, that’s a sign your body isn’t happy with what you’re doing do it. If sitting all the time makes your hip flexors hurt, your body isn’t happy. If your knees hurt, it could be that your weight is too heavy or your muscles aren’t strong enough – your body isn’t happy! If you work to make your body happy, there’s a good chance you. An make yourself happy because you’ll physically feel better.
I don’t think it’s fair for other people to poo-poo anyone else’s ideas and goals. Whatever happened to acceptance and sending good vibes? Everyone has their own goals. Nobody has the same goal. Everyone is different. 😞
I’m really inspired by your blogging. I love to read about the real you. Keep it up! ❤️
I love the original post Cassey, and I love this reply Katie! “Body positivity” is definitely subjective, and every person it is different, because every person is going through a different situation (#individualizedapproach) in how they think and feel about his or her body. I agree that paying attention to what your body is telling you is the way to go! I am sending acceptance and good vibes, for sure! <3
Hey Cassey, I’m new to you and your blogilates thing you got going on. I’ve been following your latest 90 day challenge via the emails you send. I am shocked about how much each email is not so much about your journey but in defense of it. You must be receiving a lot of hate mail in order to feel that you need to dedicate so much energy to justifying what you are doing. You are clearly a professional. I want this to be a positive message. Keep doing what you are doing. Whether you inspire me to get off my arse or not is not the point. You are getting off yours to reach your own goals and effectively writing a live action book about it as you go along. Please ignore these people that seem to have nothing better to do than criticise you from afar and from behind anonymous screens. No one is accountable online which is a true darkness that comes with the wonder that is the internet. There are lots of people who feel the way I but do not say anything because it is beneath them. .. Just more people trashing each other online… . Etc etc… This is the first time I have ever weighed in on an argument! Forget the bullies. Do your thing. Smile. Peace ✌️
Thanks for sharing. Do what pleases you. There will always be haters!
How can a person stay positive about their body when they look in the mirror and don’t like what she sees. I think body positive is bad because it is encouraging women to be over weight thus leading to health problems. I am 20 pounds over weight and it depressing. I am fighting back each day to loose the 20 pound, get healthy and to go back to liking who I see in the mirror. Going to start the 100 ab challenge
If I got to be honest, I bet 80% of those overweight women are fooling themselves and use delusions to feel ”good” in their skin. Deep inside they know that they aren’t happy, that they are insecure. They try to manipulate society by saying ‘u can be healthy at every size” while we know that isn’t true. I think body positivity should be for people with an handicap, or being born with a body type that isn’t fixable, however u can change ur weight. These women don’t want to put effort in losing weight , so they try to change people’s mindset. Even if they accomplish that, their insecurity will remain.
Thanks for sharing. Are you getting hungry in the mornings now?
I can’t believe you had to go through all of this trouble of understanding body positivity in order to justify your intention of losing fat. It is YOUR body, YOUR life and you should do whatever you want with it if it makes you happier. I’m 100% sure that you are body positive because you are one of the most vibrant personalities that I have ever seen. I think that most people just envy your determination to reach your goals as you are already super successful. More power to you Cassey!
I love that you’ve considered lots of different perspectives of body positivity and included them all in this post. I would love to hear more about your motivation for doing this challenge and what it is that drives you to commit to it. I have never felt 100% happy with my body and always think that losing some weight would be so much easier – I could wear whatever clothes I wanted and feel better about myself. However I follow lots of body posi instagrams (yourself included) and see and appreciate all different shapes and sizes of women every day, so I also know that my unhappiness with my body is in my head and that I need to change my attitude really. That doesn’t change the fact that I want my body to feel strong and powerful. I have never successfully been on any diet, I lose interest very quickly and am not a very patient person. Basically my motivation goes out the door when I haven’t lost 1lb in the first day. So I’m interested to hear more about your motivation, how you remain committed and what it was that made you think this was the right journey for you. Thanks, love your work 🙂
I think body positivity is about loving your body and having the freedom to take care of it. Wanting to get stronger, lose weight, feel better, etc — if it’s coming from a place of love and care for your body, how the heck is that NOT body positive?? Lol. I love that you’re doing this Cassey! Thanks for always keeping it 100
Love how you’re keeping it real and share with us your food as you eat it, with repeating meals and taking pictures of them as they are, not instagram ready. This motivates me go further with my journey since I can relate. Cheers and go Casey! This openness and sincerity from your side makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. It’s pretty rare to find this on the internet and on an “influencer” xD I kid, I kid c:
For me, including a goal weight or even goal measurements crosses the line to not body positive. Regarding Beyonce, why did she get a different body? Was the diet part of gaining the fitness necessary to perform the dances at that level? If not, maybe she also should not have gone through an extreme diet. In the end, diets are fattening. Perhaps you gained weight after your wedding because you were restricting beforehand?
That zucchini looks so good! By the way, I think you look great and try not to worry about what people say about you because like my husband say “if people complain about you it’s cause they are feeling bad about themselves” and it’s very true to me!!! I’m still working out with you and see results even though it takes time. I have been bullied of my weight so I know.
Why don’t you come up with your OWN definition of body positivity describing what it means to You?:) I think if you love your body, you will respect it enough to want to change r and make it the way you want it tom
“So what now? Now we move on” LOVE IT! GO YOU!
THAT PIZZA LOOKS YUMMY! 🤤
I think what you are doing is great. A lot of people are wanting to throw out judgements and aren’t taking a few steps back to just breathe. Getting hung up on words. Clearly you are getting healthier and stronger. Putting good foods into your body and working to make it run the way it is supposed to. Its very body positive, because you are caring for your body. Also, what some may not realize is by telling you that you are doing everything wrong, they are crossing their own lines of body positive and shifting into body shaming. Some are lashing out due to their own insecurities or past traumas they have not healed from and to be honest, when they are easily triggered they should be avoiding internet and especially a FITNESS page. Love your body, and love it enough to give it what it needs and an easier way to run at optimal health. Getting healthy and strong almost always equals some weight loss. So the people being upset because you condensed your goal into a simple word, really need to just take a moment, enjoy their own bodies and move forward.
Woman you said it best! ❤️❤️❤️
💚 Thank you ☺️
I think part of the issue with stuff like this is that humans generally have a hard time holding two opposing views/thoughts at the same time. But life is not either or and 2 things that seem at odds with each other don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Life can be “both..and” instead of “either…or.” In fact, there’s a whole type of psychotherapy that trains people to start to see their thoughts and their environment this way (dialectical behavioral therapy). In my view, you can want to change your body and still accept/love your body at every step of its journey from Point A to Point B. If someone wants to make some other change about their body, like get a tattoo or LASIK eye surgery, we don’t scream “YOURE NOT BEING BODY POSITIVE! YOU DONT LOVE YOURSELF!” This…shouldn’t be different.
Cassey,I just want to say how much I love and appreciate you. The time you put into helping others and the way you uplift us makes you such a beautiful person. Now. My two cents: I cannot believe how some people think they have the right to say whatever they want regarding another person or their decisions. Every one of us has the right to live however we see fit and that’s nobody’s business. We all struggle with things in our life and being rude or hurtful does not bring about ANYTHING positive. We have to love ourselves no matter what form we are. We are all worthy and deserving of love and anyone who says otherwise hasn’t found happiness in themselves—and that’s just sad. Cassey, keep doing YOU. Beautiful, unapologetically you.
*Kindness Matters*
We all have wants in life and desires. Evolution comes when we are following these desires, and this means change. If you want to lose a bit of weight because you like being thinner, what’s wrong with that? Yes, your body is very nice as it is, but you have the right to want to change it and challenge yourself, if it makes you happy! I like my own body as it is now, however I am still cautious of what I eat everyday!
Sending you warm thoughts,
Camille
Hello Cassey,
Thank you so much for sharing, behind honest and vulnerable. Like you say public figures hardly ever do this. All the gritty is kept hidden. You are incredibly brave for being genuine. The reason why I’ve continued following your social media and partaking in your fitness videos is because of how down to earth, grounded and real you are. It’s beautiful and it’s commendable.
I’ve been watching this debate over the past week. I was going to stay out of it because well I have never been interested in politics (everything is under the political sphere believe me). Yet, I would love to check in with you. I don’t think the question is can you be body positive alongside losing weight… the answer to that is yes. I think the more accurate question is do you need to lose weight at all? Or what are your reasons behind losing weight? I look at you and you appear to have no cellulite, you seemed toned and the most importantly healthy. So? You don’t have a butt? Some girls don’t have boobs (I don’t!) or might have no hips. You have said that you are at your heaviest. Our bodies change with age. Maybe that weight you once were wasn’t healthy? You have mentioned numerous times that we are all different and our health journeys will be different due to our body make up. Again like you say comparison is pointless. My mum used to say while I was in my teens: “Elise you can’t be an apple when you are an orange. They are just as delicious as each other”. Being body positive is acknowledging the yummy-ness and the okay-ness of your body. That might include realising that your weight is causing harm (and I mean actual physical and medical harm). It is only part of who you are! Just the vessel that carries you around. The true you is inside.
After saying this, I don’t think there is anything wrong with losing weight or even having those feelings (we all fight those demons) yet what I’m concerned with is your mental state. This kind of talk is nearing the realm of eating disorders or body dysphoria. Not saying you have either just that these diseases are slow, sneaky and often creep up on you. Keeping our minds healthy is just as important or I would even say more important than keeping our bodies healthy. Mind and body are not seperate.
Just to point out thin is not negative. Although being underweight can be. Overweight can be negative for health due to many physiological issues but isn’t bad in itself. Having a fold in your tummy or even a little roll when you bend is normal.
We are all on our own journeys but I really find it sad when we let societal ideals and lies in. What we see in the movies, on the TV, in the ads are all fake. No one has a perfect body or flawless skin.
In the end it’s your life, and you have to live it. I wish you luck and send you love.
Elise xx
It’s not that complicated. Is your goal to lose weight? Or is your goal to be healthier, more active, stronger, etc.? If your motivation to change your diet or activity levels is to lose weight/reduce your size, that is not body positivity, because you are saying that being thinner or a smaller size is preferable to being the way you currently are. If you want to change your eating and/or activity habits to get healthy, stronger, etc., and you happen to lose weight while doing so, that’s perfectly fine. It’s all about WHY you’re doing what you’re doing, and of course how you communicate those goals with others.
I think the problem with this argument is:
If I want to lose weight because a lower body weight fits my preferred aesthetic, and I’m not forcing it on anyone else or damaging my health, it’s beyond controlling for someone to tell me I can’t. Especially if it’s because “it’s not body positive.”
What right does someone else have to tell me how I should look, or how I should think about how I look? What’s wrong with a person having a personal preference?
Why should I (or anyone) have to justify what they like to the world at large?
Body positivity was originally about learning to love yourself where you are, and not changing things just because someone else says so.
Unfortunately, it’s been hijacked and now we have a bunch of people running around telling others what they can or cannot do with themselves, and how they can or should think about their appearances – which is pretty much the exact opposite of what body positivity was intended for.
Wanting to lose weight to adhere to a “preferred aesthetic” is not body positivity. Do that if you want, absolutely. But don’t do it and say you’re being body positive, because that’s not the way it works. When you say being a smaller size is preferable to being the size you are now or a bigger size, that is not body positivity. That is literally making a negative comparison between your current body and your “ideal” body.
Weight loss does not equate health?? Who ever believe that has never lost a lot of weight. I’ve lost 45 pounds, got rid of painful back pains, got stronger and never felt better, along with tons of confidence and loss of depression. I’ve journaled my journey as well and it has helped me stay accountable.
So many people need to do self reflection rather than nit pick on “words” 😆
And you celebrate bodies by….changing them to fit the false notion that weight equates to health or beauty? Weight does not equal health, and thinness does not equal beauty. I mentioned NOTHING about Cassey’s body being a weapon or somehow imposing on my own existence. Thin people are not bad. Cassey is not bad. Thin bodies are not bad. Cassey’s body is not bad. Thinness is NOT BAD, and I never, ever said that it was so don’t come at me with that.
However, a “weight loss journey” does have incredibly harmful effects on people because it centers an idea that thin is better, thin is healthier, thinner is what your goal should be. Thinness and weight loss as a measure and indicator of success is harmful. Thinness as a goal is bad. It’s inherently not body positive to say that weight loss is a goal since weight and health nor thinness and health are the same thing.
Plus, it seems that the vast majority of Cassey’s audience and the comments on her blog are equating thinness and beauty. “Oh girl you already look so good.” “Oh girl, I wish I looked like you.” “Oh girl, your before photo is so beautiful.” Maybe, we should be taking a look at how Cassey hasn’t tried to dismantle the idea that thin equals beautiful.
That’s the core issue of what’s going on here. That health and beauty are being equated to weight through this. It’s not about villainizing thin people which is somehow what you got from what I posted. I mean, god forbid someone be introspective and think, “Hmm, what I’m doing could be harmful to some of my audience, maybe I should re-evaluate to cause less harm.”
I’m not sure when asking someone to be conscious of how their actions affect others became a negative but I guess I’m just a snowflake, huh?
Are you going on Terry Cruz’ Instagram and shaming him for intermittent fasting because it might offend some people and it’s not “body positive”? I mean, my god, Cassey spent years tip toeing around what she said as to not offend anyone, but of course, no matter what, there is always someone that’ll feel “personally attacked” by what she does/says. She never said fat is bad, she never said skinny is good, she just said that she wants to change her body to FEEL BETTER, and that happens to mean losing some LBs. Go check out Stephanie Buttermore’s channel- she’s a fitness youtuber who just gained 30 pounds because she felt she needed a change too. But no one is yelling about her not being body positive, because she’s gaining weight not losing it. You can be offended by her trying to get thinner- that’s your prerogative. But you might just have to accept that, realistically, not everyone can cater their words to please you. People are allowed to change their bodies as they please, whether that’s going up or down on the scale, and they can still love their bodies the whole time.
Yes, telling people their progress photos are harmful to you is negative. Thinking someone going from class 3 obese to a normal healthy body weight is bad is absolutely an unhealthy mindset. Being obese is unhealthy, that’s a medical fact that I have the “privilege” of knowing. (Being sick in your mind 20s with diseases caused by being obese isn’t very fun by the way!)
Stop saying “skinny” is the enemy because it’s not. My knees wouldn’t be messed up if I wasn’t 130 pounds overweight. I wouldn’t have developed Pseudotumor Cerebri if I weren’t obese. I wouldn’t have the pleasure of knowing what non-alcoholic fatty liver is if my liver wasn’t messed up from obesity.
You can love yourself and be fat, but you can’t be healthy and fat.
Boo just turn off comments and keep doing you. The internet will continue to let you down and “cramp your style” where those that agree with you are less likely to comment for fear of being attacked. Just turn off comments and let the haters follow along quietly. 😉
I feel like I’m about to write a thesis and for that I apologize. I agree with you on a lot of points you made about body positivity, especially in that there is no one definition of what that actually is. Also I agree that what you’re doing, in my opinion, is being body positive because of why you’re doing it. Personally I believe as long as you’re happy with yourself and are making mostly healthy, positive choices, then I’ll support you. Not just you, Cassey, but the general you as in whoever. And because I think overall you have a really good image of who you are, and you feel good about yourself, I support you doing what makes you happy. However, I understand how your “before” pictures and food pictures and…other stuff I don’t feel like scrolling up to look at can be triggering for some people who are recovering from eating disorders or disordered eating habits. I think one of the reasons people are coming at you the way they are is because they’re getting defensive and projecting. Here you are, already small and healthy (sorry sis but you are) and you’re going on this 90 day journey to become smaller and healthier. Soooo for people who are bigger than you who are not trying to change their weight, it’s like you’re adding to the “but you should lose weight” chorus with your actions, even though it’s not your intent. And maybe this has some people all in their feelings because they thought you were supportive of living a healthy lifestyle no matter what size you are, but maybe feel like your actions are saying otherwise? Even though you’ve explained why you’re doing it. So some people may feel like they have to defend their size and their choices, and you’re just who they happen to be projecting on. I hope you’re not taking it personally, and I feel like you know there are way more people who are supporting you than shaming you. Also you prolly already figured all that out but…I’ve typed it now so it stays. So keep living your truth sis.
Also…60 burpees?? You did 60 burpees?? Snaps to you. I can barely do six. Last also, I promise, but what are your thoughts on the normalization of disordered eating? I feel like it’s so common now, and people don’t even realize they’re doing it. I’d love to read a blog on that.
Body positivity… hmmm? I’d say it’s about loving your body and accepting it while wanting to make it whatever it is you want it to be… and that can be anything, weight loss, weight gain, maintaining your weight, not caring about how much you weigh… there’s no right and wrong – YOUR BODY, YOUR CHOICE!
“Having a goal for intentional fat loss is not body positive”… what a load of c**p! Having a goal for your body is just like having a goal for any other aspect of your life, full stop. Would you say that someone who wants to learn to swim, dance or speak a foreign language is shaming those who don’t care for these subjects? No, you wouldn’t… They may prefer riding, singing or watchinh TV and that is also fine! Same goes for body goals, whether you’re trying to lose or gain weight, as long as you don’t preach to others or believe that your body choices are a rule everyone should follow, then you have the right to have your individual goals and embrace them!
Go, Cassey, you’re great!!!!
Thank you, Cassey, for continuing to share your journey with us! As someone who dove into the “body positivity” movement – whatever it means now – after almost being hospitalized for an ED, this post truly resonates with me. I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with you striving to reach a place that will make you feel more comfortable in your own skin, as long as you’re aware that you look great in your current state already – which I know you do! I’m so excited to see what the next few weeks bring you! Thank you again for sharing such a personal journey with all of us 🙂
omg people are cray. you seem like you’re genuinely trying to look and feel your best and i support you 100%. it’s really ironic that the people preaching acceptance don’t accept you when all you’re doing is trying to be the healthiest version of yourself.
Well said Cassey, on a tough issue.
Hi Cassey! I think it’s great that you’re looking more into body positivity and attempting to learn more and encourage a dialogue. As someone who identifies as fat, I want to clear up a few things about what I believe to be something that is helpful to fat people like myself who are looking to be healthier.
Mostly, it’s that health, not weight, is the key to measuring success within my version of fat body positivity. For me, before and after images are incredibly damages. First, they inherently insinuate that a thinner body is something to strive for and that thinner bodies are automatically healthier bodies which isn’t the case. Secondly, they don’t always tell full stories. Simply because someone is thin doesn’t mean they are healthy. We don’t know their diet, their activity level or anything about their medical history. A thin person can be suffering from an ED or obsessive disorder with counting calories or restriction-based disordered eating. They’re thin, yes, but not healthier. Thus, before and after images can be quite misleading and harmful.
Secondly, the big issue here is weight as a measure of success. Using weight and fat loss as a measure of success is problematic because again, it equates being thinner with being healthier or having a number on a scale be the way you determine if your body is healthy. The real measure of health is your how you and your body feel, how it operates, how it runs, not your simply what you weigh.
What struck me particularly was the line about intentional weight loss. Intentional weight loss is problematic because at its core, it values thinness. If someone says, “I’m going to lose weight because it will make me healthier,” that’s not always the case: see examples above. If a person says, “I’m going to lose weight because it will make me look better,” well then you’re simply embracing societal beauty standards that are quite frankly bull shirt. Weight loss as a goal or indicator of success is fundamentally not body positive.
What can be body positive is unintentional weight loss like mentioned above. With your 90 Day Challenge, I see no issue in it if a weight were not going to be a measure of success. Habits like changing your diet to increase energy, feel better, try new dishes, none of those things are bad. When a person says, “I’d like to eat healthier foods to FEEL better,” or “I’d like to be more active because it’ll make me FEEL better,” those aren’t issues at all within the body positive community. Unintentional weight loss may happen in some people because of this but it’s not the GOAL. Doing things because they help you place value on your body and show love to it is body positive. Eating healthy and being active is body positive when approached from this vantage point because it’s about protecting and loving your body, not trying to reach some arbitrary number on a scale and forcing your body to do or be something that it inherently doesn’t want to do. Listening to your body is better than forcing it to be at a percentage or a number.
For me, your challenge wouldn’t be an issue if it didn’t center your weight. If, instead, you blogged about how your body felt after each meal, the energy you had, how your workout helped your mental health that day, or any of those things that don’t have to do with restricting to hit a goal, and at the end, you took a measure of how you feel, how your body is performing, how your endurance has improved, your skin, hair, etc, I wouldn’t be so inclined to say something. Centering weight loss, however, centers thinness as health and as valuable, and that’s why it’s damaging to so many people including myself.
Hi, I’m someone who is obese and working toward a healthy weight. Treating everyone else’s body / weight loss journey as a weapon against your existence is not how we celebrate bodies.
And you celebrate bodies by….changing them to fit the false notion that weight equates to health or beauty? Weight does not equal health, and thinness does not equal beauty. I mentioned NOTHING about Cassey’s body being a weapon or somehow imposing on my own existence. Thin people are not bad. Cassey is not bad. Thin bodies are not bad. Cassey’s body is not bad. Thinness is NOT BAD, and I never, ever said that it was so don’t come at me with that.
However, a “weight loss journey” does have incredibly harmful effects on people because it centers an idea that thin is better, thin is healthier, thinner is what your goal should be. Thinness and weight loss as a measure and indicator of success is harmful. Thinness as a goal is bad. It’s inherently not body positive to say that weight loss is a goal since weight and health nor thinness and health are the same thing.
Plus, it seems that the vast majority of Cassey’s audience and the comments on her blog are equating thinness and beauty. “Oh girl you already look so good.” “Oh girl, I wish I looked like you.” “Oh girl, your before photo is so beautiful.” Maybe, we should be taking a look at how Cassey hasn’t tried to dismantle the idea that thin equals beautiful.
That’s the core issue of what’s going on here. That health and beauty are being equated to weight through this. It’s not about villainizing thin people which is somehow what you got from what I posted. I mean, god forbid someone be introspective and think, “Hmm, what I’m doing could be harmful to some of my audience, maybe I should re-evaluate to cause less harm.”
I’m not sure when asking someone to be conscious of how their actions affect others became a negative but I guess I’m just a snowflake, huh?
Amen, Shea! 🙌
Hi Shea,
I read both of your comments and I wanted to share my view on some of the points you raised.
Firstly, before / after images are not necessarily about being thinner. What I notice above all, when I look at that kind of pictures, it’s that people have more muscle and less fat; not that they are “thinner”. Besides, some spectacular before / after pictures show people who’ve gained weight through muscle mass – but it true that it’s not something we see the most when addressing a female audience. Becoming “thinner” is just a side-effect of reducing body fat and gaining muscle mass but I think it’s a poor, restrictive and imprecise choice of word to describe all the changes that have occurred.
Which leads me to my second point: as you say, weight loss does not equal healthy, and I completely agree with that. However, Cassey didn’t go on a weight loss journey here, but a fat loss journey. In her first post, Cassey clearly said she wanted to get closer to the athlete level fat percentage, which is completely understandable given her career as a fitness instructor. In my case, I’m not even a professional athlete, far from it, but my goal is also to get around that fat percentage to improve my performances. I just practice a sport where it’s a lot easier if you’re light, and consequently if you have the least fat possible – while keeping a healthy fat percentage. It’s just a sporting goal, nothing more.
You say that in Cassey’s case, weight loss is her goal but it’s not. Fat loss is, and she repeated it in her latest posts: it’s only a measuring tool to help her achieve her goal: being more athletic, more performant and in the end, feeling better because she would have reached her goal. It’s so incredibly hard to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time while maintaining a sustainable diet; she should be proud to share with us her first week’s results! -0,5% of body fat and +0,3% muscle mass, that’s some tangible progress that should be celebrated. And again, it has nothing to do with body positivity. It’s not about weight loss here but fat loss, measuring it, and improving one’s performances. I also would like to emphasize that there isn’t any debate around body positivity when male fitness youtuber talk about going into cutting body fat and increasing lean muscle mass. Which is precisely what Cassey’s doing here. I have my own story, insecurities and weaknesses, but I don’t see why it should keep Cassey from writing about her own progress, be it about these weight / body fat / muscle mass related numbers on a scale.
It sure is a long reply, I hope you had the courage to read it all!
Hey Andrea,
I certainly appreciate your response, especially since it was well-thought out and civil. I so appreciate that.
As for Before and After photos, my question is the perspective you’re viewing them from. You mention that you’re an athlete in a sport where being thin (having a lower body fat %) is a plus. I’m going assume this means you don’t identify as overweight. Instead of approaching this from a more analytical way like I did above, imagine being a fat person. Imagine seeing an image of yourself as a before. That your body, the way you look, what you see in the mirror every single day is something that should be changed. At its core, it’s hurtful. With the vast majority of before and after images of overweight people, it’s impossible to tell whether they actually focused on fat loss or weight loss. It’s impossible to see that visibly. It’s far more likely that they lost both muscle mass and fat. Regardless of that, though, I hope you can understand from a personal perspective why images would be harmful.
I take issue with the argument that Cassey should be near athlete level body fat percentage because of her career. Why do I feel that way? Because she’s talked about it herself. In fact, she’s made it a point of pride and a way to show that not all fitness instructors look the same. I also believe that it’s untrue that Cassey doesn’t view weight as a goal, and she’s only looking at fat loss. Why? Because she says so herself. In her day one post, she opens the entire challenge by explaining that she’s unhappy not with her body fat percentage but with her weight. She cites weight gain throughout that post as a motivator, not her body fat. “Why am I doing this?
Well to be completely honest, I stepped on the scale on Monday and weighed in at 136 lbs – which is THE HEAVIEST I have EVER been.” Sounds a lot like weight loss and aesthetics.
As for the disparity between men and women, I agree. I think the fixation on a certain body type for men plays into incredibly damaging ideas of toxic masculinity and dominance that are so harmful. But, I think pointing this out is just pointing out that the movement needs to extended more to men. It doesn’t excuse what I believe to be damaging ideals that Cassey may be inadvertently promoting. I don’t believe for one moment that Cassey would look at me and tell me my body is bad. I’ve watched her for years, used her videos, etc, so I would never think that of her. I jut want her to look a bit more in depth at the commentary about this instead of dismissing it as being “hate.”
Admittedly, I believe if Cassey’s channel hadn’t flown so far into body positivity and embraced it so much, this wouldn’t be as much of an issue. However, you can’t have your cake and eat it, too. You can’t be body positive and tell us that the number on the scale upset you. Why? If it’s just a number? A data point, then why? Why group weight loss into the same category as pimples or grey hair in her original post like a heavier body is some sort of gross-ness like pimples or grey hair (which btw are both beauty standards she preaches against).
I’d love for her to sit down with an activist like Virgie Tovar or someone from Super Fit Hero in a video. I appreciate that she read about the subject but talking to fat people, people who identify as body positive, who are part of fat acceptance, people who can’t shop in stores or sit in airplane seats may be a good idea instead of being kind of dismissive. I’d love to see her film that video.
Shea,
Thank you so much for beautifully and articulately describing my thoughts throughout this past week. I would absolutely love to see her film that video. I feel like a lot could be learned by all.
Hi Shea,
I really understand what you say about resenting your body. Since I’m 10 or 11 yo, I’ve always thought that I was overweight, even though I was not from a medical point of view – and my mother kept on telling me each time I had her on the phone or I came back home that I should lose weight… It’s only for a year or so that I am starting to be at peace with my body (I’m 24 yo), because I know how strong it is and what it can do.
However, I’d like to put things under a different perspective.
If I told you that I play the piano, and my objective is to be able to play certain pieces before the end of the year, I assume you answer would be: “great, I hope you can make it!”. And then, if I told you: “I want to lose X pounds before the end of the year”, what would be the difference? In my eyes, there should be none. There shouldn’t be any judgment like “you’re not body positive”, “you look good the way you are”, “you don’t need to”. It’s as if I was told, in the “piano situation”, things like: “you’re hurting people who don’t play the piano”, “you already have a good level”, “you already know enough pieces, you don’t need to learn new ones”. I mean, it would be completely absurd.
You might answer me that by telling I want to lose weight to other people, and especially overweight and obese people, I unwillingly imply that they should too. But it’s a wrong interpretation. It’s just my objective. I would never tell someone what to do with their lives, just as I would never accept someone telling me that I should or should not lose weight. It’s not because people, overweight or not, obese or not, don’t care about losing weight (and again, I’m not saying that in a negative way! Just the same as not being interested in music for example), that I should not care about losing weight. It’s just different goals, different centre of interests, and none of them is better or worse than the other. If you ask me why I want to lose weight, I’ll just answer you that it makes me happy, just as cooking makes me happy, running makes me happy. And if a thin or even athletic woman tells me that she wants to lose weight, I’ll just cheer her up because it’s a goal like any other. Like learning new pieces of piano before the end of the year. I won’t believe that because she wants to slim down, she thinks I should slim down too. There are actually high chances that she doesn’t care about how I look. You see what I mean? I could interpret it in a negative way, but I choose not too because I have my own standards and goals. I also understand what you say about before / after pictures, that it is painful to watch them. But then again, what if you tell yourself: “those people set their own goals and reached it, I’m glad for them”? (It’s not a rethorical question)
And you’re right, Cassey focused much in her blog posts on losing weight, but truth is, you always want to lose fat when you want to lose weight. So maybe we should not be that much attached to the words that Cassey used and see beyond that?
Last thing: when I told my colleagues that I wanted to lose weight, I got tons of remarks like “Why do you do that? You don’t need to. You’re already thin.” When another guy of my team, who’s doing CrossFit, said he wanted to lose fat for his next competition, everyone cheered him up. When another one, not particularly the athlete profile, said he wanted to lose fat because he thought his belly was becoming a bit to prominent, nobody tried to talk him out of losing weight, nobody assumed that because he wanted to lose weight, he “hated” his body.
So yes, there are problems about those so-called masculinity standards. Men don’t have to be like those models on those Calvin Klein ads. But with that body positivity movement, I think there is another emerging problem: wanting to lose weight, especially for a woman, is starting to be a bad thing because judged incompatible with loving your body. It’s not. You may want to lose fat while being grateful for all the things your body can do. For me, body positivity is about loving your body and not letting other people feel bad about how you look; it’s not about seeing weight or fat loss as a wrong objective. Fat acceptance, which I understand as not stigmatising overweight or obese people, should not turn into fat loss rejection. That’s why I think people should not take at heart the fact that Cassey wants to lose weight. It’s a goal for her, a standard for her, and I believe she does not impose it on anyone. The fact that she has a huge audience doesn’t change that, in my humble opinion.
I constantly struggle with the “body positivity” thing. I’ve tried to be ok with my nee weight, but bottom line is that when I don’t eat right and exercise, I don’t feel good about myself …. physically or mentally. Carrying around this extra weight after my accident is hurting my body … literally. After just 1 week doing my own #90dayjourney I feel more alive. I have more energy and my mood is better …. so I already feel better about myself. Keep going Cassey!!! You are inspiring me to try.
Cassey, I want to throw out there that you have for a long time been an inspiration to me. I think the fact that you are human and have to deal with different weight gain issues despite all your working out is really healthy for everyone who watches you. Your honesty about your struggle is refreshing. As you said, we don’t talk much about how other celebrities lose their weight. I hope you are able to continue your journey in finding the healthy balance you are looking for and that you can disregard the negative comments pulling you down. We should be body positive when our bodies are healthy, and when they are not….that’s a time to be a bit more concerned and positively look for the answers to make the body healthy.
Well said!
Cassey, I commend you for putting yourself out there for the inevitable backlash you’ll receive from some people. Now in my 50’s, I can honestly say my definition of ‘body positivity’ is accepting where I am even if it’s not my end goal…no one needs to adopt that same mantra, but I don’t need to be bashed for it, either. When I don’t eat well, I don’t feel well, & additional lbs are usually a by-product of that. Some of us are driven by goals, & when the scale confirms what I already know, I see no problem setting a target…it helps me focus & be accountable. That doesn’t mean I hate my body until I reach that goal, but it’s okay to have a plan. The beauty of being my age, I really don’t give a s*** what other people think of me…I can’t control that, but I can control how I feel about myself. You, in your big public life, will be scrutinized for everything you do…focus on your why & what brings you joy…treat the rest as junk mail🙂
I sometimes think body positivity is used as a reason to ignore health issues. I have a lot of sports injuries from being young and dumb and now in my 30s it’s painful and dangerous for me to be too heavy. I’ve known a lot of people that say they don’t need to loose weight because they are fine with how they look but then they end up on medications for things that could easily be prevented.
You’re probably one of the most body-positive people other there, Cassie. It really irks me that people can’t grasp that just because you want to drop body-fat or weight for the sake of your own health, makes you not-body positive. You can love yourself and still want to change, it’s called growth! Original definition is where it’s at. I’m fat, I know it, I am actually obese and I want to change that, not because I hate myself but because I miss being healthy and athletic, doing movements and fitting into clothes I used to. Now I know my butt looks awesome now and my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard as it is now but that doesn’t mean I can’t want self-improvement. I say ignore the haters as they project self-insecurities onto you with negativity and shaming you as you defy their image of you and themselves.
Nice piece of history on the body positivity term – it’s really one you can bend to your own preferences now it seems.
On the zoodles: please don’t get frozen ones! Nothing good ever came from freezing a zucchini in my opinion, they get too mushy. Get a fresh one and a spiralizer or spend some extra energy chopping it to fine strips and that will be waaaay better!
There is a lot that bothers me about the “body positivity” movement going on today. I am 1000% fully in support of people not feeling like they HAVE to hit a certain number, or look a certain way, or exercise 7 days a week to appreciate and love their body and who they are. However, I feel it’s fairly hypocritical for someone who claims to be “body positive” bashing someone like yourself who is trying to make a change because they haven’t felt comfortable in their own skin for whatever reason. Isn’t the whole purpose of the movement to be comfortable with yourself? For example, leaving weight aside completely, Dakota Johnson recently received a lot of heat for fixing the gap in her front teeth. It has probably made her feel self-conscious her entire life, wether it actually bothers anyone else or not…why was it such an issue if she made a personal decision to have it fixed to feel more confident? I guess the whole purpose of this is…be nice to one another 🙂 Some people might crush it at CrossFit every day, and other people may crush it at Netflix every day…and neither one is wrong.
Thank you for sharing your journey with us. It pains me that people think they can tell you how to live from a position of being “better” than you because you decided to go public with a fitness and eating plan. I know you already know how many people are behind you and supporting you – the same way you support so many people. Seriously, I owe my level of fitness to your videos and I think people who are so “disappointed” need to mind their own business. And thank you for researching the meaning and history of body positivity – that was really interesting to learn.
thank you for this post! It helped me, too with understanding the whole Body Positivity, cause for some time I’ve been lost like you. For me Body Positivity is loving your body very step of the journey and accepting different kinds of bodies that other people may have, understanding that there is no such thing as perfection.
Suggestion for frozen zoodles: drain them in a nut milk bag, don’t squeeze them, just put them in and then twist the bag from the top down until the liquid comes out. After I do that I like to throw them back in the pan with some avocado oil at a really high heat to add a little toast/crunch! Really yummy! Super excited for your journey, you’re inspiring more people than you’re dragging down, just remember the negative voices are always the loudest.
I’ve always felt that body positivity is like a state of mind. I don’t think it’s a way to view other people. I think it’s a way that you view yourself and what you do to take care of yourself so that you can feel your best self. For example, Cassey Body Positive is different than Sam Body Positive because they view themselves differently and I don’t think Cassey can necessarily tell Sam that he’s not being body positive or vice versa. If Sam or Cassey feel personally that they are being body positive for themselves, then that’s awesome!
For example, I personally have yellower teeth. I am often commented on my smile and how it makes people feel happy. I love my teeth, but I personally would like them to be whiter so I have been whitening them. I am doing it for me, not for anyone else. Because as far as I know, it doesn’t bother them, just me. I feel that I’m being body positive because I’m doing what I want to help me feel my best self and I’m doing it just for me. Do I need to? Absolutely not! I know I’ll be and feel ok if I don’t do it. But it is something that I know I will enjoy so I am doing it.
I’m so proud of Cassey and have been enjoying reading her journey towards “Cassey Body Positivity”. 🙂
2019 (and maybe 2018 and 2017) are year when people is losing freedom to express themselves in order to avoid other people who are extra sensitie people feel bad WITH THEMSELVES.
You are free to do your journey, you are free to talk about it, you are free to love yourself in any size and fat/muscle percent and you are free to change your mind and your goals every time you want.
PS: Cassie! Come on, girl, don’t buy cauliflower rice or spirallized zucchini. I mean you like to cook and you could easily make them at home, so don’t buy that much in plastic 🙁 (please read this how I write it: with the voice of a friend that wants the best for you but is worried about the planet).
I have only one thing to say: give my please one slice of that pizza! 😍
Heheh… a little indulgence is still okay, right?😆🍕the pizza looks good too❤
I don’t want to be mean or anything but I just think you or your brand do not embody body positivity in all aspects. I see you showing larger models and all which is amazing but there are other great personalities which do a lot more than That. Nevertheless you always say loving your body and working out are so important so maybe you are more for body love and loving to workout. And that’s why I follow you because I love the way you view fitness. You don’t have to see yourself as a body positivity advocate bc you share other quality content ♥
Yes, you can. I am a person living in a larger body. I want to lose weight and am trying to lose weight but that desire to lose weight should not disqualify someone from being body positive. I have health-related issues behind why I want to lose weight. Do I see myself as inferior because of my weight (which is where things become a problem)? No. I just know that for where I want to be in my life, I personally feel that losing weight is the solution. For some, weight loss isn’t the solution. People who are angry at this are forgetting the key component to body positivity: loving yourself. You cannot and should not force someone to love themselves and their body at its current state. Should you offer help if they need it? Absolutely. I have accepted that fully loving myself and my body requires me to take action for my physical health (and thus self-care), otherwise I will just be constantly worried and not be in a fully-positive state of mental health. I do not like the state my body is in so I am actively making changes to help me love it because I know that’s what I need to do. For me, that’s losing weight but for others that self-love is something different. And you know what? No one but you gets to decide what you need to do in order to love yourself. The problem is when we try to tell others that they need to do something with their bodies. The problem is when people are losing weight for the wrong reasons (such as to fit into stereotypes and societal demands). The problem is when we tell other people that them wanting to change their bodies is inherently a problem. The problem is when we start to preach about how people need to change their bodies to fit someone else’s beliefs. The problem is when we go about it the wrong way, such as your article states – seeing one body type as the champion and assigning values to bodies based on their weight and physical appearance. Body positivity is equally as much outward – how you treat others and their decisions they (are allowed to) make on their own bodies – as it is inward – doing what you need in order to love yourself, and understanding before you embark on your journey should you choose to make one that you’re doing it for self-love reasons, NOT vanity, and paying attention to the psychosocial reasons behind it. Don’t listen to the critics. They’re distorting the original intentions of body positivity to fit a narrative that is counterintuitive to what Connie and Elizabeth intended.
I’ve been following along with your blog over the last seven days and trying to gather my thoughts about all of this. For some background, I had a very severe eating disorder in my teens and twenties and have read tons about body positivity, intuitive eating, HAES, etc. In some ways, it has been super helpful to me, but at this point in my life, I would say I have mixed feelings about it at best. It seems to me that people in the body positivity/intuitive eating camp are judgmental and self-righteous towards others who want to lose weight, eat more routinely or exercise in ways they do not deem “joyful movement.” Many people have swung from one extreme to the other. Judging someone for eating a cupcake is no worse than judging someone for not eating it. Two sides of the same coin.
I am all about taking care of yourself and listening to your body. Goodness knows that I had to relearn how to do this after years of abusing my body. However, I’m tired of feeling like I am not “succeeding” at recovery because I want to exercise in ways that are not walking or restorative yoga or that I am somehow letting other women down if I don’t want to eat every cookie or doughnut someone brings into the office. Frankly, I do not care one iota about what other people eat or how they choose to workout. Everyone has a different body, different lifestyle and different genetics. Some foods make me feel yucky when I eat them, so I don’t. This doesn’t mean I am disordered or fearful or any other nonsense.
If the end goal of the body positivity movement is for everyone to feel OK to be in their body, then this needs to apply to EVERYONE. The person who is thin and the person who is fat. The person who follows a meal plan and the people practicing intuitive eating. Each person has an individual body, personality, lifestyle, history, etc. What works for one person will not work for another. I would not wish having an eating disorder on my worst enemy; it is the most horrible thing I have ever lived through. But, I truly enjoy working out and eating very healthfully and am so over feeling condemned by the body positivity movement for telling me that I shouldn’t. We all deserve to live in bodies we feel comfortable and healthy in, and as long as the path you take to get there is not destructive, everyone should be free to take their own journey.
Cassey, we have a lot of similar opinions and many differing opinions, but there’s something I’d like to share with you: The cartoons you drew for the thumbnails of your summer reset videos (this 2019 summer) are very body un-positive. The girl looks so incredibly sad in the “before” and so bright and happy in the after. Wasn’t it you who said that being thin wasn’t the key to happiness? I love and respect so many of the things that you do, but that little thing has bothered me for a long time and I thought that this might be the right blog post with which to address it.
TELL EM CASSEY! 🙂
*If I were going to label your brand, I’d call it “Fit-positive,” because you’re all about fitness, whatever that means to each individual person.
I’ve read up a lot on body positivity and the fat acceptance movement in the last year, and it really is a difficult field to navigate. What I will say is that the term “body positivity” is one I most often hear in regards to people living in larger bodies, who are trying to learn to love themselves as they are, without feeling like they need to change. Our world is cruel to people living in larger bodies. (I’d recommend reading Hunger by Roxanne Gay or Landwhale by Jes Baker if you want to read more from the perspective of women living in larger bodies. These two are big names in the movement and Roxanne is well-known in the literary world.) If you label yourself as “body positive” you are probably attracting a base of people who are expecting your posts to be ones that don’t focus on weight loss or prioritize smaller bodies over larger bodies, hence why a number of those who follow you are upset.
There are other terms out there too: “body respect, body neutral, body love, body acceptance.” I feel like I hear “body love” less, but it’s used in circles trying to learn how to love their bodies (like really love their bodies), and the other three are more about accepting your body for what it is right now, even on days when you don’t love it. These terms I see more often in the feeds of those living with disabilities or chronic illness, so they’re not just referring to weight or aesthetics. I like these terms because I think it leaves more wiggle room. Body LOVE and body POSITIVITY make some people feel like they’re failing if they get frustrated with their bodies, with the other terms leave room for people to have days where they really aren’t happy with where they’re at.
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. You are receiving backlash b/c you are posting about this honestly. There’s been a big boost in the anti-diet movement lately, spear-headed most publicly by Jameela Jamil, but also by a lot of dietitians, so we’re in a climate right now where dieting to lose weight is not the pinnacle of health and morality that it’s been for so many years. So, it’s not really YOU that has changed. Society is changing, and I’m actually pretty glad it is, because as someone who’s dealt with disordered eating, I think people deserve to have a choice other than dieting to lose weight.
All that said, you do deserve to be able to do what you want with your body, so long as you aren’t hurting yourself. Your body is yours, and even though it makes some people uncomfortable you are allowed to do with it what you want, and you are allowed to share that information if you want. You have given the trigger warnings. You have been very clear about what this is going to be. You can’t be everyone’s hero. And you can’t live a life that feels false to you, even if it’s going to disappoint some people. Some other fitness instructor will hopefully fill the void and start offering ED-friendly, non-weight-loss centered workouts that are just about feeling strong in your body, whatever the size. If you can find someone like that, maybe you could share that information with your fans who are struggling right now?
Hi Emmadilemma, if you’re looking for a fitness person who is anti-diet culture, Madalin Giorgetta is doing some really great work lately, just FYI 🙂
Tbh the body positive movement of 2018/2019 is glorifying being unhealthy. It also claims acceptance of someone’s body like you stated but our society has gone from fat shaming to fit/skinny shaming, it’s really all stupid if I’m being honest. The definition from the 90s seems to be more level headed in that its personal, it’s meant for you to be able to love and take care of your body, whether that means losing weight, gaining strength, or hell, even losing weight. You know how many people out there are skinny shamed because they literally can’t put weight on? No one talks about it. So Cassie, you do you boo boo. You’ll either have fans that stand behind and cheer for you or you’ll have people who can’t handle it walk away and that’s OK. It’s alsi ok to be criticized and unfortunately because you’re in the public eye, you’ll also receive just nasty comments and you just have to let those go. Great job for standing up for yourself and standing your ground, now it’s time to tune out the haters.
Thank you
I love reading these blog posts! I just started my own weight loss journey because after having my son, I gained a lot of weight, and frankly I feel very unhealthy. I feel like I have someone with me, so I love reading your recaps! As for body positivity, here’s my take- all bodies are beautiful, and just because we want to change our bodies doesn’t mean we can’t love it through all of its different stages! And if you don’t want to lose weight, that’s also fine! Own your body! But if I want to lose weight because I want to have more energy to play with my son, how is that a bad thing? Again, we should never shame anyone for how they look, because I know as someone whose always been on the heavier side how it feels. But wanting to change and having goals is not a bad thing either!
Omg. Body positivity has been coopted and thin washed. That is why it’s definition seems to be so changing. That is why it really annoys some of us that you continue to use it. Even after taking the time to look it up, you dont seem to be truly trying to underatand or reflect on it. You just continue to center yourself and your beliefs without taking any responsibility. For people who live in larger bodies, it isn’t just a ‘time to move on’ kind of situation.
The world isn’t ready for this… And that’s why I love it!
Forget the hatesr and smash your goals! You got this girl 🙂
Hey Cassie!
So I think what you doing for yourself is great and I’m my opinion and reading about what you found out about body positivity you are body positive.
Throughout the years you’ve encouraged your community to grow as a person, to love themselves and to take care of themselves so I think it is the right thing to to that you are doing the same thing with yourself.
Being body positive and wanting to change your body out of self care not out of society judgement is completely fine and a decision that only you can make, so you do you girl!
I love the daily blogs, it keeps me on track too and I can relax while reading it!
Love, Sina
This is like… everything I’m feeling right now. Like, that’s my week in a nutshell. I’m not far out from my wedding so obvs I want to look my best, but also there’s a lot of pressure to be a “cool bride” who is “body positive” and doesn’t slim down just for a dress. Ugh! I think part of the fine balance between weight loss and body positivity is that question of whether you’re making a sustainable change for your life – is never eating a donut ever again sustainable? No way! But it’s also not good for my body to eat things like donuts every day. Part of taking care of our bodies is helping them to run their best!
Please keep this journey up and keep posting these daily entries! I haven’t read your blog in a while and these posts are reminding me of old Casey, back in college when I started loving your site!
Love this post! I am in a similar situation.
I don’t usually comment on things a lot, but I feel it is important to let you know that there are people, who support you (and probably outnumber the critics by a large amount).
I believe body positivity, however you want to define the specifics, is about acceptance and tolerance. The moment you tell someone that the decisions they are making about their own body are wrong, you stop being body positive. While I think some people spoke up out of concern for your mental/physical health, I believe we should trust people, especially someone like you, who concerns themselves with this for a living, to know what their body needs. And even if there were alarming signs, it is still between your doctor and you to figure out if what you’re doing is healthy.
Furthermore, your are not telling people to follow your lead, you do not tell them they will be happier or worth more if they hit a certain weight, you do not tell them your way of doing things is the only correct way do be healthy. I get that as a creator of online content people look at you as a kind of role model, and you could argue you have some form of responsibility, but people need to take responsibility for their own actions and not try to pin it on someone else saying “they made me do it”, which you also didn’t do, so there’s that.
As to the whole “any active change to your body is not body positive”, that’s absolutely ridiculous. Any change to your body with the goal of being healthier sounds to me like the ultimate form of body positivity. Does your body not deserve the absolute best you could give it? And science has concluded time and time again, that certain weight ranges, body fat ranges and nutritional decisions are healthier than others. Striving for the best possible version of you is just as valid as being happy with not being “perfect”, it’s everyones personal decision to make. And frankly, someone elses decision about their body really does not affect you in any way.
I’m also wondering, what the people, who get “triggered” by talk of weight, diets, scales etc. are even doing on a blog, that focuses in large parts on fitness. Did they really not see that coming? If certain things/topics trigger you, it is your own job do avoid them (or learn healthy coping mechanisms), not everybody elses. People really need to stop feeling attacked by everything other people do. A before and after picture is not attacking you, and it is not telling you you are worth less if you look like the before picture, it is not about you, period. What it does do is document success, as someone set a goal for themselves and achieved it. You wouldn’t criticize someone posting before and after pictures after painting and rearranging their room, claiming they are making you feel bad because your room looks like the before picture.
Lastly, you’re a competitive and driven person, it’s natural for you to set goals for yourself and do everything in your power to achieve them. Limiting that natural behavior for the (arguable) benefit of others does not sound positive to me.
Personally, I want to thank you. You and your content helped me become the strongest and healthiest I’ve ever been. I remember barely being able to do a rollup or hold a plank for any amount of time, and now I’m following your workout calendars while only dying a little bit 😀 On to being able to do a full, proper pushup on hands and toes!
Hey, Cassie! I’ve been watching you for more than 5 years. I love what you do and how you fo it. You are body positive for me in the sense that you accept your body, you know some things can’t be changed, for example those booty pics you took a year ago.
I love this post today, although I’ve been checking up your journey since day 1. I love this post because it shows us that body positivity is a term that can be loosely be used for anything. So when you don’t have the proper definition of a term you can misappropriate it easily.
Do your thing girl! As there are those who will judge, there others who will support you. I know I am. And as a way to show it to you, I promise I will comment on every day of your journey from now on.
People are always going to have different views on a topic such as body-positivity, which is so vague in its definition that people can interpret it the way they deem fit. And more often than not, their interpretation of the term is to justify their decisions and choices. As far as sharing before and after photos goes, I think there’s nothing wrong in celebrating the result of the hard-work you’ve put into yourself and your health. How other people feel looking at these photos is not something you should be concerned about. It is upto that individual to decide what he or she wants to take away from it.
To all the people who thinks Casey is being hypocritical because she’s on a weight loss journey: How you feel, is a choice! Nobody can make you feel a certain way if you don’t let them. All you have to do is change your perspective. Instead of taking these photos at face value and saying “this is not body-positive”, try to appreciate how hard that person has worked in order to get there and feel motivated.
Like Cassey said in her first post, ‘As long as you love your body every step of the way, you’re in a healthy mental state.’ – This is what Body-positivity means to me.
More power to you Cassey! I’m ever so grateful for everything that you do for the community.
I think you’re very “body positive” and don’t let anyone get to you! I will never understad how can someone say they’re positive and at the same time hate on someone’s journey. Also, as much as I agree everyone should love themselves because all bodies are beautiful nevermind the size, I can’t agree that losing weight is something bad and negative. As long as it’s sensible and heatlhy, it can be a realy good thing. How can someone “love” their body but don’t care about being healthy (and nobody can convince me that being fat is heatlhy)?! I would say that “body positive” is an amazing movement but some people really take it to far and destroy the beautiful meaning behind it. I wish I could loose some weight but unfortunately my self control is too weak 😀 but it doesn’t mean I don’t love my body as it is! And to end my weird monologe I just want to say that I admire you very much and THANK YOU for helping me get heatlhier and stronger!
Cassey I have honestly been loving your blogging series these days, I had missed them so much! And I love that you’re sticking with your plan despite what these toxic people are saying to you. I think there’s a lot of hypocrisy on the body positive community, at the end of the day, everyone has their own personal way of being body positive, if you’re not happy with your weight and decide to lose some to be happy what’s the problem with that?! Like crap back in 2014 I started doing your workouts and eating healthy, and back then I was very overweight and thanks to this lifestyle changes I dropped 22 pounds! And let me say I’m the happiest I’ve been in my whole life now, I was not happy being overweight. Am I not body positive because I decided to lose weight? Pardon my language but f*ck these people who think they are the moral compass for body positive when everyone is in their own personal journey. Thank you so much for sharing yours, keep going Cassey I believe in you! Love you and thank you for everything
Whats really sad is that so many people place their own self worth on one person. When I read your intital post I did think, “wow I wish I could weigh 135!” Did I get angry at you? No. Slightly annoyed, but I kept reading. You need to do this for you. Not for me or anyone else. While you’re journey will undoubtedly inspire many, it will also irritate and cause others to fall away. That’s okay! I’m 5’5 and no where near 135. Guess what? That’s not your problem. I appreciate the work outs you provide for FREE and all the other FREE content. If I don’t like it I can choose to not read or do it. People put way to much pressure on others, celebrities, to fullfill thier lives. That’s the double whamy of social media. I’m sorry that people with eating disorders have to suffer in the first place and that people, like me, struggle to lose weight. While others seem to lose weight just by breathing or *gasp* never gain a pound! Welcome to diversity and genetics. Really, what anyone should be doing with this is taking what information serves them, leave what doesn’t. Cassie is Cassie and she needs to do this because this is what makes her happy and feel good about herself, her life and her business.
Placing the blame on someone because you are “triggered” etc is ridiculous. Bashing someone for a differing views is a major issue for this world.
People I’ll say it again, read the blog or don’t read it. Take what information helps you, ignore the rest. Don’t agree? That’s awesome, move onto something or someone you do agree with or better yet come up with your own stuff!
Whatever. I enjoy before and after photos, specially because you can see the smile in the after is (in he majority of cases) more sincere! And they are not always about getting smaller! I’ve seen tons of before and after about gaining muscle, or gaining weight because they were so skinny they were at a health risk, or a yoga pose you mastered etc. How is that OK but losing weight is wrong?
People need to stop diagnosing without being a doctor over the internet, . Even doctors can’t diagnose so fast with you in ther office!
I remembered I have the free planners from your newsletter and I am going to start my own challenge 🙂
About burpees – I remember a class I took some years ago with was a mix of cardio and strength and at the end the isntructor said…. does anyone know what a burpee is? I was the only one who knew (have in mind I live in Spain and she said the name in English, probably people don’t associate exercise – name). I almost started crying because I knew what was coming hahahaha.
Hi cassey i believe your trying to spread good intentions with what you personally want yo do..and as you say your the 1st one can i stipulate have you shown us a certificste for nutrition as your stated on you blogilates videos below you are a qualifed fitness instructor
Can i also add there are alot if people who do look up to you and you should have shown that you took a blood test for seeing if anything is not as it should be secondly alot of people suffer from diebetis and alot dont even know they are diebetic thirdly you should have put some caution in a better more understanding manner that you are doing this for personal goals and put a claus that do not attmept to do this unkess you have been checked medically test etc as you fitness videos state it they arnt responsible for injury im waiting for you september video chart and i hope you reach your goals
For me Body positivity means loving yourself at every stage of the journey you are on – for larger or smaller! As a doctor I care about both physical and mental health – both are equally important! To work towards a healthy weight and lifestyle is great and very important. Equally, feeling good about yourself no matter what your shape and practising self love is vital too! This to me is Body confidence 🙂
It confuses me when people try to claim certain terms in such an aggressive way ‘it only means this!’ ‘you can’t call yourself this term’ shaming people! This is not body positive and this is not loving. I used to struggle with self image when I was younger and as I’ve grown I really realise personally the importance of health of body and mind. For me, I now feel positive about myself no matter my shape, and that hasn’t happened overnight it took years! Now I feel like this it seems a great starting point for me to aim for a healthier way of life and a size that is most healthy for me and yes at the size I feel my ‘best self’ – we are allowed as humans to like being one way or another! Other people shouldn’t make you feel bad Hun because no-one fits one definition x
The other point I wanted to make was that actually it’s ok not to feel your most confident someday’s, that’s just being human and being on a journey, sometimes we have good days sometimes we have bad and getting to a place of true body positivity every day is the goal! Its ok not to be there yet. We shouldn’t shame people for not being there, we should embrace them and appreciate honesty x
Adored this post. ♡ Concerning the zoodles, stir fry then while frozen to prevent the mushy-gooey thing from going on.
Thanks Cassie. I feel a lot better after this one. I felt so bad at first, because my fitness instructor didn’t feel fit. You work harder than anyone so know at eating right and exercise. I was deflated thinking for a second, why do I follow someone’s routine who is not happy with the end result. Meaning: if it doesn’t work for you, how will it work for me?!?! But I didn’t break up with my Blogilates videos because I feel so good afterwards, no matter what’s going on with you. After this blog post, I feel a lot better. We don’t have to accept gravity and age. We can all individually work as hard or as little as we want with our own bods. This new journey you are on is giving you a lot of buzz and that turns into dollars so don’t let the petty comments bother you. Thank you for not changing with the money and buying into the hype that YOU come first. “You must love your neighbor as yourself,” is so much better than, “you must love yourself above all else.” You’ve always had a big heart and that’s why you have millions of fans.
Keep going Cassey! We are a liberal universe this means that people are free to make whatever choices they believe best suits their bodies. I’d like to tell you that your original 90 day challenge was the first diet I ever tried in my life. I was terribly over weight, reclusive and depressed. I started doing your videos and a loose version of the 90 day diet. I lost 20kgs and gained back my self confidence and a whole lot of strength and healthy habits. Since 2009 I have worked out consistently and changed my eating habits but never dieted so hard again but it is that experience that kick-started a whole new me. Thank you for that. I do you videos every single week. You are an excellent role model no matter what anyone says. Enjoy your 90 day journey! Go for it. Just be you!
You’re such an inspiration Cassey! And my body positivity is loving your body through every stage in life, realizing it’s taking you on this journey through life. And part of loving yourself is thru health! 🧡
i believe body positive is looking after your body and treating it well with good food and exercise everyone think different
My thoughts are same like yours. No matter if you are “plus size” or skinny type but still treat your body with love eating good, full of nutrients food, try to keep your body in good shape by moving a lot you are really body positive. You accept it, change what you can to be healthier. But I can’t agree with making me to cheer someone up for follow unhealthy habits. PS I think Cassey you are really BODY POSITIVE 👍🏼
It sounds like the issue here is explicitly saying that you want to lose weight as opposed to just wanting to get healthier. The fact that you want to look a certain way has people thinking you are not body positive. I can see both sides of it. You are very goal-oriented, so shooting for a specific number on the scale helps you to stay on track and meet your goal of getting fitter and healthier. But the people who are criticizing you think you should just try to be healthier overall and not talk about weight loss. This is a tough position to be in, considering your brand and what you have built with Blogilates. This is probably something you will be battling with for your whole 90 day journey. I feel like there is a fine line between wanting to be healthier, and orthorexia. I am not saying that is what you are, but I can see why some people would think that. If nothing else, this makes for a very thought-provoking discussion on body positivity and what it means to be healthy. We are all different, so we all can’t do the same things. What works for one person might not work for someone else. This is your journey. As one of your followers, I can look at this, take it for what it is worth, and reflect on my own journey of body positivity and health. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all diet or exercise program that will work for everyone. You are figuring it out for yourself, and we all need to figure out what works for us.
It’s so sad that I can’t press “like button” 👍🏼 on your comment. Your point of view is close to mine.
I love how you used the Beyonce diet as an example. The general public loves admiring people for all the things they show once everything is refined, but as soon as we see what the actual process looks like, we feel entitled to publicize our disgust. Anyone who goes through any body transformation worked extremely hard and followed a very strict regimen to get there, whether it’s losing weight or gaining muscle, but because of the social environment we’re in nowadays as soon as you make that known you’re being anti-something. And that’s just not right. You have every right to change your body and make it the way you want it, and you’re doing it in such a healthy and positive way, and I honestly thing that’s what body positivity is all about. It’s like you pointed out in the original definition: it’s really all about loving and caring for your body, and it seems like this past week, that’s what you’ve been doing! It’s bizarre to me that we know associate body positivity with this weird hush-hush perspective: you can’t say this, you can’t say that, you can’t even think it without someone coming out to shame you. But I’m a firm believer that you can be body positive (you can love your body) but still be willing to acknowledge that there are areas you want to improve on.
I myself have been struggling for many years with coming to terms with my shape, my height, my size, everything. I used to tie my legs to my bedposts every night because I hated my stature so much and even considered growth hormones to grow taller. But after working on myself and my mindset for so many years, I’ve really come to accept my size. Do I still think it’d be nice to be a little taller? Sure. But I don’t hate myself for it anymore. I’m not attempting unhealthy means of achieving some body goal anymore.
I also think anyone who assumes before and after pictures are all about weight loss also have a skewed opinion. I’ve seen plenty of before and after pictures of people who work on muscle gains, so in fact their befores are smaller than their afters. So maybe the people making those associations should take another look at the echo chambers they’ve made for themselves, but I digress.
Cassey you are amazing and SO inspirational. I’ve been a huge fan and have actively followed your calendars since 2012 and you never stop trying to improve yourself in all kinds of ways. I admire your ability to make goals and stick to them, and that your message about loving yourself and loving your body and taking care of your body never falters. Keep it up! <3
i definitely think you can be body positive and work to lose weight. for me body positivity means that everyone has the right to do what they want with their bodies, more specifically, that no one should pressure /other/ people into thinking that they have to change their body to fit the ideal. but you’re just working on yourself, and not forcing anyone else to feel like they have to lose weight! you’re doing it in a healthy way, making sure that you aren’t starving yourself or anything like that, and i think that’s totally fine! you made a goal for /your/ body and you are working towards it, and i don’t see anything wrong with that. <3
I don’t understand people saying you can’t lose weight/fat AND be body positive. If that’s the case, that means you’re not “allowed” to lose weight… even if it will make you healthier and happier. I thought the whole point of body positivity was to be inclusive and non-judgmental and yet… it’s ok to judge people for wanting to be healthier? That doesn’t make sense. I celebrate what you’re doing, Cassey, and encourage you to keep at it. It’s not like you’re judging anyone else or punishing yourself or doing anything unhealthy or harmful… you’re just working on being healthier and doing what makes you happy and what is important to you from what I can tell. Nothing about that says “anti-body-positive” to me. And personally, I know that I am healthier and happier when I’m at a healthy weight and body fat level for me. It’s not like I despise myself if I’ve let my health or fitness slip a bit. Exercising and being healthy make me feel so much better and more stable mentally, emotionally and physically. I’ve come to accept that my body looks the way it looks and I think I could look this way for the rest of my life and be happy with it. But that doesn’t mean I’ll stop striving to be healthier and fitter.
I don’t know if that makes sense, but I just want you to know, Cassey, that I think you are inspiring and courageous. Personally, I’m actually MORE inspired than ever by these goals you are setting and the fact that you’re not tossing them aside because of a few naysayers. Also, there is nothing wrong with a before pic… don’t we all like to see evidence of our hard work? 🙂
Hey there Cassey, I’ve been a fan for almost 2 years now due to a dear friend who introduced your pop pilates videos to me. I think that you are such an inspiration for positivity and honestly, I’ve been going through a horrid depression these past few years and your happy, positive, can-do attitude has really helped me with it.
When I have days where I am too unmotivated to leave the bed and by the end of the day I’m feeling really down on myself, I will remember “hey do one of Cassey’s work outs and get some energy!” And it almost always perks me up. What I should do, (if I were smart) is wake up and do a couple of videos first thing in the morning, so I can force some positivity and motivation into my veins. Maybe I’ll start that tomorrow…
But you know what I really find inspiring about you? The fact that you put your goals out there for all to see, and you reach them! You say “my goal is to do this” and I never see you saying things like “eh, I’m not going to reach that goal, I should just give up”. It is so nice to see for someone like me, who is so full of self doubt that even though I am telling myself right now that I should wake up tomorrow and do some videos to get motivated, I know I more than likely wont have the same enthusiasm when I wake up, and probably won’t do it! (Now that I’m being self deprecating though, I feel like I might actually do it just to prove to myself I can do a thing!)
Anyway, I just wanted to provide you with some encouragement because you have been so very encouraging to me. I think you are awesome, you are doing a great job, and I’m happy you have chosen to show us your real, personal journey. Because like you said, nobody else in the spotlight is ever so incredibly real with us the way you have chosen to be, and it really has been an entirely positive thing for me to see, because it shows that you are a real person and you choose to work your butt off and eat healthy so you can BE healthy.
Also, your goals are very realistic for you. I think people really are comparing their goals to yours and discouraging themselves because they think they should have the same goals, when in reality we all have different body types, lifestyles, health needs, etc so we shouldn’t compare. I’m never going to fit into the athletic level of fitness, and I’m fine with that. I’m also always going to have a pear shaped body unless I have my hips shaved down or something ridiculous, so there’s that 🤷♀️
You showing us your data and giving us your goals has actually been so encouraging to me, and I guess the folks who are being negative about it are choosing to see it in that light. I see that kind of behavior a lot on the internet. Just today I saw people getting upset that an apartment complex was waving pet fees if you had a rescue dog, because those people felt that they deserved incentives too even though they bought purebred dogs… To me, it makes no sense to get upset about something positive like that, and being upset just makes people seem petty and jealous.
First, i would like to say that i believe body positive defines itself , its loving your body , part of loving your body is the desire to give it the best , such as working out , eating healthy , improving yourself in general , your journey is 100% body positive and not only that but id like to say life positive 🙂 and let me remind you that your goals weren’t only body related but you also wanted to change other stuff such as blogging more and concurring your fear of judgement… you inspired me and now im starting my own 90 days journey and my goals are not only body related but work and life related ! I am truly proud of you ! And thank you for helping me change for the best without feeling pressure, only love .
Keep going, we love you💙
Body positivity seems to have become another buzzword that people like to throw about without really dissecting what it means. I love that you did research on both sides of the coin.
What seems to be a common theme is this idea of acceptance, which is always the first step to change. You’ve accepted your current state, and have identified areas you’d like to improve. Your focus on daily emotion, balanced meals, and frequent physical movement is so healthy! I’m trying to make daily changes as well with nightly reviews. Thanks for being so inspiring!
It is difficult to respond coherently to your blog post because I am very unsure what point you are trying to make – that you have found no definition of Body Positivity so everyone can use it how they like? You come back to one example (Connie Sobczak) and use quotes only to support your argument, you wrote PRACTISING TRUE BODY POSITIVITY and then followed it by her words – that is misleading. You dismiss almost everything from everydayfeminism.
Body Positivity is a social justice movement, and yes it represents the convergence of other movements to protect marginalised bodies. Similar to the original Fat Acceptance movement, but open to protect ALL bodies including differently abled bodies, bodies of every gender, brown and black bodies and more. It is a stance against the systems of oppression (beauty industry, diet/weight loss industry) that deem bodies that do not conform to the beauty standard (ie. especially fat bodies) as morally wrong, unhealthy and unattractive. Weight loss culture favours smaller bodies. Body Positivity says all bodies are good. Weight loss culture and the beauty industry sedate us, they keep us focussed on shrinking and beautifying ourselves, instead of participating in society. They are systems of oppression that Body Positivity stands against. Intentional weight loss and dieting (as you are doing) is MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE to the Body Positivity Movement. Please stop using the term.
Sobczak says in her book that weight loss should not be a goal or intention, but is acceptable as an outcome of healthy living. THAT is body positive.
Also, please note that diet culture LOVES to hijack Body Positivity by watering it down and twisting it.
A few points on the rest of your post:
Personally, I admire Beyonce for her singing and song-writing and dancing abilities. And for her activism. Not for her body. Not for her dieting. I think sharing her diet is irresponsible and harmful.
What are you going to do, now that you understand how before and after photos are harmful? Your PIIT28 page is full of them. This blog is full of them. Your 90 day journey begins with one.
What are you going to do, now that you understand that your talk of weight/scales/diets can be triggers for people with distorted body image? (Please consider that not everyone with distorted body image is even aware they have it, it is insidious and most young womxn are vulnerable).
No one should speak disrespectfully or unkindly to you. Your personal choice to change your body is just that – your choice, but you chose to do it publicly and to therefore influence your large following (including to harm them) and to invite a response from them.
Again, wishing you happiness and wellness.
PS. I am a medical doctor and I treat patients with a Health At Every Size approach. Having a larger body does not cause chronic disease except some skin conditions and osteoarthritis. Fat Stigma is much more harmful. I recommend people look into Health At Every Size.
Just want to say I 100% agree with this.
Also, for Cassey or anyone on a “weight loss journey”: did seeing the number prompt a desire to lose weight and be “healthier”, or was it something else? There is a huge difference between “I feel sluggish, lacking energy, don’t fit in my clothes the way I want anymore, etc.” and seeing a number on a scale and jumping to the thought that “I need to be healthier and lose weight”. Language matters, the way we use words with ourselves and others matters in how we shape our thoughts and our perceptions.
This was a fabulous and well thought out response, and does a good job at conveying the true intention behind the body positivity movement, which has been completely hijacked by diet culture and using the term in the way she has been only further contributes to that convoluted narrative. Thanks for explaining it in such an easy to follow manner.
I also recommend the book Health at Every Size and Beauty Sick as well for anyone interested in reading about these topics more.
So did fat stigma leave me almost on the verge of passing out when trying to bike 1.5 km when I was obese at age 18? A distance I now bike with ease to work everyday now that I weigh 130 pounds at 23? Health at every size has been skewed and warped and being obese is not healthy
AJ: I highly suggest reading the Health at Every Size book by Linda Bacon and other research on the topic of obesity before making such a blanket statement. The reality is, those who fall within the “overweight” BMI category actually have longer life expectancies than those in the “Normal” range. Not only that, but those in the “Obese” BMI category have similar life expectancies to those in the “Normal” range. The majority of your health status and risk is determined by factors outside of your weight including genetics, social factors, access to healthcare, and lifestyle/habits. I understand this is different than the narrative that’s pushed down our throats through the media and diets, so it can be difficult to wrap your head around. It took me quite a lot of time and educating myself through looking at the studies and research myself to fully reconcile the fact that what I thought I knew about the “obesity epidemic” and the impact of our weight on our health was largely inflated by companies seeking to make profit off of us. So I fully understand if it seems incorrect now based off of everything you’re used to hearing and seeing, but take some time to research it for yourself. And remember, that your experience is not only anecdotal, but the reason you almost passed out when trying to bike could be related to a lot of other factors outside of your weight, including the fact that your body simply wasn’t conditioned to be able to do it at that point. I don’t say this to discount your feelings and experience, but only to open up a new perspective.
I have heard of health at every size and Linda Bacon and it’s complete snake oil. I’m sorry you’ve fallen for it as well as the myth that healthy weight people have a lower life expectancy than overweight people.
The “myth” of it. I’m actually a Registered Dietician, so the information I laid out is based on peer-reviewed studies and research into the topic. Again, the point of my comment wasn’t to try to oppose what you’re saying, but to open up a new perspective for you to look into more vs. just going with the popular narrative that’s pushed down our throats but has very little basis. The reality is, 95% of dieters regain the weight they lose and THEN SOME within a period of 1-2 years, are more likely to have disordered relationships with food and eating disorders, and actually increase their body’s weight set point through dieting. This isn’t anecdotal evidence, but based on countless studies. Again, I understand this is different than what you currently believe to be true (and it was for me at a point as well, so I understand), but the only time we really grow is when we keep ourselves open to new thought patterns and continue to learn and evolve. Best of luck to you, AJ.
I am completely Team Cassey and 100% understand what you are doing and what you are saying, and I think it’s fab! 🙂
I think people are constantly trying to justify all of their decisions and their issues. People put labels on everything nowadays In order to avoid consequences. Example: “I’m a b**** bc I’m a [star sign].” And people put the blame on others to avoid hard personal work: “I’m fat and unhealthy but telling me to change that isn’t body positive.”
Perhaps a random tangent, but really I want to stand on a mountain and tell people to take responsibility for themselves.
Being fat does not make a person unhealthy. Please look into Health At Every Size.
Losing weight does not make you unhealthy or a bad influence either. Each individual person can – and should – do what feels right to them. Doesn’t matter if you’re well known or not. No one is being forced to lose weight because Cassey is.
Honestly, you do you. I too am uncomfortable with how much weight I’ve gained since I graduated college (roughly twenty or so) and while I technically still have a healthy BMI for my height and I don’t look like I’ve gained a lot of weight, I don’t feel great. I’m glad you’re taking this step with yourself and you inspire me to look into what will work for me.
I am someone that has struggled to lose weight for 13 years. That being said I have not hated my body or feel my appearance defines me. I continue to work out and modify my way of eating. I believe I am body positive because I accept my body as it is but continue to want to evolve it.
I think all the haters need to take a step back and reflect if they are hating on Cassey because they truly believe she is doing something wrong or reflecting their own internal struggles.
I don’t understand in the era of being supportive and loving each other there is still so much hate. Live your own life. Let Cassey blog her journey because how else do you self reflect and improve? It’s lile a science experiment. You go through the journey and when it ends you reflect and see what you need to change and modify while also learning more about yourself.
Keep going Cassey and I’m sorry some of the community is back slashing at you. But like movements in our past, there are always those who try to bring you down and clip your wings.
I’m one of the ones who is rubbed the wrong way by this. This blog post was better, btw. Look, it’s not the fact that you’re trying to become healthier and feel better. It’s the initial post where you said you were the “heaviest you’ve ever been” at 136 lbs that I have an issue with. If you had left out the weight and even just included pictures and body fat percentage, fine. But to say that at 5’5’’ and 136 lbs, you’re disappointed in yourself, is where things get tricky. I had an eating disorder for 6 years. I am now 5’5’’ and 136 lbs. I felt good about where I was physically. But seeing your initial blog post say that you thought these numbers were a disappointment made me cry. I felt ugly. I felt disgusting. I felt like I was going to relapse. I felt like that because you were disappointed with your numbers, and thought you were saying that anyone who was your size needed to change. You’ve said it yourself that your words are powerful and I think you need to really take responsibility for what you put out into the world. No one is telling you to censor yourself. They’re saying that your words have effects on others, positive and negative, and that you have the POWER to control how you use them. You can blog about your journey. I find some of it inspiring. But there’s also a way to do it that is sensitive to others and there’s a way to do it without censoring yourself. Just like there’s a way to give someone feedback without being a jerk about it. I would like to see more compassionate language being used (similar to today’s post), otherwise it can come off as selfish and rude.
**I also didn’t appreciate the “DO I HAVE AN ED???” clickbait blog title from a few days prior. This is one instance in which you could have used that power in your words to explain yourself and motives.
I wish there was a way to upvote this! Thank you for sharing your personal experience as well. The way we use language needs to be acknowledged!!
You should really be seeing a therapist if someone’s words on the internet have the power to make you cry. You evidently are not in a place where you have a stable self image and should work on that, not trying to control other people’s actions. 135 is the thinnest I have been since childhood. Did Cassey’s comments make me feel shitty about my body? Nope. Not one bit. Because we are different people. I’m proud of my body and everything I can do and have done to get it where it is. That has nothing to do with how Cassey feels about hers.
Your response to AR comes off very condescending. Even though you say “we are different people,” you’re still shitting on AR for having her own response to Cassey’s original post/comments, and even go as far to say that she should be seeing a therapist. Your reply is basically, “Cassey didn’t make ME feel shitty, so you shouldn’t feel shitty, and if you do, that’s your own problem and should go to a therapist.” Where in AR’s response was she trying to enforce control over what Cassey says?
… couldn’t the same be said to Cassey? That she should be seeing a therapist if the vast variety of comments she’s getting on the internet have the power to make her upset and partially write about it on a post?
Let’s be real, Cassey has built this fitness empire and DOES have an influence on many people and she DOES have power with her words. Being in this position, she needs to acknowledge the responsibility and accountability that comes with that. It’s one thing to encourage fitness and health and another thing to blog about her dissatisfaction with seeing a certain number on the scale and wanting to change that. The words Cassey chose to use conflates weight and scale numbers with health. Her cartoons even show this perhaps unconscious bias that smaller = happier.
Where in AR’s response was she trying to enforce control over what Cassey says?
Maybe the parts where she says “you really need to take responsibility for what you put out in the world” and “I would like to see more compassionate language used”
couldn’t the same be said to Cassey? That she should be seeing a therapist if the vast variety of comments she’s getting on the internet have the power to make her upset and partially write about it on a post?
No. They aren’t at all the same. AR saw a post where Cassey was talking about HER OWN body and how she was feeling about it and it made AR cry about her body in response. Whereas the comments Cassey is getting are directed at Cassey and are calling her a whole host of names, making accusations, and saying she has an eating disorder. Comments Cassey got about herself upset her. Words about Cassey by Cassey upset AR to the point of tears. Do you really not see the difference? Someone else’s feelings about THEIR OWN body should not make you cry. That is not a healthy emotional response. That is 100% therapist territory. And there is nothing wrong with seeing a therapist, it seems like you think that is a negative thing to suggest.
And weight and scale numbers are related to health. Don’t try feeding me any HAES bullshit. If Cassey didn’t feel good in her body and her weight was a part of it that is also not healthy for her mentally. Why shouldn’t she be able change that and write honestly about her reasons why?
It sounds like you want to censor the words she is using to make yourself feel better as well. Perhaps you should go back and read Cassey’s Day 2 blog post about not being right for each other anymore.
“And if I’m wrong, good! I’d love to know why.”
I absolutely love that you wrote this. You’re not saying it’s good that you’re wrong; I took it as you meaning, “Good! An opportunity in which I can improve myself,” a very open-minded way to go about sensitive topics, which I believe is a super important quality in someone who is as in the public eye as you are (“influencer” if you will 😉).
I believe the definition of body positivity has two applications:
1. How you view yourself
2. How you view others
Your 90 day journey is all about how you view YOURSELF. Not how you view others. Just because you hold yourself to certain expectations doesn’t mean you hold others to the same ones. People need to understand that it’s not always about them; this can be a devastating but also quite liberating realization. And honestly? I think it’s an important key in body positivity. Being comfortable in our own bodies and not feeling bad about ourselves because other people’s goals are different than ours.
Melissa Urban has a podcast called Do The Thing. I highly recommend listening to two episodes, the first entitled “Imposter Syndrome + What Judgement is Really About” and then “Still Not Drinking Right Now + The Judgement Backpack” focusing on the judgement parts of each episode. She dives into the root of judgement and how we can deal with judgey situations.
Girl, keep up! It is extremely inspiring to see you so committed to both yourself and your community.
Is this really the first time you’ve done any research into body positivity? Are you going to blog about reading the books you discovered during your intense four-hour google session. This just seems like a superficial attempt to understand a complex topic. Hope this is just the beginning of your research.
Recommending this episode of This American Life for your listening:
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/589/tell-me-im-fat
I agree. It is pretty upsetting to find out that Cassey was using the term without knowing what it meant. And that she will probably continue to do so, given what she’s said above. It further waters down the movement and it’s impact.
No one is ever going to agree on a definition or their own interpretation of a word and debates will seem to always happen, like with any topic. I have never been fat in my life. On the cusp of overweight at times but still deemed fairly thin by America’s standards. So I could never hope to understand what it is to be fat or I mean to say the medical definition of obese. Do I think being fat is bad or wrong? Not at all, because I know for a fact you can eat healthy and workout and still not be anywhere close to small.
I have an aunt that’s been the definition of the term obese nearly her whole life and for a long time she dieted and did her workouts but in my llfetime I’ve only ever known her to be big. She knows she is and has accepted it and I think that is being body positive. Loving yourself despite what the world as a whole says is wrong. She has a thyroid condition and takes medication so that may be what hinders her but her blood work and cholesterol according to her doctor is excellent.
I think the approach to health is about longevity of life and usually obese (or morbidly obese) people have a lower life expectancy because excess weight is a strain on the bones and heart and I’ve seen the term body positivity be twisted into whatever the person wants it to be and if that person wants to eat fast food and not take care of themselves and call it body positive…well, I can’t change what those people think. I can only do what is best for me because my body is mine and mine alone and no one should be shamed for wanting to better themselves, as long as it doesn’t go into an extreme opposite with controlling, withholding, restricting, but that should also go without saying.
We are all on different journeys and we are all different. That is what makes the world beautiful. An eagle has a six foot wingspan and a sparrow just six inches yet they can both fly.
This is how I feel… I think sometimes people take an idea and run with it, using it to defend their position and judge everyone else’s. I think taking care of yourself, being healthy, doing what makes you happy… those are all perfectly legitimate reasons to lose weight or change your lifestyle.
“I can only do what is best for me because my body is mine and mine alone and no one should be shamed for wanting to better themselves, as long as it doesn’t go into an extreme opposite with controlling, withholding, restricting, but that should also go without saying.” This is what I’ve been thinking about this topic and I like your eagle/sparrow analogy as well 🙂
As someone who was diagnosed with PCOS (a chronic endocrine disorder), losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle to balance my hormone levels and reduce my insulin resistance is the MOST positive thing I can do for my body! Accepting my body as it is would increase my risk for Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and infertility (no thanks!!), therefore fat loss is the most loving thing I can do for myself. It’s BECAUSE I love my body that I want to take care of myself. In no way does my version of health and self care does not mean that I am prejudiced against people who are heavier than I am.
I think for body positivity it’s important to make a difference between what it means to an individual and what it means as a social movement. As an individual, I think you are absolutely body positive since it seems very clear to me that you only desire to do what is best for you and your body and what will make you feel good about yourself. But on a social scale, I personally don’t think you can combine body positivity with the clear goal to lose weight since it doesn’t defy any social standards about what is deemed desirable, aka having a thin or fit body.
This being said, I don’t think you have gone against anything you have said about body positivity in the past by doing this 90-day challenge.
I also personally find this challenge inspiring, and I look forward to seeing you achieve your results!