Feeling Ashamed of Those Extra Pounds?
With the explosion of lockdown-friendly home exercise programs and advice, it may seem as if it’s never been easier to work out at home. But the reality is, it’s probably never been harder. For every person posting a sweaty “crushed it” selfie on Instagram, there’s another one (or four) just trying to endure pandemic-induced stress. Add in constant access to the refrigerator and a pantry overstocked with panic buys, and the guilt about what we’ve eaten — or the exercise we haven’t done — piles on faster than you can say “Quarantine 15.”
“So you’ve gained weight,” said Elyse Resch, a nutrition therapist. “So what? You’re alive. We’re doing the best we can with the resources we have.” (Not to mention many others straining under severe challenges, like significant health concerns and financial worries.) You, too, can shrug off minor or moderate weight gain or the loss of your pre-pandemic fitness level. Read on.
Above all, have compassion. “I don’t think most people change their minds by being yelled at or punched in the face, but that’s how we talk to ourselves,” said Phoenix Jackson, a clinical psychologist who specializes in trauma. When Ms. Jackson is having trouble speaking to herself as kindly as she might a beloved friend, she likes to find a photo of herself as a child and think of how gently she’d like that person to be spoken to.
Excerpted from The New York Times
