This may take a moment...
There has recently been quite a bit of discussion on my Facebook feeds regarding so-called "fat shaming", or what some people perceive as negative projecting of one's achievements in attempting to get healthy.
For what it's worth, I've knowingly participated in a very public display of my weight loss journey. It's been perhaps the most satisfying, liberating and surprising 5 years of my adult life.
Whether it be regular updates from the gym (Defined Fitness Farmington, take a bow), occasional discussions of better food choices, an obsession with gym selfies, or reports from various vacation places I never before would have dared travel, I've been fairly brazen about the path I've taken.
None of it has been easy. None of it is taken for granted.And none of it has been done with a malicious intent.
For those who are easily offended by one's decision to take pride in their individual accomplishments, I offer no apologies to you. I can't make you feel a certain way about yourself, nor can I make expectations of you to alter your perception.
I've tried very hard to maintain a private policy of never attempting to "sell you a product."
I will however, engage as many of you who will ask -- be it privately or on this forum we call social media -- about what things I did and what may or may not work best for you should you choose a similar path to achieving better health.
Your choices are your own.If you need to get healthier, chances are you already know that. The last thing you need is me to tell you anything.
But that's not an excuse to take offense when someone else takes pride in their own accomplishments.
It's the same when people post photos or updates on their children, their pets, their own occupations.
Your success(es) and your effort(s), when publicly displayed, should never be seen by another person as a veiled attempt at mocking someone else who may not feel as if they're a better (parent, pet owner, employee).
If you as an individual choose to feel that way, then I would argue your anger and/or discontent is probably self-afflicted.
I'm thrilled when I see a person share their success(es). I'm captivated when I see a photo of a person tell their story of what they're going through, whether it be as arbitrary as a 5-lb weight loss or an adventure in the remote areas of the world.
I'm never so self-delusional to believe that these public displays are an attempt to mock or belittle me.
I am aware that some people in my life, both from a personal and professional standpoint, are uncomfortable with the choices I've made, the progress I've shown and the very outward displays of said choices and progress.
I won't apologize, and I'm certainly not waiting for those people to come to some epiphany or realization it was never about them.
As individuals, we create our own expectations. For ourselves and for those around us.
Change is uncomfortable.
Sometimes, discomfort is a healthy emotion.
It's taken me the better part of five years to embrace my own discomfort.
"Social media will make us anti-social."
I've used that term a lot recently.
I've often followed that up by a wish that such a phrase weren't actually the case, but in light of these discussions and the effects I see right here on Facebook, I'm afraid it's becoming more the norm as opposed to the exception.
To those of you on this journey, show that shit off. Be proud of the new outfit you bought, be proud of the hour-long set of stairs you walked, share that story of how you dread the scale.... and don't be afraid to ask questions of those in your inner circle who are also with you on this journey.
And to those easily offended, again I have neither an apology nor a regret for a single thing I've posted about this adventure in my life.
Social media is a jukebox. Not every song is one you're going to want to hear. If you don't like the choice presented to you, move on to the next one.
Or you can simply get up.
There's also that option if you need it.
That is all.