Health, Not Weight Loss: A Mini Rant

I want to be able to visit a health website and find tips for being healthy. Not bullshit about losing weight and getting a flat stomach. Weight loss and lack of tummy rolls don't indicate health.

No, I want tips for stressing less, a list of products that are low in sodium and sugar, fitness routines for people who are lazy or time-crunched, recipes for energizing and delicious food (that don't have 'skinny' in the name). Health. Not weight loss.

This is why I don't read health magazines.

P.S. I curate body positive health and fitness stuff here.

Image Source: #SizeDoesntMatter Challenge via Plus Model Magazine.

Weight Loss is Bad For You-- Really!

I went to the doctor earlier this week. During the usual check-up, she asked about my chronic fatigue. When I said it hadn't improved, she said "you'll have to lose weight".

As a practitioner of Health at Every Size, this upset me. Especially because she knows I practice HAES, that I do exercise and eat healthy, and my weight is still high (not to mention a non-issue).

So when she took my blood pressure, it was slightly elevated. I've never had high blood pressure, so I assume it's from stress (from our chat). Here's the conversation that ensued:

Dr: You have high blood pressure. You have to lose weight.

Me: There's no proof weight loss cures high blood pressure. What would you tell a thin person to do?

Dr: But you're not thin.

Me; At my smallest, 120-something pounds, I didn't have high blood pressure. I was told to lose weight but I didn't. AND I didn't develop high blood pressure until 10 years later.

Dr: That's not possible.

Me: Yes it is. Because it happened to me. Check my file.

Dr: Well you still need to lose weight. Your weight is not healthy.

Do these people (who push weight loss) even listen to themselves? Logical, intelligent individuals forgo all that in attempts to force people like me to lose weight, even though there's not a shred of evidence that losing weight will make us healthier. [Diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or health benefits for the majority of people]

It's absurd.

In most of my blog posts I conclude with a paragraph or two that wraps up the issue at hand with a neat little bow. But to be honest, I can't do that with this post, because this issue still isn't resolved. I'm not sure what to do, past lowering my sodium intake and continuing to at healthy and exercise-- and ignore all "you need to lose weight" messages.

Have you experienced this? What did you do?

"I've worked really hard for this body"

I ran into an old friend at Starbucks.

After the usual warm greetings and hugs, I said, "you look amazing!"

She smiled, "thanks, I lost 15 pounds".

"Oh, I didn't mean that you look like you've lost weight--"

She looked pained. "What? It doesn't show?"

"I just meant you look beautiful and that shade of yellow really complements your skin tone. And those shoes are ador--"

She pursed her lips, playing with the straw in her fat-free tall mocha. "I've worked really hard for this body. You should be happy for me".

That phrase. I loathe that phrase: "I've worked really hard for this body".

Sure, some people do work hard to be thin. Tirelessly planning low-fat meals, spending hours at the gym, poring over calorie-counters. But why is that something to be proud of?

Then people like me, more zaftig than svelte? If we're not seen exercising or dieting, we're assumed to be lazy slobs. We haven't "worked for our bodies". We've just sort of fallen into being fat. And we should be ashamed of ourselves.

But the ones society really wants to fill with shame? Those of us who have larger bodies because of equally large illnesses-- diabetes, PCOS, you name it-- all correlated with fatness, but not caused by it (though many would disagree with that statement, fat is not a proven cause)? We work hard to stay healthy, to battle the illness itself, but unless we concede to losing weight to 'cure' it, we're a lost cause.

What I've learned from this, is that all of us work for the bodies we have. God or nature (or both) gave us our body, but we toil to feed it, wash it, love it. And that takes a lot of effort, no matter your size.

Next time someone tells me she worked hard for her body, I'll put my pudgy hand on my curvy hip, look her straight in the eye and say, "I know. So have I".

Image: Jennifer Lawrence for GQ

What is Health At Every Size (HAES)?

Health At Every Size is a system which focuses on intuitive eating and pleasurable physical activity as a replacement for dieting. HAES states that weight does not cause health issues.

There’s nothing more empowering than realizing you don’t have to be part of society’s War On Obesity or maintain the “perfect weight”!

5 Ways to Adopt the HAES Lifestyle:

1 Enjoy your food because you’re hungry and because it tastes good.
2 Eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full.
3 Exercise because it’s good for you.
4 Don’t exercise simply for the sake losing weight.
5 Love your body.

Read more about Health At Every Size here.

Image Source

Related Links:

| 7 Easy Body Image Boosters | Body Shaming Hurts Skinny Girls Too |
| 5 Reasons To Be Body Positive |