Why Weight is Not Worth the Worry

The messages are everywhere—plastered all over the world like a gaudy array of cheap rhinestones. 

Be thin. No excuses.

And if by some fortuitous circumstance, you happen to be happy with your body…

Don’t you dare gain weight.

We like to blame Hollywood and the fashion/beauty industry for these messages, but the truth is they come blaring at us from all types of media, public service announcements, the fitness industry, and even from the medical world.

It is not okay to be heavy.

And then we perpetuate these terrible ideas in our own mind.

I will be happier when I’m thinner.  I will be more attractive if I’m thinner. I’ll be a better friend, wife, mother, sister, and daughter if I’m thinner. I’ll like myself more when I’m thinner. I’m not taking care of myself if I’m not thin. When I’m thinner, I won’t feel guilty about being heavy.

Well don’t you dare listen.  Those are LIES!

At times I've believed and felt all of those terrible ideas--especially the guilt. That guilt intensified when I recently worked hard to lose 18 pounds and then gained 10 back.  I felt so guilty that any time I thought about my weight, I threw up—not because I wanted to—that’s just how awful my anxiety about it was. Last week my doctor prescribed a new medication to treat my bipolar and told me to be very careful because it's likely to cause weight gain.  And honestly, I cried.

In my desperation for peace, I’m gratefully learning the TRUE messages—the ones that should be scattered across the world like precious jewels—the messages that remind me that weight is not worth the worry. 

Your body enables your spirit to feel and experience the world in a way it couldn’t alone—and you don’t have to be thin to do that.

You are blessed to have a body.  I love this children’s song that talks about looking at the blue, blue sky…feeling the rain on your face, or the wind as it rushes by…touching a velvet rose…seeing butterfly wings…and hearing the magical sound of things. You do not have to be thin to do any of those things.  Being thin will not increase your ability to enjoy the beauty of the world. It will not make gorgeous sunsets more mesmerizing.  It will not make your favorite song sound even more amazing.  It will not make freshly cut grass smell even sweeter, nor will it make the taste of cool water even more satisfying--but being grateful for your body (thin or thick) WILL.  As author Melody Beattie wrote, “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.”

Your body is meant for so many more things than to be attractive.  So many more things.

Let’s be honest here.  The main reason people want to be thin is to be attractive, sexy, hot, or whatever you want to call it.  We want to be admired by others.  Now think about the people you admire most.  Is it because they are thin?  No.  So why would we want that for ourselves? 

Most of those in my list of favorite people are not thin.  I admire them because they use their bodies to serve and cheer others up.  They use their bodies to make others feel loved and admired.  They use their bodies to develop and share their talents and to accomplish their personal goals.  Those are the people I admire. But in making people happy, they don’t neglect themselves.  They wear nice clothes that fit, they have great hair, nails, and makeup.  They simply follow the advice of one good mother to her daughter, “Do everything you can to make your appearance pleasing, but the minute you walk out the door, forget yourself and start concentrating on others.” (Read more beautiful words about the body here.)

Someday your body will be perfect.

When you listen to all of those stupid cheap lies about being thin, you start to think being heavy is a choice—the result of laziness.  The truth is that it usually is NOT a choice.  Some bodies are just not designed to be thin. Some bodies deal with medical conditions that make working out nearly impossible.  Some bodies deal with weight that naturally accompanies certain medical conditions, and some bodies need medications that can cause weight gain.

But one day those bodies will be perfect—“breathtakingly perfect in both body and mind”.  
(See more here and verse 44 here.)

In the meantime, in reminding myself that weight is not worth the worry, I’ve made the following my motto:

Eat well. Exercise. Accept.