Fitness blogger shares defiant reaction to being fat-shamed at the gym

“Everyone is at the gym to better themselves and become healthier so PLEASE refrain from going up to someone and belittling them”, says Kim

Feeling strong. But only when it comes to basic financial affairs. (Getty istock)

Julie Ana Kim, a fitness blogger from LA, was met with an unexpected reaction when working out at the gym on Monday.

In an Instagram post shared on Refinery29, Kim details the incident during which a stranger at the gym felt it was appropriate to congratulate her for being there.

The unidentified man said he was “proud” to see Kim at the gym, before continuing to say that Kim was brave to be her size and still come there, motioning her size to her whilst saying he could not imagine coming to the gym were he that size.

“It doesn’t help that this week, I’ve been super bloated and feeling bigger than usual and down on myself, and then this man just makes me feel like absolute shit”, says Kim.

After the encounter, Kim posted an old photograph of herself. On her Instagram, Kim often shares pictures of her routines as well as before-and-after shots to show how her body has changed.

Kim said that she wished she could have reacted impolitely but “instead I just smiled in shock until he left and cried in the bathroom”.

“I was hurt embarrassed and mortified. If he said this to me at the beginning of my journey, I would never come back to the gym”, says Kim.

“Everyone is at the gym to better themselves and become healthier so PLEASE refrain from going up to someone and belittling them. I honestly don't think his words came from a good place, I can't explain the way he said it to me. How do you practically call someone fat to their face and think that it's encouraging?” she added.

However, reassuringly Kim remains undeterred and will continue to promote body-positivity through her Instagram.

"I've learned to love going to the gym and it's my happy place and it will continue to be. F*** WHAT ANYONE ELSE THINKS OF ME. I know why I'm there and I know how much progress I've made."