Your Body is Wise. Here’s a Powerful Example to Prove It.

Our culture does not respect the wisdom of our bodies. No clearer is this demonstrated than in the war on weight gain. 

If we were to take just a minute to contemplate the magnitude of complex functions our body performs on a daily basis with zero input from us (think digestion, healing wounds etc.) we’d be astounded. We’d have so much more respect for our bodies and how smart they are.

We might just believe that our bodies actually know what they are doing!

But when it comes to body size we think “nope, it got that wrong!” Our bodies are supposed to be smaller than they are. Look different. Stay the same size forever. 

Our culture even decided that actually, we know better than the body, and it devised and adopted the BMI. Suggesting that all bodies are supposed to fit into “correct” weight categories and if they don’t, the body got it wrong! 

But our bodies know what they are doing. They are intelligent and wise and their first priority is our physical survival. And you know what aids in protecting our survival the best? Fat. 

An Instagram follower shared her personal story with me in the hopes that it might help others to hear it (and I believe it will). So I’m sharing it with you here:

I think I self-coached myself into body acceptance several years ago, after rapidly gaining weight and not having any real explanation for the changes my body was going through. Gaining 20 pounds in three weeks, then a plateau of a few months, then another 20 pounds in three weeks.

This was years after I had two kids and maintained my “regular” weight postpartum, without any dieting or restriction. It was a shock, so of course I went to the doctor. I quickly learned that losing 20 pounds in three weeks is something alarming, but gaining that much in a short period of time must be “my fault.” 

I went on three supervised diets over the course of three years, and unlike most people, only lost a handful of pounds over several months (while constantly being starved and often being second-guessed, with others assuming I was “cheating.”) 

I started gaining weight again, WHILE on a restricted diet, so I just decided that it was what my body wanted to do. I stopped fighting. I spent more time listening to my body and made my own choices. And my weight stopped fluctuating.

I (mysteriously) lost 20 pounds while on bed rest for a spinal issue and regained that weight two years later…in the course of three  weeks. And by this time I knew that nobody would believe me, so I didn’t even ask my doctor what was happening. Nobody really knew. 

Fast forward another few years. In March I had emergency open heart surgery because of an aortic aneurysm. For me it was found to be a hereditary condition, and can often be anticipated in men (because they have specific symptoms like unexplained swelling of hands and feet). Apparently it’s not as obvious for women, and of course women haven’t been studied as thoroughly. 

One of my (female) nurses told me that main symptoms for women include…weight gain/water weight gain. It can be a mechanism that the heart uses to protect itself. 

So now things perhaps make more sense: my body was behaving the way it needed to, both as a reflection of genetics and as a means of protection. If that isn’t a strong message for me to honor my body, I don’t know what is! 

I survived something that was really harrowing, and the doctors are so pleased with my strength and resiliency.

Yes, I still hear unsolicited comments about my body. I hate it but try to remember that it’s not about me. I have a friend who keeps saying that she’s in awe of me and what I’ve been able to do - I think that’s the right attitude!

Did reading this make you go “wow!”? It did for me.

This story is such a clear example of how our bodies are wise and know what they are doing. 

What also stood out to me was how easily the weight gain was dismissed as simply being her “fault”. No further investigation was made, but rather to put her on a very restrictive diet, then continue to blame her when nothing changed.

This is what happens when we have a black and white mentality around body size (“thin good, fat bad”). When we don’t respect and trust our bodies. When we believe we are the ones in control of our bodies. 

Perhaps, the body knows more than we do and our job is to listen to it. To take cues from it. To live in harmony with it versus trying to dominate and control it to meet our egotistical ideas of what is an “acceptable” or “right” body size is. 

I love that the woman who shared this story was able to draw the conclusion through her own experience that indeed, she can trust her body’s wisdom and live in harmony with it. 

Living in harmony with our body is available for all of us. It’s actually our natural way of being. 

Letting go of controlling your body size can be tough, but it’s worth the freedom and harmony that comes with accepting your body. I help people transition through this uncomfortable stage, feeling seen and empowered in the process. Learn more about my one-on-one coaching here.