January 29, 2025 • 25 mins
What if society's embrace of body positivity is actually harming our health? Join me, Jonathan Ressler, as I challenge the norms surrounding fat activism and the sweeping calls for a Fat Equality Bill of Rights. This episode unpacks the controversial views that have sparked heated debates around obesity and personal responsibility. I argue that being overweight is not a disease but a result of personal choices, and I aim to inspire listeners to embrace practical changes for a healthier lifestyle. Let's cut through the noise together and reconsider what true empowerment looks like.
We'll also explore the complex web of influences from the medical industry to social media that have perpetuated the acceptance of obesity as the norm. My frustration with the medical industry's hesitance to address obesity head-on is palpable, as is my critique of social media influencers who promote unhealthy lifestyles under the guise of body positivity. As we discuss the implications of events like FatCon, I share insights from my own weight loss journey and resources from my book and video course to encourage listeners to prioritize their well-being. This episode promises a candid discussion on the hard truths about obesity, urging a shift from societal accommodations to personal accountability for genuine health progress.
Lose Weight Without Starving or Obsessing! Learn the simple, no-BS system that helped me lose 140 pounds naturally—no extreme diets, no endless gym hours, just real, sustainable fat loss for real people.
Join the Effortless Weight Loss Academy HERE
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Send me questions or comments to Jonathan.Ressler@gmail.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
If you're a whiny snowflake that can't handle the
truth, is offended by the wordfuck and about 37 uses of it in
different forms gets ass hurt.
When you hear someone speak theabsolute, real and raw truth,
you should leave Like right now.
This is Shut Up and Choose, thepodcast where we cut through
(00:25):
the shit and get real aboutweight loss, life and everything
in between.
We get into the nitty gritty ofmaking small, smart choices
that add up to big results.
From what's on your plate tohow you approach life's
challenges.
We'll explore how the simpleact of choosing differently can
transform your health, yourmindset and your entire freaking
(00:48):
life.
So if you're ready to cutthrough the bullshit and start
making some real changes, thenbuckle up and shut up, because
we're about to choose our way toa healthier, happier life.
This is Shut Up and Choose.
Let's do this Now.
(01:10):
Your host.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Jonathan Ressler, welcome back to Shut Up and
Choose, the podcast where we cutthe noise and the nonsense of
the diet industry and all thoseinternet gurus and nut jobs are
spewing at you telling you howyou should lose weight, what you
you telling you how you shouldlose weight, what you should do
and how you should do it.
But today I want to talk aboutsomething a little bit different
.
I'm Jonathan Ressler, I'm yourhost and, like I said, today I
(01:33):
want to talk about somethingdifferent.
I want to talk about this thingcalled fat activism.
I'm just I'm stunned by thismovement.
I was scrolling throughInstagram yesterday or the day
before, and I came across thisperson that is advocating for
this thing called the FatEquality Bill of Rights.
I'll get a little bit more intothat in a second.
(01:55):
I'll tell you who it is andjust why.
It's the most asinine,ridiculous and dangerous fucking
thing I've ever heard in mylife.
So look, I get it okay.
Everybody deserves respect.
I was a big fat guy.
I definitely deserve respect.
No one should be bullied or bemade fun of for their weight.
But let's be real.
There's a massive differencebetween treating people with
(02:17):
dignity and demanding thatsociety and everybody else bends
over backwards to accommodatepoor health choices.
I can say that I made him for along time.
So now I see this woman namedand I may be saying this wrong
but Jalyn Chaney, and her FatEquality Bill of Rights which,
if we're being honest, isbasically a demand list for the
(02:39):
world to coddle obesity ratherthan to encourage people to take
charge of their own health.
And this isn't about fairness,it's about entitlement.
It's the equivalent of smokersdemanding the return of smoking
sections on airplanes.
Right If people with bad habitsexpect everyone else to make
their lives easier instead ofmaking the simple, obvious
(03:00):
changes that would actuallyimprove their health?
So I want to break thisnonsense down a little bit, I
guess piece by piece.
First and foremost, fat is not adisease.
It's a choice period.
You've heard me say it.
People get pissed off when Isay it, but it's the truth.
Being fat is a choice.
People love to say obesity is adisease, like it snuck on them
(03:25):
in the night, like the flu.
No, no, sorry.
Being fat isn't something thatjust happens to you.
It's the result of consistentdaily choices.
Look, we all know it's caloriesin versus calories out.
Science hasn't changed, nomatter how much the activists
try to rewrite reality.
The science is simple Burn morecalories than you consume and
(03:48):
you will lose weight, period.
There is no other recipe.
There is no other way to do it.
So yeah, some people might haveslower metabolisms.
Probably not, I guarantee you,99.999% of the people who say
they have a slow metabolism.
If they went to the doctor,they'd find out they don't have
a slow metabolism.
Some people might have somemedical conditions.
(04:09):
It's possible, but guess what?
No medical condition defies thelaws of physics.
If you eat fewer calories thanyou burn, you will lose weight
every single time.
Period, end of sentence.
(04:31):
You will lose weight everysingle time.
It's worth saying that again.
So look, if you're eating 3,500calories a day just to maintain
a weight of, let's say, 350pounds, as this Jalen Chaney
likely does, then the simpletruth is you're overeating by a
lot.
And how did I come to thatnumber?
Well, the easy calculator forhow many calories you need to
(04:53):
maintain your current weight isjust take your body weight and
multiply it by 10.
And I'm guessing I can't saythat for a fact, but she's at
least 350.
So if you just cut 500 caloriesa day, which is, I don't know,
like skipping a large soda andmaybe a handful of French fries,
you'd lose one pound per weekdoing absolutely nothing else.
(05:15):
That's 52 pounds a year withouteven hitting the gym, without
doing anything.
It's simple math.
We all know that to gain apound, to lose a pound, you have
to either add 3,500 morecalories a week or take away
3,500 calories a week, andthat's to lose one pound a week.
A pound is equal to about 3,500calories.
(05:36):
So if she or someone who weighs350 pounds would just eat 500
calories less a day withoutdoing anything else, they would
lose a pound a week.
It's just time to stoppretending that weight loss is
some mythical, impossible feat.
It's not.
It's a choice period.
The second thing that I think isjust crazy about her whole
(05:59):
weight loss or weight equality,whatever the fuck it's called.
Accommodating obesityencourages more of it.
Jaylene's fat bill rights isbasically a wish list of special
privileges for fat people.
She wants bigger airplane seats, specially designed furniture,
extra large medical equipment,more access in public spaces and
(06:22):
a whole bunch of other things.
Do you see the problem there?
Instead of encouraging peopleto get healthier, this is
pushing for the world torestructure itself around
obesity as if it's like apermanent, unchangeable
condition.
Imagine if we did that forevery other preventable health
issue.
It's just crazy.
Imagine, like the smokingequality bill of rights because
(06:43):
smokers should get extra airpurifiers anywhere they go.
The alcoholic bill of rightsbecause bars should be required
to install extra comfy drunktanks.
The couch potato bill of rightsbecause we need escalators in
the gym so people don't get tootired.
It sounds ridiculous, right?
Well, so is this?
The answer to obesity isn'tbigger chairs, it's fucking
(07:07):
smaller bodies.
Third thing is weightdiscrimination is just
consequences in disguise.
One of the biggest talkingpoints of the fat activism
movement is weightdiscrimination.
You know what weightdiscrimination actually is.
It's called fucking reality.
If you can't fit in an airplaneseat lose weight.
(07:30):
If you're too big for a rideamusement park lose weight.
Can't use medical equipmentlose weight.
Struggling to walk longdistances lose weight.
I know that fixes it all,because I had all four of those
problems and I lost weight andthey all went away.
That's not discrimination, it'scause and effect.
If you make a choice thatimpacts your body, you have to
(07:54):
deal with the consequences.
That's life.
Yet according to this Jay Lynnwoman, expecting people to live
within the normal limitations ofphysics is somehow unfair.
Well, here's a little newsflashfor you Airplanes and seats
aren't too small, you're toofucking big.
The rest of us don't need topay extra because you refuse to
(08:14):
make changes.
The rest of us don't have to beuncomfortable because you
refuse to make changes.
I get it, man.
Like you know, I was a big fatmotherfucker 411 pounds.
When I flew on planes.
I definitely made man.
Like you know, I was a big fatmotherfucker 411 pounds.
When I flew on planes, Idefinitely made people
uncomfortable.
I'll tell you, I just took aflight and I wanted to sit on
the aisle and Vicky wanted tosit in the window.
So we had a middle seat that wewere hoping no one would take.
(08:35):
Sure enough on walks.
A guy got to be about 300,maybe 350 pounds and all of 5'2
or 5'3.
He sits down right between us.
It was the most uncomfortable,miserable flight I've ever taken
in my life.
Now I could say, yeah, it's nothis fault, but it is his fault.
The motherfucker chose to getthat fat.
I know because I made thosesame choices and then I made the
(08:58):
choices to change it.
So it's just, it's crazy.
If you're too big, the rest ofus don't need to be
uncomfortable because you're toolazy and yes, I fucking said it
You're too lazy to make achange.
Another thing that pisses me offis that the medical industry
actually enables this insanity.
Let's talk about one of thebiggest accomplices in this
(09:22):
obesity acceptance movements,and that is the medical industry
.
Instead of doctors givingpatients the truth, like you
need to lose weight or you'regoing to have a heart attack, we
now have medical permission,scared of hurting people's
feelings.
Instead of solution, we get fatfriendly doctors who avoid
discussing weight loss.
I mean that I don't even knowhow that could fall within the
(09:43):
hippocratic oath.
I mean you owe it to yourpatients.
Tell them, hey, you need tolose weight.
I'm not saying that they'regoing to hear it and do it,
because my doctors told me foryears I need to lose weight.
I didn't do it until I was goodand ready, until I decided on
my why, until I decided I won'ttake control of my health.
You have pharmaceuticalcompanies pushing weight loss
drugs instead of addressinglifestyle changes.
We all know that if you takeOzempic or Gove or whatever
(10:05):
there's a whole host of thosedrugs you'll lose weight for
sure, but as soon as you stoptaking them, you're going to put
all the weight back on.
Go find me a study that saysanything else.
You won't find one.
You also.
Now we have health experts whoare downplaying the risk of
obesity to avoid the backlashfrom activists.
And the result?
Well, it's more obesity, ofcourse, more people dying of
(10:30):
preventable diseases, morestrain on the health care system
.
This is not compassion, it'sfucking cowardice.
People need to hear the hardtruth and they need to own up to
their choices and get moving.
And then, of course, one of thebiggest offenders is social
media.
It fuels fat activism.
There's so many social mediainfluencers who are making
(10:52):
careers out of telling peopleit's okay to be over 400 pounds.
Tiktok, body positiveinfluencers are pushing the idea
that all bodies are healthy.
There's no such thing as fatand healthy.
Sorry, it just doesn't fuckingexist.
You have Instagram modelsflunking their morbid obesity
and calling it curves Give me abreak.
You have people on YouTubeattacking doctors for simply
(11:14):
stating medical facts.
Here's the ugly truth Obesityis not body positivity, it's
slow motion suicide.
That's what it is.
Yet instead of promotinghealthy living, influencers are
attacking the very idea ofweight loss as if it's some form
of oppression.
(11:35):
The message is clear If youlose weight, you're a sellout.
If you promote health, you'refat phobic.
If you tell the truth, you're abigot.
It's absolute, fucking insanity.
I don't know why people defendobesity, I guess the reason when
they do.
I don't know why people clingto obesity activism so hard.
Well, I guess it's because it'seasier to demand accommodations
(11:57):
than to make a change right.
It's easier to blame societythan to take responsibility to
say, hey, you know what's easierto blame society than to take
responsibility to say, hey, youknow what I got to do something
about this.
This is my fault, these are mychoices, and hey, if I made all
these bad choices, I can makebetter choices.
And it's easier to rewritereality than to face the truth
At its core.
Fat activism is not aboutfairness.
(12:18):
It's about avoiding discomfort.
Losing weight it's hard.
I don't really.
I think if you do it the rightway, it's not hard.
But changing your habits, yeah,it's hard.
It takes some work and you haveto make small, smart choices.
And facing reality is reallyfucking hard.
Look, I know about not wantingto face reality.
I told you I could shave andbrush my teeth in the morning
(12:42):
and not even see myself in themirror.
So instead of dealing with thehard truths.
People like Jay Lin are buildingentire movements around
avoiding them.
Right, you got to deal withthis shit.
You got to take stock, takecontrol of yourself and deal
with it.
It's a fucking choice.
And that brings me to the nextone, which is you can lose
(13:04):
weight if you really want to.
At the end of the day, everysingle person has the power to
change their weight.
I know that's an unpopularthing to say, but I really don't
give a shit.
It's the truth.
If you don't want to loseweight, fine, it's your life.
It's your choice.
I'm a live and let live kind ofguy, but don't expect the rest
(13:27):
of the world to fucking cater toyou.
You do what you do, but dealwith the seats.
If the airplanes are too smallfor you, that's a you problem.
If medical equipment doesn'tfit, that's also a you problem.
If you struggle with everydayactivities, that's a you problem
.
Society doesn't owe you comfortat the expense of reality.
That's the bottom line.
Fat activism, if you believethere should be such a thing,
(13:49):
should be about ending bullyingand promoting self-worth.
But it's been hijacked into amovement that encourages people
to stay unhealthy.
That's not empowerment, that'sentitlement.
Jalen Cheney's Fat E equalitybill of rights isn't about
fairness.
It's about shifting personalresponsibility onto society.
If you really cared aboutpeople's well-being then we
(14:12):
wouldn't be demanding biggerairplane seats.
We'd be helping people loseweight.
So you want equality?
Then take some accountability.
The truth might be hard, but atleast it'll set you free.
So after scrolling through herInstagram page and looking at a
bunch of stuff, I found out thatit goes even further into
(14:32):
dangerous behavior and justinsanity about fat people.
So I found out and I think Ikind of knew this, but I found
out that there's a thing calledFatCon.
So FatCon 2025 is a three-dayconference dedicated to fat
liberation and communitybuilding.
It's happening January 31stthrough February 2nd of 2025 at
(14:56):
the Embassy Suites in Seattle,seattle.
They say the event aims togenerate fat joy and foster a
supportive environment forindividuals of size.
It's craziness.
The convention features adiverse array of programming,
including workshops, keynotespeakers, a fashion show in a
marketplace.
These activities are designedto celebrate fat culture,
(15:18):
promote self-acceptance andaddress issues pertinent to the
fat community.
That's just fucking nuts, right?
So it's a bunch of fat peoplegetting together to say, hey,
it's okay for you to be fat,also known as it's okay for you
to be healthy and die younger,get more disease.
Hey, don't do anything, don'tmake the choice that you need to
(15:40):
make.
Let's all get together and tryto get the world to change
around us because, hey, we'refat.
So I looked at some of thesessions and the shit that's
going on there and it's fuckingcrazy, right.
So one of the sessions iscalled Fat-Friendly Mental
Health Care a guide to gettingthe care you need, to getting
the care you need.
(16:04):
This session discusses how tofind therapists and
psychiatrists who are considereda fat individuals aiming to
navigate a mental health caresystem that has inherent biases.
Are you fucking kidding me?
Really?
You're saying thatpsychiatrists, therapists, hate
you because you're fat?
No, you fucking hate youbecause you're fat, but here's a
way that you don't need to useany of those people lose weight.
(16:25):
Right, it's simple.
You're choosing to be fat, loseweight.
The psychiatrist and thetherapists are not conspiring
against you.
Are there some therapists thatmay not like fat people?
Sure, there's some therapiststhat don't like jewish people.
There's some therapists thatdon't like black people, so
there's some therapists thatdon't like Jewish people.
There's some therapists thatdon't like black people.
So there's some therapists thatdon't like every group, but
(16:46):
there is no inherent biases intherapy and psychology against
fat people.
The inherent bias is thatyou're too fucking lazy to do
what you need to do to lose theweight.
Here's another one that I'mjust stunned at.
Another session fat liberation,parenting A discussion on
raising children with fatliberation values, addressing
(17:09):
challenges faced by parents andcaregivers in anti-fat
environments.
Oh, my fucking God, are youkidding me?
Lose weight and you won't be inan anti-fat environment.
The world is not against you,you're against you.
You're killing yourself.
Remember what I said earlierit's slow motion suicide.
(17:29):
We don't need to get the worldto change to accept you.
You need to make the change.
Because you want to be healthy,okay, being fat, hey, it's your
choice.
If you want to be fat, be fat,but don't expect the world to
fucking change around you.
It's your choice.
If you want to be fat, be fat,but don't expect the world to
fucking change around you.
If you don't like the wayyou're being treated, well, I
get it, be an activist.
But if you don't like the factthat, as a fat person, you don't
(17:50):
fit into the world as it is,then don't be a fat person
anymore.
Here's another session Fatnessin a fitness environment,
building community and buildingstrength A roundtable exploring
the experiences of fatindividuals who are personal
trainers, business owners orcommunity leaders in the fitness
industry.
I'm certainly not a skinny guy,so I kind of get that.
(18:11):
It's not really saying, hey,I'm fat.
Well, yeah, it kind of is right.
If you weigh 450 pounds, it'stough for me to listen to you
about losing weight, unless youwere 800 pounds and you lost 400
pounds.
Yeah, then I'm willing tolisten to you about losing
weight, unless you were 800pounds and you lost 400 pounds.
Yeah, that I'm willing tolisten to.
But at 350 pounds and youhaven't lost any weight, that's
the way you've been for the lastthree years.
It's tough for me to believeanything you say about weight
loss because you don't practicewhat you preach.
(18:33):
Here's another session Fattrauma, healing through
community and fat joyno-transcript.
(18:56):
It's called losing weight.
It's called it's easy to loseweight.
You know how to do it.
It's not.
You're not stuck in some trap.
It's not something that wassprung upon you.
It didn't happen overnight.
You're fat because of thechoices you made.
If you want to heal really heal, not heal your mind and say,
yeah, hey, it's okay if you're350 pounds and you're 5'2".
(19:17):
No, that's not okay.
It's just not okay.
If you want to do it, fine.
If you want to smoke, do it.
If you want to take drugs, doit.
But if you want everybody elseto rally around, you lose the
fucking weight.
And another session.
The last one I'm going to talkabout is Take Up Space a
suspension, rope bondage, demoand performance.
(19:38):
I'm not going to lie, lie.
I'd be interested in seeingthat one, a live demonstration
showcasing rope suspension,emphasizing the beauty and
empowerment of fat individualstaking up space.
So I I guess they're gettingspecial equipment for that, and
shit, because they do.
Everybody these fat activistssay that you need special
equipment.
(19:58):
Doctors have special equipment,planes should have special
seats.
I wonder if you need specialequipment.
Doctors should have specialequipment, planes should have
special seats.
I wonder if there's specialequipment for that.
I'm not going to lie.
Just for the pure freak value,I'd like to see some fat people
tied up and suspended orwhatever like in a BDSM
environment.
I think that would be,truthfully.
I guess some people like that.
If you're a chubby chase, youmight like that.
But I'm not going to lie.
(20:19):
I hope they post some picturesfrom that because that would be
interesting and funny to me.
What's not funny is if I'm abetting man, I'm saying this Jay
Lynn, she's not even going tobe around for Fat Con 2026.
She's going to be dead.
And if you don't think thatthese things affect your body,
you don't think that, if youthink that being a fat activist
(20:40):
is going to save you from thethings that are brewing inside
your body, let me tell you aboutfive fat activists and social
media celebrities who passedaway before the age of 50.
So there's a woman named KatPauze.
I don't know if I'm saying thatright, but she was an American
academic specializing in fatstudies and a very prominent fat
(21:01):
activist.
She was a senior lecturer atMassey University in New Zealand
but shockingly she diedsuddenly in her sleep at the age
of 42.
Then there's another fatactivist, fat influencer, jamie
Lopez.
She was a body positivityadvocate and a founder of Super
Size Salon and she worked tocreate inclusive beauty spaces I
(21:23):
guess fat chairs and whatever.
She died from heartcomplications at the age of 37.
Then there's Alice Webb.
She's a mother of five.
She was involved in all thebody positivity circles and she
tragically died followingcomplications from a
non-surgical Brazilian butt liftprocedure at the age of 33.
(21:43):
So she was getting a butt liftbecause obviously she didn't
like her body, but she was a fatactivist, so she couldn't say
it, I shouldn't say it, I don'tknow, but she died at the age of
33.
Then you have Tabby Brown.
She was a model and aninfluencer who promoted body
positivity.
She died from fat embolismshortly after undergoing,
shockingly, a Brazilian buttlift surgery at the age of 38.
(22:07):
And the last one I'll give youis this person called Mimi Roth,
a well-known fat acceptanceadvocate and activist and a
founder of the National ActionAgainst Obesity.
She advocated for bodypositivity and challenged
societal norms regarding weight.
She died at the age of 51.
So, yeah, you can be as activeas you want, fighting for the
(22:29):
cause to change people's viewsabout fat people, which get it.
They shouldn't be bullied.
But you know, rather than spendthe energy trying to get
everybody else to change, whydon't you just invest the energy
in yourself?
Why don't you take that sameenergy and say you know what?
I'm going to change myself.
I'm going to figure out why Iwant and need to lose this
weight.
And I gave you five damn goodreasons why you should want to
(22:53):
lose that weight.
Because those are five people.
Actually, one of them died at51, but three of them died in
their 30s.
There's no way around it.
Being fat is just not healthy.
It's going to kill you at somepoint.
So I could go on for days.
I'm certainly going to lookonline and see what's happening
at this fat con, because it'sjust shocking to me.
(23:15):
I don't know how else to put it.
It is just so unbelievablyirresponsible to tell people
accept yourself as fat.
And when you say acceptyourself as fat, you're saying
accept yourself as beingunhealthy, and being unhealthy
is okay and it's not so.
That's all I really have to say.
(23:35):
No, that's not true.
I have so much more to say, butthat's where I'm going to end
it today, because I'm sure a lotof people are going to be
pissed off that I'm saying allthese things, but this is the
hard truth.
Sorry, it's the fucking truth.
Being fat is going to kill you.
Being 150, 250 poundsoverweight is going to kill you.
Maybe not today, maybe not nextyear.
(23:57):
Not today, maybe not next year,but it's going to rob you of
many, many years of your life.
Wow, that was angry, depressing, it was all kinds of things,
but I just needed to get it offmy chest because I was just so,
just shocked at the arroganceand stupidity of these fat
activists.
So, anyway, let's move on.
(24:18):
So if you want to know how Ilost 140 pounds and I'm still
losing weight, if you want toknow how I did that, you can get
my book.
It's called Shut Up and Choose.
It's on Amazon.
We're an Amazon bestseller.
Tons of five-star reviews, tonsof emails coming in from people
letting me know how I'vechanged their life, how my style
of eating just works and youlose weight effortlessly.
(24:39):
I also have a video coursecalled Live Life, love Food,
lose Weight.
Funny enough, and it's 23videos.
All of them are five minutes orless.
Actually, one is a little bitlonger, it's like about six
minutes, but you listen to thewhole thing and watch the whole
thing in under two hours.
Been selling like crazy.
I have a special sale going onright now.
Go to learnshutupandchoosecom.
(25:00):
That's learnshutupandchoosecom.
It'll change your life and ifyou have to lose 20 pounds, 50
pounds, 100 pounds, you need tolose the weight.
It's time.
It really is time.
It's all about choices thechoices that you're making every
day, the choices that you madeleading up to this point and the
choices that are keeping youfat.
(25:21):
So now the only thing youreally left to do is to shut up
and choose.
If you're a whiny snowflake that can't handle the
truth, is offended by the wordfuck and about 37 uses of it in
different forms gets ass hurt.
When you hear someone speak theabsolute, real and raw truth,
you should leave Like right now.
This is Shut Up and Choose, thepodcast where we cut through
(00:25):
the shit and get real aboutweight loss, life and everything
in between.
We get into the nitty gritty ofmaking small, smart choices
that add up to big results.
From what's on your plate tohow you approach life's
challenges.
We'll explore how the simpleact of choosing differently can
transform your health, yourmindset and your entire freaking
(00:48):
life.
So if you're ready to cutthrough the bullshit and start
making some real changes, thenbuckle up and shut up, because
we're about to choose our way toa healthier, happier life.
This is Shut Up and Choose.
Let's do this Now.
(01:10):
Your host.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Jonathan Ressler, welcome back to Shut Up and
Choose, the podcast where we cutthe noise and the nonsense of
the diet industry and all thoseinternet gurus and nut jobs are
spewing at you telling you howyou should lose weight, what you
you telling you how you shouldlose weight, what you should do
and how you should do it.
But today I want to talk aboutsomething a little bit different
.
I'm Jonathan Ressler, I'm yourhost and, like I said, today I
(01:33):
want to talk about somethingdifferent.
I want to talk about this thingcalled fat activism.
I'm just I'm stunned by thismovement.
I was scrolling throughInstagram yesterday or the day
before, and I came across thisperson that is advocating for
this thing called the FatEquality Bill of Rights.
I'll get a little bit more intothat in a second.
(01:55):
I'll tell you who it is andjust why.
It's the most asinine,ridiculous and dangerous fucking
thing I've ever heard in mylife.
So look, I get it okay.
Everybody deserves respect.
I was a big fat guy.
I definitely deserve respect.
No one should be bullied or bemade fun of for their weight.
But let's be real.
There's a massive differencebetween treating people with
(02:17):
dignity and demanding thatsociety and everybody else bends
over backwards to accommodatepoor health choices.
I can say that I made him for along time.
So now I see this woman namedand I may be saying this wrong
but Jalyn Chaney, and her FatEquality Bill of Rights which,
if we're being honest, isbasically a demand list for the
(02:39):
world to coddle obesity ratherthan to encourage people to take
charge of their own health.
And this isn't about fairness,it's about entitlement.
It's the equivalent of smokersdemanding the return of smoking
sections on airplanes.
Right If people with bad habitsexpect everyone else to make
their lives easier instead ofmaking the simple, obvious
(03:00):
changes that would actuallyimprove their health?
So I want to break thisnonsense down a little bit, I
guess piece by piece.
First and foremost, fat is not adisease.
It's a choice period.
You've heard me say it.
People get pissed off when Isay it, but it's the truth.
Being fat is a choice.
People love to say obesity is adisease, like it snuck on them
(03:25):
in the night, like the flu.
No, no, sorry.
Being fat isn't something thatjust happens to you.
It's the result of consistentdaily choices.
Look, we all know it's caloriesin versus calories out.
Science hasn't changed, nomatter how much the activists
try to rewrite reality.
The science is simple Burn morecalories than you consume and
(03:48):
you will lose weight, period.
There is no other recipe.
There is no other way to do it.
So yeah, some people might haveslower metabolisms.
Probably not, I guarantee you,99.999% of the people who say
they have a slow metabolism.
If they went to the doctor,they'd find out they don't have
a slow metabolism.
Some people might have somemedical conditions.
(04:09):
It's possible, but guess what?
No medical condition defies thelaws of physics.
If you eat fewer calories thanyou burn, you will lose weight
every single time.
Period, end of sentence.
(04:31):
You will lose weight everysingle time.
It's worth saying that again.
So look, if you're eating 3,500calories a day just to maintain
a weight of, let's say, 350pounds, as this Jalen Chaney
likely does, then the simpletruth is you're overeating by a
lot.
And how did I come to thatnumber?
Well, the easy calculator forhow many calories you need to
(04:53):
maintain your current weight isjust take your body weight and
multiply it by 10.
And I'm guessing I can't saythat for a fact, but she's at
least 350.
So if you just cut 500 caloriesa day, which is, I don't know,
like skipping a large soda andmaybe a handful of French fries,
you'd lose one pound per weekdoing absolutely nothing else.
(05:15):
That's 52 pounds a year withouteven hitting the gym, without
doing anything.
It's simple math.
We all know that to gain apound, to lose a pound, you have
to either add 3,500 morecalories a week or take away
3,500 calories a week, andthat's to lose one pound a week.
A pound is equal to about 3,500calories.
(05:36):
So if she or someone who weighs350 pounds would just eat 500
calories less a day withoutdoing anything else, they would
lose a pound a week.
It's just time to stoppretending that weight loss is
some mythical, impossible feat.
It's not.
It's a choice period.
The second thing that I think isjust crazy about her whole
(05:59):
weight loss or weight equality,whatever the fuck it's called.
Accommodating obesityencourages more of it.
Jaylene's fat bill rights isbasically a wish list of special
privileges for fat people.
She wants bigger airplane seats, specially designed furniture,
extra large medical equipment,more access in public spaces and
(06:22):
a whole bunch of other things.
Do you see the problem there?
Instead of encouraging peopleto get healthier, this is
pushing for the world torestructure itself around
obesity as if it's like apermanent, unchangeable
condition.
Imagine if we did that forevery other preventable health
issue.
It's just crazy.
Imagine, like the smokingequality bill of rights because
(06:43):
smokers should get extra airpurifiers anywhere they go.
The alcoholic bill of rightsbecause bars should be required
to install extra comfy drunktanks.
The couch potato bill of rightsbecause we need escalators in
the gym so people don't get tootired.
It sounds ridiculous, right?
Well, so is this?
The answer to obesity isn'tbigger chairs, it's fucking
(07:07):
smaller bodies.
Third thing is weightdiscrimination is just
consequences in disguise.
One of the biggest talkingpoints of the fat activism
movement is weightdiscrimination.
You know what weightdiscrimination actually is.
It's called fucking reality.
If you can't fit in an airplaneseat lose weight.
(07:30):
If you're too big for a rideamusement park lose weight.
Can't use medical equipmentlose weight.
Struggling to walk longdistances lose weight.
I know that fixes it all,because I had all four of those
problems and I lost weight andthey all went away.
That's not discrimination, it'scause and effect.
If you make a choice thatimpacts your body, you have to
(07:54):
deal with the consequences.
That's life.
Yet according to this Jay Lynnwoman, expecting people to live
within the normal limitations ofphysics is somehow unfair.
Well, here's a little newsflashfor you Airplanes and seats
aren't too small, you're toofucking big.
The rest of us don't need topay extra because you refuse to
(08:14):
make changes.
The rest of us don't have to beuncomfortable because you
refuse to make changes.
I get it, man.
Like you know, I was a big fatmotherfucker 411 pounds.
When I flew on planes.
I definitely made man.
Like you know, I was a big fatmotherfucker 411 pounds.
When I flew on planes, Idefinitely made people
uncomfortable.
I'll tell you, I just took aflight and I wanted to sit on
the aisle and Vicky wanted tosit in the window.
So we had a middle seat that wewere hoping no one would take.
(08:35):
Sure enough on walks.
A guy got to be about 300,maybe 350 pounds and all of 5'2
or 5'3.
He sits down right between us.
It was the most uncomfortable,miserable flight I've ever taken
in my life.
Now I could say, yeah, it's nothis fault, but it is his fault.
The motherfucker chose to getthat fat.
I know because I made thosesame choices and then I made the
(08:58):
choices to change it.
So it's just, it's crazy.
If you're too big, the rest ofus don't need to be
uncomfortable because you're toolazy and yes, I fucking said it
You're too lazy to make achange.
Another thing that pisses me offis that the medical industry
actually enables this insanity.
Let's talk about one of thebiggest accomplices in this
(09:22):
obesity acceptance movements,and that is the medical industry
.
Instead of doctors givingpatients the truth, like you
need to lose weight or you'regoing to have a heart attack, we
now have medical permission,scared of hurting people's
feelings.
Instead of solution, we get fatfriendly doctors who avoid
discussing weight loss.
I mean that I don't even knowhow that could fall within the
(09:43):
hippocratic oath.
I mean you owe it to yourpatients.
Tell them, hey, you need tolose weight.
I'm not saying that they'regoing to hear it and do it,
because my doctors told me foryears I need to lose weight.
I didn't do it until I was goodand ready, until I decided on
my why, until I decided I won'ttake control of my health.
You have pharmaceuticalcompanies pushing weight loss
drugs instead of addressinglifestyle changes.
We all know that if you takeOzempic or Gove or whatever
(10:05):
there's a whole host of thosedrugs you'll lose weight for
sure, but as soon as you stoptaking them, you're going to put
all the weight back on.
Go find me a study that saysanything else.
You won't find one.
You also.
Now we have health experts whoare downplaying the risk of
obesity to avoid the backlashfrom activists.
And the result?
Well, it's more obesity, ofcourse, more people dying of
(10:30):
preventable diseases, morestrain on the health care system
.
This is not compassion, it'sfucking cowardice.
People need to hear the hardtruth and they need to own up to
their choices and get moving.
And then, of course, one of thebiggest offenders is social
media.
It fuels fat activism.
There's so many social mediainfluencers who are making
(10:52):
careers out of telling peopleit's okay to be over 400 pounds.
Tiktok, body positiveinfluencers are pushing the idea
that all bodies are healthy.
There's no such thing as fatand healthy.
Sorry, it just doesn't fuckingexist.
You have Instagram modelsflunking their morbid obesity
and calling it curves Give me abreak.
You have people on YouTubeattacking doctors for simply
(11:14):
stating medical facts.
Here's the ugly truth Obesityis not body positivity, it's
slow motion suicide.
That's what it is.
Yet instead of promotinghealthy living, influencers are
attacking the very idea ofweight loss as if it's some form
of oppression.
(11:35):
The message is clear If youlose weight, you're a sellout.
If you promote health, you'refat phobic.
If you tell the truth, you're abigot.
It's absolute, fucking insanity.
I don't know why people defendobesity, I guess the reason when
they do.
I don't know why people clingto obesity activism so hard.
Well, I guess it's because it'seasier to demand accommodations
(11:57):
than to make a change right.
It's easier to blame societythan to take responsibility to
say, hey, you know what's easierto blame society than to take
responsibility to say, hey, youknow what I got to do something
about this.
This is my fault, these are mychoices, and hey, if I made all
these bad choices, I can makebetter choices.
And it's easier to rewritereality than to face the truth
At its core.
Fat activism is not aboutfairness.
(12:18):
It's about avoiding discomfort.
Losing weight it's hard.
I don't really.
I think if you do it the rightway, it's not hard.
But changing your habits, yeah,it's hard.
It takes some work and you haveto make small, smart choices.
And facing reality is reallyfucking hard.
Look, I know about not wantingto face reality.
I told you I could shave andbrush my teeth in the morning
(12:42):
and not even see myself in themirror.
So instead of dealing with thehard truths.
People like Jay Lin are buildingentire movements around
avoiding them.
Right, you got to deal withthis shit.
You got to take stock, takecontrol of yourself and deal
with it.
It's a fucking choice.
And that brings me to the nextone, which is you can lose
(13:04):
weight if you really want to.
At the end of the day, everysingle person has the power to
change their weight.
I know that's an unpopularthing to say, but I really don't
give a shit.
It's the truth.
If you don't want to loseweight, fine, it's your life.
It's your choice.
I'm a live and let live kind ofguy, but don't expect the rest
(13:27):
of the world to fucking cater toyou.
You do what you do, but dealwith the seats.
If the airplanes are too smallfor you, that's a you problem.
If medical equipment doesn'tfit, that's also a you problem.
If you struggle with everydayactivities, that's a you problem
.
Society doesn't owe you comfortat the expense of reality.
That's the bottom line.
Fat activism, if you believethere should be such a thing,
(13:49):
should be about ending bullyingand promoting self-worth.
But it's been hijacked into amovement that encourages people
to stay unhealthy.
That's not empowerment, that'sentitlement.
Jalen Cheney's Fat E equalitybill of rights isn't about
fairness.
It's about shifting personalresponsibility onto society.
If you really cared aboutpeople's well-being then we
(14:12):
wouldn't be demanding biggerairplane seats.
We'd be helping people loseweight.
So you want equality?
Then take some accountability.
The truth might be hard, but atleast it'll set you free.
So after scrolling through herInstagram page and looking at a
bunch of stuff, I found out thatit goes even further into
(14:32):
dangerous behavior and justinsanity about fat people.
So I found out and I think Ikind of knew this, but I found
out that there's a thing calledFatCon.
So FatCon 2025 is a three-dayconference dedicated to fat
liberation and communitybuilding.
It's happening January 31stthrough February 2nd of 2025 at
(14:56):
the Embassy Suites in Seattle,seattle.
They say the event aims togenerate fat joy and foster a
supportive environment forindividuals of size.
It's craziness.
The convention features adiverse array of programming,
including workshops, keynotespeakers, a fashion show in a
marketplace.
These activities are designedto celebrate fat culture,
(15:18):
promote self-acceptance andaddress issues pertinent to the
fat community.
That's just fucking nuts, right?
So it's a bunch of fat peoplegetting together to say, hey,
it's okay for you to be fat,also known as it's okay for you
to be healthy and die younger,get more disease.
Hey, don't do anything, don'tmake the choice that you need to
(15:40):
make.
Let's all get together and tryto get the world to change
around us because, hey, we'refat.
So I looked at some of thesessions and the shit that's
going on there and it's fuckingcrazy, right.
So one of the sessions iscalled Fat-Friendly Mental
Health Care a guide to gettingthe care you need, to getting
the care you need.
(16:04):
This session discusses how tofind therapists and
psychiatrists who are considereda fat individuals aiming to
navigate a mental health caresystem that has inherent biases.
Are you fucking kidding me?
Really?
You're saying thatpsychiatrists, therapists, hate
you because you're fat?
No, you fucking hate youbecause you're fat, but here's a
way that you don't need to useany of those people lose weight.
(16:25):
Right, it's simple.
You're choosing to be fat, loseweight.
The psychiatrist and thetherapists are not conspiring
against you.
Are there some therapists thatmay not like fat people?
Sure, there's some therapiststhat don't like jewish people.
There's some therapists thatdon't like black people, so
there's some therapists thatdon't like Jewish people.
There's some therapists thatdon't like black people.
So there's some therapists thatdon't like every group, but
(16:46):
there is no inherent biases intherapy and psychology against
fat people.
The inherent bias is thatyou're too fucking lazy to do
what you need to do to lose theweight.
Here's another one that I'mjust stunned at.
Another session fat liberation,parenting A discussion on
raising children with fatliberation values, addressing
(17:09):
challenges faced by parents andcaregivers in anti-fat
environments.
Oh, my fucking God, are youkidding me?
Lose weight and you won't be inan anti-fat environment.
The world is not against you,you're against you.
You're killing yourself.
Remember what I said earlierit's slow motion suicide.
(17:29):
We don't need to get the worldto change to accept you.
You need to make the change.
Because you want to be healthy,okay, being fat, hey, it's your
choice.
If you want to be fat, be fat,but don't expect the world to
fucking change around you.
It's your choice.
If you want to be fat, be fat,but don't expect the world to
fucking change around you.
If you don't like the wayyou're being treated, well, I
get it, be an activist.
But if you don't like the factthat, as a fat person, you don't
(17:50):
fit into the world as it is,then don't be a fat person
anymore.
Here's another session Fatnessin a fitness environment,
building community and buildingstrength A roundtable exploring
the experiences of fatindividuals who are personal
trainers, business owners orcommunity leaders in the fitness
industry.
I'm certainly not a skinny guy,so I kind of get that.
(18:11):
It's not really saying, hey,I'm fat.
Well, yeah, it kind of is right.
If you weigh 450 pounds, it'stough for me to listen to you
about losing weight, unless youwere 800 pounds and you lost 400
pounds.
Yeah, then I'm willing tolisten to you about losing
weight, unless you were 800pounds and you lost 400 pounds.
Yeah, that I'm willing tolisten to.
But at 350 pounds and youhaven't lost any weight, that's
the way you've been for the lastthree years.
It's tough for me to believeanything you say about weight
loss because you don't practicewhat you preach.
(18:33):
Here's another session Fattrauma, healing through
community and fat joyno-transcript.
(18:56):
It's called losing weight.
It's called it's easy to loseweight.
You know how to do it.
It's not.
You're not stuck in some trap.
It's not something that wassprung upon you.
It didn't happen overnight.
You're fat because of thechoices you made.
If you want to heal really heal, not heal your mind and say,
yeah, hey, it's okay if you're350 pounds and you're 5'2".
(19:17):
No, that's not okay.
It's just not okay.
If you want to do it, fine.
If you want to smoke, do it.
If you want to take drugs, doit.
But if you want everybody elseto rally around, you lose the
fucking weight.
And another session.
The last one I'm going to talkabout is Take Up Space a
suspension, rope bondage, demoand performance.
(19:38):
I'm not going to lie, lie.
I'd be interested in seeingthat one, a live demonstration
showcasing rope suspension,emphasizing the beauty and
empowerment of fat individualstaking up space.
So I I guess they're gettingspecial equipment for that, and
shit, because they do.
Everybody these fat activistssay that you need special
equipment.
(19:58):
Doctors have special equipment,planes should have special
seats.
I wonder if you need specialequipment.
Doctors should have specialequipment, planes should have
special seats.
I wonder if there's specialequipment for that.
I'm not going to lie.
Just for the pure freak value,I'd like to see some fat people
tied up and suspended orwhatever like in a BDSM
environment.
I think that would be,truthfully.
I guess some people like that.
If you're a chubby chase, youmight like that.
But I'm not going to lie.
(20:19):
I hope they post some picturesfrom that because that would be
interesting and funny to me.
What's not funny is if I'm abetting man, I'm saying this Jay
Lynn, she's not even going tobe around for Fat Con 2026.
She's going to be dead.
And if you don't think thatthese things affect your body,
you don't think that, if youthink that being a fat activist
(20:40):
is going to save you from thethings that are brewing inside
your body, let me tell you aboutfive fat activists and social
media celebrities who passedaway before the age of 50.
So there's a woman named KatPauze.
I don't know if I'm saying thatright, but she was an American
academic specializing in fatstudies and a very prominent fat
(21:01):
activist.
She was a senior lecturer atMassey University in New Zealand
but shockingly she diedsuddenly in her sleep at the age
of 42.
Then there's another fatactivist, fat influencer, jamie
Lopez.
She was a body positivityadvocate and a founder of Super
Size Salon and she worked tocreate inclusive beauty spaces I
(21:23):
guess fat chairs and whatever.
She died from heartcomplications at the age of 37.
Then there's Alice Webb.
She's a mother of five.
She was involved in all thebody positivity circles and she
tragically died followingcomplications from a
non-surgical Brazilian butt liftprocedure at the age of 33.
(21:43):
So she was getting a butt liftbecause obviously she didn't
like her body, but she was a fatactivist, so she couldn't say
it, I shouldn't say it, I don'tknow, but she died at the age of
33.
Then you have Tabby Brown.
She was a model and aninfluencer who promoted body
positivity.
She died from fat embolismshortly after undergoing,
shockingly, a Brazilian buttlift surgery at the age of 38.
(22:07):
And the last one I'll give youis this person called Mimi Roth,
a well-known fat acceptanceadvocate and activist and a
founder of the National ActionAgainst Obesity.
She advocated for bodypositivity and challenged
societal norms regarding weight.
She died at the age of 51.
So, yeah, you can be as activeas you want, fighting for the
(22:29):
cause to change people's viewsabout fat people, which get it.
They shouldn't be bullied.
But you know, rather than spendthe energy trying to get
everybody else to change, whydon't you just invest the energy
in yourself?
Why don't you take that sameenergy and say you know what?
I'm going to change myself.
I'm going to figure out why Iwant and need to lose this
weight.
And I gave you five damn goodreasons why you should want to
(22:53):
lose that weight.
Because those are five people.
Actually, one of them died at51, but three of them died in
their 30s.
There's no way around it.
Being fat is just not healthy.
It's going to kill you at somepoint.
So I could go on for days.
I'm certainly going to lookonline and see what's happening
at this fat con, because it'sjust shocking to me.
(23:15):
I don't know how else to put it.
It is just so unbelievablyirresponsible to tell people
accept yourself as fat.
And when you say acceptyourself as fat, you're saying
accept yourself as beingunhealthy, and being unhealthy
is okay and it's not so.
That's all I really have to say.
(23:35):
No, that's not true.
I have so much more to say, butthat's where I'm going to end
it today, because I'm sure a lotof people are going to be
pissed off that I'm saying allthese things, but this is the
hard truth.
Sorry, it's the fucking truth.
Being fat is going to kill you.
Being 150, 250 poundsoverweight is going to kill you.
Maybe not today, maybe not nextyear.
(23:57):
Not today, maybe not next year,but it's going to rob you of
many, many years of your life.
Wow, that was angry, depressing, it was all kinds of things,
but I just needed to get it offmy chest because I was just so,
just shocked at the arroganceand stupidity of these fat
activists.
So, anyway, let's move on.
(24:18):
So if you want to know how Ilost 140 pounds and I'm still
losing weight, if you want toknow how I did that, you can get
my book.
It's called Shut Up and Choose.
It's on Amazon.
We're an Amazon bestseller.
Tons of five-star reviews, tonsof emails coming in from people
letting me know how I'vechanged their life, how my style
of eating just works and youlose weight effortlessly.
(24:39):
I also have a video coursecalled Live Life, love Food,
lose Weight.
Funny enough, and it's 23videos.
All of them are five minutes orless.
Actually, one is a little bitlonger, it's like about six
minutes, but you listen to thewhole thing and watch the whole
thing in under two hours.
Been selling like crazy.
I have a special sale going onright now.
Go to learnshutupandchoosecom.
(25:00):
That's learnshutupandchoosecom.
It'll change your life and ifyou have to lose 20 pounds, 50
pounds, 100 pounds, you need tolose the weight.
It's time.
It really is time.
It's all about choices thechoices that you're making every
day, the choices that you madeleading up to this point and the
choices that are keeping youfat.
(25:21):
So now the only thing youreally left to do is to shut up
and choose.
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