How Do I Wrap My Mind Around Health at Every Size?

Hello Dear Hearts,

Hope you are well.   I appreciate you reading and watching and for your feedback about what is important to you.

Let’s talk about health.  In my opinion this topic is one of the most fear-mongered, confused and conflicting topic that western people are exposed to in their lives.

I was very lucky in some weird way that my dieting mother and grandmother separated out health from weight.  They dieted because they felt they should to look “better” or at least feel better about something or at least hate themselves less.  They never used the reason” I am eating less to be healthy”. It wasn’t convoluted at a young age, thank goodness.

However, I learned from teen magazines and culture in general as a teen about “healthism” — earning worth and having pride through one’s eating — as a means to justify eating less to be thinner and therefore more confident and popular.

Because I learned that “healthy” eating, aka, lower calories, equals weighing less which equaled a higher chance of people not criticizing me or liking me more (and I already had those woundings prior to being exposed to this stuff) I was all in.

I could just get thinner and people would like me more and I would have no needs that people could criticize — sign me up for this belief system too!

Maybe you relate, but that innocent but bad move cost me many years of my life, many missed family events because of the fear of binging or missing a workout and truly just missing out on learning more about who I am and what the point of being on this planet is in the first place.

So how do we unlearn all the beliefs that create pride, shame and fear around body size and health?  

We actually have to go back in time.

You may not remember, but there was a time where you just ate the food that was provided for you and played.  You didn’t mentally manage this. You still grew. Now I do know many of us had disregulation around eating for as long as you can remember, but we are wired for connection.  It can be nurtured and loved back up on to full strength.

And how are we going to do this?  We are going to focus on ACTUAL care.  Not, I can have a piece of cake when I earn it.  I am going to have a piece of cake and taste it and get feedback from my body and trust that it will give me signals to what is next.

My body will give me signals that eventually I won’t want a lot of any one thing as I let go of food rules.

I can gently use some very basic, not exciting knowledge about nutrition to round out my eating when I don’t care much either way what the next meal or snack is going to be and eat with pleasure and no value judging. (We are not better people if we eat more than five servings of fruit or vegetables per day)

The unchanging information that has been around for decades is this.  Eat a variety of foods when you can. Eat fiber, fruit and vegetables and in a way that is enjoyable and works with your specific digestion.   Get in some play/movement. Listen to when you need to rest, drink, pee, play, connect and get stuff done. Know that some days you eat more than others and that is normal.

That’s about it.  

The rules/diets/protocols we have all fallen prey to all have a few things in common:  they take you out of your body and into your mind in a controlling, fearful kind of way.  

And we all know from experience that it is not sustainable, healthy and has robbed us of connection and contentment, let alone a stable weight.

So let’s go back to our bodies wisdom about food, weight and movement and practice acceptance and listening. 
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Just to see what science says about this wise approach, check out:

https://www.sizediversityandhealth.org/images/uploaded/ASDAH%20HAES%20Principles.pdf

and

https://lindabacon.org/_resources/resources-organized-topic/

We all want to feel vital and live our lives in relative comfort during our lifetime.  Sometimes we will, sometimes we will have periods of discomfort. But thinking that weight loss will fix every problem or discomfort is living only in the mind.

There are non-diet ways to address most concerns.  Knees hurt? Find a great physical therapist and strengthen them.  

Acid reflux?  Get checked out for ulcers, hernias or something else and learn if any foods based on your bodies feedback make it better or worse.

Let’s move away from the fear and disconnection and do the best we can in these human bodies we have and leave the diet industry with it’s false promises of a perfect life behind.

To your health and peace!
Tracy