Leaning into Body Change in a Post-Pandemic World

This post first appeared on the blog The Canadianna, January 2021

Adaptation, pivot, change, words that have been frequently used (perhaps a little too frequently – “pivot” anyone?) throughout the pandemic, and with good reason – the pandemic has shaken up our normal routines and ways of living. For some this has been a welcome change of pace, for others it’s been anything but enjoyable. For most, there’s been some degree of anxiety.

Change can be uncomfortable, especially when we are used to having control over our daily lives. The pandemic reminds us that change happens, and life is always in flux. The more we resist change that is out of our control, the more suffering we experience, and if there’s one area where there is strong resistance, it’s with our bodies.

If you’ve been scrolling through social media during this pandemic, you will no doubt have come across memes jokingly warning us to fear gaining the “quarantine 15”, or offering tips to “flatten YOUR curve”. During a time when people cannot maintain their normal gym routines and are at home surrounded by food, the likelihood of people’s bodies changing are high. But if it wasn’t for our culture’s intense fear of and prejudice against fat, would there be any problem if we gained some weight?

Many people would answer “yes”, because we need to look out for our health. Yet research fails to prove that fat in and of itself causes the illnesses typically associated with body size, (you can read more about this in Christy Harrison’s illuminating book Anti-Diet). If we’re honest, the “quarantine 15” memes aren’t really about health anyways, they’re about our culture equating negative characteristics with bigger body sizes.

Our cultural fear of fat does us all a disservice. At its worst, it causes us harm. We have been undergoing an immense amount of change and stress, from things like loss of income, loss of support, not being able to be with loved ones during important life events, then on top of this all, we’re supposed to fear weight gain too?

Here’s the truth – throughout the course of our lifetime, our bodies are supposed to change. We’re not supposed to look the same when we were 20 years old, or after we’ve had a baby, or after going through menopause, or after an accident, surgery, or while living with a chronic illness. And we’re not necessarily going to look the same while going through a pandemic!

Life changes, and so do our bodies, but we don’t afford ourselves this understanding and grace. Our culture’s obsession with thinness and appearance has caused us to disconnect from our bodies. It’s caused us to focus on controlling our bodies instead of trusting its inherent wisdom and intelligence. It’s caused us to be hard on ourselves and feel shame about our bodies when it does its very natural and normal thing – change.

This pandemic has given us an opportunity to reevaluate our lives. So, what if we used this time to examine our relationship to our bodies too? What if instead of racing to get our pre-pandemic bodies back once the gyms open again, we decided to give ourselves and our bodies a break, and show them a little kindness?

If the only thing that’s constant is change, then this applies to our bodies too. We can choose to resist this change, or we can move with the flow of life and learn to accept our bodies at every stage. 

If you are ready to end the constant pursuit of thinness and focus on embracing and accepting your body instead, my 8-week one-on-one coaching program can help. Click here for more information.

Photo by Tim Samuel from Pexels