Meet Body Positive: Connie Levitsky

Meet Connie Levitsky a body positive advocate!

Connie is a student and also an intern at the Canadian Obesity Network in Edmonton Alberta, where she started a social media campaign called The Weight of Living. The Weight of Living focuses in on people who have struggled with their body throughout their life, giving us a powerful glimpse into people who have overcome their struggle and begun to love their bodies again. We thought this project was really empowering so we wanted to catch up with Connie to hear more about it!

We wanted to start off by talking about The Weight of Living, how did it come to be and what was your goal with the project?

The Weight of Living was a project that myself and my colleague, Ravina Anand, created as part of our summer internship with the Canadian Obesity Network. It was meant as a way to connect with our fans on Facebook, and to address the stigma surrounding issues with weight and obesity.

It really is an amazing project, what is some advice you would give to people struggling with their body image?

Thanks! The most honest advice I can give to anyone who is struggling is to remember that this body is the only one you will ever get. I also think it’s important to not compare yourself to others. I know it’s easier said than done, but comparison does nothing other than make you feel bad about yourself. You also don’t know what someone else is struggling with.

That is very important to remember, speaking in terms of fashion and retail, what is something you would love to see change?

One of the statements I hear often that I disagree with is that we should get rid of the plus-size label. I think that this only reinforces that being someone who fits into those sizes is something to be ashamed of. I’m also not a fan of how some plus sized clothes are designed. I find a lot of them either don’t quite fit me, or they are designed for people who are much older than me. In line with that, I think fashion and retail need to start showing images of plus-size models of varying sizes and body proportions. While Ashley Graham is beautiful, I don’t know many women who look like her, or can relate to her.

Those are some great points, in our store we use lots of motivational quotes, so for our last question we wanted to ask you what are some words that have stuck with you, your mantra?

I think the biggest “mantra” that has always stuck with me is “Love Yourself.” For me, loving yourself means loving who you are at all times, even when you make mistakes or do something you may not entirely be proud of. Self-love is so, so important for me, and I think that it is important for being happy.

Thanks so much to Connie for taking the time to chat with us, you can see the Weight of Living project here.