Welcome to How to Love Your Body - on today’s episode we are going to be talking about WEIGHT. Yes, a topic that brings up a lot of controversy due to so many intertwined beliefs that have been created from diet culture, self worth, value etc… 

We get why this would be such a tender topic and we also want to address it head on as we had a lot of drama this past week after posting a couple different posts on Instagram on @thebodylovesociety   

We are going to go through 2 common misconceptions around weight and also share how to shift your mindset in order to see weight in a different way and have it all - wellness and freedom. 

Common misconception #1 - Losing weight is an accomplishment 

The reason losing weight, fitting into your “goal weight” pants, and posting a before and after picture on social media are not accomplishments is because it still puts ALL the focus on your body - all the focus on weight loss, all the value as a person into the size of your body. It still focuses on thinner is “better.” 

This could come off as harsh to some but we really advocate to stop making weight loss an “accomplishment” or “compliment” - weight loss is not a good or bad thing - but what is toxic about it is when humans feel the pressure to constantly change their bodies to fit society standards and to feel worthy. You already are worthy no matter what body you live in! No one is better than another due to a body size. 

It’s important to stop making weight loss something to accomplish and instead celebrate all bodies at any size.

Weight not being an accomplishment doesn’t mean you can’t do all the things you want to do to feel good in your body like - move in ways you enjoy, eat in ways that feel good without restriction - you can still honor your wellness without it being about weight loss - (and yes you could lose weight / or not and that does not matter your body is going to do what it’s going to do) - the focus is how you feel in your body - that can be an accomplishment. The feeling, the positive health behaviors that feel good not forceful, NOT the number on the scale or the size on your pants. 

Striving for a certain number on the scale with strong attachment to the number (and obsessive behaviors that go along with it) is mostly likely a number / size that isn’t sustainable - this means you may work really hard and feel “accomplished” because you lost some weight - and everyone is noticing, complementing, and congratulating you - yes, that may feel great - super validating - why wouldn’t it!? - BUUUT - what if you gain the weight back? What happens to the accomplishment? Compliments? And congratulations? They go away! An accomplishment is not something that can be taken away from you - like graduating from a school, course, or program. - Once you graduate you can't undergraduate - no one is going to say congrats and then take it away in the future - weight loss is conditional to get a congrats - it’s ONLY if the number on the scale goes down and ONLY if you look thinner - if that changes - people get silent. 

What’s the shift: Un-attach yourself from a certain size / number on the scale - What would you like to accomplish without it being about or number or size? What makes you feel good? We aren’t trying to take a sense of accomplishment away from you - we want you to feel accomplished in ways that serve you - such as:

“I feel so accomplished that I’m not dieting anymore and I’m eating intuitively.”

“ I feel so accomplished that I made it to the top of the mountain, it felt so enjoyable to hike with my friend and move my body!”

“I feel so accomplished that I added some veggies into my week with a new recipe I enjoyed.” 

“I feel so accomplished that I ate a delicious scone with my coffee for breakfast and for lunch I naturally craved and wanted a delicious chicken salad with all the things on it.” 

See how this doesn’t have to be about weight AND it can still be about wellness and feeling good - while still enjoyin