Summer’s Hidden Struggle: Body Image

For a long time, I truly believed the reason I wasn’t eating was because of my stomach issues.

Every meal felt like a risk. I couldn’t eat without getting sick. I couldn’t find food I could eat. So, eventually, I just stopped eating. The anxiety wasn’t worth it to me. I had so many food allergies, stomach issues, and health problems. But underneath the stomach pain was a deeper wound I hadn’t named yet.

My struggle wasn’t just with my stomach and health, it was how I had treated my body for years before my stomach ever started to hurt.

I didn’t just wake up one day with ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder). My fear of food didn’t appear overnight. It started about 3 years ago when I was praised for how “tiny” I was and how “fit” I looked.

No one saw the truth behind my shrinking frame: daily intense running, eating about one “meal” a day because I was simply not hungry, daily intense Pilates, and a mind that couldn’t rest. To the world, I looked “healthy” and “disciplined.” In reality, I was deeply unwell.

And the praise only made it worse. The smaller I got, the more approval I earned, so the cycle continued. My body was starving, stressed, and exhausted. And eventually, it fought back.

Food became scary. My stomach hated everything I  tried to put in it. Nausea became second nature. What began as a traditional eating disorder that I hadn’t even noticed turned into ARFID, my body and mind learning to fear food and avoid it altogether to avoid pain. It also turned into intense inflammation, health issues, and chronic stomach issues that I am still trying to heal from today, which has not been easy…

I share this because I know I’m not the only one who struggles. So many of us carry hidden stories like this. Stories where body shame steals our freedom, where praise for thinness feeds sickness, and where we forget that our bodies were never meant to bear this burden.

What God Says About Our Bodies

The world tells us our worth shrinks as our bodies shrink. But God says something entirely different:

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Psalm 139:14

Did you catch that? Fearfully and wonderfully made. Not fearfully and perfectly sculpted. Not wonderfully skinny.But made with awe and care by a good God who calls His creation good.

I spent these past 3 years hating the body God called good. I overworked it, underfed it, and ignored its cries for help. But God is gentle. He didn’t shame me for it, He invited me to heal.

Through therapy, prayer, doctors, support, and grace, I’ve learned that healing from body shame is possible. It takes time, but it’s worth every step.

A Lesson for Anyone Struggling

If you’re reading this and your relationship with your body or food feels uneasy and painful, I want you to hear this loud and clear:

Your body is not your enemy. It’s a gift. It might feel broken now, but God is the Healer and makes beautiful things out of the broken.

In this world, in order to be loved you have to look a certain way and be a certain weight. But you don’t have to earn God’s love by being smaller, fitter, or more “disciplined.” You already have it in full. Jesus didn’t die for a version of you that finally loses 10 pounds. He died for you, exactly as you are, to give you freedom now.

So eat. Rest. Nourish. Move in ways that feel good, not punishing. Speak kindly to the reflection in the mirror. You don’t have to believe every lie diet culture and social standards whispers. You can believe the truth instead:

You are good because God made you.

You are worthy because He says so.

And you can heal, because He is able.

Lord, help us see our bodies as You see them: as temples, not trophies, as vessels, not burdens. Teach us to honor You by caring for the bodies You so fearfully and wonderfully made. Amen.

If this resonates with you, I’d love to hear your story or pray for you. Drop a comment below or reach out, you’re not alone in this, friend🫶🏻