THE GREAT WEIGHT DEBATE

Talking about weight is always such a difficult subject. Yet every January, with depressing regularity, it comes up. Diets, fitness plans, gym membership renewal, outdoor swimming – they all fill our social media feeds and, naturally, our traditional media. In today’s issue alone, you’ll see recipes for Dr Michael Mosley’s Fast 800 Keto plan, a writer talking about her horror when she developed a ‘meno belly’ and another writer’s experience with weight training. Women’s relationships with their bodies always fascinates me. I don’t think I know a single woman who is totally happy with her body, yet I know dozens of men who never give theirs a second thought. I met an old friend of mine at a funeral over the Christmas who I hadn’t seen for a few years. She gets invited to the regular meet-ups I have with my old school friends but she’s never able to make it. A few of us were catching up – and bemoaning the fact we only ever seem to meet at funerals now – when she said to another friend that the reason she doesn’t come to the days out is because she’s put on so much weight in the past few years and doesn’t want the rest of us to see that. I was horrified. I was also greatly saddened that she thinks we pay any attention to each other’s bodies – all we care about is catching up on the latest gossip and laughing at old stories of the things we used to get up to. An old work colleague of mine also told me recently how she cancelled a holiday a month before she was due to go last summer because the thought of wearing a bikini was really getting her down. I’d like to say that I told them both they were being ridiculous, but while I’ve never got to the point of hiding away, I totally understand their preoccupation with how they look. I tell myself constantly that I would give anything to be thinner but that’s not strictly true because if I changed my lifestyle then I could and would be. But I don’t want to change my lifestyle. I want to eat out regularly, I want to drink pints of cider, I want to tuck into chocolates while watching the TV at night. To counteract this, I run, but not regularly. I go to the gym, but even less regularly. I get notions of healthy eating and stock up on brown rice and salads every few weeks but then treat myself with a takeaway. Unsurprisingly, I haven’t managed to be ‘skinny’ for almost two decades – and that was at one of the lowest points of my life. I’m happy now. So isn’t that enough? Obviously not, because it still preoccupies me. This is not a nice or easy thing to admit. I’m a hugely body positive person and try to encourage others to be the same. But it sounds hollow because I know I feel the same myself. I wish I could tell you all to love yourselves no matter what, that once you’re happy, nothing else matters. But that’s still a work in progress for me, so I understand if it is for you too.

Enjoy the issue.