Whether you’ve struggled with disordered eating, eating disorders, body image issues, or have never thought twice about it, right now our bodies are going through changes.

Your body is working really hard. It potentially is working harder than it ever has. With all of the unknowns going on in the world, your body is probably pretty tired. But since we have more at home time and down time, we are being harder on ourselves and our bodies than ever before. There’s this pressure that since we are home more, it gives us more time to meal prep or work out… But that’s not always the case. You’re still working and doing all of those things, but in a different location. 

Food is a lot of people's coping skill because it’s something that we can control (or buying toilet paper during COVID-19). You’re trying to make yourself feel better and that is ok. It’s ok to feel out of the sorts right now and to not know. Whether we are controlling it at one end of the spectrum or the other, we are trying to control this piece so very hard. Making our bodies work harder. Go back to a few simple questions - Am I hungry? (If yes, eat. If no, keep asking yourself some questions.) What am I feeling? What can I do to meet this need outside of eating?

During the quarantine our lives have changed. Our routines changed. Our exercise has changed. Our schedules have changed. So what do we do? We go to plan G. I only picked G because I feel like we’ve gone through a lot of other letters during this time of unknown. Try taking a walk outside to get some fresh air, try yoga, try Zumba, try something you’ve wanted to do but not in a large group setting out of fear. Simply, find a way to move your body (that could be dancing in the kitchen to your speaker blaring ~while being respectful of neighbors).

At the end of the day, give yourself some grace. Give your body some grace.

Authored by: Chloe Orvarr, M.S.