Our Bodies Are Meant to Change.

It's a fact of life: bodies change, but that's not something consumer culture wants to normalize. Instead, it wants to sell us stuff to prevent that. I am not against these products per se. I have used anti-aging face cream for a long, long time. But what if we started normalizing body change? What if we destigmatized it? What if we tried to start accepting, and maybe even loving these ever changing shells that hold our souls?

Diet culture is a big bucks industry. In 2021, diet culture raked in over $60 billion dollars (Streatfeild et. al). Diets are ten percent (or less!) effect at changing bodies permanently, though (Alexander, 2020). Statistically, we're almost batting zero when we try to fight out body change. So what if we accepted it? As Jennifer Rollin (2017) writes, "Our bodies are not 'slabs of marble' and they are meant to change as we age. Thus, putting our self-worth into our body and appearance is a recipe for life-long discontent." And who wants that? 

If we changed our tact, we might work at feeling at home in our body. To do that, we will first have to disconnect our worth and identity from our body's shape and size (Mitchell, 2017a). Yes, our body is our home, but it isn't us. Feeling at home in our bodies means owning them, embodying them (Mitchell, 2017b), being grateful for them, and buying clothes for them in appropriate sizes (Nohling, 2018), even if that means sizing up (Rebolini, 2016). It's about more than feeling at home, though, it's about being at home.

Being at home in our bodies means building a holistically meaningful life. It's about "identifying your values and being able to align your behaviors and thoughts with your values" (Nohling, 2018b). It's about connecting with others (Nohling, 2017). It's about "getting wiser and more confident," and our bodies showing the age associated with that (Hartley, 2018). It's about accepting that there is nothing wrong with aging.

My body is not what it used to be. I am over thirty, not recovering as fast as I used to, and noticing a few wrinkles and age spots start to pop up, even in spite of that face cream I use. But you know what? The older I get, the more I want to accept this body in all of its changes. This body is mine. It is changing with me. It is changing for me, allowing me to live this one great, incredible life, and I am grateful to God for that!

References:

Alexander, H. (2020, June). Does your body have a set point weight and can you change it? MD Anderson Cancer Center. https://www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/what-is-your-body-s-set-point-weight-and-can-you-change-it-.h15-1593780.html

Hartley, R. (2018). Body image through stages of life. Rachael Hartley Nutrition. https://www.rachaelhartleynutrition.com/blog/body-image-through-stages-of-life

Mitchell, K. (2017a, October 13). Feeling at home in your body (<--I Adore This Phrase)  ImmaEatThat. https://immaeatthat.com/2017/10/13/feeling-at-home-in-your-body/

Mitchell, K. (2017b, October 17). Specific ideas for how to feel at home in your body. ImmaEatThat. http://immaeatthat.com/2017/10/17/specific-ideas-for-how-to-feel-at-home-in-your-body/

Nohling, R. (2017, December 7). I can't love my body at this weight. The Real-Life RD. https://www.thereallife-rd.com/2017/12/positive-body-image/

Nohling, R. (2018a, January 11). How to appreciate and care for your changing body. The Real-Life RD. https://www.thereallife-rd.com/2018/01/dealign-with-a-body-changes/

Nohling, R. (2018b, January 23). How to overcome fears around your body changing. The Real-Life RD. https://www.thereallife-rd.com/2018/01/fears-around-your-body-changing/

Rebolini, A. (2016, July 21). Getting rid of clothes I hated helped me love my body. Buzz Feed. https://www.buzzfeed.com/ariannarebolini/instead-of-losing-weight-i-just-lost-the-clothes-7vd?

Rollin, J. (2017, July 5). What going up in clothing size really means. Huff Post. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-going-up-in-clothing-size-really-means_b_595cdbf9e4b0326c0a8d13dc

Streatfeild, J., Hickson, J., Austin, S. B., Hutcheson, R., Kandel, J. S., Lampert, J. G., Myers, E. M., Richmond, T. K., Samnaliev, M., Velasquez, K., Weissman, R. S., & Pezzullo, L. (2021). Social and economic cost of eating disorders in the United States: Evidence to inform policy action. The International journal of eating disorders, 54(5), 851–868. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23486