Well, dear friends, let’s face it: probably most of us have been putting on weight during this lockdown. We move less, we eat more, we drink more – and now that hopefully an end to this whole situation is in sight, many of us have started getting the heebie-jeebies when we look in the mirror and see all that extra fat on our hips and elsewhere.
Yet, there’s no need to get depressed, friends – why all that fuss about not being ‘perfect’ according to the modern beauty ideal where you have to be slim if not thin in order to look good? Being thin hasn’t ALWAYS been the ideal – the Venus of Willendorf, sculptured about 30,000 years ago, was very fat indeed, and many of the ancient Greek and Roman statues had some flesh on their ribs as well, not to mention Rubens’s and Boucher’s baroque and rokoko models. All this worship of thinness has only really started in recent centuries and especially decades, and it’s caused many people, especially women, a lot of unnecessary pain and psychological problems.
Besides, one of the factors that has probably contributed to our weight gain, our newfound interest in cooking, has also contributed to our good health – because being thin certainly doesn’t automatically equal being healthy! Eating a homemade lasagne or cottage pie, with fresh ingredients like eggs, milk and cheese, even though it’s got more calories, is way better for our health than just shoving a ready frozen meal from the supermarket into the oven or microwave. My darling husband and me certainly have noticed a big improvement in our digestion ever since we’ve been doing some REAL cooking!
As for the optical side of putting on weight: I’ve always thought that wearing elastic clothes is much better for your psyche than non-elastic ones – they grow with you, and in case you make that decision to go on a diet, they also shrink with you again. Also, a wide minidress or blouse always looks cute and hides the ‘imperfections’ in the waist area.
And if you want to go out in your best dress, now that the pubs and restaurants are opening up again, you can always ‘cheat’ a bit by wearing a panty girdle underneath!
The most important thing, though, is that you yourself feel well in your own skin. A lot of that can depend on your partner’s reaction to your weight gain, of course – and I absolutely realise that not all gals are as lucky as me to have such a perfect gentleman as a companion, who says he loves me whatever weight I am! But, even if your other half teases you about it – he or she will probably have put on a few pounds him- or herself, so you can jokingly remind him/her about that! But the best thing is to take each other as we are, and literally love each pound of our loved one.
So, dear friends, enjoy life as the world is opening up again, be cheerful and always look on the bright side – there are lots of advantages in having a few extra pounds: not having to count your calories all day long, being able to enjoy little treats like chocolate and candy, feeling contented instead of hungry, and last but not least getting less wrinkles…
Roberta Franklin 