Why + How To Stay Invested In Body Positivity/Size Inclusivity RN

As body positivity / size inclusivity come under fire in pop culture, here's a guide to staying grounded.

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1. Good Stock, Bad Market, All Time High (ATH)

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Forgive me for going a little finance bro in this article. . . but I’ve been thinking about the ways that radical new ideas (like body acceptance and ending weight bias) are kind of like stocks. Similar to stocks, they are subject to an at-times volatile market.

Sometimes your stock is worth a lot in the eyes of the market (the same way maybe everyone on social media and huge companies were promoting body positivity for several years). Sometimes your stock is damn near worthless in the eyes of that same market (the same way all of a sudden now “thin is in”).

We’ve just come out of an unprecedented several years where it felt like so many companies and creators were gassing body positivity and fat positivity. In finance parlance, body positivity was at an “all time high (ATH).” Holding stock during an ATH moment feels amazing. And more than that, it feels easy. 

It’s way harder to hold on when it seems like everyone is divesting.

2. The Smart Investor

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The smart investor, however, chooses investments that they believe will yield benefits in the long-run - not one or two years, but one or two decades (or longer). They understand that their stock is going to fluctuate - go up and down, up and down - over many years. When the market is cold, they hold onto their stock because they know in the long-run they chose a solid investment.

Body positivity, fat acceptance and size inclusivity are long-term investments. 

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OK, finance bro out. Let’s ground these metaphors, and discuss what they mean for our everyday lives. The metaphor of the “long-term investor” is so relevant to the climate we’re in right now. 

In times of economic downturn and cultural volatility (i.e., this moment), many people stop supporting new, radical stuff and they go back to old ideas or behaviors that make them feel safe - even if those old ideas and behaviors are terrible, busted, and self-defeating (uhhh.. looking at you, diets). 

For the long-term investor, this is not a time to jump ship. It’s time to remind yourself WHY you invested in the first place and learn HOW to stay invested. 

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Want to come write with me on the magical Adriatic coast of Dubrovnik, Croatia next summer? I’m hosting a week-long fat-centered, body positive writing retreat oceanside.

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3. The Why

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Many of us came to anti-diet and body positivity work because we had experienced first-hand the pain of fatphobia and body dysmorphia, the inefficacy of intentional weight-loss, or maybe the ways food restriction led to disordered eating. 

Intentional weight-loss - whether through traditional food restriction or GLP-1s - is all about a feeling of safety and control in the short-run without regard for what we know about the long-term impacts of this behavior for most people: increased likelihood of developing an eating disorder and/or body image disturbances, loss of muscle/bone density, suppressed immune system, fatigue, weight rebound (and the cardiovascular effects of weight cycling), and more. As for fatphobia, it’s still a horrible form of stigma and discrimination that will not be solved through diet culture, and requires deep shifts on the legislative, intellectual and spiritual/heart level. 

Many of us came to anti-diet and body positivity work because we were tired of letting the culture dictate our lives.

In order to have a meaningful life of integrity and follow-through, it’s necessary to (1) know your values and (2) hold onto your values even when they’re unpopular. You learn how to live a value-driven life through figuring out what truly matters to you and doing it even when it’s hard.

Not living your life according to fleeting trends and cultural approval is the point of liberation. At the heart of body acceptance is the key to something sacred: your right to live a life on your terms - not the culture’s.

Body positivity/fat acceptance/size inclusivity is not a shallow, knee-jerk reaction to diet culture or unrealistic beauty standards. It is a robust movement with strong foundational principles. Among them are:  

• SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE: Body positivity/fat acceptance is based on scientific evidence, which unequivocally shows us that current weight-based approaches rely on assumptions that aren’t supported by data. Those assumptions include things like: weight-loss leads to consistent improvements in health in the long-run (the evidence doesn’t support this view) and that weight-loss is possible long-term for all people (the evidence also doesn’t support this view). 

• SOCIAL JUSTICE: Again, body positivity/fat acceptance isn’t just a knee-jerk emotional reaction to diet culture/fatphobia. It’s a movement based on changing how society views and treats bodies. This has far-reaching effects, from access to medical care (e.g., right now higher weight patients get less preventive care) to wage equity (e.g., right now plus-size women are estimated to make $9000 - $19000 less per year than their straight-size counterparts). 

• SUSTAINABILITY: Because body positivity/fat acceptance are based on scientific evidence and social justice they are sustainable, meaning they have the potential to repair and to keep repairing an individual’s relationship to their body, food and health long-term. This is in direct opposition to how the diet industry operates: it prioritizes profits over people, and harms again and again with little concern for its impact. 

• HUMAN RIGHTS: Body positivity/fat acceptance is a people-first approach that promotes dignity and care for people regardless of their size, unlike diet culture, which normalizes weight-based discrimination and bigotry and denies the reality of body diversity.

4. The How

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In order to stay invested when times are tough it’s important to build (1) tolerance for discomfort and (2) resilience. Here’s how to deal with your values and opinions coming under fire:

1. Figure out what your values are and what truly matters to you and commit

Hey, if at the end of the day you really want to undertake intentional weight-loss through GLP-1s or other traditional forms of food restriction that is your right. It’s important to be honest with yourself. Don’t do something because you feel pressure to do it. Do it because it matters to you. On the other hand, if at the end of the day, you truly believe in the principles of body positivity/fat acceptance/body inclusivity, then figure that out.  Write out why this matters to you, and do the research you need to find the answers to the questions that you need answered in order to feel like you have a solid foundation. Then, commit and follow through.  

2. Don’t make decisions when you’re panicking

It’s normal to panic sometimes. When you’re panicking, you feel the instinct to take action immediately in order to calm the panic. That would be a good instinct if a bear were chasing you, but a bear isn’t chasing you. Part of developing tolerance for discomfort is knowing that panic is a feeling that will pass, and that you definitely shouldn’t make important decisions when you’re feeling panicked. Practice soothing yourself when you’re panicking, and practice not making important decisions when you’re panicking.  

3. Ground your expectations/Expect challenges

Challenges are a normal part of life, and they’re a part of having a value and committing to it. Grounding your expectations can look like anticipating challenges so that you’re not derailed or completely dysregulated by them, and taking time to celebrate and enjoy when things feel easy/easier. 

4. Figure out the pep talk you need to hear when things get rough, and give yourself that pep talk

People have different pain points: health, beauty, aging, death, youth, wellness, privilege, love, desirability. The diet industry is coming for each and every one of our deepest fears. Your job is this: figure out the pep talk that you need to give yourself when you feel activated/triggered so you can stay committed to your values. 

5. Don’t fall for the ever-changing language that’s being thrown around as diet culture morphs in hopes of taking your money

Ten years ago, we were all getting body shamed by the diet industry. Now we’re all being threatened into believing that if we don’t undertake intentional weight-loss that we’re harming ourselves. The language is different, but has the situation fundamentally changed? No. Intentional weight-loss still isn’t an evidence-based practice that works long-term. Intentional weight-loss is still correlated with an increased likelihood of developing an eating disorder and body image disturbances. Food restriction still activates our body’s starvation response. The diet industry (and now the pharmaceutical industry) is still attempting to pry every last dollar from our hands. The diet and pharmaceutical industries will say whatever they have to say to get the outcome they want. Don’t allow these shifts in language to derail you.  

6. Keep your eye on the prize

The prize is this: ending the cycle of harm that diet culture creates in your life and in the culture.   

5. This Moment Won’t Last Forever

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There’s an important way that body positivity/size inclusivity is nothing at all like stocks in the stock market. They’re radical, liberation-based ideas that are trying to thrive in a culture that - overall - doesn’t want to change.

That culture is designed to squash these ideas. We’re experiencing a massive, brutal attack happening from the news media, medicine and corporations. They’re attempting to discredit us and drag us through the mud. They wouldn’t be coming for us if we hadn’t made a dent in their agenda. So, congratulations, us!

Fighting for body autonomy means the end of diet culture’s decades-long chokehold on the self-esteem of children, teens and adults. It means the end of weight-based discrimination.

This is about something much, much deeper than trends. It’s about being on the right side of history.

So, hold on, friend. Trust me: this is tough, but don’t lose sight of what we’re fighting for, and don’t lose hope either.

xo,