Standing in front of the mirror, she scrutinises every part of her body, thinking to herself, “I need to lose weight.” She has tried every trendy diet, from intermittent fasting to keto, but failed at all of them.

She had a slice of pizza too many at a friend’s birthday or ate a slice of cake on her own; the next few days are spent in self-hatred, putting herself down for having no self-control and berating herself for her ‘flaws’.

This is the dismal reality for a majority of women around me. Body dysmorphia and dieting seem to be just in some women’s nature. They live and die bearing the burden of never being thin enough. They are meant to live their lives trying to change. Young girls are taught that they aren’t beautiful enough. ‘Concerned’ aunties and ‘joking’ friends constantly show them how to undermine themselves. The lack of self-acceptance builds up and becomes self-hatred and a lack of confidence. My own experience with a debilitating mentality around food and exercise has proved to me how big an issue this can become. When all you can think about is how much food you ate, you begin to put little effort in things like relationships and activities that used to matter to you.

Is our society’s focus on women’s weight related to a successful society’s need to prioritise good nutrition? Fewer calories do not always translate into good health. Consuming a wide variety of macro and micro nutrients, however, does. It may sound clichéd but the healthiest diet is indeed “everything in moderation.” Instead of being willing to do anything and everything we can to emphasise our ‘aesthetics’ to fit in, when will Pakistan’s civil society start focusing on eating better and eating enough?

The Covid-19 pandemic should act as a wakeup call so that we can start to prioritise health instead of how we look. Consuming just enough calories to survive is only likely to exacerbate health issues and weaken the immune system. 

Eating disorders cause more deaths than any other psychological disorder. Young girls are their most beloved victims. Many of these young women, who are developing into adults, are left with not only deadly mental health problems but also fatal and potentially irreversible problems such as osteoporosis and infertility. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (NAANAD), 10,200 deaths each year are caused by an eating disorder — that’s one death every 52 minutes.

The Covid-19 pandemic should act as a wakeup call so that we can start prioritising health instead of how we look. Consuming just enough calories to survive is only likely to exacerbate health issues and weaken the immune system. Instead, the focus must shift to the nutrients in food. We must be conscientious and conscious of our food choices, prioritising balanced, nourishing and delicious meals, coupled with energising snacks.

Pakistan does have a shortage of such snacks, but the market is growing. I designed my own nutrient-dense truffles filled with vitamin D after encountering a lack of availability of healthy snacks to grab on the go. The past year has not been easy on the mind or body. So much time has been lost. There is no point in torturing our bodies anymore; it has suffered enough. Our bodies have stuck with us through this time, and fought with us. Instead of being embarrassed of our bodies, or pushing ourselves to get rid of that ‘godforsaken pandemic weight,’ we must thank it for all it has done for us. We must learn to listen to it and fuel it with enough calories.

The writer is a student based in Lahore