She Strengthens

Embracing Body Positivity in the Midst of a Pandemic

As I stood at the threshold of my college graduation in March 2020, I thought I was about to embark on a journey of excitement and optimism. But then, COVID-19 swept in, turning my world upside down. With it came unprecedented health and economic crises, and my daily routines quickly disappeared. My body reacted, too – my clothes no longer fit, and the scale showed numbers I’d never seen before. Every glance in the mirror left me bewildered by my stomach’s refusal to lay flat.

The Weight of Societal Pressure

Being a “healthy” size had always felt urgent, but it wasn’t a goal I built my life around. That was until I started hearing phrases like “Quarantine 15.” At first, it was harmless, but as the months dragged on, online diet messaging fell back on coded language: how to de-bloat, detox, fight inflammation, intermittent fast, or get in shape. With it came the familiar sense of shame.

Separating Worth from Weight

According to Anna Sweeney, a Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian and Supervisor, “Wellness culture, diet culture, went at the heart of human concerns saying that the worst thing that can happen to you over the course of this pandemic is that your body changes.” But what if we could use this quarantine experience to sit with our thoughts and learn to love our bodies?

Debunking Diet Myths

There are some essential facts to consider before drawing conclusions about weight loss:

1. Losing weight and getting healthy aren’t interchangeable: Pursuing weight loss as a primary health goal isn’t the best way forward. Experts say that a 5 to 20-pound weight gain could still leave you within your body’s natural weight range.
2. Increased weight shouldn’t always be associated with poor health: Recent research suggests that obesity alone does not increase the risk of death. In fact, being at a higher weight is associated with a higher survival rate in some cases.
3. Nutrition and exercise aren’t the only factors to weight management: Genetics, age, sex, socioeconomic status, access to healthcare, and education all play a role in weight management.

Breaking Free from Diet Cycles

Getting off the diet cycle could actually be the healthier option. Research shows that the body responds to weight loss with physiological changes that promote weight gain, including increasing hunger hormones and decreasing satiety hormones. This cycle of losing and gaining weight repeatedly increases the risk of many diseases associated with obesity.

Learning to Love Yourself

If you’ve ever looked in the mirror and felt a pang of discomfort and self-hate, it’s time to ditch the diet and embrace the shift. Here’s how to start the work of loving yourself based on values and not numbers:

1. Grieve the body you’ve idealized: Acknowledge the fears you’ve developed about your body and mourn the loss of the body you’ve dreamed of having.
2. Reframe your thinking: Practice the “check, challenge, change” strategy to address negative thoughts and reframe them in a more positive light.
3. Practice body gratitude and mindfulness: Focus on what your body can do, rather than what it looks like. Write down three things your body did for you each day.
4. Wear comfortable clothes: Stick to clothes that don’t require constant adjusting, reducing brain space and distractions.
5. Set conversational boundaries: Remove yourself from conversations about dieting, weight loss, or body image, and supplement your social media feed with diverse and body-neutral content.
6. Seek help: Speak with a therapist and a dietician informed by Health at Every Size to repair your relationship with food and your body.

Remember, Bad Body Image Days Will Come and Go

No matter the amount of inner work you do, negative thoughts will show up every now and then. But that’s not what body acceptance is about. It’s about freeing up time, energy, and a whole world of possibility. Then, we get to “focus on who we want to be, instead of what we want to look like.”