On Being Called “Fat”

Here at Libero Network we’ve started a movement called “Stop Fitspiration” (#StopFitspiration), and, as many of you know, we’ve also received a lot of criticism from the ‘Fitspo’ people for this movement. This week, however, the criticism turned personal and they began attacking me. More specifically they called me ‘Fat’. Saying (paraphrased): “No wonder she is against fitspiration, she’s just jealous because of how fat she is!”

Needless to say, this was not only upsetting, but incredibly triggering. And this was actually the first time I’ve been called ‘fat’ since entering recovery.

Everyone told me not to pay them any attention and to not let it affect me etc. and they were right, but that didn’t change the way I felt. Often we misunderstand and think that our feelings need to be controlled, but the thing is you can’t control your feelings. They just are what they are.But what we can control is how we respond to these feelings.

When this happened I felt insecure, hurt, and even angry. But I accepted those feelings. They are a natural reaction to this type of situation – I didn’t try to ‘control’ them. What I did take control of, however, was how I chose to respond to these feelings. I chose to stick to the truth, I chose to reach out to friends, and I chose to stay with my recovery. And I just kept going.

I decided that just because their words hurt me, that doesn’t mean I am now going to hurt myself; I am not about to continue the cycle – the hand-me-downs stop here.

Here’s my video response to the situation…

watch more at: youtube.com/lbersaglio