What To Do When Fat Shamed By Your Husband?

When Diet Culture Has A Sleeper Agent

Photo by Fuu J on Unsplash

I’ve spent a lot of time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears trying to break up with diet culture. Sadly, it’s hard to avoid as it’s everywhere, even in my home! So what can I / you do when fat shamed by your husband? This post is an almost follow-up to my I feel broken article.

As part of my deeply horrible Saturday, during which I had a fairly extensive argument with my husband, the topic of weight came up. Mike said he felt that I didn’t support him in his gym and exercise goals and that he always supported me regardless of his personal beliefs. He then admitted that he thinks body liberation is dangerous and that he is very concerned about my health. Basically, he thinks I need to lose weight.

Supporting A Dieter Is Hard

I’ll admit, I do struggle to support Mike all the time as his actions seem excessive to me. He goes to the gym every day without fail and spends a minimum of 80 minutes there. He says it helps with his anxiety, which is fine. However, I cannot ask him not to go on any given day. If he decides he doesn’t want to go that day, it’s fine, but I can’t ask him. He also tracks and weighs everything he eats. Unfortunately, he started this practice just as I was trying to make my break from dieting…