# Fit mom posts Facebook pic along with her 3 kids asking 'What's your excuse?' - Firestorm ensues **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 23, 2013, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010 "2013-10-23T04:47:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Kable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kable)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/161 "2013-10-25T05:08:50Z")
> [@Kable](#): > > Pretty strong I would say. For a little more perspective: > > [what's your excuse - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=what's+your+excuse&espv=210&es_sm=119&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=gLlpUpuDIuPayAGoloGwAw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=705) Canvas shoes, before I respond to anything else, what level of bitchiness are all the above displaying? ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/162 "2013-10-25T05:16:54Z")
> [@Kable](#): > > Canvas shoes, before I respond to anything else, what level of bitchiness are all the above displaying? Sweetie, I’ve answered all of your questions in about every way I can think of to make it clear what my, and other people’s annoyance was with \*\*the OP subject matter. \*\*I’m not sure how else to explain it so that you’ll get it. You either can’t, or don’t want to see the very simple gripe folks have with it. And I’m sure other people would like to hear(read) something else besides only what I have to say about it and your replies to me. ---
**Author:** ![Kable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kable)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/163 "2013-10-25T05:19:49Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > Sweetie, I’ve answered all of your questions in about every way I can think of to make it clear what my, and other people’s annoyance was with \*\*the OP subject matter. \*\*I’m not sure how else to explain it so that you’ll get it. You either can’t, or don’t want to see the very simple gripe folks have with it. And I’m sure other people would like to hear(read) something else besides only what I have to say about it and your replies to me. So you only have a gripe when a fit woman asks “what’s your excuse?” but it’s OK for everyone else? That sounds like some sort of sexism. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/164 "2013-10-25T05:33:27Z")
> [@Kable](#): > > So you only have a gripe when a fit woman asks “what’s your excuse?” but it’s OK for everyone else? That sounds like some sort of sexism. Now who’s projecting? I meant exactly what I said in the post directly above this one, taking over a thread with only two people posting is rude, and our two sets of posts have definitely hit that boundary and then some. If you’d like to continue the debate, feel free to IM me. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/165 "2013-10-25T07:29:58Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > It’s a dumb inspirational fitness meme. There are a skrillion. Pretty much this for me. I don’t think she thought it that far through. I don’t think it was a brilliant attention-seeking ploy. I think she just took a somewhat known meme, ran with it, and didn’t realize the wrong way it could be taken. At the end of the day, it’s a big case of Who Gives a Fuck to me. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/166 "2013-10-25T08:45:17Z")
She has a self confessed eating disorder. To me, that makes a mockery of all her claims that she’s just worried about other people’s health. ---
**Author:** ![Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boo_Boo_Foo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/167 "2013-10-25T09:25:56Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > Quote: > Originally Posted by CanvasShoes View Post > Ah, still ignoring the actual point and the actual reason people were annoyed with her.You keep coming back to that people are offended by the person’s (whether it’s Ms. Kang or the others’) accomplishments and bodies. No I’m not offended by their accomplishments and bodies, and for the reasons I’ve stated many times. But yes, I do find the whole “what’s your excuse” premise accusatory and unhelpful. However, as I’ve stated many times, and about 15 different ways from Sunday, my primary annoyance with Ms. Kang is her refusal to take responsibility for her campaign. If she had merely put it out there with “look how hot I got, I worked really hard and I did it” I’d be all for it. Great! You deserve it, yes it IS hard to get in shape after having a kid and yes, you DO look great. For the last time, my annoyance is with the way she put it and then her follow-up refusal to own it. > > Quote: > The argument is not “is not being obese healthier?” (though good try at avoiding the actual point) it’s was Ms. Kang’s method of trying to get her message across a good way to go about it? > No, you didn’t “follow my reasoning” at all. You’re still not getting it. You want to get the discussion off-track by veering into a discussion of whether obesity is unhealthful or not. No one would argue that it’s unhealthy. But that’s not why people protested this particular person’s ad. And that’s not what the premise of the thread is. It’s how/why Ms. Kang’s SPECIFIC ad is offensive to people. > > Quote: > Her message, rather than being inviting, helpful, and supportive OF those who might be persuaded to get healthy and slim was instead, exclusionary and one-sided, very “this is only for the sexy people”. > The quotes designate “so to speak” not “I’m quoting what someone said”, quotes can be used in more than one way. When I say “her message” I am talking of the unspoken message implied in the photo and caption. It’s very one-sided. And that too is something you don’t seem to quite understand, that is, that a person can imply something without saying or writing it in words. For example, a dirty look, does that help? A person has given a very CLEAR message that says “I don’t like you, I don’t like what you did” or “get out of my way” or “who do you think you are”. And yet, they’ve never opened their mouth. THAT is what I’m talking about when I say the message WRT Ms. Kang’s photo ad. It’s very like a dirty look. Only it’s an unspoken critical bit of bitchiness. > > Quote: > and yes, I know she’s been backpedal blogging like mad saying that she was really only trying to be inspirational…she has troubles too, blah blah blah. I don’t believe her. > I’m talking specifically of her interview. When confronted with how unhappy a lot of people were with her ad, she kept on saying “but I’m trying to be inspirational…” and so on. THAT is backpedaling. If she were truly honest, she would have said “yes, I do believe people make too many excuses and I stand by my message, harsh or not”. I still wouldn’t like her message’s delivery, but I would respect her for being honest about it at least. There are a lot of fitness professionals who ARE very harsh like that. Jillian Michaels for instance. > > As someone said upthread, there are different ways for fitness professionals to help people, some people are very Drill Instructor and harsh about it, and that works for some people. As another doper above said, generally it’s people who have a long history of being fairly involved in being fit themselves and have perhaps just somewhat fallen off the wagon. But for those people who are very obese and morbidly obese, that sort of treatment just makes so many people in that situation go further into their shell and be even more “yup, I’m a loser, I can never have that”. > > Quote: > You can’t have it both ways honey. You’re either a mean stuck up girl who intended to shame fatties, in which case, like I said “OWN it! don’t wimp out, stand by your beliefs” or you made a mistake, in which the same applies, OWN it and apologize honestly without all this “it’s everyone else’s fault they just took it wrong, really…I was being inspirational” BS. > You don’t seem to be understanding that she doesn’t have to have literally SAY those exact words for the unspoken message to be very clear. The word “message” doesn’t only mean the written or spoken word. What I’m talking about is the combination of her photo and that caption sends a very clear unspoken message of just the things I’ve been describing above. > > And I personally don’t think that you were intentionally being a jerk, I think you’re just having a very hard time understanding anything other than black and white, and that you’re really REALLY intent on making sure that it’s known how bad and ugly obesity is. When I say “her intent” I mean just that Intent. > > No, the actual literal word “fatties” doesn’t appear on her ad, but the way her photo is put together with the snarky caption is a clear message sent to people and again, it’s discouraging to a lot of people (judging by the many comments on the Yahoo page and here). > > At any rate, back to the “you really want people to know how bad and ugly obesity is”. Do you really think that fat people are somehow magically unaware that they’re unhealthy and unattractive? And do you believe that a mean comment like “what’s your excuse” coupled with a photo of, what looks to them to be an impossible goal, is helpful or something that will make them change their ways? > > If, as she keeps claiming, her purpose was to get the message across to that faction of the fat populace, it’s a big old fail. > > Quote: > And frankly, her photo and message aren’t exactly “let’s get healthy” they’re “let’s get hot”… > This goes to what I say above. You don’t seem to understand that all that is said by someone doesn’t to be written down, or spoken aloud to STILL be a very clear message. > As to the “getting hot” I explained that very clearly (and posted an example below). For most people, they’re not going to be a 10 no matter how many hours a day they spend in the gym. And that’s discouraging, NOT inspirational as she claims her ad was supposed to have been. > > Quote: > Case in point, VERY thin woman… > [Sandra Bernhard - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000928/) > Her? [http://img2.bdbphotos.com/images/ori...y.jpg?skj2io4l...Your](http://img2.bdbphotos.com/images/ori...y.jpg?skj2io4l...Your) link didn’t work, so I have no clue if it’s the same woman I linked to. > > But her FACE! The woman has a face that could stop a clock and not in a good way. At any rate, I’ll give you this, whether by design, or unintentionally, you are a champion at missing the point. > > Ms. Kang is absolutely gorgeous in the face, and her skin (all over, including her stomach) is flawless. A lot of women who have babies, no matter how slim they become afterward are NOT going to look like that in a skimpy outfit. They have stretch marks and often, loose puckered skin in the tummy area. And as to people who were/are extremely obese, they’re going to have the same skin problems (loose skin, many stretch marks) all over their bodies. NO amount of exercise is going to get them to the same caliber as Ms. Kang’s photo. And nothing is going to help poor butter face girls. So the whole (PARAPHRASING UNSPOKEN MESSAGE OF PHOTO HERE) “you should be hot like me, what’s your excuse” thing is very off-putting in ways other than it’s supposed “you can be fit too” message. She’s fostering an image of “hot” that we all should aspire to (in her mind) but that not many have a chance of attaining, gym or no gym. Whatever… the less you say, the more people listen. ---
**Author:** ![Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boo_Boo_Foo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/168 "2013-10-25T10:01:57Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I agree with all the rest of this post, but this: can’t be said strongly enough. It’s very hard to try to change the habits of a lifetime, and I’d really like to see the fitness industry acknowledge that some people are starting at rock bottom. I’m not willing to spend 60 hours a month on fitness. When I started, I started at 15-20 minutes a day, three times a week. That’s what I was capable of, that’s what I was interested in. And I’m STILL not interested in doing extreme fitness. I’d just like to maintain what I’ve won, and get somewhat better. > > I understand that Kang isn’t talking to people like me. But there’s far more people like me than there are fitness fanatics. And you see, that right there, is a reasonable response. From my perspective you’re neither advocating a strong position on fitness one way or the other, you’re simply being realistic and reasonable. Your views Lynn are middle of the bell curve. That said, Erin Stern’s pretty hot. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/169 "2013-10-25T10:09:14Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Pretty much this for me. I don’t think she thought it that far through. I don’t think it was a brilliant attention-seeking ploy. I think she just took a somewhat known meme, ran with it, and didn’t realize the wrong way it could be taken. She used a meme that’s common throughout the fitness community for all sorts of similar images - people with missing limbs, elderly folks, mentally-disabled folks, etc. The backlash here is one of demographics. When most people encounter the meme, they’re not in the same group as the subject. We’re not as old, not missing any limbs, etc. I suspect [this image](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6cqnaIVP11rty8oho1_500.jpg) would go over just as poorly in the average retirement community, with similar rationalizations for why this person’s results aren’t typical. And truthfully, for most groups using the expression, expectations are much lower. Kang, a 30-something mother of three, is part of a larger demographic with higher expectations (from others and from themselves), so the picture hit close to home on a pretty common sore point. Overall, I’d say it’s a pretty small percentage of 30-something moms, but the internet makes small percentages much more vocal. ---
**Author:** ![Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boo_Boo_Foo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/170 "2013-10-25T10:17:32Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > Ah, still ignoring the actual point and the actual reason people were annoyed with her. Are you really this dense, or do you just enjoy arguing merely to argue? You’re veering off of the subject to support your own agenda. The argument is not “is not being obese healthier?” (though good try at avoiding the actual point) it’s was Ms. Kang’s method of trying to get her message across a good way to go about it? Look, I acknowledge you weren’t speaking to me directly when you wrote this post but I gotta tell you, reading your posts is driving me nuts because time after time after time, you’re basing all your premises on the flawed assumption that EVERYBODY who reads your stuff agrees with you - therefore you can’t be wrong. At best you’re using thousands and thousands of words to pontificate on your personal opinions. At best. At worst, you’re continuously confusing matters of opinion with examples of fact. And extrapolating your further opinions on that flawed debating technique. Before you write another little mini epic on how I (and the rest of us) supposedly feel on this subject, start remembering you’re only speaking for yourself - and that’s where your opinions start, and that’s where they end. You certainly don’t speak for me. ---
**Author:** ![Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boo_Boo_Foo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/171 "2013-10-25T10:25:14Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > She used a meme that’s common throughout the fitness community for all sorts of similar images - people with missing limbs, elderly folks, mentally-disabled folks, etc. The backlash here is one of demographics. > > \ > > Overall, I’d say it’s a pretty small percentage of 30-something moms, but the internet makes small percentages much more vocal. That’s a very insightful post, I hadn’t considered that particular angle. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/172 "2013-10-25T10:30:58Z")
I think a lot of the reaction to this kind of thing is a bit like the person sitting in a park trying to quietly read a book. After the 20th moron walks up and remarks: “Reading a book huh?” the reaction of “YES! I AM. INDEED. READING A FUCKING BOOK!!!” may seem a bit overboard to the person on the end of the barrage but the person just trying to get on with their afternoon has heard it all before and is tired of being told the obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boo_Boo_Foo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/173 "2013-10-25T10:45:12Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > She has a self confessed eating disorder. To me, that makes a mockery of all her claims that she’s just worried about other people’s health. In the interests of fairness I conducted a Google search on the following 4 words… maria kang eating disorder The third highest ranking was Maria’s Facebook personal page, in which she states she HAD at one time, an eating disorder. Given that this isn’t uncommon amongst young women in the Western World, I for one, am more than happy to applaud her in overcoming that particular affliction. And it certainly doesn’t invalidate any of her claims, in my view. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/174 "2013-10-25T11:38:13Z")
I once observed an impressively fit female dancer pick up her tips without using her hands. Until Ms Kang demonstrates this, I have to ask her, “What’s your excuse?” ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/175 "2013-10-25T11:40:56Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > You already know the answer to this. > > So kudos for Kang, and phooey to The Fatvocacy. I feel like I did know the answer before I asked the question. I don’t know whom to credit with originating the phrase, “Tyranny of Mediocrity”, but I feel it applies well to the detractor’s of Kang and her simplistic but (I believe) not mean spirited message. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/176 "2013-10-25T12:09:37Z")
> [@Sleel](#): > > You and other people who have said this are making assumptions that don’t match reality. Most people who work as trainers don’t get much time to work out themselves. I’m internet friends with a couple of people who work in fitness. One owns a gym, the other does training at a couple of different facilities. > > They’re both sleep-deprived (huge negative impact on health and fitness, especially recovery) because they have to get up at 04:00 or 05:00 for early clients. They might be in the gym for 12–14 hours, but virtually never have time to work out unless they explicitly schedule it … and then they still get interrupted sometimes because a client is training and has a question, or some business-related crisis comes up, or someone pukes in the bathroom, etc. They often can’t eat regular meals because lunch breaks and just before or just after dinner are peak busy times. > > Even fitness gurus like Robb Wolf have said flat-out that running a gym was deleterious to his health, and had a disastrous effect on his fitness. This is the only online comment I can find right now, but he has mentioned the problems gym owners and trainers have in following their own advice several times on the Paleo Solution podcast: > > Just because her job is fitness-related doesn’t mean that it’s easy for her to keep fit. I’m on a strict “when I feel like it” fitness plan, meaning my gym hours are very random. Every single time I go the trainers/gym owners are there working out. ---
**Author:** ![Kable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kable)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/177 "2013-10-25T13:52:41Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > Now who’s projecting? I don’t know, I’m trying to come up with a reason why it’s OK for everyone else to make a picture saying “what’s your excuse” like this… [http://d24w6bsrhbeh9d.cloudfront.net/photo/6848066\_700b.jpg](http://d24w6bsrhbeh9d.cloudfront.net/photo/6848066_700b.jpg) …but Kang’s “bitchy” because she did. > [@](#): > > I meant exactly what I said in the post directly above this one, taking over a thread with only two people posting is rude, and our two sets of posts have definitely hit that boundary and then some. Look around, a lot of people think you are overreacting. > [@](#): > > If you’d like to continue the debate, feel free to IM me. No thanks, I’m happy to call it game, set and match right here. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/178 "2013-10-25T15:02:50Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > She used a meme that’s common throughout the fitness community for all sorts of similar images - people with missing limbs, elderly folks, mentally-disabled folks, etc. The backlash here is one of demographics. > > When most people encounter the meme, they’re not in the same group as the subject. We’re not as old, not missing any limbs, etc. I suspect [this image](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6cqnaIVP11rty8oho1_500.jpg) would go over just as poorly in the average retirement community, with similar rationalizations for why this person’s results aren’t typical. And truthfully, for most groups using the expression, expectations are much lower. > > Kang, a 30-something mother of three, is part of a larger demographic with higher expectations (from others and from themselves), so the picture hit close to home on a pretty common sore point. Overall, I’d say it’s a pretty small percentage of 30-something moms, but the internet makes small percentages much more vocal. Oh, I don’t disagree with your analysis. Other than my “who cares?” angle, I was commenting on how I don’t necessarily think Kang was purposefully trying to stir up controversy with the ad. It may very well have just been good intentioned in her mind and not completely thought-out. I understand where the outrage is coming from, but I personally think it’s dumb. If I’m interested in fitness and improving my body and body image, then that ad can be a little bit of inspiration to me. If I don’t care about looking or trying to look like Ms. Kang, I ignore it and move on with my life. That ad is not targeted to me, and it’s not a big “fuck you” to people with different priorities. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/179 "2013-10-25T15:03:54Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > I’m on a strict “when I feel like it” fitness plan, meaning my gym hours are very random. Every single time I go the trainers/gym owners are there working out. You’re probably not watching them all that closely, but I suspect they aren’t doing full workouts. A buddy of mine is a personal trainer and he fits a set in here and there between clients. The only planned, continuous exercise he gets is running in the mrning before his appointments start. The job _can_ be as advantageous as mentioned though. One gf of mine was an instructor at Ballys back in the 90s, and leading classes meant she was doing various aerobic regimens 4 45-minute hours a day; she was fit as hell. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010/180 "2013-10-25T15:37:31Z")
> [@Sleel](#): > > Just because her job is fitness-related doesn’t mean that it’s easy for her to keep fit. She owns and runs two elder care nursing homes. She has explained over and over again that to help keep fit, while at the park with her kids, she runs around playing with them instead of sitting on the bench playing with her iphone like the other moms. She does not watch tv and other time-wasting activities, which frees up time for her to exercise. If all the haters had spent every moment of time they spent watching tv, playing video games, posting 627,364 times on message boards, etc. running on the treadmill instead … how different would you look and feel right this minute? And if you can’t get on a treadmill, if you hand been doing upper body exercises or whatever you CAN do? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fit-mom-posts-facebook-pic-along-with-her-3-kids-asking-whats-your-excuse-firestorm-ensues/672010.md?page=10)