I sometimes ask on my Instagram account, “What topic would you like me to write about?” and I choose a topic based on the suitability of the general questions or prioritize the most requested ones. In one such post, most requests were for me to write about psychological eating and eating disorders. I was so upset, and it made me realize that many of us have problems with food and nutrition.

This prompted me to think deeply.

We all have a different connection to food and nutrition. This goes back to when we were breastfeeding. As you know, babies experience both physical and emotional satisfaction when they breastfeed. We automatically associate the feeling of security and love from our mothers with nutrition. Eating becomes pleasure, fun, security, love, everything. As adults, different problems in our lives lead us back to where we will find that same sense of security and maternal love: nutrition. If we are weak in this area, eating disorders develop. So, unfortunately, these are actually caused by other unresolved problems in our lives. If we have problems related to food, first considering other aspects of our lives and addressing our needs there will open a door to solving nutritional problems.

First, I thought about myself. I’ve always been a curvy woman my whole life. I was born weighing 5 kilos. Shortly before my birth, the doctor told my mother during a check-up, “An elephant is coming, get ready.” Even before I was born, a label was attached to me, both psychologically and physiologically. I’ve never been thin. None of the women in my family are like models either. We’re all the classic Turkish woman type. These things are partly genetic. We carry the traces of our elders, who made us who we are, on our bodies. Even though I knew I’ve always been and will always be curvy, I still become one of the unhappiest people in the world when I gain weight. I have a husband who loves me very much and always accepts me as I am. I’ve never felt pressured by my weight or appearance. My health is good, and I really worked hard for years to achieve that health. Even knowing all this, the occasional 2-3 kilos I gain always makes me unhappy. I generally gained weight in the summers, and every September I’ve been unhappy. Every September I’ve dealt with it. I know very well how to do it, but the problem is the psychology I get into. Thinking about these things, I came to another conclusion.

Last September, we were on vacation, and the mirror in our hotel room made me look at least a size smaller. I wanted to take the mirror home with me. I couldn’t take my eyes off it for days, but then I thought about it again. Actually, I’m happy with my body and how I look, but why am I so bothered by it? Because I’m always thinking about what other women around me will think. We women do this to each other. The moment we see each other, before considering how we are or how we feel, we say things like, “You’ve gained weight, you’ve lost weight.” Is a woman’s body only defined by the weight she’s gained or lost? Men generally don’t do this either. I’m making a general appeal here and asking that we stop this. We are slowly destroying each other’s souls. If we first focused on how we are, whether we are happy or unhappy, if we asked “How are you?” with a genuine meaning, if we didn’t scrutinize each other from head to toe in the streets (I do it too), we could reduce this psychological impact we create on each other. As women, we are not just made up of the weight we gain or lose. We have thousands of other qualities, souls, and feelings. We all need to learn to nourish the bodies we inhabit in the best way possible, do our best, and then somehow find happiness within those bodies. Wouldn’t we be much happier if we all worked together to create and implement “women’s power” to solve this common problem?

If you also have similar perceptions or problems, write to me; let’s find solutions together, raise awareness. Let’s all be happier with our bodies. Let’s solve this common problem by helping each other.

I wish everyone healthy, happy, and sugar-free days…