Recently, I was approached by a company that sells weight-loss and fitness products.  They were interested in having me promote their products on my blog.  I try my hardest to make sure that any product that I promote in this space is in keeping with my personal values and fits well with the message of this space.  It didn’t take me long to turn their offer on it’s head.

I do not believe in dieting or weight-loss products.  I believe that the weight-loss industry preys upon people’s vulnerabilities and insecurities.  I can’t stand behind a product that relies on making people feel bad about themselves.  So many of these products or programmes are punishing on your body, and many don’t produce maintainable results.  So I don’t want to promote products of this nature in this space.

I’m not opposed to weight-loss per se.  If someone is unhappy with the way their body looks or performs and they want to lose weight, I support that decision.  However, I think that any attempt at weight loss should be done with the right attitude.  It should be about looking at your habits and finding areas where you could improve.  It should be about finding a form of exercise that you enjoy, or learning to cook delicious and nutritious meals.  It should be about working at loving your body and respecting it’s limitations. It shouldn’t be about restricting yourself or establishing an exercise routine that makes you feel drained and exhausted.

I believe in taking good care of a body that you love, rather than punishing a body that you hate.

And you know what?  If somebody is perfectly happy with their body and their habits, then I’m happy for them.  I’m not going to be the person that makes them feel ashamed of their choices or their appearance.  I don’t want to promote diet products on this site, because I don’t want to put information on here that makes my readers feel shitty about themselves.

Yes, I do write about fitness and exercise from time to time.  The reason that I write about those things is that exercise is a hobby of mine and something that I enjoy.  It’s been a vital part of helping me to manage my mental health.  My message is all about looking after yourself and having fun.  I’m not writing it as a way of saying, “You should be doing this, and if you aren’t then there’s something wrong with you”.  I’m saying, “Hey, this is something that has helped me and might be helpful to you too”.

 Also, when I was considering this request, I started thinking about my readers.  The people who read this blog aren’t just a faceless mass: you’re all real people.  Many of you are people I know.  I’ve chatted with you either in real life on online.  You have faces and names and personalities that I adore.  I couldn’t help but think, “How would this reader feel if they read about a weight-loss product on my blog?”  I just couldn’t face the idea of writing about something that I knew would make people, real people who I have real relationships with, feel crummy about themselves.  That’s not what I do, that’s not what I’m about and that’s not what this site is for.  I couldn’t be proud of my work if I allowed that kind of thing to be published here.

So, no, I won’t be promoting weight-loss products on this site.  Not now, not ever.