“Am I bad for wanting to lose weight?”

No. You live in a world that has clapped harder for you at your smallest.

No. You live in a world that covets, lusts after, and celebrates women at their smallest.

No. Everywhere you turn, weight loss is being sold to you as your answer.

You’re not bad for wanting to lose weight.

Here’s what you need to remember:

It hasn’t worked yet. Of all the diets you’ve been on, if one worked, you wouldn’t be feeling like you need to lose weight AGAIN. Sneaky sneaky.

It always backfires. That food addiction you feel? That obsession with food you can’t avoid? All fueled by your diet/dieting history/restriction.

You can pursue the shit out of wellness without pursuing smallness. They aren’t mutually exclusive.

You can acknowledge the pulls of diet culture without acting on them. Just like I can acknowledge that I can be a stripper and make BANK- doesn’t mean I’m going to do it. It doesn’t mean I think it’ll make me feel good. I know it’s an option- I just don’t have to make it my reality. And I don’t have to deny the fact that the option is there.

You’re not bad for still feeling like inherent weight loss is the answer. And you’re not bad for pursuing inherent weight loss either.

We all need to hit our dieting rock bottom before we can acknowledge that there must be a better way.

And when we know better, we can do better.