Fat Shaming

I go to the gym. I'm not going to claim that I look forward to going, but I can definitely say I look forward to how I feel after a good workout. Working out is a HUGE stress relief for me and I'm pretty confident about my body when I work out. I think it's great that a lot of people I know are dedicated to working out and living a healthy lifestyle. I personally don't post progress photos or pictures of my muscles, but it doesn't bother me when other people's photos show up on my newsfeed. I think if posting progress photos on Instagram and Facebook helps to motivate a person to keep going to the gym, then by all means, they should go right ahead.

That being said, it DOES bother me when people feel the need to post photos that insinuate those that do not go to the gym are lazy. The photos that are posted with captions such as "What's your excuse?" and "Tell me why you don't have enough time to go to the gym when I do this and this and this...and so on" REALLY bug me. In my opinion, this would not motivate ANYONE (especially not someone who's overweight) to actually go to the gym because these are the exact types of things they're afraid people are thinking when they get there. I've heard others call it "fat shaming", and I think that describes it well. The only things those photos and captions are accomplishing is making people who don't go to the gym feel like shit.

Everyone can choose to live their lives however they want. If a person doesn't go to the gym, it doesn't mean they're making excuses... Maybe it just means that going to the gym isn't one of their priorities at this stage in their life. And that's totally okay. Just because you go to the gym and are proud of the lifestyle you lead, does not make you better then people who don't go to the gym.

I just don't understand why people feel it's necessary to post "motivational" photos that really just put people that don't go to the gym down.

To sum up this whole entire rant, I would just like to say everyone has different priorities and while your goal might be to get super fit in your spare time, another person's goal might be to write a book in their spare time. Everyone chooses to spend their free time differently. Those that post "motivational" fat shaming photos need to get off their high horse and stop thinking they're better then those that don't work out.