When you have endometriosis, it is not uncommon for your body to change because often times it causes bloating and you may gain weight or you’ll have no apetite and lose weight. People often will praise weight loss because it is often believed to good and criticize weight gain. As a disabled person, I never make body comments even if I know someone very well, because you never know if someone’s weight loss is healthy or if it was caused by a medical condition.. Noticeable body can be hard to accept because no one likes to see themselves gain weight, but when you have painful conditions such as endometriosis and can’t do as much exercise, it not uncommon for that to happen. Exercise can be hard when you have endometriosis because it can trigger pain, and sometimes you can’t be as consistent with exercise as someone without the condition can. What can you do if you have endometriosis and notice your body changing? In this post, I am going to talk about a few things that have helped me cope with body changes.
Eat in a way that feels good to you- When you have gained a lot of weight, sometimes people will punish themselves and go on a highly restrictive diet to “get back on track.” There is nothing wrong with starting a diet if you think it’s going to improve your health, but you should never put yourself on a diet as a form of self-punishment. Some people with endometriosis will gain weight and may struggle with body image, and you are only going to make things worse when you get into a diet culture mindset and think you have to restrict yourself. Healthy eating can support endometriosis pain, and it is important to find a diet that works for you that doesn’t feel restrictive. Eat in a way that feels good to you because you will never improve your body image if you unnecessarily restrict yourself and view food as good and bad.
Ignore body comments– When you have noticeable body changes, often times people will bring extra attention to it and make sure that you are aware of your body changes. Most people mean well when they compliment weight loss and think that they are helping you stay motivated, because they are stuck in diet culture and don’t realize the harm in body comments. I have gotten tons of body comments throughout my life, and most of the time, people have good intentions and think they are helping you stay motivated. I used to be triggered by body comments until I realized that when someone says a negative body remark, it says more about their relationship with their body than it says about you. You can’t stop people from making body comments, but you can choose not to let those comments bother you. We live in a world surrounded by diet culture, and the best thing I ever did for myself was to learn how to ignore body comments.
Don’t obsess over the number on the scale- It is good to have some idea of what your weight is because sometimes you need to know these numbers for medication you take. We live in a world surrounded by diet culture, and if you are struggling with body image, one of the worst things you can do is obsess over the number on the scale. If you are unhappy with your body, I would stop weighing yourself multiple times a day because weighing yourself too often causes you to become more obsessive. Weight is often brought up in everyday conversation, and it is okay to set boundaries for yourself and ask your friends not to talk about it if it triggers you. I am no longer impacted by the number on the scale, but if you are, you can always ask your doctor not to be weighed, or stand on the scale backwards and do a blind weight. Obsessing over the number on the scale often fuels your body image issues, and I wish doctors understood this and wouldn’t bring it up at every appointment. Sometimes the best thing you can do to heal from body image issues is to not step on a scale.
Do movement that feels good- When you have gained weight, sometimes people will start doing intense workouts and using exercise as a form of punishment. Exercise helps improve endometriosis pain, but it can be hard if you are experiencing debilitating pain every day. If you have endometriosis, it is important to move as much as you can, but you never want to force yourself to exercise if you don’t have the pain levels to support that. Regular exercise can help improve your body confidence, but it can make your body image issues worse if the only reason you are exercising is that you hate your body and want to change it. Listen to your body and engage in movement that feels good, and if all you can do is a few stretches, that is okay. Exercise looks different for people with chronic pain, but it can help improve your body image because even ten minutes of exercise has benefits.
Pamper yourself- When you are struggling with body image, oftentimes people will beat themselves up, but I can’t stress enough how important it is to practice self-care. Pamper yourself with a massage or buy a new outfit that fits you better, because it’s more important now than ever that you unlearn negative body image thoughts and focus on taking care of yourself. Body changes often happen when you have chronic pain, but it’s not your fault, and sometimes you just need to pamper yourself to start feeling better about your body.
Body changes sometimes happen when you live with painful conditions such as endometriosis, and often we beat ourselves up over it and feel like a failure. It is completely normal to experience body changes throughout life, especially if you live with chronic pain. Body changes are not always our fault, but often, we convince ourselves that our weight gain is from a lack of willpower, and we just need to have more discipline. It is so important that you practice self-care when you are struggling to accept your new body and don’t listen to people who make body comments. People sometimes are going to make negative body remarks, and you can’t stop people from doing that. You can set boundaries for yourself and ask your friends not to talk about your weight. Body changes are something that happens when you live with chronic pain, but it is important to remember that it is not failure. How do you cope with body changes? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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