Someone approached me and criticized me for not accepting myself as I am. “You should love yourself and not fat shame heavy people, Angel. Fat is beautiful, embrace and accept it.” Initially, I was writing a Facebook post on the topic, and when I noticed how long it became; I decided to make it a blog post. Here was my response for the person in this matter.<\/p>\n
I don’t fat shame people. I will never attack or humiliate a person because of weight issues, or for any physical appearance issues or lack thereof. I’m not that type of a person. Even if I thought something like that, I never said it out loud. I have the common sense to keep SOME things to myself. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t share or say everything that comes to my mind.<\/p>\n
I believe that YOU have the right to be who you want to be and see beauty where YOU want to see it. Beauty is 100% subjective. There is a reason that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is a statement that has stood the test of time, because it is. Plain and simple.<\/p>\n
All that being said, I kindly request you do not give me crap because I want to change MY own body and get rid of the excess body fat that I am carrying. Furthermore, do not try to force me to say or accept that “being fat is beautiful.” I don’t judge you for your appearance or lifestyle, so don’t judge me for wanting to change MY OWN. Do not expect me to fold or get scared during a discussion because you try to use some bull crap politically correct manipulation tactics. That is not going to work on someone like me. I know what I say, I know who I am, and I know where I stand. Do not even try to play yourself by manipulating me.<\/p>\n
My opinion (and that of many medical professionals) is that being overweight is unhealthy. Currently, I suffer from sleep apnea, high blood pressure, and I am at elevated risk for diabetes. Not to mention all the other health issues and complications that can come from being overweight. Medical conditions like heart disease, cancer, and so on. I am 5’7″ tall, and I maxed out at 270 pounds at one point. Are you getting that? 270 pounds! That’s 30 pounds away from being 300 pounds, at 5’7″!<\/p>\n
I hate not being able to tie my shoes without having to “exhale” first because my huge gut is in the way of my being able to bend over. I hate breaking out into a sweat while getting dressed, and dread putting on socks. I hate walking toward the store and feeling winded and out of breath. I hate seeing my gut protruding past my chest on all my shirts. I hate seeing my stomach hanging down when I look at it from a side profile. I hate that I have become winded during “other” physical activities. I hate all of those things, and I want to get rid of the gut and get in shape. I don’t find it at all attractive on MY body, and that’s MY PERSONAL view.<\/p>\n
I recognize my blessings, that I am healthy, mobile, and mostly functional. That being said, it is because of those blessings that I want to change. I have the gift of being able to run; what kind of man would I be if I didn’t use my gift to keep myself healthy and lead a better life? Through my training videos, I have also been inspiring others to work out and get fit. Be thankful for your gifts, but also use them to improve on what you consider your shortcomings.<\/p>\n
YOU can have YOUR life view, without trying to push it on me. If you attack me for doing something that in no way hurts you, but helps me, that’s where I will draw the line and check your butt. When I speak about not wanting this gut hanging over my belly anymore, that has nothing to do with YOU, that’s all about ME. If YOU don’t like to read my posts or videos about MY journey, you know what you can do. I won’t be offended, and I won’t lose any sleep over it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"