i agree that covers like this, esp as a gen x-er, are encouraging. but i also wonder whether they represent what is happening in real life.
perhaps because i've been allowing myself to go down the perimenopause online rabbit hole, i have been in somewhat of a negative spiral about the new "expectations" of middle aged women to not gain a single pound. apparently it is a HUGE trend (?) amongst fit and non-overweight middle aged ladies to microdose GLP-1s out of frustration with 10-20 lb weight gain. i TOTALLY understand the frustration with weight gain despite continued exercise and good nutrition, but a big part of me is just like... SIGH, how will this make me feel about myself?
truthfully, i am vain enough to resent how i look next to others as a graying, non-botoxed, mid-sized 40-something year old (but also not vain enough to do any of those things).
It's probably worth considering if this "huge trend" is happening in real life either, though. Are you feeling that the people you know personally are pressuring you to not gain weight in perimenopause? Are the women you know IRL all microdosing GLP-1s? If you didn't have access to the internet, would you know about this at all?
Maybe you are feeling that direct pressure and are friends with a bunch of women doing this around you, and that would be incredibly hard! But if it's kind of just an internet thing at this point, realizing that can help stop the spiral a little.
come stand next to me, I am au natural too, and I think I look great though when I'm around all the botoxed, filled, dip-dyed ladies I hate knowing how much they hate and fear my aging face
When I saw this cover, my first thought was she looks beautiful! I didn’t realize it was Lizzo. I didn’t notice that she didn’t have a flat stomach or that she had thighs heavier than some would approve. She just looked terrific! Wish that’s how people saw things w/o judgment & with positivity. Maybe someday…..
That’s a great instinct — seeing beauty even when it defies society’s standards. I just wrote an essay on Ozempic and how our obsession with thinness is reshaping not just our bodies, but our values. Your comment is a good reminder of why that topic matters.
I love reading your posts about these kinds of topics. I find myself agreeing with your perspective in many ways and thinking to myself that I could not have said it any better. Thanks for another thought provoking article. It helps me understand my own history and my own issues a little better. Outside influences have played a larger role than we realize.
I really like this -- I think you're right that what we need more of is interviews, stories, people etc. that represent the complexity of body image, issues, weight, and size, rather than fully positive or fully negative stories in either direction -- and it seems like Lizzo is doing that!
This was such a good read, and even though the focus is on body image, I think the underlying message rings true for so many things. Just because we don’t see our idealized version of progress doesn’t mean positive changes aren’t happening. Thank you!
I love the perspective you share on this article. The past cover images & headlines about weight loss were representative of a culture where I felt so much pressure to lose weight (even when I was my thinnest). It’s nice to see and celebrate different people as they bravely share the story of their bodies and the ups and downs of their journey.
Something shifted in me when I read Lizzo phrasing it as releasing weight, not losing it. Words matter to me and whoa, that did something for me.
Because for some of us, our weight and food choices have so much to do with what we hold onto emotionally. And we may never lose those feelings we attach to food or our bodies. And that’s ok.
Great work, and when discussing Ozempic with people I don’t hesitate to mention that GLP-1s are proven to reduce inflammation, reduce histamines in the bloodstream, etc. I have a condition that may benefit from taking it but I’m still chatting with my doctors. One of my doctors asked what my biggest roadblock was, and honestly, besides my hatred of nausea, part of it was that if I did lose weight people can’t mind their own business. But people judge no matter what you do .
I’m fat and I often feel much more judged by consuming other people’s media/social media content, far less than I do in personal situations. And yet there are more diverse perspectives available than ever, and i find it fascinating to consume add them to the washing machine in my brain.
I agree that there is much more balance and diverse insight. And that the choice about my feelings is owned by me. I often don’t agree or can’t relate to the experiences or perspectives of others shaped like me. All (almost!) are valid though.
I know that writing, creating video blogs etc, tends to be about structuring our personal thoughts and feelings - even if we’re trying to incorporate multiple perspectives.
Equally based on what I consume, I regularly wonder what people aren’t saying to me in person. I mean, I know conversational opinion is a two way staccato dialogue.
One Where we navigate the sensations of interaction very differently. One which normally requires more real time sensing and sensitivity. More openness and adaptiveness.
Well first, not all weight loss meds are "diabetic meds." Wegovy for example is specifically approved for weight loss.
Of course protein, water, and fewer crap foods can be healthy (I write about this all the time in this newsletter) but there are many people who can't realize weight loss despite their best intentions because of factors largely outside of their control that range from biological to environmental. In the NYT article I linked, top obesity researchers point to dozens of reasons why the obesity rate might be up, and all agree that it's not a simple matter of willpower or self-discipline.
We live in a sedentary, overworked culture where many people have to drive, not walk, everywhere they go. Many people live in food deserts or many miles from a gym. Many people simply have no education around nutrition. Binge eating disorder is more common than anorexia and bulimia combined. Food companies have a vested interested in engineering foods that hijack our brains' reward systems and appetites. I've written before that I was able to lose a lot of weight years ago because it was really easy for me: I lived across the street from a gym & grocery store, in a walkable neighborhood; I had income & insurance; my boyfriend was my free personal trainer; I had time to sit around researching food and exercise. If you don't have these things, it's going to be way, way harder.
The bottom line is that there are myriad reasons some people have a near-impossible time getting into the calorie deficit that weight loss requires. I have compassion for that experience even though I lost weight "naturally" years ago and am not on these drugs and don't plan to be. I think you might find some more compassion too if you do some more reading about them.
This IG account has good info. "Once people develop appetite dysregulation after gaining weight and then trying to lose weight it’s very difficult with lifestyle alone." https://www.instagram.com/p/DK4hS3aumNh/?hl=en
Cutting out processed foods is good for health, yes. Drinking water is also sound advice for pretty much everyone.
But not everyone is going to lose weight by just doing those things along with the others you mentioned. A LOT of people have been doing those things and not seeing their weight budge.
The meds are proving to be miracles for a lot of people. They are a healthy way for those people to get healthier.
You’re also penalising Lizzo because she’s been open about having tried Ozempic.
There’s no way to truly know who is or isn’t using it. It’s not a great reason to gatekeep magazine covers from an imaginary “this isn’t real weight loss” cohort.
i agree that covers like this, esp as a gen x-er, are encouraging. but i also wonder whether they represent what is happening in real life.
perhaps because i've been allowing myself to go down the perimenopause online rabbit hole, i have been in somewhat of a negative spiral about the new "expectations" of middle aged women to not gain a single pound. apparently it is a HUGE trend (?) amongst fit and non-overweight middle aged ladies to microdose GLP-1s out of frustration with 10-20 lb weight gain. i TOTALLY understand the frustration with weight gain despite continued exercise and good nutrition, but a big part of me is just like... SIGH, how will this make me feel about myself?
truthfully, i am vain enough to resent how i look next to others as a graying, non-botoxed, mid-sized 40-something year old (but also not vain enough to do any of those things).
It's probably worth considering if this "huge trend" is happening in real life either, though. Are you feeling that the people you know personally are pressuring you to not gain weight in perimenopause? Are the women you know IRL all microdosing GLP-1s? If you didn't have access to the internet, would you know about this at all?
Maybe you are feeling that direct pressure and are friends with a bunch of women doing this around you, and that would be incredibly hard! But if it's kind of just an internet thing at this point, realizing that can help stop the spiral a little.
come stand next to me, I am au natural too, and I think I look great though when I'm around all the botoxed, filled, dip-dyed ladies I hate knowing how much they hate and fear my aging face
When I saw this cover, my first thought was she looks beautiful! I didn’t realize it was Lizzo. I didn’t notice that she didn’t have a flat stomach or that she had thighs heavier than some would approve. She just looked terrific! Wish that’s how people saw things w/o judgment & with positivity. Maybe someday…..
That’s a great instinct — seeing beauty even when it defies society’s standards. I just wrote an essay on Ozempic and how our obsession with thinness is reshaping not just our bodies, but our values. Your comment is a good reminder of why that topic matters.
Every young girl and every woman needs to see this cover! Thank You for doing a vital public service.
I love reading your posts about these kinds of topics. I find myself agreeing with your perspective in many ways and thinking to myself that I could not have said it any better. Thanks for another thought provoking article. It helps me understand my own history and my own issues a little better. Outside influences have played a larger role than we realize.
Thank you :)
I really like this -- I think you're right that what we need more of is interviews, stories, people etc. that represent the complexity of body image, issues, weight, and size, rather than fully positive or fully negative stories in either direction -- and it seems like Lizzo is doing that!
This was such a good read, and even though the focus is on body image, I think the underlying message rings true for so many things. Just because we don’t see our idealized version of progress doesn’t mean positive changes aren’t happening. Thank you!
I love Lizzo & I love you! Word up.
awww <3
I love the perspective you share on this article. The past cover images & headlines about weight loss were representative of a culture where I felt so much pressure to lose weight (even when I was my thinnest). It’s nice to see and celebrate different people as they bravely share the story of their bodies and the ups and downs of their journey.
Something shifted in me when I read Lizzo phrasing it as releasing weight, not losing it. Words matter to me and whoa, that did something for me.
Because for some of us, our weight and food choices have so much to do with what we hold onto emotionally. And we may never lose those feelings we attach to food or our bodies. And that’s ok.
Thanks Mikala. This essay got my attention.
Great work, and when discussing Ozempic with people I don’t hesitate to mention that GLP-1s are proven to reduce inflammation, reduce histamines in the bloodstream, etc. I have a condition that may benefit from taking it but I’m still chatting with my doctors. One of my doctors asked what my biggest roadblock was, and honestly, besides my hatred of nausea, part of it was that if I did lose weight people can’t mind their own business. But people judge no matter what you do .
I’m fat and I often feel much more judged by consuming other people’s media/social media content, far less than I do in personal situations. And yet there are more diverse perspectives available than ever, and i find it fascinating to consume add them to the washing machine in my brain.
I agree that there is much more balance and diverse insight. And that the choice about my feelings is owned by me. I often don’t agree or can’t relate to the experiences or perspectives of others shaped like me. All (almost!) are valid though.
I know that writing, creating video blogs etc, tends to be about structuring our personal thoughts and feelings - even if we’re trying to incorporate multiple perspectives.
Equally based on what I consume, I regularly wonder what people aren’t saying to me in person. I mean, I know conversational opinion is a two way staccato dialogue.
One Where we navigate the sensations of interaction very differently. One which normally requires more real time sensing and sensitivity. More openness and adaptiveness.
Does she mention how she used ozempic to lose weight? Can cover models be people who lost healthily without starvation or drugs?
Yes, I linked the article where she shared that she tried a med but then stopped, and what helped her most was no longer being vegan
I don't think using a med is necessarily not losing weight "healthily"
Eating protein, drinking water, cutting out processed crap and moving your body is the healthy way. Not using diabetic meds.
Well first, not all weight loss meds are "diabetic meds." Wegovy for example is specifically approved for weight loss.
Of course protein, water, and fewer crap foods can be healthy (I write about this all the time in this newsletter) but there are many people who can't realize weight loss despite their best intentions because of factors largely outside of their control that range from biological to environmental. In the NYT article I linked, top obesity researchers point to dozens of reasons why the obesity rate might be up, and all agree that it's not a simple matter of willpower or self-discipline.
We live in a sedentary, overworked culture where many people have to drive, not walk, everywhere they go. Many people live in food deserts or many miles from a gym. Many people simply have no education around nutrition. Binge eating disorder is more common than anorexia and bulimia combined. Food companies have a vested interested in engineering foods that hijack our brains' reward systems and appetites. I've written before that I was able to lose a lot of weight years ago because it was really easy for me: I lived across the street from a gym & grocery store, in a walkable neighborhood; I had income & insurance; my boyfriend was my free personal trainer; I had time to sit around researching food and exercise. If you don't have these things, it's going to be way, way harder.
The bottom line is that there are myriad reasons some people have a near-impossible time getting into the calorie deficit that weight loss requires. I have compassion for that experience even though I lost weight "naturally" years ago and am not on these drugs and don't plan to be. I think you might find some more compassion too if you do some more reading about them.
This IG account has good info. "Once people develop appetite dysregulation after gaining weight and then trying to lose weight it’s very difficult with lifestyle alone." https://www.instagram.com/p/DK4hS3aumNh/?hl=en
Cutting out processed foods is good for health, yes. Drinking water is also sound advice for pretty much everyone.
But not everyone is going to lose weight by just doing those things along with the others you mentioned. A LOT of people have been doing those things and not seeing their weight budge.
The meds are proving to be miracles for a lot of people. They are a healthy way for those people to get healthier.
You’re also penalising Lizzo because she’s been open about having tried Ozempic.
There’s no way to truly know who is or isn’t using it. It’s not a great reason to gatekeep magazine covers from an imaginary “this isn’t real weight loss” cohort.