An Open Letter To The Girls Who Like The Dad Bod

First of all allow me to clarify; I began the epidemic that has recently spread to an uncontrollable level. Back before spring break I coined the term “The dad bod is in" in my article "8 Reasons You Should Not Get In Shape For Spring Break," not thinking it would catch on and become a bigger mess than a freshman at their first swap. Regardless of recent trends though, I'd like to clear up all the misconceptions around that which is, the dad bod. When I uttered the words “The dad bod is in" I didn't mean that literally. My point was that with fewer than 2 weeks left until spring break (at the time), it would be impossible to achieve a physique worth showing off at the beach so you might as well show off what you got with confidence. This wasn't meant to be a lifestyle choice; because there is nothing attractive about being out of shape, whether you're a man or a woman.

Here's my question to all the women out there who claim to be fans of the dad bod: Why? I know someone, actually everyone, has already written about why, but we all know that's a bunch of trendy crap. Do y'all lack so much self confidence that you need to always look better than the guy you're with? It must be “like totally cool" when your dad, I mean boyfriend, becomes winded when walking up a flight of stairs. Why would you settle for a guy whose image and possibly attitude is subpar? At some point in time, you've probably told yourself you deserve better, so why settle? The cons to having a dad bod are numerous and it seems the only pros are the fact that women with no self confidence seem to love them, which will inevitably bring them to you like a swarm of fake blonde hair, spray tanned, killer bees.

Building a body which you can be proud of is something not everyone can do. If you doubt this, then look at the guy with the dad bod. “Yeah, I work out, but drink casually on the weekends." What is your definition of working out? Because working out requires challenge and brings change, which obviously the dad bod guy hasn't seen yet. If you're sitting there thinking, “Yeah but you have to watch what you eat and can't drink," then you'd be wrong. I watch what I eat to an extent, but I'm not going to cut pizza out of my diet because it's delicious at 2 AM after you've been drinking with your friends, which I do as well, and I don't have a dad bod.

The truth is you don't need to always look better than the guy you're with, because if you're truly with a man, not a boy, then he will be able to see your true beauty and you won't need to compete with him. Likewise, men also need to take the initiative and break this stupid trend of unhealthy idiots thinking it's cool to look like “a melted ice cream cone" (to quote Dom Mazetti). A healthy body isn't just good for you physically, but also mentally, because studies show that people who consistently workout and are in good health, are more positive, and more confident than people who don't workout.

Stop the madness, settling, and idiocy surrounding this craze, and treat your body with the respect it deserves.