I'm working with a client who has dieted repeatedly since she was a child and has lived with the belief that anything that happens to or with her body, is a result of her weight.
Just this week, when she was in excruciating physical pain, she kept thinking, “it must be because of my weight.”
"This would all be better if I weren’t such a glutton, if I could just get my eating under control, and if I was smaller.”
When she went to the doctor, which is oftentimes far less likely to happen when people live in a larger body, because of weight bias and fat phobia (which I’ll explain about more later), she heard,
“This is because of the arthritis.”
The doc had to tell her this multiple times before it started to sink in.
When we spoke, she described that moment as if she was hit by a lightning bolt.
She didn’t immediately know what to do with that information!
She was shocked...
but also RELIEVED!
She wasn’t to blame?
It wasn’t her fault?
She had not failed because she couldn’t diet?!
Friends, I hear these stories ALL.THE.TIME.
It angers me, it saddens me, it makes me want to give the royal finger to the weight loss industry and to the medical establishments that perpetuate the idea that our bodies are bad, need to be smaller, need to carry less fat, whatever the message is!
It’s essentially a message of failure!
We are broken if we don’t meet this impossible ideal that has been deemed the picture of health.
So why is this important? 🤷♀️
What we see on a daily basis influences what we believe and often without even knowing it.
👉If you’re a gymgoer, is there a bodyweight scale out for everyone to see?
Maybe it’s in the restroom or changing room? I’ve been in numerous hotel workout rooms where this is the case. What’s the message?
We receive an idea, consciously or not, that weight is important. That gyms are the place where you need to be concerned about your body size and appearance.
👉How many gyms have you been to that are structured with wall-to-wall mirrors? What is the message?
Appearance matters. You should be concerned with how you look.
In a recent research article which looked at participants’ experiences in fitness facilities, they described how weight stigma and fat phobia is perpetuated:
Directly: trainers or members say something about a person’s weight or weight loss; this can happen in any sort of class where the instructor says something about shedding pounds or getting your body ready for a bikini
Indirectly: an emphasis in gyms about weight loss programs or avoiding eye contact with gymgoes that cause users to internalize negative perceptions about weight and body size
Structurally: wall to wall mirrors, weight loss protocols on cardio equipment, bodyweight scales, or even fat burner products in the supplement cases
Weight bias and weight stigma have a significantly negative impact on health including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, increased inflammatory markers, poor blood glucose control…
and here’s the thing…
These symptoms are not happening because of the person’s weight!
💥These negative health effects are seen in normal weight people who perceive themselves as overweight.
The scale is a part of a system that influences how people treat themselves, see themselves, and move through the world.
And here’s the sadder part, most of us are walking around without even knowing we’re fat phobic or perpetuating the idea that certain bodies are not good enough.
If you say you're concerned about health, then let's get straight what "health" really means!!
Health is not weight.
And holding onto the idea that you need to lose weight, even if you don’t have any intention of dieting to lose weight, can keep you stuck and significantly compromise your psychological and physical wellbeing.
If you're in any way like my client who has spent her entire life believing that her body needed to be different for her to be healthy, I'm here for you.
Let's set the record straight!
Let's ensure that you don't spent the remainder of your life wasting your valuable time, energy, and money trying to pursue something that will only lead to your feeling like you're being held hostage!
You need a proven strategy to move you into freedom, confidence, self-trust, and TRUE health. NOT some flash-in-the-pan quick fix approach that the weight loss industry has built their multi-billion dollar foundation upon.
If you're interested in learning more about my Food & Body Freedom Intensive, reach out! I'd love to learn about you and share the details of the program.
You deserve a life led by YOUR values, not those of a culture that thrives when you believe you are broken!
Looking for more support?
Check out my Food & Body Freedom Experience, a 16-week online coaching program with built-in support, a virtual community, and live weekly coaching calls designed to liberate you from rigid dieting practices so you can take your control back and experience greater peace with food and your body.
Check out my online, self-paced course, End Emotional Eating & Change Your Relationship with Food, that over 400 students have taken, is top-rated, and jam-packed with resources to support your development of new skills!
I also offer virtual one-on-one coaching– contact me to learn more about my Liberated Life coaching options.
Click here to subscribe to my newsletter for tools and strategies for living your YOUR healthiest life!
I needed to read this. Actually, I need to save this and read it over and over! Great information. I just wish the world would take this to heart and there would be so much less judgment.