Trainer's Letter to "Fat People"
I am a personal trainer and I don't care about obesity. Being overweight is irrelevant. Having extra subcutaneous fat doesn't hurt you. We don't have an obesity epidemic, we have a metabolic epidemic. We've blamed the fat people, but it isn't their fault. It is everyone's fault.
There are two root causes to the weight gain and they are, in fact, diet and exercise. The problem is walking 5 miles and eating less is not the answer. It never was the answer and I feel I am going to lose my mind if people don't stop saying it. Eating right and moving is the answer, but measuring each ounce of food and carb cycling, and fad dieting, and eating so-called "healthy" options are simply obliterating your metabolism and overall health. Overeating good foods will not make you sick. It would be inconceivable to overeat spinach, kale, or fruit. Nothing short of deliberate effort would be needed to cause harm to your body from overeating eating celery stalks. I will never tell you to starve. Eat, and be happy eating. Eat nature's foods abundantly. If, by chance, you manage to gain some fat from eating too many strawberries, I can tell you it won't be the unhealthy sort of fat.
To the rest of the fitness industry
Time's up. The science is in and this lipophobic existence you live has been revealed for what it is: a warped, self-loathing, existence justifying, lie. Hell, it turns out that people with healthy organs and lots of subcutaneous fat are really, really healthy (basically people who eat lots of good food and are active). You want to help people better themselves? Help them learn to love their body before an ounce of weight moves on the scale. Help people regain mobility by building up their strength. Encourage people to treat their body well because they love their special, unique bag of cells. The days of convincing people they are worthless because of a number on a scale is quickly coming to an end.
To the overweight people, undeservedly taking blame
Fun fact, there are more people who are metabolically sick that have a normal BMI than there are obese people who are metabolically sick. I want you to know that anyone who looks at one number and judges your overall well-being is an idiot. Anyone who makes you feel ashamed, scared, or less deserving for being heavy does not care about you and is not interested in your actual fitness. Don't give that person any control in your life, your fitness, or your eating habits. Without knowing it you could easily be perfectly healthy and, through fad/crash dieting and bad training, could end up with some serious health issues.
Remember this, coming from a trainer: I do want you to eventually squat twice as much as you do now. I want you to be able to jump, sprint, move, and control your physical world. More than that, I want you to love yourself. A fit person who hates oneself is not a healthy person.
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