(Guest post from fellow Eating Psychology Coach, Tanya Mark)
I wish I had learned a long time ago that my health, fitness, beauty and self-worth don't equal a magical number on the scale that should never change.
But the truth is that as a wellness expert with over 20+ years of experience, I learned the opposite - that thin is "ideal" - and so have you, and so have all of us.
These beliefs are ingrained in our culture as the truth.
These beliefs have led to a cultural obsession with our weight, our appearance, no matter what our body size, age, gender.
Our Culture is the problem - not what you see in the mirror.
Did you know that less than 5% of women naturally possess the body type that culture portrays as "ideal?"
Let that sink in.
That means that 95% of us feel like our bodies are "never enough." (Tracy's side note: even those with bodies in the ideal 5% often struggle with accepting their bodies or live in fear of them changing.) As a result, you may spend valuable time and energy in your one precious life trying to maintain a weight that you "should" be at (and stay at) or trying to attain a body size that will never be your size.
Instead of making us healthier, these "thin ideal" beliefs could be making us less healthy.
You may have tried "diets" in the past or you're trying a new food program that claims it's not a diet - yet these "healthy lifestyle" plans restrict your calories. Ultimately, it's still a diet if success is a specific number on the scale. What's promoted as healthy behaviors may not be healthy as the weight loss industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that profits off this "thin ideal." Research has shown us that dieting (restricting calories or carbohydrates which is the current trend) doesn't "work" long term and leads to weight cycling - regain.
The act of dieting could be a cause of weight gain. Why? Because our bodies are biologically programmed to protect us from famine - albeit these diets are self-imposed. Your body doesn't know that you're purposely restricting calories to try and maintain or attain a cultural "ideal."
And what if you learned that bodies are supposed to change and that...
So this brings me to the radical shift our culture needs in our approach to health and well-being:
Practice self-care, not self-control
Which factors below are you able to modify? ♡ Do you have quality relationships and support? Research shows that having a strong support system in place is incredibly protective of your overall health.
♡ Do you have a variety of strategies in place to help you manage stress? Research shows that chronic stress (which includes weight stigma) is one of the leading cause of disease.
♡ Do you get adequate sleep? Remember nobody's sleep is perfect so don't make perfect sleep "a stress." ♡ Does your self-care include your mental health? Seek support if necessary. We're not taught how to regulate our emotions and that it's ok to feel strong emotions and may turn to food, alcohol, shopping etc. to not feel or to feel better. We all need a toolbox of coping mechanisms to deal with the ups and downs of life.
♡ Do you move your body in ways that bring you joy and make you feel good? Exercise has a ton of health benefits yet most of us think of exercise in relation to calories burned and weight goals.
♡ Do you practice gentle nutrition? Learn to tune into your body and listen to its signals. Diet culture has taught us anything but to listen. So it's time to empower yourself. You are the expert of your own body. ♡ Do you take time to self-reflect on your overall satisfaction with your life and consider what shift would have the most impact on improving wellbeing? Ultimately, let's learn to honor the complexities of health and have compassion for ourselves and others. Let's separate weight from wellness and focus on what health behaviors we do have control over...and allow our bodies to settle at the size where they are healthiest - not diet culture's definition of "healthy."
Your body ♡ isn't wrong, friends, our culture is.
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If you’d like to learn more about this topic, click HERE to book a session with me.
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