You can live in a fat body and remain healthy.

Let me say that again for the folks in the back.

You can live in a fat body and remain healthy.

I did not always believe this. 

Like all of us, I was raised in a culture that worships thinness and tells us that being fat will kill you. (I use the term “fat” as a simple descriptor, void of moral implications.) And existing in a thin body, I was obsessed with staying that way. 

Many of us are either fat and trying to become skinny, or skinny and living in fear of becoming fat.  I believe that none of us, men or women, young or old, are immune to the expectations placed on us about the size our body should be, even those who look the part. 

And, the thing is, this preoccupation, and for some, obsession, robs us of our joy.

It robs us of our ability to be present in the moment, to chase our dreams, to go on that date, to truly enjoy that bowl of salted caramel ice cream, to believe that we are a valuable member of society. 

To give and receive love. 

It takes so much, and gives nothing in return.

This idea that thin equals healthy is so prevailing that most of us don’t even know we can question it. It is the air we breathe. 

I first began to question it shortly after becoming a dietitian. When I started to see patients, the story didn’t add up.

First, I saw so many people in thin bodies with an endless list of health challenges, and many people in larger bodies with a pristine bill of health. And vice versa.

Next, I pretty quickly learned that dieting doesn’t result in long term weight loss for the majority of individuals, regardless of a person’s level of “adherence to said diet”. This didn’t make sense to me, so I looked at the research. 

And what I found was that there are no high quality studies that currently exist that validate the hypothesis that thin=healthy, that weight loss=better health, and that dieting=weight loss.

The evidence doesn’t exist. 

What I did find was an enormous amount of evidence that contradicts this idea.

Obviously, our $192 billion dollar weight loss/wellness industry doesn’t want those studies leaked. 

I’ve talked to women and men who began experiencing shame about their bodies starting in kindergarten. 

The rates of dieting in young children is becoming so prevalent that by 10 years old, 80% of girls have tried some sort of a diet. Can you imagine what this does to her little heart, soul, and body at such a young and tender age? 

Over the years and on a daily basis I am witness to a bottomless and all-consuming level of suffering that is stopping people from being present to their lives and experiencing joy. 

I’ve listened to countless stories of men and women trapped in the shame cycle of chronic dieting, being told by family members, friends, acquaintances, and doctors that if they could just lose the weight, all would be well.

This is a lie. 

There is no light at the end of the tunnel. Because if the person can lose the weight and keep it off (a ~5% chance), the suffering doesn’t go away. Now, they live in fear that one wrong bite will send them careening back into the larger body they lived in before. 

The shame and obsession do not disappear with a thin body.

Joy is not discovered due to a thin body.

So, here’s the bottom line folks: health and weight desperately need to be teased apart. 

If we can begin to focus on healthy behaviors, as opposed to shrinking our bodies, this is where we have the ability to improve our health and feel like a million bucks. And if we can begin to question the assumption that our bodies are gross, useless, unhealthy, and bad then I believe we can find freedom. 

As a registered dietitian who won’t put you on a diet, I offer 1:1 virtual nutrition counseling sessions and body image coaching to individuals who struggle with intrusive food thoughts and a negative body image. 

Using the evidenced-based frameworks of Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size©, you and I work together to unlearn the lies fed to you by diet culture, removing the barriers to healthy behaviors and learning to tune into the messages your body gives you. This process allows you to make peace with food and your body so you can focus on living your fullest life possible and finally come home to your body.