Can you reconcile fat loss and feminism?
I had such an interesting chat with a 1-1 client today about her wanting fat loss, but feeling guilty or shamed by this as she felt that it goes against feminism. Such an important discussion, and one that occupies A LOT of my mind being a feminist in the wellness space.
First off, to my mind, being a feminist means that you’re able to look however you want. You’e not limited by society or the patriarchy. It’s your body and your choice.
It’s totally normal to want to look good. We are a product of our society and we can’t separate ourselves from it. It’s no wonder that you want to feel your best. But I’d argue that that probably isn’t the number your visualising on the scales.
I think the problems arise when we think that fat loss is our sole purpose in life, or that it’s going to solve all our problems. Been there, done that- and I can tell you that at my thinnest I was FAR from my happiest. In fact, at a size 6-8 I still checked my body often, compared myself to other women and basically thought I was fat. Obsession with fat loss and your body usually leads to poor body image.
More complications arise when an individual places all their worth on how their body looks. Either for themselves or for someone else. If all your self worth is tied up in your appearance then we will hit problems. Dieting here will be a very negative experience, though at the time seem really positive. We HAVE to accept that bodies change over the course of our lifetime. Controlling our bodies through constant dieting will destroy our body image.
There are ways to reconcile the two though, and this is what my coaching aims to do when an individual comes to me wanting fat loss. Here’s what we do... gradually switch focus to health. Create a focus on habits. Concentrate on the process not the outcome. Daily work on positive body image through intentional actions. Specific coaching language NOT based around the outcome or your body but instead based on your intentions and actions.
Approaching fat loss from a place of self love, not from hating yourself into it embraces nurturing feminine energy. Wanting what is best for your body from a place of health and crucially remembering all that time that you are NOT your body. Focusing on actions and habits that make you feel good, and knowing that you are so much more than your body, and your body is simply a shell for the beautiful energy that is you
It’s a huge discussion- so much more than I’ve given space to here. TBH i’m just starting to be able to articulate a lot of this stuff after my own journey. Despite my job, I haven’t got it all nailed. In fact, I think my job makes it worse at times as I feel a huge amount of responsibility to not promote damaging dialogues when it comes to fat loss and body image. I’m also fighting against an outdated industrl narrative that says a coaches body is her business card.
When I first started coaching I thought my body image was good, and I promoted positive body image through my work…but the reality was that I was happy being in a thinner body, and used the ‘strong not skinny’ narrative to disguise some pretty dubious eating habits. This is why its worth being really careful who you work with for fat loss. I have done SO MUCH WORK on changing ym relationship with my body. Teaching you to base your worth on the way your body looks and what it weighs (which is what a lot of diet clubs/ coaches/ PT’s do ) is really not in your best interests…. and that is exactly what I’m about. Your whole, flourishing, thriving health.