I Am More Than My Body: The Body Neutral Journey

Meyers, founder of the Be.come Project, an inclusive fitness platform, debuts with a nuanced exploration of body neutrality, the notion “that our worth is not limited to our physical self.” A longtime fitness instructor, Meyers was by all appearances a slim, fit “poster child for the standards of diet culture,” but was privately starving themself so severely that they became violently ill if they tried to eat. (“No matter how much weight I lost,” Meyers writes, “it was never enough.”) They vacillated between rigid diet culture and a sometimes toxic, exclusionary body positivity that often favors midsize bodies, until they stumbled upon body neutrality while writing an article for a fitness magazine. To “mentally balance the ship” when harmful thoughts surface, they write that one should acknowledge the feelings “without judgment,” assess possible triggers (stress, lack of sleep, hormones), and focus on “the innumerable ways our bodies serve us every single day.” Meyers sets out a forthright, inclusive approach to body neutrality, spotlighting voices from the BIPOC and disabled communities, and depicting their own rocky path to a better body image through an eating disorder and fertility struggles. Those seeking a fresh, realistic approach to body acceptance will find much to gain. (June)