After chemo, hormone treatment, and months of feeling so far from my old self, including medically induced menopause, the weight stacked on thick and fast, I was trying to get healthy again. But every time I wanted to talk about my body, I felt stuck. Like buffering, but emotionally. I didn’t want to trigger my kids, and I didn’t want to fall back into old-school weight talk either.
The moment I lost a kilo and blurted out, “Look how skinny I am!” – yeah, that did not go down well. My kids were quick to say, “Mum, you can’t talk like that!” And honestly? They were right. Gen Z come with a built-in body-positive radar. Gen X here was not caught up on how we talk about weight nowdays, so thank you to my kids for always keeping me in check and teaching me better ways to speak about health and self-worth. So, I unexpectedly invented a phrase that changed everything.
The problem with body talk
Growing up as an 80s kid, the well-meaning “skinny mini” comments often left me feeling like something was wrong with me. I spent most of my childhood wishing I could put on weight, just to feel normal. Ah, the irony. Now here I am decades later, wishing my jeans would put on weight instead of me.
Funny how body talk messes with your head, no matter what end of the weight spectrum you’re on.
The moment it clicked
So, one day I walked downstairs, feeling lighter, not just in body, but in spirit. I looked at my kids and said, “Look how good I feel.” It just came out. And it landed. No weirdness, no shame. Just truth. And surprise from my girls.
Now it’s the phrase I use with myself, with friends, with strangers, with anyone who will listen. And every time, I am met with the same reaction, a big, genuine smile. It’s like I’ve unlocked the cheat code for balancing talk about body image, health, and self-improvement, without judgement and with genuine joy.
Why it matters
“Look how good I feel” is body-neutral. It’s not about being skinny or hitting a number. It’s about feeling strong, proud, energised. Like you could do a cartwheel (but won’t, because hips). It shifts the focus from how we look to how we live. And that’s something I want my kids—and myself—to hold onto.
Your turn
If you’re on your own health journey, try it. Say it out loud. Write it on a sticky note. Tattoo it in your mind. Tell your friends. Tell your reflection. “Look how good I feel.” Because it’s not about what the scales say. It’s about how you feel in your skin, today. And if today’s not the day, that’s okay. Tomorrow’s got potential.
