Understanding the Weight We Carry

And it is not measured on the scale…

We carry so much more than the physical weight of our bodies. There is a ton of invisible weight we carry and have been given: the expectations of others, the beliefs we inherited, the comparisons we make to family, friends, and peers. We carry cultural conditioning that quietly shapes how we see ourselves, think about ourselves, and feel about ourselves.

And all of this has a direct impact on how we treat our bodies.

That is because our thoughts and beliefs shape and impact our emotions and behaviors. I call it TEBO for short: Your thoughts (that come from your beliefs) impact how you feel-your emotions, and those both influence your behaviors…thus leading to your outcomes.

Thus, every thought we think has a ripple effect. Thoughts create emotions which influence behaviors, which reinforce the very thoughts that began the cycle.

This is how the brain works… it seeks consistency, familiarity, and proof that what we believe is true. The thoughts we repeat, build strength. They create deeper and deeper pathways in our brain, thus becoming more and more likely to show up.

So, with all that said…if we carry the belief that our body is wrong, our brain will find evidence to support that belief. A glance in the mirror, a comment from a coworker, a magazine cover, or a social media post can all reinforce the narrative. The internal dialogue heats up and we end up feeling shame, and guilt, or end up judging and criticizing ourselves even more. This just drives behaviors like restriction, overexercising, drinking, isolation, or emotional eating.

This thought-feeling-behavior loop can feel impossible to break. But it is not. The truth is, once you become aware of it, and notice the thoughts that trap you in the loop, you can start to interrupt it. It is within that awareness…that pause…that breaking free is possible.

Cultural Conditioning and Body Disconnection

We live in a world that profits from our self-doubt. I remember hearing years ago, if we all woke up feeling satisfied with bodies and ourselves, imagine how many businesses would go bankrupt!

It is so true. Diet culture, beauty standards, and wellness trends continue to pressure us to believe we are not good enough as we are. They teach us to see our bodies as projects to be fixed rather than the amazing homes we get to live in.

We carry the weight of all of it. The weight of our parents’ beliefs and expectations, the weight of society, the weight of diet culture and beauty standards, the weight of comparison and perfectionism, the weight of productivity and “doing more,” the weight of others’ opinions, and the weight of our own self-doubt and shame.

Over time, this cultural conditioning disconnects us from our own body’s wisdom. We ignore our body. We ignore it when it is hungry, or needs rest, or needs to process an emotion, or when it needs to speak up or say no.

Diet culture and society’s thin ideal have brainwashed us to think our bodies don’t know what they are saying…don’t listen to your body…listen to me.

Eat this, at this time, and this much of it, regardless of if you are hungry or not. Exercise this much, at this intensity, for this long…regardless of how your body feels. We have been taught to bow down to external rules and measurements.

This disconnection breeds body mistrust and even body hatred, I know, I have been there and lived that way…When we stop listening to our bodies and start fighting them, we lose ourselves. Here is the thing…you can’t hate yourself health. Or thin, or more successful. You cannot heal your relationship with yourself, if you continue to ignore, mistrust, or hate your body.

Lightening the Load: Tools for Freedom

Freedom begins with awareness, curiosity and compassion… not control and criticism.

Here are two simple tools to begin shifting your inner dialogue and lightening the emotional weight you carry:

Mostly–Sometimes Thinking

All-or-nothing thinking, which is the mindset of diet culture… (“I always lose control,” “I’ll never be able to do it”) keeps us trapped in extremes. It actually gives us permission to throw our hands up and say to ourselves “It doesn’t matter anyway.”

Mostly–sometimes thinking invites flexibility. I mostly eat like this, and sometimes I go out for pizza and beer…I mostly exercise like this, sometimes I hit my snooze alarm and say not today.

Try reframing rigid thoughts like:

“I always lose control” becomes, “I don’t always lose control. I sometimes have a little control and other times I struggle”“I hate my body” becomes “Actually, I might not like my body all the time, but I’m trying to learn to respect and be grateful for some parts of my body.”

This small language shift softens self-judgment and opens the door to progress instead of perfection.

Pause, Question, and Reframe

Between a thought and your response lies a powerful moment of choice…read The Space Between. That Substack talks about the quote from Viktor Frankl… Between stimulus and response there is a space, and in that space is our power to choose our response.

Practice finding that space between thought and action. It takes breath, and patience to find it, but once you do, it is magical.

As you get better at it, use that space to pause and take a breath.

Then, ask yourself some questions:

What am I feeling right now? Why am I feeling this way?What story am I telling myself? Where did that story come from?What do I need right now? What would be best for me to do right now?

After you pause, and slow the automatic thought down, try to reframe it, using curiosity and compassion. Instead of “I hate myself, I always look so terrible,” try “I’m noticing I’m being hard on myself right now. It is no wonder because it has been a long day. I am going to slow down. What might I need to help me feel better right now?”

These pauses help you see your thoughts as just that…thoughts…not facts. And much of the time they are automatic negative thoughts, that have been curated through repetition. It’s time for them to take a break.

New curious and compassionate thoughts will help you reclaim the power to choose new perspectives, new behaviors, and ultimately, a lighter, more peaceful way of being.

Releasing some of this emotional weight is freeing.

If you would like to let go of some of your own old beliefs, expectations, or negative thoughts, sign up for a Body Confidence Clarity Chat today…

Because the journey to body respect and confidence doesn’t start with control or criticism. It begins with the noticing.

 

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