Are We Thin Enough Yet? Navigating a Bigger Body in a GLP-1 World

I am a successful business owner, a therapist, a mom… and yet, before anyone hears my credentials, witnesses my drive, or benefits from my expertise, they see my body.

Thats me! ^^

Of course, that’s normal, obviously our bodies are the first thing people notice. But there is always a cultural "AND" that goes with that visibility. In a society steeped in diet culture, a larger body is often automatically misread as a moral failing. Before I even open my mouth, I am always aware of the biases that might crawl in: lazy, undisciplined, unmotivated.

We easily say, "She is skinny and successful!" But how often do

you hear, "She is fat and successful"? Rarely, if ever. Because when people see a larger body, the cultural conditioning takes over, and the only "ANDs" they allow are fat and lazy, fat and unhealthy, fat and lacking.

Knowing these biases are waiting for me changes how I move through the world. It creates this constant, exhausting pressure to prove my worthiness before anyone even asks. It forces me into a defensive hustle: I may be fat, but look at what I can build! Look at the businesses I can create! I may be fat, but I can bike for miles, I can out-work everyone, and I can make a lot of money, etc. It's a non-stop negotiation, trading my achievements just to buy back the respect my body has denied me.

For my entire life, I centered everything around fatness and dieting. Because that is what a fat person is supposed to do… right?

I spent years fighting my own skin until I finally found the liberation of intuitive eating, body neutrality, and the anti-diet philosophy. Learning how deeply diet culture is intertwined with systems of oppression (including the racist roots of fatphobia) was like someone finally flipped a light switch.

The realization hit me: I was allowed to unapologetically exist in my fat body. I was allowed to show up exactly as I was, no matter my size. For the first time in my life, I wore the clothes I actually wanted to wear. I stopped hiding and stopped skipping out on experiences just because I was embarrassed of my size. I finally built a foundation of genuine confidence. I took up space, and I honored it. And for a second there, it felt like the world was catching up, even social media made it trendy to accept all bodies

And then, the world shifted. Enter the era of GLP-1 medications.

The Myth of the "Fixable" Body

Suddenly, the cultural pendulum swung violently backward. The body diversity we fought so hard to normalize in the media is being rapidly erased. I have seen notable curvy women and influencers shrinking before my eyes.  We have returned to an uncompromising, ultra-thin standard, but this time, it is backed by a new, insidious narrative:

Now that a "cure" exists, there is no excuse to be fat. 

As someone in healthcare, I see GLP1s for what they are. It is a highly effective medical tool. GLP 1s quiet "food noise" for people struggling with binge eating, there is some evidence that shows that it can lower inflammation, and manage diabetes and insulin resistance. The drug itself is not the problem. It is a tool, and it is a helpful one. Furthermore, it is not bad to lose weight, nor is it wrong to want to lose weight.

The problem isn't the science; it's the culture.

This tool is being weaponized against fat bodies. It is being used as a cultural mandate to enforce the idea that we must all shrink to fit an acceptable mold. It is being misused by those trapped in eating disorders, and used as a tool to shame those who remain in large bodies. The underlying message from the world isn't "here is a medical option"; it's "you no longer have an excuse to be fat." And that is what is dangerous.

Sometimes I feel like this new cultural shift has stripped away whatever collective empathy was beginning to form around body acceptance. It sends a loud, clear message: Thinness will always be the ultimate reward, and fat erasure is preferred. Have you ever heard the phrase that nothing tastes as good as skinny feels? Yah.. barf. 

But this "cure" narrative relies on a massive, potentially dangerous generalization. It completely ignores reality:

• The Inaccessible: These medications are financially out of reach for millions without decent  insurance or disposable income.

• The Intolerant: For many, the cost of a smaller body is severe, debilitating physical suffering including conditions like pancreatitis and gastroparesis that are often reported side effects of GLP-1s.

• The Non-Responders: There is a group of people for whom these medications simply do not work for weight loss.

  
  

So, where does that leave us? Where do fat people fit in when society decides our bodies are a problem that has officially been "solved"? How do we cope as the world shrinks around us?

I don’t have all the answers. But as a therapist, a business owner, and a chronically large person, I know how I survive. I survive by anchoring myself to beliefs that keep me grounded while the culture spins out of control.

Living Large in a Shrinking World

1. Do Things Fat

Do not put your life on pause until you reach an arbitrary ‘aesthetic’ destination. Go paddleboarding. Go skiing. Travel. Try new things. Buy the clothes that make you feel incredible right now. Live a vibrant, expansive life in the body you have today. 

Fat Girl Paddleboarding

Skiing for the first time in years

2. You Are Allowed to Take Up Space

You do not need to apologize for your physical presence. You do not need to shrink your personality, your voice, or your body to make others more comfortable. You belong in the room, at the table, in the gym, and on the trail.

3. You Are Allowed to Appreciate Your Body

Your body is the vessel that allows you to experience the world. It carries you through your work, your passions, and your relationships. You are allowed to love it, tolerate it, or simply appreciate it for everything it does, completely independent of what size it is. 

When the nurse offered to take a photo of me bathing my baby for the first time, I instantly felt anxious and self conscious (even though I had just had a c-section and gave birth). I am glad I have this photo now.

4. Hold the Duality: Grief and Joy Can Coexist

Two things can be true at the exact same time. You can grieve the reality of living in a world that makes things harder for bigger bodies, and you can simultaneously live your life to the absolute fullest. Acceptance doesn't mean a total absence of pain,  it means choosing not to let that pain steal your life from you because someone says you don’t belong.

Finally taking a photo of myself to prove I was at the beach that day, even though I did not want to

The Cost of "Fitting In"

Is the risk, the side effects, and the financial strain worth it? For those who decide it is, great! For those who decide it isn't, also great! Both of these paths get to exist at the same time.. What we cannot do is use someone's personal health choice as a weapon to shame anyone else.

Fat people are still here. We are still successful, driven, capable, and worthy of respect. If the world is going to insist on shrinking, I choose to remain rooted in myself. Unapologetically large, and unapologetically alive. 

-Kylie Chaffin, Licensed Mental Health Counselor