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How to feel okay about your body in the age of Ozempic

There are ways to actively resist the idea that your life would be better if you lost some weight.

Navigating the world right now can feel like running into that aunt who comments on your weight at Thanksgiving every single day: When you open up Instagram, take public transit, watch TV, or scroll through TikTok, weight loss and diet discussion is nearly impossible to escape.

Marketing for weight loss-related products has become incessant, with spending for ads increasing by 7 percent just last year, according to the research firm EDO. Public figures like Oprah, Serena Williams, Meghan Trainor, and Amy Schumer have talked openly about using GLP-1s to lose weight. Meanwhile, a staggering number of celebrities have appeared on red carpets looking noticeably thinner or completely unrecognizable. It’s not clear whether they’re all using GLP-1s, or even purposely losing weight. But this collective portrait of shrinking bodies sends a clear message to a lot of us: we should all be getting skinnier.

The directive is loud enough that a lot of people are wondering whether the optimism of the “body positivity” movement is over, and we’re returning to the oppressive beauty standards of the ’90s and early aughts.

Still, experts say that society’s not totally doomed. If anything, the resounding backlash to the current moment makes it clear that most of us want to feel comfortable in our bodies, no matter what they look like.

While weight discrimination and anti-fat bias is a cultural and systemic problem that requires systemic solutions, there are ways to tune out the “thin is in” noise and actively resist the idea that your life would be better if you lost some weight. If you’re feeling hopeless or overwhelmed by the constant weight loss chatter, here’s some advice.

Understand that bodies are supposed to be different

Fitness and dieting advice is often based on the idea that we can all be thinner if we simply try hard enough. When attempts to lose weight fail (or when no attempts are made), it’s seen as an issue of self-discipline and commitment.

But that’s not how bodies work, according to Cheri Levinson, a professor in the department of psychological and brain sciences at the University of Louisville and the founder of the Louisville Center for Eating Disorders. She says the research field has started to thoroughly debunk the idea that........

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