My Eyes Can’t Take All This Rolling

Every day, people say things that make me roll my eyes. From the sad to the ridiculous to the inane, it’s amazing how often you hear and read these things. How many have you heard? How many have you said? I used to say them, too. I would be pretty happy if I never heard them again.

“Ugh, I feel so fat!”

laurie

Hold up. Fat is not a feeling. If you eat a really big meal and feel uncomfortable afterwards, that doesn’t mean you’re fat, it means you’re full. There are millions of people who wake up every day and ARE fat. You know if you’re one of them – and you know it’s a state of being, not a feeling that comes and goes based on how much you have or haven’t eaten.

“I wish I had an excuse to eat ice cream all day!”

santana

You don’t need an excuse to eat ice cream all day – you just need a lot of ice cream. Remember: Your food choices do not dictate your worth. Now, I’m not advocating an all-ice cream diet, but if you sometimes feel like eating a whole lot of Moose Tracks, I’m not going to judge you. And you shouldn’t judge yourself.

“You’re not fat, you’re beautiful!”

Eyeroll

I see this one all the time on social media. Someone posts a comment about how they were called fat, and inevitably someone else pipes up with, “You are not! You’re so pretty!” (or smart or funny or wonderful or whatever) Guess what? You can be all those things AND fat. What really gets me is when people try to “reassure” someone who is definitely and truly fat that they aren’t. Fat people know they are fat. Telling them that they aren’t isn’t helpful or kind, it’s just dumb.

“Have you lost weight? You look amazing!”

ianto

This is a tough one for people to get their heads around, but hear me out. We act like weight loss is the single most amazing thing any human being can achieve. Forget being good or selfless or kind or caring or generous. We lavish praise on people who practice restricted eating and (almost always temporarily) shrink their body size. People who go on diets and lose weight want your praise, of course. And I know it bothers the heck out of people when I won’t participate in that kind of talk. But I know, both from experience and study, that weight loss very rarely lasts, and I’d rather tell you you’re amazing because of a dozen other reasons than that.

“I have to lose weight before my big event!”

VDB

Did you know that dieting can really mess up your metabolism? So while it might seem like a good idea to drop 20 pounds before your cruise or reunion or wedding, you’d actually be doing your body a favor by buying a dress or swimsuit that fits your body right now instead. If you want to, go ahead and diet, but please don’t be surprised if you end up gaining back all that weight and more.

“None of my clothes fit! Everything is the worst!”

dean

Buy bigger clothes. Weight gain happens for many reasons, whether because our metabolism has slowed as we age, medication, diet and exercise changes, stress, any number of medical reasons. Letting your self-worth be dictated by the fact that your pants don’t fit anymore is silly. Stop beating yourself up and go buy some bigger jeans. Really. You’ll be more comfortable. And no one knows or cares what size your pants are (if they do, get rid of that person posthaste!).

What have you heard lately that’s made your eyes roll? Share in the comments!

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