Category Archives: HAES

Cheese and Strangulation by Bedsheets

anti-diet, Diet, Dietitian, HAES, health, health coach, health goals, health professional, No body shame, non-diet, wellness, , , , ,

I say when your press release gets no press, make your own! We will get to the cheese; but first:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dieting is Making You Bigger

Say Hello to Jacksonville’s Only Health at Every Size® Nutritionist

Jacksonville, Florida – July 2017 – There is a movement growing among health professionals called Health at Every Size® which, among other things, rejects the use of weight as an indicator of health and believes that weight is largely unchangeable by individuals. There is only one registered HAES® practitioner in the Jacksonville area. Search the listings here.

Regardless of what the celebrities and infomercials who promote a Diet Culture say, the fact is that the majority of dieters only temporarily lose weight. In the long-term, they regain the lost weight plus more. Many of them will then go back on a diet – and this weight cycling is detrimental to health. Following restrictive diets and intense work-out plans provides temporary weight loss results at the expense of mental health and self-esteem with the result often being an out-of-whack metabolism and eating binges. Social relationships can also suffer as food rules, good food/bad food beliefs, and guilt or shame about food choices become more consuming.

Many people think if someone is overweight, they are not healthy. The truth is that not everyone who has a large body is sick/unhealthy – and not everyone who has a small body is well/healthy. One cannot make judgements about someone’s health based on their body size. Many larger bodied people are healthy in terms of lab values, freedom from chronic conditions, and ability to exercise and live independently. All the diseases and conditions that obesity supposedly causes are nothing more than associations and correlations – things that happen together – not necessarily one thing causing the other.

For some fun correlations to illustrate this point, see Spurious Correlations and you can “prove” that eating cheese leads to death by strangulation by bedsheets… or that eating margarine leads to happier marriages (or at least less divorce filings)…

Beware-the-cheese

You see my point?

(And if you don’t, I’ve got a heckuva deal on some swampland I can sell you down here in Florida… hit me up!)

As a HAES® practitioner, registered dietitian, and certified health coach, I can offer a welcome change of pace for people who choose to reject the diet culture and prefer to work on improving health through mindful eating, enjoyable exercise, self-acceptance, and realistic, flexible lifestyle habits.

Get more information or see our upcoming events.

What Is this No-Diet / Anti-Diet Thing Anyway?

anti-diet, Diet, Dietitian, HAES, health, health goals, hunger, non-diet, reverse dieting, wellness, , , , , ,

Now that you are exploring the idea that diets don’t work, are you wondering what that leaves you with if you still want to improve your health and lose weight? It is a scary place to be. Many dieters have been dieting for a very long time and not having the structure and those good/bad thoughts about food and eating habits can result in feeling very lost and uncertain. We certainly are not comfortable trusting our bodies since we are not happy with how our bodies look. We certainly cannot trust our bodies because our bodies are always hungry (um, yeah, because we are starving our bodies on diets!).

Life with no diet plan? No food rules? How will we know what to eat? How will we keep from eating way too much food or binge-eating? We will dive in to the deep end with food and just get bigger!

So many times when I start working with a new client, I hear a very familiar story. It goes something like this:

What I ate yesterday? Oh, well, that was a bad day [laughs] but okay. I got up and I had a cup of coffee with a splash unsweetened coconut milk and honey – I know sugar is bad but honey is natural – and I ate 1 packet of instant oatmeal made with water. I was hungry mid-morning but I was good and didn’t eat until lunch time! For lunch, I had a salad and a diet soda. What was on the salad? Oh, it was just lettuce and tomatoes with one of those tuna packs. No, no dressing or croutons – I can’t eat those! By 4:00 I was so hungry but I drank a lot of water to fill up my stomach and I managed to make it home without eating! For dinner, we had grilled chicken and I had a few broccoli florets. My husband had some rice but I know carbs make me fat so I skipped that. To drink, I had a couple glasses of red wine – I’ve heard that’s good for my heart, right? I was so good yesterday and was so proud of myself but then, I was so bad. I just could not stop eating after dinner. I know I’m not supposed to eat after 6pm… are you sure you want to hear this? Okay, well, first I had some crackers with cheese… and then I had a lo-calorie popsicle… and then I had a big bowl of chopped pineapple… and I was still hungry and well, I knew I blew it at that point and was being bad so I went ahead and ate one of those big microwave bags of popcorn and before bed I had some ice cream! So far today though, I’m being good again and eating right.

It is a way-too-familiar story because it is the pattern of most of the people I talk to who are trying to diet. If you read that again and look for food rules and good/bad language, it will jump out at you. If you total up those calories (sorry, dietitian-brain took over) – or think about how much food was eaten before the after-dinner snacking began  – you know it is not enough to fuel a body! Of course you are hungry. You are starving your body. Yes, I know it’s on purpose because you want to lose weight but it backfires every single time, doesn’t it?

And no, it’s not because you aren’t good enough; aren’t strong enough; didn’t try hard enough. It’s because: physiology. Undereat… undereat…. Ignore hunger… undereat… binge! See you again tomorrow diet!

But without a diet plan, we now are staring into a void. Without the rules, what is left?

break-free-from-dieting

There is a new buzzword out there: anti-diet (or reverse dieting). It has been around for a while but maybe you just haven’t seen it before. Other names you may have heard are no-diet, non-diet, mindful eating, intuitive eating, and some others. It is about listening to your body – and yes, you can trust your body – once it has learned it can trust you not to starve it again… although that may take a little time. Your body has learned that starvation is always coming if you are a repeat dieter. But with time, you can get past that point and get back in sync with your body.

What does a non-diet approach look like? It may be different for different people but here are some ideas – and I’m sure you could add your own ideas to this list once you get the hang of it:

  • Eating foods you like in amounts you desire, which means
    • Eating when you are hungry instead of ignoring your body when it is crying out for fuel and energy
    • Stop eating when you are satisfied from a meal. Yes, this takes practice and it is hard work; but doesn’t that make more sense than eating a set number of calories or points or only green foods?
  • Consider what you want for your health and choose foods that move you in that direction
    • For example, if you are working on lowering cholesterol then eat more foods with fiber and unsaturated fats
  • Focus on quality nutrition by swapping out nutrition-poor foods for more nutrition-rich foods
  • Allow yourself to eat what you really crave and enjoy – have those treats and other foods you love and told yourself you would never eat again
  • Following that, only eat foods that you enjoy. I do have one pretty big food rule that I recommend we all follow: Never eat something you don’t like. Seems elementary but a lot of people choke down “healthy” foods and drinks that they hate
  • Find activity that you truly enjoy regardless of the intensity or “calorie burn” and then do it consistently (and joyfully!)

Answer a question for me: Are these positive guidelines or negative ones?

The diet industry has made people hate themselves into desiring to change by following rigid and ridiculous rules. This approach is all about loving ourselves into change with flexible and enjoyable guidelines!

Think about it. The diet culture banks on you hating your body. You hate your body and so you diet and exercise because your body is wrong, it can’t be trusted, it’s signals must be ignored, and you are not worthy. You must eat a certain way (diet), obsess about food, power through the physical and emotional pain of hunger, and don’t forget to exercise to as a penance for eating. And maybe one day, after you suffer the consequences of “getting yourself back” after having “let yourself go,” you finally can be deserving of love and worthy and valuable.

The no-diet approach is based on loving yourself and realizing that your body is worthy and beautiful, you can trust it and listen to its signals, and if it never changes, you are enough, you are valuable, and you are worthy. You eat because food is nourishing – and delicious – and you get to exercise and move your body in ways that feel good. These things are rewards, not punishments!

And listen, you can still seek to improve your health. There is nothing wrong with that. Do you think those who strive to be millionaires shrug their shoulders and stop trying because the majority of people don’t make it? Heck no. If that were the case, then millionaires would only be born, not self-made. Self-made millionaires seek to improve on their weaknesses and put in the hard work. They read, meditate, get up earlier, work harder, and improve themselves. Do you think they hate themselves until they make their first million? Heck no! (So why do you hate your body until you lose weight?). They believe in themselves, they love themselves, and they know they are worthy of achieving their dreams.

Breaking the diet mindset is not easy work.

A funny thing happens with weight when many people stop dieting… not right away; but over time, people’s weights settle at the weight that is best for their bodies. You may lose weight if your body has a lot of weight on it because you are treating yourself poorly with food and not being active and then you start treating yourself better by eating nutrition-rich food and getting more active; but weight is not the focus. You may gain weight if you’ve been dieting forever and now you break all your “diet rules;” but the research doesn’t indicate that weight is gained with a non-diet approach and weight is not the focus. If you lose weight, great! If you don’t lose weight, great! If your weight doesn’t change, great! Once you can embrace that, you will have flipped off diet culture and be on your way to living a happier, healthier life!

Do you want to learn more? Please join our upcoming Redefining Healthy Book Club: Readings to Break the Diet Cycle and Live the Good Life. We will meet virtually and in-person if you are in the Ponte Vedra, Jacksonville, St. Augustine area of Florida.

Yours in Good Health,

-Alexia Lewis RD

This article is Part 4 of 4 in “Health versus Weight as a Focus for Wellness” which will be published during the month of June 2017.

Part 1: The Continuum of Approaches to Health: Thoughts from a Curvy & Healthy Dietitian Health Coach

Part 2: Who is the Best Health Professional to Help with Creating New Lifestyle Habits?

Part 3: If Diets Don’t Work, How Can a Health Coach Help Me?

References & Resources

T.L.Tylka, R.A. Annunziato, D. Burgard, et al, “The weight-inclusive versus weight-normative approach to health: Evaluating the evidence for prioritizing well-being over weight loss,” Journal of Obesity, vol 2014, article ID 983495, 2014. View at: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobe/2014/983495/.

A. Bombak, “Obesity, Health at Every Size, and Public Health Policy,” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 104, no.2, pp. e60-e67, 2014. View at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3935663/

If Diets Don’t Work, How Can a Health Coach Help Me?

anti-diet, Diet, Dietitian, HAES, health, health coach, health goals, non-diet, weight, weight loss, wellness, , , , , ,

Have you heard that diets don’t work?

Actually, all diets work. Any way you can dream up to cut calories will usually result in weight loss (assuming no underlying health conditions, sleep and stress are in check, you have a healthy gut microbiome, have not screwed up your metabolism from a history of chronic dieting, etc. etc. etc.). So go for it – paleo, atkins, intermittent fasting, no white foods, whatever – they all work until you stop following them.

Ah, there’s the catch. Who could follow any of them for a lifetime? So, diets only work short term. Health is not a short term proposition. Diets don’t work.

The ugly truth is that an overwhelming majority of dieters regain the lost weight (plus more!). Many others have knocked their metabolism and hormones out of whack (making it easier to gain weight) and may have jeopardized their health physically and emotionally by going on a diet. What’s worse is that weight cycling (the on/off diet lose-and-regain weight cycle) is not at all good for your health.

It’s all doom and gloom for dieting when you look past the initial honeymoon phase when your weight is dropping. Need to have that gall bladder taken out after a low-fat diet? Obsessing about food all the time after calorie counting? Feeling like a failure, unworthy, unlovable after losing and regaining weight again? These are the promises diets should make. #truthinadvertising. You must be crazy if you want to go on a diet. Who wants results like that?

dietsdontwork

Well, a lot of people do. We are all bombarded by diet culture and fitspo and it is natural to want to lose weight, to model what you see, to want to fit in with current societal norms. We live in a shake-pushing weight-shaming world and large-bodied people face discrimination every day. Our beliefs about dieting and weight are so very skewed from media outlets and celebrities and fitness bloggers.  Many blame themselves for not being able to lose weight on a diet (wrong answer) instead of blaming the multi-million dollar industry that is banking on the fact that you will blame yourself instead of the diet plan and spend your money in the diet industry again and again and again.

But, check it. If the majority of diets fail, then at least some dieters are successful, right? I hear the optimist in you. I get it. That next diet, well, it’s so alluring and promising and well, maybe you are in that Miracle Minority who can diet and keep weight off for life! Maybe.  Maybe not.  I’m not a fortune teller. Even though I know the research about diet outcomes, it is not my job to force that on you. So, go ahead if you want to try just one (or three or five) more diets. I’ll still be here when you are ready to try out something different.

How Can I Help You?

If you want to work on your health and wellness, then I want to work with you. This is where the education part of my job is. Let’s talk about why you believe that the next diet is “the one” and let’s work through how you are thinking about dieting – the process and results and struggles – and see where you end up. It is better to for you to explore your options and for me to give you a safe place to unload and investigate some new ideas.

My hope is that you will move towards the anti-diet/non-diet approach. In fact, many people I work do relax their food rules and find a happy place with food and exercise. If you partner with me then you get a coach to educate, explore, discuss, trouble-shoot, brainstorm, encourage, motivate, and challenge you. You get someone on your side working right there next to you until we find what works for you to reach your health goals.

When you are ready to break the diet cycle and focus on your health, I will still be here.

Yours in Good Health,

-Alexia Lewis RD

This article is Part 1 of 4 in “Health versus Weight as a Focus for Wellness” which will be published during the month of June 2017.

Part 1: The Continuum of Approaches to Health: Thoughts from a Curvy & Healthy Dietitian Health Coach

Part 2: Who Is The Best Health Professional to Help with Creating New Lifestyle Habits?

Part 4: What Is This No-Diet / Anti-Diet Thing Anyway?

References

T.L.Tylka, R.A. Annunziato, D. Burgard, et al, “The weight-inclusive versus weight-normative approach to health: Evaluating the evidence for prioritizing well-being over weight loss,” Journal of Obesity, vol 2014, article ID 983495, 2014. View at: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobe/2014/983495/.

A. Bombak, “Obesity, Health at Every Size, and Public Health Policy,” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 104, no.2, pp. e60-e67, 2014. View at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3935663/

P. Sumithran and J. Proietto, “The defence of body weight: A physiological basis for weigh regain after loss,” Clinical Science, vol. 124, no. 4, pp. 231-241, 2013. View at: http://www.clinsci.org/content/124/4/231.

S. Wolport, “Dieting does not work, UCLA researchers report,” UCLA Newsroom, 2007. View at: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/Dieting-Does-Not-Work-UCLA-Researchers-7832 or the study that was the basis for the article here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17469900.

R.R. Wing and S. Phelan, “Long-term weight loss maintenance,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 82, no. 1, pp. 222S-225S, 2005. View at: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/82/1/222S.short.

R. Chastain, “Do 95% of dieters really fail?” Dances with Fat, 2011. View at: https://danceswithfat.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/do-95-of-dieters-really-fail/ (a nice summation with links to more information).

The Continuum of Approaches to Health: Thoughts from a Curvy & Healthy Dietitian Health Coach

anti-diet, Diet, Dietitian, HAES, health, health coach, No body shame, non-diet, reverse dieting, weight, , , , ,

Health is a field overwhelmed with experts and more who claim to be experts.

On one end of the spectrum are those offering quick, easy ways to get skinny and ripped for no effort and a few bucks. And boy, do those “experts” ever look the part – slim, muscular, portraying a “healthy” body – and they want you to know that they have the 30-day challenge, the magic shake, the recipe book, the 15-minute a day work-out, and the supplements that – this time – they promise – can make you be look just like them! Wooo! Hold on a minute though. They are also genetically blessed to fit the current “ideal body” type, they are most likely malnourished and dehydrated from the pre-photo-shoot dieting phase, they are contoured with make-up magic and lighting, and then, finally, because all that is still not “good enough,” they are photo-shopped into “perfection.” You’ve seen all the “before and after” pictures. This can make the even most self-confident people reconsider themselves and hold their bodies up for comparison. Welcome to the Diet Culture.

Then there’s me. I choose not to belong in the diet culture. I do not look the part. I do not promise you fast results or sell you weight-loss, muscle-burning, metabolism-boosting products because no matter how many times you buy the plan, the shake, the pills – in the end, the diet will fail you.

At the other end of the spectrum are the weight-neutral, anti-diet, non-diet, Health at Every Size®, body-positive, and No Body Shame approaches. I embrace these values and know that health can have nothing to do with weight. Yes, I know it is difficult to believe but it is supported by research and my personal clinical experience. Not only have I worked with many clients who have great health by all measures regardless of their body size (larger, smaller, and in between); I also have pretty good health (see blog) regardless of my body size. Weight does not cause poor health; weight is associated with some health conditions. This is not at all the same thing. And – these associations disappear when confounding factors are controlled. And as far as obesity leading to increased mortality (earlier death), that also goes away when metabolic health (good labs) and physical fitness come into the picture. No one has any obligation to (attempt to) control their body size; all bodies are worthy and you are, in fact, “good enough” and deserving of all you want in the body you have right now. Assuming you are not a jerk, in which case I take that back.

Then there’s me. As I started this article series, I was admiring these principles yet clinging to weight loss because (1) that is what people want, and (2) it is difficult to let go of weight-focus after living in diet culture. The more I researched weight loss sustainability and weight’s actual influence on health, the easier the shift to a weight-neutral focus became. I walked into this blog believing there was still some value in including weight as one of many – not the only or the most important – parameters to measure change.  The research flies in the face of that belief so I have changed my professional opinion.

And – oh happy day! Through this process, I have realized that I am not alone. There is a community of health professionals who also believe this. There is an alternative to the diet culture – a safe, evidence-based, real-life, flexible, option to focus on health over weight through a weight-neutral approach.

So, where does this leave me?

When I started writing – confused. Now that I am on the end of the research and writing – angry. I am angry that there is so much pressure, misunderstanding, and stigma surrounding something that we should celebrate – our bodies. I am angry that this was not more of a factor in my education, training, and continuing education. I am angry that such a lie (weight loss is easy and sustainable and oh so important for your health) has been perpetuated and ingrained into every aspect of our American culture.

I am breaking free of the diet culture personally and in my practice. This is not easy because “Hello, my name is Alexia and I am a chronic dieter” since my first week-long fast at the age of 13 who is sitting firmly in the “overweight” category by all measures you could make. I understand wanting to lose weight because I have that desire due to a lifetime of cultural pressure. I do not know what to do now with the pride that has been my friend since I have been tracking my calories (on and off) for the past 10 years. I am not sure where I put all of that right now. But that’s okay.

I am more and more firmly planted in the non-diet culture. I also understand this approach because, regardless of my weight, I am healthy, active, and happy. I have worked with my clients to help them relax their food rules and enjoy delicious food without guilt. I love the freedom and flexibility of a non-diet approach. Now I get to walk the walk – instead of just talk the talk then go home and count my calories (which I have not done since I started this blog series a few days ago so that is a start!).

All I know, and you may have noticed by now, is that I am a (beautiful, messy) work in progress just like you. I know I have passion for helping others with their goals. This is absolutely the right field for me because I am so fulfilled when I get to see people reach goals or when that “something” clicks for them. I get to be their partner in literally changing the path of their lives. It is an honor to be a part of this type of transformation for people and I am grateful for it every day.

I guess that’s bigger than any label I could put on myself.

Yours in Good Health,

-Alexia Lewis RD

This article is Part 1 of 4 in “Health versus Weight as a Focus for Wellness” which will be published during the month of June 2017.

Part 2: Who is Best Health Professional to Help you With Creating New Lifestyle Habits?

Part 3: If Diets Don’t Work, How Can a Health Coach Help Me?

Part 4: What Is This No-Diet / Anti-Diet Thing Anyway?

References:

A. Bombak, “Obesity, Health at Every Size, and Public Health Policy,” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 104, no.2, pp. e60-e67, 2014. View at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3935663/

K. M. Flegal, B. K. Kit, H. Orpana, and B. I. Graubard, “Association of all-cause mortality with overweight and obesity using standard body mass index categories a systematic review and meta-analysis,” Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 309, no. 1, pp. 71–82, 2013. View at http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1555137.

L. Bacon and L. Aphramor, “Weight Science: Evaluating the evidence for a paradigm shift,” Nutrition Journal, 2011. View at https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2891-10-9.

Weight Does Not Equal Health: A Personal Story

Dietitian, HAES, health, weight

You may have noticed I’m a dietitian and health coach and I’m overweight. Does that make you question my abilities? Do you think that I can’t help you because obviously I can’t take care of my own health? If so, well, that’s too bad.

You see, too much our current culture thinks (1) healthy = thin anIMG_1167d (2) thin = healthy.

Lemme tell ya, that just ain’t so. In clinical practice I have seen many thin people with some really messed up ugly labs who get winded walking up a flight of stairs… and I’ve seen many large people with gorgeous labs who are working out every day. So, yah, about weight and health, they don’t always go hand-in-hand.

Right, the personal story.

I’ve shared before my weight history from my early years to present day so it should come as no surprise that I’m technically “overweight” by the BMI (which really should get tossed out as invalid for clinical practice) and I’m also “overweight” at 140% of my “ideal body weight” by the Hamwii equation oh and I wear a size 12-14 but wasn’t blessed with Marilyn’s curves… or height! So, one might look at me and think, ugh, she’s big / chubby / fat / totally unhealthy and oh my god how can she be a health coach?

And actually, if you are that judgy on how I look then I can only imagine what you must say to yourself – stop it already and try being nice to yourself… and stop worrying about my size or health because I’m good.

Want proof?

Well, I will share my HIPAA-protected lab values with you to prove the point – anecdotally of course. I’ll list the labs (the ideal range): my value.

Total Cholesterol (100-199):                          123

Triglycerides (0-149):                                      118

HDL (good) Cholesterol (> 50 women):       75

LDL (bad) Cholesterol (< 100):                      24

Glucose / Blood Sugar (<100):                       91

All the rest are also within normal limits so I won’t go down the laundry list here…

I also exercise. I can run/walk a 5k (very ungracefully), I can do an hour of heated yoga (a little more gracefully), and I average 10,000 steps a day.

If anything, I want to improve my strength and flexibility, not my weight.

My weight will be whatever it wants to be actually. I want to eat delicious food and I want to enjoy using my body. I want you to stop judging me as a health professional because of my beliefs about weight being the cause of many health issues (correlation is not causation). I want you to stop being so critical of yourself and others. Loosen up a little. Eat some good food. Move with joyful purpose. Stop eating and exercising by the numbers. And realize that beauty – and health – do come in all shapes and sizes.

And yes, I’m overweight and I’m a damn good dietitian and health coach.

Originally posted at N.E.W. Motivation Coaching on 5/10/17.

The Secrets of My Success

Diet, Dietitian, HAES, health, Healthy Diet, weight, weight loss, , , , ,

I recently wrote, “Change your body or don’t – we are all works in progress – but please start from a place of self-love and body-acceptance.” (Blog here). Today, I share some of my journey.

My weight fluctuates. I remember being 13 and thinking I was too fat (at 115 lbs!).

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
13 and playing dress-up at my aunt’s place

I also remember being my heaviest in my 20s (190 lbs!).

alexia and chris

Remember Jane Fonda and the thong-leotard-leg-warmers aerobics phase? I jumped on that bandwagon, got my first certification (ACE Group Fitness Instructor) and got down to 125 lbs as an adult – which I maintained for about two deep breaths. I’ve also attained lifetime membership with Weight Watchers twice!

100_3423

My weight goes the 140s to the 170s depending on whether I’m in a calorie-counting-exercising phase or a couch-potato-take-out-dinner phase.

I’m okay with being a “heavier” dietitian. My hope is that it gives people a place of realism from which to start, it reinforces that “knowing” and “doing” are two different things, and it lets people know that I can relate to their challenges since maintaining a socially desirable weight doesn’t come easy for me either!

This year, I’ve focused on bringing my body weight down. My reasons? I like to feel strong (I didn’t) and I have a closet full of super-cute clothes that I want to wear again. Okay, and arms. I love to see my upper arms have a little definition.

Body change will not happen until you are ready and decide what will work for you with your circumstances.

It is EASY to not think about what to eat until you’re hungry and it is HARD to meal plan, shop, and prep.

It is EASY to flop onto the coach at the end of the day and it is HARD to make time (and motivate!) to exercise.

It is EASY to make excuses and it is HARD to find small things you CAN do regardless of circumstances and place responsibility squarely on your own shoulders – where it belongs!

Next is what has worked for me to slowly lose 15 pounds this year – 3/4 pound a week adds up over time.

First was putting some money on the line. I tried DietBet. The app takes your real money from you and challenges you to lose 4% of your weight in 4 weeks. I’ve won 5 games and lost 1. Knowing that I have to make a certain goal or lose $10 – $35 has been incredibly motivating and helped with consistency.

Second was that dreaded meal planning and prepping ahead of time. I started with the New Year, a new notebook, and a heart full of hope. It worked. I have done this faithfully EVERY WEEK since January! It sucks. It’s hard. It takes soooooo long to do the prep sometimes. But it is SOOOOOOOOO worth it! (I do count calories using SparkPeople and have for years – love this site!)

Finally, (and I hate to admit this) a FitBit helped me to get moving. I didn’t realize how sedentary I was. Now I try to get 10-12k steps 4 times a week and 7k on other days. (Note that my employer has incentive money tied to steps – financial incentive helps!) In addition, I tried (and loved!) a yoga studio and promptly signed up for two Intro to Yoga series workshops.

My secrets to success are find something you love for activity, make the time for meal planning and prepping, and put some money on the line!

WHAT ARE YOUR SECRETS TO SUCCESS???

NOTE – There are NO affiliations or sponsorships from any of the linked resources mentioned.

Featured picture from:http://www.niashanks.com/stop-weighing-on-the-scale-for-weight-loss/. The other pictures are obviously mine. Please don’t use them without my permission.

Are You Healthy?

Dietitian, HAES, health, Healthy Diet, , , , ,

Is overweight the new healthy? The answer might surprise you.

Let’s start with the definition of healthy. How do you define healthy?

There are many aspects of health – there is body size (BMI, body fat) or metabolic health (lab results) or cardiovascular health (resting heart rate, ability to perform daily living tasks or purposeful exercise) or even emotional and spiritual health (do the standards you hold yourself to for your physical health damage your emotional health?). Or is it based on quality of life? Or the characteristics of those who live the longest?

(Spoiler alert: We are finding that a BMI in the “overweight” range has a lower mortality rate than those in the “normal” weight range).

So, I ask: how should we define health? The good news is that you get to define it based on what is important to you and I’d recommend you do it in collaboration with a physician.

I can tell you that people choose physical appearance over their emotional health a lot. One thing most people have in common when they walk in the door to meet with an RD is that their emotional health has taken a hit regardless of their body size. It seems very few people can find peace with their bodies – even those who appear “fit” or “healthy” to others.

This concerns me.

I used to be there too and I still some days struggle with self-acceptance and self-love (stupid #fitspo memes). It’s no secret that I carry a few extra pounds. Should you consider me proof that knowing what to do to get to a socially desirable weight and actually doing it are two different things? Or should you perhaps consider that I am happy and healthy with a few extra pounds? Could this be true?!?!

In 2007, I was “overweight” by the numbers and I fought with my body and had low body-acceptance. My hips were too big, my belly isn’t flat, my thighs are so big when I sit down… all those things we let ourselves say in our heads when we don’t love ourselves as we are. I had a heart attack. I felt my body had let me down even more… and then I realized that this body that I hated – big belly, hips, thighs, and all – had actually carried me through and I survived that heart attack. Just that simple realization led to a big mind shift and changed those thoughts in my head to appreciation and gratitude for this body that I was lucky enough to still have!

Before you go screaming that being overweight is why I had a heart attack – let me stop you. I was a smoker for decades, I worked a stressful job, and I have a strong family history. Most health conditions (and the supposed “obesity epidemic”) are not as simple as people believe. These things have multiple factors that lead to these outcomes. Being thin would not have prevented my heart attack.

I share all this to lead you into considering your HEALTH over your APPEARANCE. I encourage you to think a little deeper than the eat-less-move-more movement. Check out HAES (Health at Every Size), read up on new studies that might indicate a coming shift in beliefs (just one of many studies here: BMI 27: The New Normal?), and start loving yourself first.

Change your body or don’t – we are all works in progress – but please start from a place of self-love and body-acceptance. Look forward to more information on this topic in the future.

Image from: https://fridayforgood.com/2015/11/20/be-rebellious/