10/02/2022
“The fitness world can feel intimidating for anyone. But as folks in larger bodies know all too well, it can often be exclusive, unwelcoming, or even unsafe.
Diet culture is largely to blame, Nancy Ellis-Ordway, Ph.D., LCSW, a Jefferson City, Missouri, psychotherapist specializing in eating disorders and weight stigma, and author of Thrive at Any Weight, tells SELF. It can work its way into physical spaces, like gyms and studios, where fitness instructors can rely on harmful, body-based “motivation” to encourage their class to work hard (say, by implying that the work they’re putting in “earns” them dessert later). The message: “You don’t want to look like me,’” Dr. Ellis-Ordway says.”
Because every body deserves to move.
