Free online Body Love Summit to take place this week
By Aimee Durand
To encourage women to love their bodies, Jennifer Ludington is launching a free online Body Love Summit, Dec. 17, with 29 guest stories, including her very personal struggles with exercise addiction and eating disorders.
“Loving our bodies is not always easy in a culture obsessed with physical perfection,” said Ludington, a fixture in local fitness for 13 years.
Behind the scenes of her years as a fitness trainer, yoga instructor and nutrition bar founder, as well as a studio and gym owner, Ludington harbored a dark secret: She was caught in a vicious cycle of looking fitness-perfect all the time and knowing that no matter how hard she exercised or restricted her food intake, her mirror image would never be enough.
In October 2018, desperately trying to decide how to share her story, Ludington realized that she was not alone, and that other women struggled, too. A friend remarked that she desired to look fit, like Ludington, but, despite all the effort and using Ludington as a role model, she could not meet the goal.
“I just cried,” Ludington said. “I realized I was part of the problem.”
Ludington decided to stop perpetuating the false image of what healthy looks like. She starting talking to other women, including actress Mariel Hemingway and Pirie Grossman, and from that conversation the idea of the Body Love movement grew. Both women shared their personal stories for the series.
“Each speaker brings so much to the summit,” Ludington said.
On her birthday last week, Ludington decided to finally grant herself the gift of freedom from her own shame and penned a personal blog post from a painful memory.
Late-night hunger pangs had led her to the kitchen, where she dug into a jar of peanut butter, using her fingers, because she did not want to make any noise. The tears flowed because she knew a purge would follow.
Ludington knows now that body-image conflicts like hers are not just an issue for women but also for all those who love them. Husbands and children suffer right alongside.
“You get so consumed with achieving perfection that you forget who you are,” she said.
Ludington admits that she still gets caught in the cycle of wondering if she should eat something or not, but her project is helping her—and hopefully many others—heal.
“When I hear these wonderful human beings speaking for the summit, it heals me more,” she said.
Ludington wants to give people something tangible to help them heal. A real approach for real people is what she is hoping for.
“Just stop the madness,” she said. “This is my purpose, it is my mission. I’m going for it.”
To register for the free summit, go to
www.bodylovesummit.net.