First of all, I apologize for taking so long to answer your post. When I received it I was still out of town. Second, I wanted to write something thoughtful and I needed time to not write something out of anger. Anger that you would accuse me of doing harm by not mindlessly insisting on weight loss as the ultimate solution to a fat person’s health problems.
To start with I would like to state that I do not refuse to advocate weight loss, where it is appropriate to do so. I assume that you are operating on the false assumption that being fat automatically makes a person unhealthy. I can assure you that it does not.
“But, what about the obesity epidemic? What about the diabetes epidemic? But what about…?” I hear you ask.
There are lots of illnesses that have been statistically correlated with being fat. But the thing to understand is that correlation does not equal causation.
Lets use Type 2 diabetes and fatness as an example. Diabetes type 2 is an illness of insulin resistance. That means the body requires more insulin to produce the same sugar lowering effect than a nondiabetic body would need. Insulin is produced by cells in the pancreas called beta cells.
Contrary to popular belief, people don’t just go from being nondiabetic to diabetic overnight. Rather there is a process that occurs. We have found that there are differences in a person’s beta cells that happen long before a person even begins to show signs of insulin resistance. Many people who go on to become type 2 diabetics will have higher levels of insulin circulating in their bodies for years before they even become prediabetic. One of the other functions of insulin in the body is to promote the storage of excess energy as fat. So, insulin makes people fat, and keeps people fat (makes it harder to lose weight).
Can you see where I’m going with this? The question now becomes, are people diabetic because they are fat? Or are they fat because they are diabetic? This is an extremely important distinction to make.
When I see a diabetic person, fat or not, I tell them to make sure they get plenty of exercise and to watch what they eat to control their carbohydrate intake. What does this sound like? “Diet and exercise.” The difference is that I don’t tell people to lose weight. Many of my patients who follow this advice do in fact lose weight, and that is fine. Many of my patients do not. That is also fine. They all have better control of their sugars, and in most cases, to similar degrees. I fail to see how not insisting on losing weight is “doing harm.”
There are times when a person’s weight turns out to be a factor in their illness and where weight loss may help in treating it. In those cases, I do suggest some weight loss. But in NO case is it ever necessary for someone to get to their “ideal body weight” to help their condition.
Finally, let’s look at the idea of “doing harm.” Did you know that studies (link and link) have shown that the medical profession as a whole is biased against fat people? That there are countless stories about people having serious illnesses going undiagnosed because they are fat and doctors refuse to look beyond that? That fat patients stop going to their doctors after being repeatedly made to feel ashamed for being fat by their doctors? For trying so hard to lose weight but not being “successful?” That, to me is the real harm that is done. The psychological harm. The physical harm that results from not going to the doctor for a serious problem because the doctor will either ignore it or just embarrass them again.
Are you aware that the vast majority of people who lose weight are not able to maintain that weight loss over the long term? And that people can end up far fatter than they would have become otherwise due to the lose-gain cycle. That that cycle can also cause serious harm to a person?
I care about each and every one of my patients whether they are fat or not. Whether they are healthy or not. Fat patients get the same consideration given to their concerns as thin people. I don’t simply dismiss things because a person is fat or tell them that losing weight is the ultimate answer. If my medical work up indicates that losing a small amount of weight may help, then I suggest it. Otherwise, it is not necessary.
Finally, before you try to tell me about all the research that shows being fat is unhealthy, I have a few of links to lots of evidence-based medical research that shows that being fat does not necessarily make one unhealthy.
this one’s for all the fat girls who’ve cried in dressing rooms 💗
You’re fine. The clothes are made to be easy to manufacture on machines, not for bodies. The clothes suck, not you.
They’re also manufactured to look attractive on hangers, and very few of us are shaped like hangers. You’re fine.
😱😰😭😭😭😭😭😭😭thank u please more of this type of body positivity I need it
Legit though! I’m a hobbyist seamstress and these are my experiences when shopping mainstream:
For example, most H&M blouses these days don’t even have boobdarts. Which means they will sit awkwardly on literally anyone with boobs, no matter the size. But on hangers or when folded on display? They look fab as fuck. Because hangers don’t have boobs. And the models chosen to show them on the catwalk are usually chosen for their lack of boobage too (unless it’s for lingerie), other requirements including ridiculous size and weight requirements. As for the average (EU available) clothing shops, the worst offender I’ve encountered yet was Zara. Everything’s way too long and way too flat: clearly aimed to look good on the catwalk models but not intended for normal people. At all.
Also sizes are just numbers. Shopping online has taught me that I’m a European M, an American XS-S, and a Japanese L-XL. And then these sizes even vary from shop to shop in the same country: I’m an XL at Apples but an S at Lola&Liza, for example. They’ve also been reducing the sizes of these numbers throughout the years to make people feel bad about themselves and to sell more weight-loss products. Don’t let a number get you down, it does not define you.
So please don’t feel bad about yourself when shops refuse to cater to your size. The clothes they sell are not aimed at real human beings. They are the ones in the wrong here, not you!
(Because oh my god, it’s so hard, and everyone’s all like stop feeling so bad about yourself and it’s like how???)
Be naked. A lot. Sleep naked. Have sex naked. Eat cereal naked. (Or naked and wrapped in a sheet. Favorite thing.)
Follow beautiful, confident, (un-photoshopped) body-positive babes on the Internet. Unfollow anything that makes you feel insecure. Exposure is key. You’re not going to get it if you don’t seek it out, because the media sucks and wants us to feel like shit about ourselves so they can take our money. (Some hashtags to follow: #effyourbeautystandards #bootyrevolution #blackisbeautiful #transisbeautiful #wheelchairlife #fatkini #fatshion)
Lingerie. Next best thing to being naked.
Self care, babe. Different for everyone. (Me? Showers, books, shaving my legs, nature walks, dark lipstick, good playlists, clean rooms, candles, sexy time.)
Get ready in your underwear. Boobs = happiness.
Self portraits. Be pro-selfie. Take a million selfies. Take sexy selfies. Take no makeup selfies. Take bad angle silly selfies. Take artsy tripod selfies. Take everything-is-on-point selfies. You’re gorgeous; document your gorgeousness. You don’t even need to post them.
Stop with the self deprecationnnnn. Pleeeeaseeee. It’s hard to control your thoughts love, I know, but you can control what you say. NEVER insult yourself out loud. Dare I say compliment yourself out loud? (And if you can, do your best to try to body-positive-ify your thoughts too.)
Sex (including solo sexy time), wine, and chocolate. In that order.
Share the body love. Compliment your girlfriends. Cultivate a nonjudgemental, supportive, lift-each-other-up “we’re so cute” friend group. Everyone’s insecure. Compliment your besties. And strangers, too. Be that person that makes everyone feel good about themselves when they’re around.
Good luck gorgeous. It’s a battle. We gotta unlearn all this societal bullshit.
Reblogging cuz this is vital. Especially the point on self-deprecation. Stop that shit now. It is a glamour-don’t, a welcome sign for fuck ass ppl.
he has a pretty little wasp waist in cap2 but in cap3 he’s just. SOLID
This is a great comparison shot because you can see that in the first one, the curve of his waist follows the width of the horizontal straps, and in the second one, there is clearly extra inches filled out on either side 💦💦
STOP THE PRESSES
Am I the only one whose seeing how in cwtws the horizontal straps are straight up and down, but in CACW they’re pulled to the left, as if they tried to squeeze him into his old costume, but it just doesn’t fit?
Also bonus if you compare the width of the chest strap, and also in Cap3 more of the metal arm is visible near the shoulder/arm pit. HIM BIG.
Bonus x2:
I was trying to find some decent shots of him in the Winter Soldier outfit in Cap3 for a better comparison but they’re actually few and far between.
Someone get some big HD beef stat
See, this could just be me being Captain Angstbucket, and the whole thing is probably a coincidence (with seb bulking up for the role), but 1991 winter soldier is beefy. He’s solid.
2014 winter soldier is strong, yeah, he’s got abs. But he’s also pretty slender too
Which says to me that the Russians took care of him physically (not mentally obviously, let’s not even go there). But in the care of Alexander Pierce? The weight is dropping off him
Which makes me wonder, at what point Pierce stop finding value in the winter soldier? This man was a ghost, a myth, and Pierce sends him repeatedly out in broad daylight, into crowded streets full of witnesses.
When did the winter soldier become a blunt instrument to him, rather than a fine blade? When was decided that he would get the minimum requirements to stay functional? How long was he losing all that muscle, all that weight before being sent on suicide missions?
Was Pierce a little disappointed each time he came back?
I gotta re-re-reblog this for the meta because yesssss, I also follow that headcanon; the Russian’s treated TWS better, though he was still a thing to them.
Jumps on the angst train cos that’s a good point about Pierce, I think it kind of goes in hand with the idea that the Russian branch of Hydra never gave Pierce/American Hydra the proper “TWS 101″, they probably told them the basics but never how to properly control him. Hence all the “wipe and start over”s. And then like, since TWS wasn’t working properly he became that blunt instrument in Pierce’s eyes.
Though my headcanon about his nutrition differs; I think they do give him the required nutrients, but because he doesn’t have proper food (hydra making sure they know what goes into him, he’s a thing he doesnt need it etc) and his increased metabolism he just burns through it like no tomorrow. It’s an odd irony that what they think is the best for him really isnt.
Adding a boxcar to the angst train with a mention of how much more awful it makes Pierce offering him that milk if Pierce didn’t give a rat’s ass about the Asset’s nutrition.
Ya’ll somehow managed to pack thirst, angst, and meta into one Bulky Barnes post, and I’m proud of everyone.
Steel Phoenix Studios 