Passive-Aggressive Fat Shaming

Trolls, yeah, hate them.  We all know the trolls who gallivant all over Facebook fitness pages and blogs, spew their venom, ignite social media fights, insult and agitate ... yeah, they're easy to spot.  They are ugly. They are so very easy to see coming.  Their fat shaming tactics are rather obvious and simple to ignore, because you know that their motive is ill-guided and that their attacks are not really personal towards you anyway, it's just grandstanding looking for attention.  You can keep your guard up with trolls, because they are so obvious.

But what about the attacks to your self-esteem that are not so obvious?  The countless images you see day in and day out that subtly suggest you are not quite perfect.  The headless women with abs of steel with text that indicates if you just tried a little harder, maybe you'd look like that.  They don't come out and say anything is wrong with you - - they leave you to draw your own conclusion.   But human nature tends to compare.  Why do I have cellulite and she doesn't?  When will I ever have a thigh gap?  Why won't my abs cooperate?  Well it must be because my diet isn't clean enough, or I don't work out long enough or hard enough - or simply - I am not enough.   I dare you to stop comparing yourself to others, especially strangers and photo-shopped models ... and START comparing yourself to the only person that matters anyway - YOU!

I hate tag lines like 'go hard or go home'.  You know what, sometimes showing up is half the battle.  I'd hate for someone to skip a fun class or bypass the gym simply because they didn't have it in them to hit it hard. Sometimes, we just need to put one front in front of the other, sometimes we just need to show up.

Guard your eyes, guard your ears and protect your self-worth.  Subscribe to media that encourages and motivates; not humiliates.

Be careful who you let into your psyche.  Trolls are easy to evict, ban and block.  But what about your 'Best Facebook Friend' or 'Favorite Blogger' who continuously posts unrealistic pictures, tag lines and images of bodies that very few can achieve.  Their intent may not be ill, but the passive-aggressive fat shaming can still have damaging effects.

Stand your ground, clean up your diet in more ways than one.   Not all trolls are ugly.

As always, make champion choices,
Debra

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