of excess fat

I know some of you probably don't think I'm qualified to say anything about being fat. When I recently started my journey to better health, many people told me I am not fat enough to worry about it, but, as a formerly mostly thin person, and a person who has recently struggled, I have some observations from both sides of the spectrum. During the past two years, since I had my son, I have made no progress in shedding the weight, I have experienced struggles with hormone imbalances that have intensified my difficulty, and while my BMI has never gone to unhealthy extremes, my abdominal size put me at risk for health problems, I have wanted to cry about not feeling beautiful. I have battled stress and emotional eating. I have felt that style is more about dressing to minimize the appearance of my fat, than actually enjoying clothes that reflect who I am. What surprised me though, is that there were times, when I felt my new curves were beautiful, and what I hated most was not just about my appearance, but my growing struggles with fatigue, weakness, and not being able to have the command over my body that I use to enjoy. It was absolutely not ok for me to allow myself to continue down this unhealthy path.

I have noticed among women a certain chasm of shame, a divide that is magnified over the Internet.  Women struggling with their weight and attempting to embrace their beauty within their bodies, unintentionally shame thin women out of their own feeling of being judged. Thin women and heavy women have dug their heels in on opposing trenches, when we should in fact be supporting one another. Statistics show that at one time or another, almost all women experience body image dissatisfaction. I have known thin women, whose bodies I have envied, to find out that they suffered terrible battles of their own with body image and food.  Every person has struggles, but being heavy is a vulnerability that is worn on the outside as well as within, while many bear their struggles in secrecy.  I have a friend, who I truly believe to be beautiful on the outside as well as within, who recently received some appalling and cruel remarks about some photos she posted on social media of herself enjoying time on the beach. She has carried a child, her body is strong, and yet she has struggled with weight issues. She deserves be proud of what her body is capable of  and it's beautiful attributes without unnecessary hurt. It is absolutely not ok to make a person feel devalued and ridiculed because of their body, and when people do this, it betrays a far darker issue in themselves than a bit of excess body weight. The bible says that each of us was created in God's image and our value is based on our identity in him, so it is simply unbiblical to define and demean another in that way. And yet I feel there is an undue pressure, in the name of body acceptance, to embrace unhealth. God loves us exactly as we are, but that does not mean he wants us to stay there. There is so much fear and stigma around weight, that I have often felt that I could not encourage a sister in Christ to better health in love, for fear of putting them on the defensive. God made our bodies, and cares deeply about them.  The bible has a lot to say about our self care. As with any issue with which we may struggle, weather it be addiction, lust, temper (me!), or anything not of God that has control over us, we should not say, this is the way I am, I must accept it. We must believe that through Christ, we can truly do hard things.  I have heard many people put up as a shield legitimate health challenges that make losing weight difficult, as a reason to settle in to unhealthy habit and sedentary lifestyle.

No, we should not feel pressure to look like air brushed bikini models for the vanity of society. Yes, we should absolutely love the bodies God gave us, no matter where we are in our journey. We should embrace the uniqueness of our body types, but when I see a sister who has given up because the journey is hard, I want to be able to say to her friend to friend, God says we are going to encounter hardship in all forms, and when weight interferes with a person's ability to enjoy the abundant life that God gave us to enjoy in the magnificent creation of our bodies, and interferes with our ability to serve our families and others as God asks of us, then it grieves me. He makes impossible things possible, and in him we can have hope.  We need not stand on opposite sides and judge one another, but uplift and encourage, and not be afraid to speak truth, and help one another create better habits for health, energy, and abundance.