'I just travelled to Italy. I left with an unexpected lesson about my body.'

My views on my body fluctuate a lot more than my actual weight. 

Throughout my adult life, my weight hasn’t really changed all that much, apart from two extreme situations: one in which I gained quite a lot of weight during a year-long stint as an exchange-student in Sicily, and another time where I lost quite a lot of weight after a serious accident which saw me hospital for over a month. 

Basically, both situations were far from normal life.

However, now, (and I’m rather ashamed to admit this), I often flit between feeling fabulous about my body or utter despair.

I’m not alone in this either - I know this as many of my friends and family quietly admit similar sentiments to me now and then. I also think that my feelings towards myself are a reflection of the age I’ve come up in; that being the 90s and 2000s.

The media I’ve consumed throughout my life has gone from plugging excessive dieting, to now encouraging us to showcase near-nudes online as a mode of loving ourselves - a cultural pendulum swing which is a big shift for anyone’s neural pathways.

Meanwhile, the world out there claims it’s “body positive” and yet it still acts pretty sizeist. Most shops still only cater to a limited size range and most advertising still showcases a slim figure.

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So, with that as my backdrop, when I landed in Italy recently (set to do a writer’s residency in Sardinia mixed with a bit of domestic travel either side), I will bashfully admit that I was nervous I might gain some weight throughout my two-month stint in the country so famous for its carbohydrates. 

Whilst nothing would stop me from indulging in pasta each day, the fear that my clothes could get tighter lingered as I made my way from Malpensa airport to my first Airbnb. 

But instead, upon arriving, I was greeted with an incredible life lesson in body image, rather than further fears about weight gain. A lesson that resonated a lot, as in Italy, people truly practise what they preach.

The lesson was that looking good is actually about feeling good. And the way to get there is sometimes via more indulgence, rather than deprivation. Because the aim of each day in Italy is to eat well, feel good and enjoy life, not punish yourself with an exhausting wellness routine.

This lesson continued to present itself on my further travels to Sicily, Sardinia and Rome (plus popping over to Paris as I needed pastries too). 

Plates of pasta, bowls of bread and glasses of wine with most meals made me forget the concept of calorie control. I noticed how the locals' days were book ended by adequate sleep and topped up with hits of caffeine. 

I also immediately noticed that while the Italians don’t seem to overtly “exercise” as much as Australians, they are constantly walking or cycling around their city to get from A to B. Being continuously active like this really is the way to work out.

It wasn’t just the lack of dieting or the effortless exercise I noticed either. For Italian women, beauty goes right down to the core and then circles back out to their choice of coat. (I’m a fashion writer and podcaster, so of course I was paying attention to what people were wearing during my holiday!)

Italian style is widely known, but to sum it up quickly, it’s about bold classics and embracing your shape, with an emphasis on fabulous accessories.

Beauty-wise, it was rare to see over-dyed hair, blindingly white teeth or ultra-taut foreheads - instead what I witnessed was that same embrace of classic style - red lipstick, a flick of eyeliner, all pulled together with a big, genuine smile.

Another major observation is that Italian women seem less competitive with each other - at least that’s what I’ve perceived. The energy between separate sets of women is, “They are beautiful, and so am I.” 

Most Italians think most things are beautiful. Linguistically speaking the word "bella", or "bello", is repeated tirelessly to describe almost anything - from a morning cup of coffee to a bonnie baby.

I say all of this knowing that I fit within the realms of what’s currently considered 'slim' - but when in Rome, I am taller and broader than the average local. I complained about this to an Italian friend, Giulia, as we munched on cornetto’s (Italy’s answer to a croissant) and espresso’s one morning in Sardinia.

Giulia wasn’t having it though. She promptly interrupted my self-critical complaints by describing my body as “abbondante” or, in English, abundant. 

I just about cried when she said this - not only did she derail my negative thoughts, but reworked my words into something aspirational. Yet another lesson: language matters, as does self talk.

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The main trick is that Italians think and act abundantly - whereas when we think of health and wellness, we think less. Less time to ourselves, instead spent in a boring exercise class we don’t enjoy, less food we’re hungry for, less sleep so we can get up early and go to the gym... I don’t know about you, but I long to be of the mindset that more is more. In fact, that is what I’m now actively aiming for.

I have lived in Italy before, though this time I saw it all in a new light through my adult eyes. Italians are nutritionally nourished, yes (it’s famously known that the Mediterranean diet is one of the best for heart health). But it’s not actually about what they eat, it’s about how they live. 

To put it in more Australian terms, it’s not about the sausage; it’s about the sizzle.

With this recent boost of la dolce vita, I have genuinely found myself feeling more confident. This summer, back down under, I’m actively leaning in to more olive oil, more time lingering over lunch, more lipstick, and always completing my outfits with more accessories. 

But I’m also embracing a newfound and much more positive mindset. I have begun to actively derail self criticism by calling on my inner Italian (Carlotta?), switching up my language and choosing to opt for more daily pleasures. 

I still have an imperfect approach to my imperfect body, but a bit of self-forgiveness around that is necessary too.

Image: Supplied.

Feature Image: Supplied.