I’m FED UP with This Industry - You Deserve Better
So, we’ve all seen it - this atrocious article making headlines in the health and wellness industry:
The title is obviously alarming (also, total click-bait).
The article itself sheds light on the problematic nature of this “resurgence” we’ve been seeing slowly starting to trickle in. Honestly, I knew it was happening the minute Kim Kardashian talked about losing weight for her Marilyn Monroe dress moment.
“From Uggs to low-rise jeans, the fashion world is seeing a resurgence of questionable trends from two decades ago. Now, it seems as though the thin, heroin-chic body of the 1990s and early aughts is also making a comeback.”
I personally love Uggs, no one needs to “bring them back” because they never left.
Low-rise jeans on the other hand, not sure those will be coming back into my closet.
What’s problematic about “fashion,” is that it’s been tied to stature. Fashion icons are idols. They’re looked up to. They’re like the “popular girls” in high school - everyone wants to either be them or be around them, so you to will become popular. You’d think fashion is just about clothes, which then wouldn’t be a problem, but no… As most sales and marketing experts would tell you, you don’t just sell a product, you sell a lifestyle. People don’t buy skincare just to buy skincare. They buy skin care because what’s being sold to them is the attraction and confidence that comes with having flawless skin - the deep-rooted desire. Fashion isn’t just selling clothes, they’re selling attraction, confidence, stature, sex appeal, etc. The issue isn’t the clothes themselves, it’s that the clothes are ONLY being modeled on thin women. Therefore, we associate not only the clothes, but the bodies they’re being modeled on, with attraction, confidence, stature, sex-appeal, etc. It becomes hard to disassociate the two when it’s all you ever see together - but they're not one in the same.
Just a note, if you want to dive into when “thinspo” started and how the diet industry came to be, I highly recommend you read “Anti-Diet” by Christy Harrison.
What do we get when we become obsessed with how our bodies look?
“On Instagram and TikTok, the hashtag #thinspo has been banned and now redirects users to mental health and eating disorder resources, but similar hashtags such as #fitspo, #whatieatinaday and #bodychec abound. Studies have found that eating disorders, particularly among adolescent girls, spiked during the pandemic and a recent study found that TikTok promotes “toxic” diet culture and “glorifies” extreme weight loss.”
Here are some scary statistics for you:
Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.
Anorexia is the 3rd most common chronic illness among adolescents.
95% of those who have eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25.
50% of girls between the ages of 11 and 13 see themselves as overweight.
80% of 13-year-olds have attempted to lose weight.
Most people that develop an eating disorder, started with dieting, which is why I’ve always leaned towards an anti-diet approach to fitness and nutrition. Not because I’m anti-nutrition or anti-health, but because I’m anti-worshipping thinness, anti-promoting weight loss as a means to achieve a higher status, anti-demonizing foods, anti-oppressing people who don’t match our “supposed” picture of health, anti-happiness being tied to weight loss.
Being against diet culture does not mean being against health or the pursuit of well-being, it’s the opposite. It’s the pursuit of health and well-being without the negativity bias, the shame, the criticism, the guilt. It’s loving yourself enough to want to take care of yourself, not waiting until you’re a certain size or shape to decide you’re worth doing all the things you’ve always wanted to do.
None of this is me saying we shouldn’t be focusing on healthy habits. I’m a health coach and fitness trainer, health is what I advocate and built my life around. What I am saying is that we can emphasize overall healthy habits without focusing strictly on weight loss. Focusing on weight loss, especially rapid weight loss, most often results in unsustainable and unsafe habits that can affect your health long term. The diets, the pills, the injections, the surgeries, the overtraining, the under-eating, the restricting food groups, the money spent on unnecessary ingredients, the time spent inputting calories, the anxiety around eating out, etc., it’s all harmful. I’m not saying you can’t achieve weight loss - you can do it in a healthy way that may take you longer, but we all want to do things so fast that we do things in an unhealthy way. I’m not anti-losing weight, but I am anti being obsessed with it that you’ll do unhealthy things to achieve it.
Here’s the most painful and frustrating and aggravating part of it all - the people that are supposed to be advocating for your health, are the ones profiting off your insecurities. Who does everyone go to when they see a body they want to emulate? Personal trainers.
It’s a personal trainer’s responsibility to care for your health. To educate you on body diversity. To help you set realistic standards. To give you the inside scoop on what it really takes to achieve a certain look, if at all possible. Unfortunately, that’s not what I see most doing. I see hundreds of programs like, “lose x lbs in x days,” or “get a six-pack in x minutes,” or “grow a booty in x weeks.” I see meal programs being sold with their half-naked bodies on it so you’ll fairly assume if you eat that way you’ll look like them. It makes me so mad. I get people have bills to pay, but if you decide to be in the health and wellness industry you have a moral obligation to care about people’s health. To educate yourself, so you can educate others. Unfortunately, I think a lot of this industry is riddled with fat-phobic, insecure, thin-worshipping people that place too much value on how they look.
I’ll end with this - fitness and nutrition are acts of self-care. They’re not a means to an end. They’re not a quick fix. They’re tools to help you live a long and healthy life doing the things that you love for as long as you can. See them as such and I promise you you’ll develop a healthier relationship with them - one in which they add value to your life, as opposed to becoming your entire life.
You deserve that.
If you’re looking for a safe space where you'll receive support and guidance in achieving your health goals, you're right where you need to be :) Submit a client application to receive your free 15 min consultation with me. I work with clients all over the world-changing their relationship with their health and wellness so that they can reestablish trust in their bodies and feel empowered and confident that they’re always making the best decision for themselves.
Hi, I’m Azul Corajoria, an Integrative Health Coach, Personal Trainer & Yoga Instructor. I support my clients in making step-by-step changes so that they can live a healthy and balanced life. By utilizing lifestyle and behavior adjustments with an emphasis on self-care, I guide and support my client’s in achieving their health goals and bridging the gap between where they are now and where they want to be.
