A lot of us have gained weight since the beginning of this pandemic. I read an article from a journal who had polled their readers and discovered that just over half had gained weight. None of us are alone here.
So, what do we do about it? I know it’s tempting to go on a crash diet - things seem super heightened and scaremongering around weight gain right now - but it’s not the answer. Think about it: has a diet ever *really* (long term) worked for you?
Here are a few things you could try instead:
🖤 This is where you are right now. This is your reality, and you have two choices: to fight your reality, or accept it and move on. Fighting with your reality is futile and will cause you unnecessary pain. It’s perfectly ok to be where you are right now.
🖤 Bodies change and our weight fluctuates. Especially in the face of altered circumstances, which has been the case during this past year when our lives have been turned upside down.
🖤 Allow yourself to grieve for that smaller body. It’s ok to miss it – it doesn’t make you a bad person! It’s totally normal, given the world in which we live.
🖤 Turn your thoughts to neutral or, if possible, positive thoughts about your body. E.g. ‘my body might not look how it did a year ago, but I’ve managed to survive this pandemic’.
🖤 Don’t beat yourself up! Shame is NOT an effective motivator, it only serves to cause harm and rarely works to change behaviour. Show yourself compassion; you deserve nothing less.
🖤 Resist the urge to go on a diet. I know it’s a huge temptation, especially with the strong diet culture message we’re battling right now, but we know that’s not the answer. We know that diets don’t work.