Why MomBod Fitness Classes are Proudly Anti-Weight Loss

A few months ago in one of my barre classes, we were working through a particularly challenging glute set (IYKYK). To help distract and motivate everyone through the last 30 seconds, I called out a reminder to check in with the intention they set at the beginning of class—whatever it was that brought them to their mat that morning.

And immediately, someone yelled out: “I don’t want to be fat!”

My whole body froze. Flustered, I bumbled through an acknowledgment and moved on...

But I can’t get that comment out of my head. It’s been months. So, it’s time to address it.

First of all, no shade to the woman who said this. In a world where fitness professionals (and everyone else) try to motivate us to change the size and shape of our bodies, it’s natural to feel shame. We’re constantly bombarded with “success stories” of women losing weight, messaging about how harmful and undesirable it is to be fat, and encouragement to shrink ourselves into smaller pant sizes. It’s almost impossible not to absorb that narrative.

But here’s the thing. And I know I’m risking my biscuit as a fitness professional by saying this, but here it goes:

MomBod Fitness is an anti-weight loss fitness company.

Why? Because I’ve been there. My personal history with eating disorders, my extensive training on fitness & the female body and mind, and all my work with women over the past three years has shown me that the only people who benefit from weight loss are the ones selling it to you. The only time in my life when I was at my "optimal weight" my doctors were thrilled - and I was the unhealthiest I've ever been by every other measure. My life was miserable, my body was shutting down, and I've never felt so fearful and alone.

Let’s be real: “I don’t want to be fat” is a shit motivator. Pardon my French. If feeling bad about our bodies was enough to drive us to make positive changes, we’d all feel amazing by now. But we don’t. And honestly, what’s so wrong with being fat, anyway?

Many fitness and health professionals will tell you that losing weight will solve all your problems. But the reality is, research over the last decade shows that dieting and obsession with weight loss is worse for your health than just being fat. There is no research that shows any diet that results in long term weight loss - and plenty of research showing that making healthy lifestyle choices, rather than yo-yoing our weight, as beneficial for our health.

Feeling shame about your body is not a sustainable way to motivate yourself. It is a great way to set yourself up for failure, guilt, anxiety, self-consciousness, and a whole host of emotions no one deserves to feel just for existing in their body.

So, how can a fitness company be anti-weight loss?

Simple, really. My classes and programs aren’t designed with weight loss in mind. You won’t hear me using it as a motivator, and you won’t find it in my marketing materials.

So, what will you get from our classes, if not weight loss?

Here’s what I hope you’ll find:

• A stronger body that supports you in whatever you want to do—whether that’s a big goal like running a marathon, or a smaller one like not peeing your pants on the trampoline

• A better relationship with your body, exercise, and food, so you can enjoy your life and stop the cycle of shame

• A sense of community with other women who are here to lift each other up through openness, authenticity, and non-judgment

• An appreciation for all the ways movement can improve your life—no matter what your body looks like or how much it weighs

Now, it’s possible your body size and shape will change if you come to class regularly—but I can’t predict how. There are so many factors that influence how our bodies respond to movement: lifestyle, genetics, and more. Your body composition may change, but that’s not why we’re here.

We’re here because we want to feel good again. We’re tired of living in shame, and we want to move through life with strength, joy, and independence for as long as we can. We’re not here to shrink ourselves to fit into someone else’s definition of beauty, fitness, or health.

So, if you’re ready to jump off the weight-loss, body-shame, yo-yo-diet hamster wheel…you’re in good company, my friend. Back rolls and jiggly bellies and cellulite are welcome here. You are welcome, exactly as you are, forever.

Take up space. Be loud. Be you.

I’ve got your back.