I’ve probably said this before but I think posts that paint all attempts at weight loss as inherently extreme don’t actually deter anyone from losing weight.
Honestly, I think of it akin to abstinence in place of sex education*. Fat people at some point in their lives are likely going to try to lose weight in the way that most people are going to have sex. Being against sound advice on modest calorie deficits, nutrition, weight normalisation etc. I would say is comparable to not providing people with resources for protection, contraception, safe intimate dynamics etc.
If all someone is seeing is ‘I ate 1000 calories and I STILL didn’t lose weight’, ‘all calorie deficits are unhealthy’, ‘calorie counting is disordered behaviour’ while being inundated with pro-ana content because it’s tumblr and possibly shitty diets in their real life, there is a non-negligible chance that instead of choosing not to lose weight (which is what most people in fat acceptance would prefer) they might think that the only way to be in a successful caloric deficit is to go extreme**. Which is where you see issues like yo-yo dieting, weight cycling and to a more extreme degree if someone has an ED: for example the binge-restrict cycle and atypical anorexia worsen.
While I don’t think someone should approach weight loss from a point of desperation or attach very strong emotions to being fat or not, if they do I would rather the most prevalent understanding of weight loss be a healthy process.
*I will admit that I generally don’t love comparisons but I think somewhat works solely in discussing harm reduction
**I am speaking from personal experience, the only previous attempts at weight loss that have been ‘successful’ were in the short-term and were hyper-restrictive episodes within BED, I would never suggest nor wish that on anyone. Perhaps I am being overly presumptuous based on my past but I have seen so many posts and people in real life who obviously struggle because their deficit is too large to be sustainable.
