There are numerous reasons why any weight loss should be slow and steady... it should be a result of healthy habits without restrictions..
Article link for a few more tidbits -- https://www.everydayhealth.com/weight/why-you-shouldnt-rush-weight-loss/
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More and more studies are coming to light on this ... we are unique and so should our diets, our movement and beyond...
I am so glad this is coming to light and more and more information is being made available showing that we all don't fit in the same mold... Article here- https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/science-health/955345/how-scientists-discovered-that-one-size-diets-dont-fit-all Full of articles today again... This time of year there is that "New Year, New Me" resolution or that burning need to join a gym (slight reference to the article) .. but let me ask you-- what is wrong with the old you?? It's gotten you to where you are today... so this Nutrition Counselor/Health & Wellness Coach isn't jumping on the bandwagon to push anyone to make a resolution or to change themselves for what society dictates as the norm...
I am to the point of challenging that norm... and wanting to challenge everyone to just love themselves just the way they are.. because when we are body positive we aren't shaming ourselves or others... we are respecting ourselves and others... then the true growth happens which leads to healthy habits naturally.. like getting more sleep, drinking more water, moving our bodies in ways we feel good and eating more vegetables/fruits... we even will have more energy and focus for things that don't entail counting calories, or restricting foods etc.. So I hope you truly love yourself this year and every year after and allow that to shine out to others... lifting one another instead of judging... Article here I am not crazy about the title but the overall point of the article is about how"....important to commit to accepting, supporting and loving your child no matter what..." The article gives 10 possible guidelines to help ... per the article "since no guidebook was available for her, this is my attempt to help parents who are where she was. How do you raise a fat, healthy, happy child? I’m not a doctor or a psychologist. I’m just a fat kid who grew into a fat adult, and this is what would have been helpful to me." FYI... I was a "thick" ..oversized child, teenager and have struggled with my weight since I was about 10 years old.. I remember being called "thunder thighs" growing up and being taken to Weight Watchers as young as 12 years old... I didn't realize the underlying issues that don't help the weight until 2008 when I was correctly diagnosed with PCOS and Hashimoto's along with taken off medicines I didn't need to be on.. believe me I have done every fad diet out there and even intensive procedures to gain a footing on my weight because I thought these were my only choices until I found my path into the Health & Wellness Coaching/Nutrition journey.. So here are the 10 guidelines I wish were out there when I was growing up...
1. Teach them about body diversity. 2. Teach them to trust their bodies and their hunger. 3. Let them walk away from activities they don’t enjoy, without guilt or shame. 4. Don’t restrict their diets, and don’t moralize food. 5. Work on your own f*cked-up relationship with food and your body. 6. Don’t try to protect your child from bullying by accidentally assuming the role of the bully. 7. Be a fierce advocate for your child with doctors, teachers and other adults. 8. Teach them about fatphobia, weight bias and why they’re wrong. 9. Expose your child to positive representations of fat people. 10. Love and accept them for who they are. Want to read more.. Article here- https://www.todaysparent.com/family/parenting/parenting-fat-kids/ Great article- below is just one tidbit ...
"Befriend your body Be honest: Would you treat your bestie the way you currently treat your body? Would you ever tell your good friend they weren't good enough for not looking like a model or get angry at them if they got tired and couldn't finish a morning run? Chang says a positive relationship with your body requires the same amount of work as any other relationship in your life: Take time to listen, pay attention to its needs and provide it with compassion. " Link to article here- https://www.npr.org/2021/12/23/1067210075/what-if-the-best-diet-is-to-reject-diet-culture Part of the article-
"This past fall, my daughter, at 20 months, became fascinated with her bellybutton. At every chance she got, she began lifting her T-shirt to joyfully point it out. The inference that Mama and Daddy had bellybuttons too was not far behind, and neither were further exploration efforts. But when she lifted my shirt, I could feel myself sucking in my stomach. I felt shame — and ashamed of my shame. And that’s when it hit me: I have to sort my head out, regarding my body, for the sake of my daughter. My relationship with my body is, to put it mildly, fraught. I have not always, but I have usually, been fat. I have always hated that fact, although I have tried not to. I have been a so-called normal weight, by the standards of the draconian body mass index guidelines, only when I have been starving myself or eating a highly restrictive and often downright odd diet. Over the past year, I have lost nearly 50 pounds, prompted by a vague sense of obligation to shrink myself back down to size. As usual, the weight came off only with efforts so extreme that I hesitate to admit to them: Over the course of a month last winter, I didn’t eat for 17 out of 30 days." Societies Diet Culture causes- low self-esteem anxiety depression obsessive-compulsive disorder troubled relationships impulsive behavior This is why I have jumped off the merry go round.. why I work with others to correct digestive imbalances & supporting mental health with body positive restorative therapies... We all need to reset our ideals of what true beauty is.. and it doesn't come what we look like... it really does come from the inside... Article Link -- https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/opinion/diet-resolution.html 1. Renew Your Ability to Listen to What Your Body Needs When you first get on the scale what are your thoughts about food, exercise your body?? I'm guess some of those thoughts are how to reduce more calories or what diet should be tried or what should be restrictions? On top of those thoughts you may even be thinking about how exercise could help with burning calories and fat instead of all the health benefits you will lose from removing food and over exercising. Ditching the scale will help you to shift from a diet culture mentality to a more intuitive way of eating and moving. This means that you will eat when you are hungry and move your body in a way that is nourishing to you mind, body and spirit. I know it's a shocker but your body will tell you when you are hungry, full and need to move. So allow your body to eat and gain the nutrients it needs when it is needed and move when needed in ways you enjoy too. Basically, ditching the scale will allow you to view food and movement in a healthy way that is joyous and beneficial. There is not a one size fits all so follow and listen to your body. “Renewing” your ability to listen to your body is something that is innate in inside all of us. We were born with this ability. Watch an infant or a toddler some time. They will tell you when hungry or thirst or even when they need to move their bodies. It's really a simple concept. However, somewhere along the way we form habits and a mentality that gets in the way of our innate ability to listen to our body's cues for food, movement, sleep etc. 2. You Are Not An Object Your body is not an object to be measured. There are so many articles and websites out there about how, when, why someone should weight their selves from first thing in the morning etc. The information out there is exhausting, misguiding and antiqued. My opinion is that never is the best time to weight one's self. Breaking this down- you could step on the scale three times throughout the day and each time the number on the scale would be different. It could be due to water fluctuation, food, exercise, hormones, etc. This is because you are a person. You are a living human being. You are not an object. You are not meant to weight the same at every given moment. 3. Your Mental Health Will Thank You Let's look at the roller coast ride we end up going through when we weigh ourselves whether at home or at the doctor's office etc. We see the number on the scale and this is where the roller coaster of emotions begin. There could be an emotional “high”, because one week we experience feelings of joy, accomplishment and more with a 3 to 5lb weight loss. Then at some point there is a gain of may be 1 to 2lbs that same week or the next week. Remember this could be water fluctuation, food, exercise, hormones but we really don’t know. And now there is blaming ourselves, frustration, depression, thoughts of failure. At this point- 1 of 2 things occur- you either giving up or begin restricting even more. Sound familiar? Well, you are not alone. A study completed by researchers at the University of Minnesota found that there is a negative relationship between self-weighing and mood, self-esteem, body image, and eating behaviors (1). It was noted that this negative impact was more apparent among women and younger individuals. Overall, putting too much emphasis on weigh-ins can be dangerous to your mental health and eating disorders can result due to this roller coaster ride. 4. Weight Is Not A Predictor of Health Not a lot of people realize that weight is an overused method of determining health. I’m sure you’ve seen the BMI (body mass index) chart at your doctor’s office that supposedly lets you know if you are in a “healthy range” for you height. Well, the BMI was created as an easy way to categorize weight in population-based studies. However, research shows that it is not an effective way to assess an individual’s health and wasn't meant to be used as it is today. For example, it doesn’t take into consideration things like muscle mass, body fat percentage, or where your body stores fat. Weight, is just a piece of information, that does not indicate the presence or absence of health by itself. There are plenty of thin people living with diabetes, heart conditions etc, and there are people who might be overweight as far as some tables or scales would suggest who are actually very healthy. Furthermore, weight is just a number on the scale that doesn't advise what a person can or cannot due. Can you run a mile? Can you walk comfortably? Can you pick up your child? These kind of things are what really matter to your life. Unfortunately, weight stigma occurs because of this barbaric, antiqued view of someone's physical appearance instead of actually learning what a person truly can do. We are all more than our weight... 5. You Are Meant for More Let me ask you this. If you weren’t thinking about dieting and the scale all the time, what would you be doing instead? We waste so much time counting calories, weighing ourselves, researching diets, and all the stuff diet culture tells us that is so important. But why? We all are here for a purpose, and I am pretty sure that our purpose is not to weigh a certain number on the scale. PERIOD! No matter what you choose because I get it - You may not be comfortable quitting the scale completely. And if you’re not ready today, that’s okay too. However I would like to recommend that the next time you are about to step on that scale, think about whether that action is serving you mind, body and spirit. Does the information you receive from the scale really make a difference in your life for the better? Why are you really stepping on that scale? References:
Share provided by Linnette Johnson, MS, MA, CNS, RALC, LDN
Share Provided by Amy Smith MS, CNS, LDN, BCHN
(She/Her) - Clinical Nutritionist, Ayurvedic Wellness Consultant, Herbalist and Intuitive Eating Counselor. Share Provided by Rachel Buechler, MS, CNS, LDN
(She/Her) - Clinical, Community and Culinary Nutritionist Share provided by Rachel Buechler, MS, CNS, LDN
(She/Her) - Clinical, Community and Culinary Nutritionist |
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