They could be projecting their own issues on to you. You feel attractive, fit and accept yourself – it’s time to zone out their criticism
I am a 40-year-old single professional woman with an exciting life. A few years ago I started to gain weight despite exercising regularly and eating the same. This upset my parents a lot and they did an angry ‘“intervention” where they told me if I didn’t lose weight I’d get diabetes and be at risk of serious health issues.
I have checked the medical literature (I’m a scientist, like my father) and I fall within the “OK” zone for waist-to-height and waist-to-hips ratios, which are considered the best predictors of health risks. My doctor isn’t concerned. But my father doesn’t accept this. I exercise regularly and I feel fit, but even when I was quite thin when younger, my mother always strongly implied I should be uncomfortable about my body, because I was curvy. I have inherited her tendency for body shame and weight obsession but the funny thing is that since I put on weight, I lost a lot of this shame. After a lot of psychological work I feel attractive and accepting of myself.
