It's no secret that our society is very much concerned about appearances. That's how the debates about phenomena like "pretty privilege" or "fat-shaming" tend to come up.
Today's story is no exception. In it, you will read about an 18-year-old woman who constantly gets criticized by her mom about her body, as it doesn't fit the typical standard of "beautiful." Things go especially rogue when the mom decides to fix this daughter's "flaw."
More info: Reddit
No matter how much we try to nip discussions about others' appearances in the bud, people just can't stop bringing them up
Image credits: teksomolika / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Just like this mom, who just can't stop herself from fat-shaming her daughter
Image credits: TriangleProd / Freepik (not the actual photo)
And it's not like her daughter is unhealthily obese or anything – she's just more muscular than slim
Image credits: nastyaofly / Freepik (not the actual photo)
So, one day, the mom decided to pressure her ex to make their daughter go on a diet, because she "looked like a whale"
Image credits: Sad-Drawer-6864
Yet, the dad, being a professional in this area, understood how dangerous the suggested diet was and refused to do anything like that
The OP’s daughter has always been pretty heavy, but not in an unhealthy way, rather in a muscular one. You see, she lifts weights, plays rugby, and runs every week. And since her dad is a personal trainer, he thinks her regimen and body status are pretty healthy.
Yet, his ex-wife and her husband view this situation pretty differently – in their eyes, the young woman needs to lose weight and slim down. The original poster is convinced their view simply comes from fat-phobia. And it’s not like he made this fact up – the nasty comments the couple made about his girlfriend prove it.
One day, the dad received a long email from his ex accusing him of being a negligent parent for allowing his daughter to gain weight and saying that now she’s “turning into a whale.” So, basically, her requirement was that he needed to tell her to lose weight with her picked-out diet plan. But the dad refused to do so – he simply didn’t want to put his kid under the pressure of dieting.
Not to mention the fact that the diet was insubstantial for someone who works out as she does. In fact, the diet plan was so bad that he knew that if he ever suggested that to any of his clients, he would get fired in a second.
Well, he didn’t specify what kind of diet his ex suggested, but from the context, we can guess that it was along the lines of the restrictive ones. Technically, all diets include some kind of restriction, but while some do in a way that makes sense and doesn’t hurt anyone’s health, others are just way too strict with it to the point of being harmful.
Image credits: The Yuri Arcurs Collection / Freepik (not the actual photo)
For example, let’s take a juice diet – consuming only the juices of fresh fruit and vegetables for several days in a row. This diet is not nutritionally balanced, meaning that it lacks the energy that the body requires from carbohydrates, protein, essential fats, and minerals. Going on this diet regularly puts a person at risk for anemia and bone issues, not to mention things like stomach issues, fatigue, headaches, and so on.
Similar things apply to single-food-item diets, extreme sugar-free diets, and others that, if taken too far, can cause more troubles than benefits to one’s body. After all, eating a balanced diet is way healthier than any other alternative.
No matter if a person is more sedentary or heavily working out, like the OP’s daughter, it’s important to eat a wide variety of foods in the right proportions. These depend on each person’s lifestyle.
Here, those who work out should strive to include lean protein for muscle repair, complex carbs for energy, healthy fats for fuel, and lots of water for hydration. But we don’t have to tell that to the original author – as a personal trainer, he already knows it.
And still, his ex doesn’t trust his expertise when it comes to this. When he refused to put the daughter on a diet, she went on about how he tries to be “the fun parent,” how he was mansplaining, and stuff like that.
Netizens wrote off her reaction as lashing out and deemed the dad right in this situation. What is your stance? Please, share in the comments!
Netizens praised the dad for standing his ground and not giving in to his ex's manipulations
