Controversial “Fit Mom” Maria Kang has launched a new weight loss website aimed at the very working mothers who have accused her of “fat shaming”.
Kang announced her new venture – NoExcuseMom.com – with a provocative image of herself on her Facebook page.
The strategically lit and heavily retouched image uses arrows to tag phrases like “Works 8hr+ days”, “limited sleep”, “gave birth to sons” and “no nanny or chef” – evidently things Kang thinks other mothers use as excuses not to look as good as she does.
Many of Kang’s detractors have commented on the image, calling her a fat-shamer who sends the message that if mothers aren’t sporting a similarly ripped physique to hers, they are failing their children by okaying obesity.
“What’s my excuse?” Christeen Leigh wrote. “I have five kids and I don’t have access to Photoshop!”
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“I can still be healthy without being as fit as you are,” Taylor Oliver added. “And since women are constantly held to impossible standards in regards to their bodies, I just wish that your message was less accusatory and more celebratory to women.”
But Fit Mom does have a lot of inspired supporters too. Many of the comments are defending the fitness freak for her dedication to looking good.
“You women absolutely love to tear apart a woman who takes care of herself,” one fan wrote. “Here’s a thought – try actually exercising something other than your tired excuses and get moving!”
“I have NO sympathy for the haters,” Suresh Singaratnam added. “She’s posting this on HER page for people who signed up to see her posts on their timeline. She isn’t ‘fat-shaming’ anyone. She’s sending out motivation to a targeted audience.”
So far the image has had around 2,200 shares with close to 280,000 people liking her page.
The 33-year-old created a firestorm of attention in September 2013 when she posted a picture on her Facebook page showing off her toned abs with her three boys – aged three, two and eight months at the time – captioned: “What’s Your Excuse?”
When the internet erupted with chatter about the image Kang was polarising in her reaction.
“You can tell if someone is obese and that’s the word I am using here,” she said in an interview with ABC News last year. “Your body is not meant to carry this much weight. You can tell when they expose all their goodies to you they are not healthy. And can I just say I am tired of everyone posing in their lingerie?”
