I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the rise in dietary supplements, weight-loss drugs, and the overwhelming desire many women seem to have to become physically smaller. It takes me back to the early 2000’s when “thin is in” was rammed down our throats. I was a teenager then and wanted so badly to be skinny. I wasn’t overweight by any means, but skinny still felt like some distant dream I could never quite reach.
I remember a close friend once telling me, “You’re never going to be a size 3.” At first, it stung. But after wrestling with it for a while, I came to terms with reality. My body structure needed more weight. That was okay then, and it’s still okay now.
Fast forward to today. I’m approaching 40 and culture is once again pushing skinny into our faces. Selling a dream on the metaphorical shelves of Instagram.
“For only $149 a month, you too can be skinny by summer.”
And listen, I understand the allure. We all want relief. We all want confidence. We all want to feel comfortable in our own skin. Somewhere along the way, many people began believing that smaller automatically means happier. As if losing enough pounds will somehow erase insecurity, loneliness, disappointment, grief, or self-doubt.
If you’re skinny enough, all your problems fade away…right?
Wouldn’t it be nice if we had an Ozempic for self-doubt?
Or a Tirzepatide for perfectionism?
What about any kind of medication for the constant pressure to be everything to everyone?
Would you be interested in an injection for negative thoughts? Or an appetite suppressant for comparison?
It would be refreshing if as a society we focused just as much energy on unloading the emotional weight we carry as we do the physical weight?
As I get older I desire more to rid myself of other people’s opinions and the weight of shame.
I want to shed the weight of trying to earn worthiness.
What would we all look like if we dropped the weight of thinking we are only lovable when we become “less?”
And before anyone misunderstands me, let me be clear: I do believe these medications have genuinely changed some people’s lives. Some people truly need to lose physical weight for health reasons, mobility, longevity, or quality of life. There is no shame in that.
But I also think there are many people walking around emotionally exhausted, spiritually depleted, and mentally burdened while chasing a smaller body thinking it will finally make them feel whole.
Sometimes the greatest transformation has nothing to do with the scale. Sometimes the weight you need to lose is the belief that you were never enough to begin with.
Body
No more movement rooted in punishment.
Your body is a home. We don't need to apologize for it, we need to appraciate and value it. This week, instead of asking yourself, “How do I make myself smaller?” ask:
“How can I become stronger?”
“How can I support my body?”
“How can I move because I’m grateful for this body, not ashamed of it?”
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