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There is so much going on right now. We’re all trying our best to stay safe and healthy in crazy times, all while balancing our mental health, career changes, family lives, and long-term plans. If your weight has always been a point of contention for you, do not add self-loathing to your list of to-dos. With our minds already reeling, being kind and generous to ourselves is more important than ever.
Health at every size.
When surveyed, more than half of Americans said they are trying to lose weight. While the primary cause of weight gain is lifestyle (diet and exercise), there are myriad factors that can affect our ability to maintain our weight, such as hormonal changes, aging, medications, socio-economic status, and more. Our weight loss obsession in America can lead to self-harm, eating disorders, obsessive habits, and self-hatred: all of which are detrimental to both our mental and physical health.
Here at Nutrition Connection, our only objective is the success of healthy clients who achieve their personal goals. If you come to us looking to lose weight, we will work to help you meet that goal; but what must always come first is you feeling well, not just looking thin.
Every body is different. Two people with the exact same diet and same exercise routine will never look exactly the same. TOFI (Thin Outside Fat Inside) describes lean-looking individuals with a disproportionate amount of fat stored inside their bodies. And this visceral fat (stored around our organs) is generally more dangerous to us than subcutaneous fat (stored below the skin). Being thin isn’t always healthier, and the way you look does not directly indicate your health.
The Health at Every Size Community (HAES) is a resource with three basic components:
Respect
- Celebrates body diversity;
- Honors differences in size, age, race, ethnicity, gender, dis/ability, sexual orientation, religion, class, and other human attributes.
Critical Awareness
- Challenges scientific and cultural assumptions;
- Values body knowledge and lived experiences.
Compassionate Self-Care
- Finding the joy in moving one’s body and being physically active;
- Eating in a flexible and attuned manner that values pleasure and honors internal cues of hunger, satiety, and appetite, while respecting the social conditions that frame eating options.
While it isn’t always easy, we’re asking that you honor yourself every day, despite whatever you may point out as flaws in the mirror. Work on your health, mental and physical, holding yourself accountable to eat well, move often, and live long. Value your body (your home) for all the incredible things it does for you each day; treat it well, and love it at any size.
Hoping you’re all healthy and well,
Karen
If you’d like additional consultation on your personal goals, we’d love to hear from you. Please schedule an appointment by calling (775) 360-6500, or visit NutritionConnectionNV.com.
Karen Fisher, MS, RD, LDN, CDE is a dietitian in Reno, Nevada, happily promoting the benefits of healthy foods at her nutrition consulting firm, Nutrition Connection. Find her website at www.NutritionConnectionNV.com
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