Your Body Doesn’t Want You Skinny — It Wants You Safe
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- July 18, 2025
We’re told that being thin means being healthy, lovable, successful — even worthy. So we chase it.
Diets. Workouts. Juice cleanses. We try to shrink ourselves into the version of us the world might finally
applaud. But what if the extra weight isn’t failure? What if it’s protection?
Your body is not obsessed with aesthetics. It’s obsessed with survival. And sometimes, it holds on to
weight — not because it’s broken, but because it’s wise.
For many women (and men), weight gain doesn’t come from lack of willpower. It comes from years of
stored stress, unresolved trauma, emotional neglect, or living in environments where being visible felt
unsafe. If your body believes that being smaller puts you at risk — it will resist weight loss at all costs.
Not to punish you… but to protect you.
I once spoke with a woman who had tried every diet under the sun. She lost weight quickly, only to gain
it back even faster. She blamed herself. But when we talked, she shared something revealing: her
thinnest years were also her most vulnerable — when she was mistreated, silenced, and felt invisible.
Her nervous system associated weight loss with exposure, pain, and danger. And so, subconsciously, her
body did what it was designed to do: it built a buffer.
Here’s what we’re never told — sometimes the body stores fat not as fuel, but as armor. It’s how it says,
“I need more padding. More space. More distance between me and a world that didn’t feel safe.”
True healing doesn’t come from hating your body smaller. It comes from making your body feel safe
enough to let go.
That might mean therapy. Rest. Reclaiming boundaries. Speaking your truth. It might mean feeling
emotions you’ve buried under food, or silence, or shame. And when the body finally feels secure — not
judged, not starved, not punished — it softens. Releases. Unwinds. And sometimes, the weight follows.
I once spoke with a woman who had tried every diet under the sun. She lost weight quickly, only to gain
it back even faster. She blamed herself. But when we talked, she shared something revealing: her
thinnest years were also her most vulnerable — when she was mistreated, silenced, and felt invisible.
Her nervous system associated weight loss with exposure, pain, and danger. And so, subconsciously, her
body did what it was designed to do: it built a buffer.
Your body doesn’t want to be skinny.
It wants to be safe.
And when it feels safe… it will find its own shape in time.
Diet culture never asks why the weight is there — it just tells you to get rid of it. But healing asks deeper
questions. What were you carrying when your body changed? What grief, what fear, what silence?
When you stop blaming your body and start listening to it, you begin to understand: every pound has a
story. And healing isn’t about erasing that story — it’s about honoring it and deciding how the next
chapter will be written.
- About the Author
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Cindy Martin Nagel holds a master’s degree in healthcare and brings over 20 years of experience across the healthcare continuum. As a former hospital administrator, she successfully led two medical centers through transformative growth, championing patient-centered care and operational excellence. In addition to her executive leadership, Cindy is a certified health coach with a passion for helping individuals reclaim their wellness through education, empowerment, and holistic healing.
Her writing draws from a career steeped in both the science and soul of medicine — blending clinical insight with heartfelt storytelling. She has worked alongside physicians, nurses, patients, and families, witnessing firsthand how unspoken emotions often manifest in the body long before a diagnosis does.
Cindy now dedicates her work to exploring the emotional roots of chronic illness, the mind-body connection, and the power of preventative care. Her articles aim not just to inform, but to heal. She believes writing is a form of medicine — one that can reach beyond the walls of a clinic and touch lives in lasting ways.
