"An ode to winter fluff."

May 5, 2016

By Winona Dimeo-Ediger.

While buttoning my pants today I found to my dismay that my skinny jeans get skinnier with every passing day.

For the past few months, in fact, I’ve watched with shock and wonder as my stomach’s gotten softer and my thighs accrued more thunder. This winter’s been a doozy when it comes to winter fluff — those extra pounds of softness that the cold months conjure up.

At first this weight gain bothered me, because everybody knows a bigger number on the scale must be cause for stress and woe. But then I got to thinking about how this season’s been for me. And how my fabulously fluffy winter body came to be…

It started with the holidays, and tons of family time, laughing, eating cookies, making pasta, drinking wine. I skipped some yoga classes and missed out on jogging highs but I took walks with my mom and I made some awesome pies.

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May 5, 2016

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In January I sat and watched the lovely snowflakes fall, spent many evenings on the couch not doing anything at all.

Yes, I could have hit the gym, counted every calorie, but honestly, that didn’t feel quite natural to me.

Watch: This rendang curry will get you in the mood for winter. (Post continues after video.)

Instead I heard this message, delivered loud and clear: Now’s the time to rest, rejuvenate.

Eat sumptuous food, spend time at home, see what looking inward brings; sure, you might gain a few pounds but you’ll feel refreshed come spring.

I think about the bears who hibernate for months this season, they put on weight and never think to angst about the reason. Instead as they drift off to sleep, they feel grateful for their flab, not wasting a moment worrying about the status of their abs.

So own your winter fluff and treat your body well, and put on a pair of stretchy pants that allow you to exhale. Winter fluff makes snuggles snugglier, and it keeps us nice and warm.

It’s cozy and it’s natural, and it doesn’t deserve scorn. (Check out these celebs who embrace their bodies. Post continues after gallery.)

Rebel WilsonThe actress said on Twitter; "I'm not trying to be hot. I'm just trying to be a good actress and entertain people."

Image via @rebelwilson

Adele"The first thing to do is be happy with yourself and appreciate your body - only then should you try to change things about yourself."

Image via Getty

Lady GagaAfter the media focused on her alleged weight gain in September 2012, Gaga hit back at critics by baring her body in photographs, sharing her struggles with an eating disorder, and inviting her fans to join her in a "body revolution"/ Image via @ladygaga

Ashley JuddAfter the March 2012 frenzy around Judd's "puffy face" the actress fought back in 'The Daily Beast', calling the media out for making women's bodies "a source of speculation, ridicule, and invalidation, as if they belong to others". Image via @ashley_judd

Christina Aguilera"I am always in support of someone who is willing and comfortable in their own skin enough to embrace it," the singer said in a recent interview. Image via @xtina

Lena DunhamAt the 2012 New Yorker Festival, the magazine's TV critic, Emily Nussbaum, asked Lena Dunham, producer, creator and star of the hit HBO show 'Girls' why Dunham is naked in so many scenes.

Dunham responded; "I realised that what was missing in movies for me was the presence of bodies I understood." She said she plans to live until she is 105 and show her thighs every day. Image via @lenadunham

Alexa ChungChung responded to critics who suggested that her slight frame made her a bad role model for young women, saying:

"Just because I exist in this shape doesn't mean that I'm, like, advocating it." Image via Twitter @alexa_chung

Stella BoonshoftThe NYU student started the amazing Body Love Blog, where she posted this picture of herself and wrote an open letter to those who feel entitled to shame others for the size or look of their bodies. Image via http://thebodyloveblog.tumblr.com"> Body Love Blog

Beth DittoThis five-foot-tall, 200-pound singer spoke openly about her weight to 'The Advocate' saying, "I feel sorry ... for people who've had skinny privilege and then have it taken away from them. I have had a lifetime to adjust to seeing how people treat women who aren't their idea of beautiful and therefore aren't their idea of useful, and I had to find ways to become useful to myself." Image via @marybethditto

Come spring the sun will come back out and we’ll all go back outside, we’ll probably be more active and feel much more energised. The key here is to listen to what your body says to you: rest when it says “rest,” and do when it says “do.”

In spring you might shed your winter fluff, but even if it stays, love your body — and your fluff! — because you’re perfect in every way.

This story by Winona Dimeo-Ediger originally appeared on Ravishly, a feminist news+culture website. Follow us on Twitter & Facebook and check out these related stories:

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