Why Gaining Weight Is Okay (Battling ‘Healthy’ January)

Hi my darlings! This post is one that I’ve been wondering how to implement on to my blog for months and months, this topic is something that’s very close to my heart and just know that me sharing this has taken a whole lot of confidence. Ever since the start of the new year basically all I’ve seen online is people going on about how they feel they need to get healthier and need to lose weight. The idea of a ‘healthy body’ exclusively means a stick thin body with perfect abs and bones sticking out, when it’s definitely, definitely not.

I’ve been there, I’ve had a stick thin body with all my bones sticking out, and was I healthy? Absolutely not. In fact, I was probably as far removed from healthy as I could possibly have been. People who have been through troublesome times with body image, eating or weight management can really be affected by these messages that are posted all throughout January. Yes, if you really over-indulged over Christmas and your body feels just bleh, then sure, go ahead, work off a bit of weight, but if you don’t want to, or can’t find time to, don’t pressure yourself. After all, the weight is on your body and no one else’s, so it’s not their place to pressure you to lose it.

Weight gain isn’t a mistake that needs to be instantly erased. 

Weight gain is completely normal and isn’t something to immediately define as negative. Weight gain can be a positive thing, especially if it makes you healthier or feel more confident. Weight gain can create a curvier figure, make clothes look better, make you look healthier and so, so much more. It isn’t automatically negative, it’s all a matter of how you look at it.

Another part of this problem is how we use the word ‘fat’. Fat is a part of the body, just like eye colour. We would never say ‘I am blue eyes’, it just wouldn’t make sense, so why would we say ‘I am fat’? By using it as a self description we are letting it define us, and it’s usually used in  a negative way. ‘I’m fat’ is often synonymous with ‘I’m ugly’ or ‘I’m horrible’, when it shouldn’t be. You have fat, you can’t be fat. By looking at it simply as another part of your body, it’s a lot easier to accept. Everyone has it, it’s an essential part of our human bodies, but why should that mean we let it define us?

Gaining weight has become accepted as a wholly negative concept and it’s really taken a toll on lots of people’s mental health across our generation, especially those exposed to messages such as ‘healthy January’ across social media. It’s hard not to be influenced by what we see online, but by taking a step back and reevaluating what they’re really dissing, which is gaining weight and having fat on our bodies, which are both natural things, it’s a lot easier to combat.

If going to the gym every day, having a vegan diet or watching what you eat is what makes you happy, and keeps you healthy, then do it. At the end of the day it’s what works for you and your body. But if forcing yourself to work out and limit or control what you’re eating has an overall miserable effect on you, your mental health or the healthiness of your body, then don’t let social media’s pressures get you down.

You are beautiful whatever size you are.

Instead of making a resolution to lose weight, workout excessively or transform your body, instead aim to learn to love yourself and accept the skin you’re in. So what, if you’ve gained a bit of weight? Wasting your life away using unhealthy and dangerous tactics to lose it isn’t worth it, trust me. A quote I like to think of is, ‘don’t spend 95% of your time being unhappy, just to weight 5% less’. It isn’t worth it; I promise you’ll lead a much brighter life if you work to love yourself.

I know this post is a little bit different to what I usually post but I really hope you like it. This post was very hard to write, but I hope that by me being very candid and open, it will show you a more natural and authentic side to me which you may not see in other posts. I may address this kind of topic again on my blog in the future as weight gain and self worth really are some of the biggest problems of the modern world, please let me know in the comments if you would be interested in more of these open, inspiring and chatty posts.

I wouldn’t usually have posted the photos which are included in this post as I don’t particularly like what I look like, but sticking to the spirit of this post I thought I’d post them.

I love you all and I wish each and every one of you could see how beautiful you truly are.

Love Chloe x