“I feel fantastic! I’ve lost 125 lbs. since early 2015. My energy and activity levels have soared. I love the huge variety of nutrient-dense foods I have the opportunity to eat. I’m truly thrilled to be alive!”
“Yikes! Who am I? And whose body is this? Loose, wrinkly skin! Veins for days! And where’s my ass?”
All of the above sentences or sentence fragments have been uttered by me, out loud at some point in 2021.
I have struggled a bit with reconciling the changes that have occurred over the past several years, even though those changes have been slowly metered out. That slowness of pace, it would seem, has afforded me ample opportunity to acknowledge the changes and fully own them.
Maybe I just forgot to really look at myself. Or maybe it takes time for those changes to accumulate to a degree that it makes a significant impression.
Whatever the case, after a big weight loss, it can be a struggle to align oneself with one’s new realities. (Of course that can be the case with any big changes, whether physical or emotional, direct or even indirect.)
Very specifically in my case, I wondered if a person (me) raised in a culture obsessed with youth, weight, and looks could learn to love a body that isn’t anywhere close to Insta-ready? An older body that advertisers push to cover, conceal, surgically repair, or otherwise alter?
Short answer: Sure. Mostly… And it’s a process. This has been mine.
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To continue reading in the original Medium publication Illumination, please click here. (The entire article will be available here at some point in the future, but I hope you’ll head over to Medium and take a look there. Thank you for your support!!)
The resources and information shared here, as well as the author’s own personal experiences, are for informational purposes, and aren’t intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any condition or disease or provide any professional advice. Discuss any changes in your activity and eating patterns with your primary care physician prior to pursuing.
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