Can We Please Stop Setting Weight Loss Goals?
LatestSeveral months ago, Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill announced to her Twitter followers that she wanted to lose 50 pounds. Yesterday, she took to the ‘net again, informing her followers that she’d met her goal. While I’m happy for her for doing what she set out to do, it’s depressing that the standard by which women measure our fitness is still the number on a scale. It’s dismaying that we still feel like we need to announce shamefully to the world when we believe that we have become too large, and then return to proudly tell world when we become tinier, and that we reflexively feel compelled to tell other women when we’ve noticed that they have shrunk. Stop it, ladies. Stop it right this second.
Getting physically stronger is admirable, and taking care of your body is important. But weight alone is not an indicator of health, and women put way too much emphasis on it under the guise of “getting fit.” Weight is an indicator of how you feel to the ground when you walk on it and it may reflect your health, but it shouldn’t be your primary concern unless you’re a baby, pregnant, recovering from major surgery, or told by a doctor that it needs to be. In many cases, losing weight is a sign of lack of health; some people lose weight when they’re depressed or having serious issues. A friend of mine once told me that she’d never gotten as many compliments on her physique as when stomach problems made it impossible for her to keep most food down for months. She was miserable, but coworkers couldn’t help but notice how fabulous and skinny she looked! That’s completely messed up.