I’m sure you know how people can be judged because of their gender, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation. But did you also know that people can be judged because of their weight?
It’s guaranteed that if you are carrying excess weight, YOU are being judged because of your weight. Keep reading to get a positive boost of motivation to lose weight!
What does being judged because of your weight mean?
Being judged is when someone forms an opinion or conclusion about you. This could be based on how you look, how you act, and how you speak. It can even be based on how you write, and as you read this you will be making your own judgements about me. Hopefully this will be positive 😊
The reality is that every single person in the world is judged in some respect, and you will also judge the people that you meet. It’s perfectly natural and we just can’t help it to a large degree!
Here are the two ways that me and you are judged, and how we judge other people:
- Conscious bias – This is when someone has a biased attitude that they are aware of. This way of judging people is what people often find the most repulsive, such as when someone is seen as a misogynist, racist, or homophobic.
For example, if someone is outwardly misogynist, they will encounter many women and men that find this to be an offensive view - Unconscious bias – This is where someone has a biased attitude that they don’t know about. It’s outside of their awareness and control. A person may not mean to be offensive to a particular group of people, but the way they act and speak shows they carry some form of discrimination.
For example, someone who makes a racist comment trying to be funny and not realising or understanding the offense they’ve caused
For you with your weight, people are making judgements about you every single day, whether this is from a conscious bias or unconscious bias.
How do people judge you because of your weight?
If you are carrying any excess weight that people can see, they will judge you. This could be weight around your face, stomach, bottom, hips, thighs, or any other body part.
Interestingly, it also works the other way, whereby if someone is thin, they are also judged. Even animals are judged based on whether they are overweight or thinner than someone’s perceived norm.
Let’s consider your situation though. Here are 4 ways that you are judged because of your weight:
- You may be seen as being lazy – I explain this with my blog post, Does being overweight mean you are lazy? By the way, I believe you are not lazy just because you are overweight. Unfortunately, it’s common for people to have preconceived ideas about someone who carries excess weight by seeing them as being a lazy person. They will then treat you as such
- You may have fewer job opportunities – If people see you as being lazy, they are less likely to hire you for a job. They may not even know they are thinking like this and just assume that you won’t do as good a job as someone else, even though in reality you could easily be the best person for the job
- You may have lower pay – It has been shown in many jobs and industries that people are discriminated against in terms of pay. Your gender, ethnicity, and your weight can affect how much you are paid. Yes, I know it shouldn’t be like this and it’s disgusting, but this is what happens. Many people whether consciously or unconsciously assume that if someone is overweight, they won’t do as good a job as someone else
- You may be seen as unfit and unhealthy – Just because someone is carrying excess weight, it does NOT mean they are unfit and unhealthy. I know many people who are overweight, yet some are much fitter and healthier than a lot of people of an ideal weight. Unfortunately, not many other people know this and so they treat you differently
Does all this sound acceptable to you? No! It doesn’t to me either, it makes me feel frustrated and annoyed.
These ways that you are judged because of your weight may be true, like they may be true of anybody. However, they could just as easily not be true about you, even though other people have those preconceived ideas about you.
What can you do about being judged?
Most of the time you can’t do much about being judged because it’s in the hands (or heads) of other people. We can’t crawl inside someone’s head and change their attitudes and ways of thinking. (Wouldn’t it be great if we could?)
An option is to campaign for a particular cause and raise awareness. This is where you attempt to change attitudes or educate people, or change legislation through forceful or peaceful means. However, this can be time consuming, difficult, and can take much work.
So the most effective two ways for most people to take positive action about being judged because of their weight are these:
1. Focus on what you can control
What other people think, say, or do, does not need to affect you negatively. If someone is uneducated or offensive, this is a part of their character and not a part of your character.
So you could decide to ignore, or not care about, what anyone thinks, says, or does, especially all the people who don’t even know you. This is easier said than done but it’s certainly possible, and even more so when you keep in mind that people who don’t know you can’t make a valid judgement about you.
It’s also best to learn to be comfortable in your own skin and fully accept yourself. Your weight is only a small part of you and your life. If you are unhappy with your weight, you can change it. At the same time, you can also have many other parts of your life that you ARE happy with.
On the other hand, some people are already happy with their weight, while being unhappy with other parts of their life (I’ve been in this situation many times). It’s rare to find someone who is happy with every single aspect of their life. So why not be happy with what you’ve got, and don’t beat yourself up over some things that you aren’t happy with?
Overall, it’s very helpful to remember that you can’t control other people, but you can control your own thoughts and how you see yourself and your life!
2. Do what you can to lose weight
Losing weight is a fantastic thing to do if you are carrying excess weight. You can experience positives like getting a better looking body, feeling more confident, having better health, having more energy, and feeling happier.
Plus, you now have another incentive and extra motivation to lose weight, which is to avoid being judged because of your weight!
If you have worry or anxiety about how you look or what people think of you, then it’s best to deal with those negative feelings. You can eliminate or reduce them so they don’t bother you.
Or another option, is that you lose weight and become happy with your body AND also not be judged because of your weight. You then have the advantage that you don’t get discriminated against anymore in terms of being seen as lazy, or unfit and unhealthy, or with job and pay opportunities.
I encourage you to go for what you really want which I assume is to lose weight, reach a healthy weight, and be happy with your body, or you wouldn’t be reading this.
If you would like my help and the help of BoostMyLife to get there, take a look at our BoostMyLife Online Program. This is where you will learn about the various aspects of losing weight, including your mindset, exercise, and diet. You will also be shown how to make these adaptable and enjoyable to suit you and your life.
James Porter
BoostMyLife Founder
