On May 6, Grammy award-winning artist Adele uploaded a photo to her Instagram account.
The post, which was in celebration of the 32-year-old’s birthday, paid tribute to the “first responders and essential workers who are keeping us safe while risking their lives!”
“You are truly our angels, ♥️” she captioned the photograph.
Within minutes of uploading it, the post started to go viral. Celebrities like Chrissy Teigen, James Charles and Jameela Jamil all commented with heart emojis and comments like “I mean are you kidding me?”.
In just under 20 hours, the post has received over 23,000 comments.
However, it wasn’t just the fact that Adele is well-loved by her fans and they were wishing her birthday love. Most comments were about her figure.
Back in January, photographs surfaced of Adele on holidays in Anguilla.
Media outlets around the world published the photos, including The Sun and Daily Mail. Not surprisingly, they commented about her weight, and that she looked “healthy” and “happy”. All we know to be actual fact is that she was wearing a $248 USD dress from Reformation. The rest is speculation.
Adele was also described as “unrecognisable” due to her weight loss. Similar to what is happening now, after her latest Instagram post.
On Instagram user, Lucy Mountain, shared a screenshot of a Google search to highlight an important point.
The current top searches relating to Adele read:
How did Adele lose weight?
How much weight has Adele lost?
What was Adele’s diet?
How many stones did Adele lose?
Lucy Mountain captioned the Instagram Story:
“All of this is completely irrelevant to you, your body, your health and your life.”
As someone who has struggled with yo-yo dieting and a very curvaceous figure my whole life, the emphasis on Adele’s “body transformation” has been quite staggering.
Yes, she has lost weight. We can see that. However, this is in no way a reflection on everyone’s personal journey when it comes to health and wellness.
While plenty of outlets are insisting they know “inside Adele’s 44kg weight loss” and what she eats every single day, do we really know what’s actually going on? Is she happy? Is she healthy? Is she supported?
Elyse Crofts, personal trainer and nutritionist from Fortune Fitness: Powered by EC.PT says that for people “who suffer from body dysmorphia, eating disorders, any form of weight issues, it’s shining a light on what they already fear or believe.”
“It’s almost proof that our weight and or what we look like takes a front-row seat over any other aspect of who we are or what makes us special. Is what we look like and what the number on the scale says, what really defines us?”
All the “skinny queen” comments are particularly scary.
Social media is an outlet for so many and when we see comments like this, we often look at ourselves and think “Am I good enough?” “Do I need to lose weight now too?”.
I am currently in a “body transformation” of my own and have lost almost 5kg and a dress size over the last couple of months. While the comments from family and friends are great motivators, the last time I lost a large amount of weight (16kg), I turned to unhealthy methods to lose the final kilos. And let me tell you, looking back, there were ‘no final kilos’ to lose.
“We need to move away from weight loss being the be-all and end-all of a lifestyle and nutrition change. There are so many other, more important benefits that come with it,” Crofts tole TheLatch—.
“The reduction in obesity-related disease, lowering blood pressure, increasing life span, reducing the risk of fatty liver disease, living long enough to see grandchildren grow, reducing medical costs, supporting mental health. These are all so much more important than the effects we see physically like a drop in dress size and yet no one reports on the cure of type II Diabetes from just changing your diet or how someone lived past their expected lifespan after a lifestyle overhaul,” she said.
“With the focus being solely on size, this is dangerous not only for the people whose story it is but for those reading and watching, it cements their belief that size is what matters when in fact you can have a size eight female who is suffering from severe health issues but due to her size she’s placed on a pedestal as the epitome of health.”
So, if seeing Adele’s post and the comments surrounding it have brought up any issues for you, just remember: you are perfect, just the way you are.
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Elyse Crofts is a Personal Trainer and online health and nutrition coach with 10+ years in the industry. She owns and operates Fortune Fitness: Powered by EC.PT with her Partner Marty Fortune. You can find out all about her, her business and read her very real, and informative blog at Fortune Fitness.
If you or anyone you know needs help, contact the Butterfly Foundation on 1800 ED HOPE.