I commute to work on the I-15 highway for several miles. Today, I saw a billboard advertisement for $250 a month Semaglutide weight loss shots, another billboard for the “skinny shot” (assuming another Wegovy/Semaglutide advertisement), another billboard for Cool Sculpting, and another billboard for transforming the “dad bod” with a 10-foot photo of a “real client.”
In one of my therapy sessions, my client led the session saying, “Anna, look at the number of weight loss ads I got on my social media feed, in just one session of scrolling!” She proceeded to show me screen shots of over half a dozen weight loss ads from her IG feed.
The world has not gotten any less pervasive in its dissemination of weight loss advertisements and products, continually prompting us to be dissatisfied with our bodies and believe that weighing less, being less, is the solution.
Last week in my Eating Recovery group, group members talked about the difficulty of finding body acceptance. They shared how trite it feels to be grateful or difficult it feels to be neutral about their bodies in a world that denies body neutrality as an option.
Besides fighting the tides propelling body change, body acceptance can also come with some costs. For example, it can be lonely as you no longer participate in body-hate-bonding or diet-talk. You may feel disconnected from valued social communities that bonded over weight loss pursuits and activities. You may not know what to do with all your emotional and physical freedom once you liberate yourself from the exhausting pursuits that weight loss constantly requires. I have heard many times, “But what goals will I have, if I’m not always trying to lose weight?”
For all these reasons and more, I always talk about how body acceptance is a radical act. You are betraying societal norms when you reject the societal formula to chronically pursue body change. If you want to join a community of fellow body-acceptance-travelers as you forge this brave path, consider joining the next round of my 12-week Body Acceptance Group starting this fall! In this space, we will help support your personal efforts to become more liberated, empowered, and embodied.