Discovering the Truth
The medical community could never get away with selling cholesterol medication that worked for 9-12 months, but then, even if you religiously took your medication, your arteries became clogged again. What's worse, they clogged worse than they were before you started taking it.
That medication would never be allowed to be put on the market.
Here's a crazy thing.
There is not ONE diet, eating plan, clean eating method, weight-loss product, etc. that has been proven to give long-lasting weight loss. IT DOES NOT EXIST. Only 3-5% of people who lose weight keep it off for longer than a year. And what's worse, they often end up weighing more than they did when they started. This isn't opinion folks. This is backed up by a multitude of studies.
So WHY are these diets and products still around?
Let's go back to the medication. If you religiously took that cholesterol medication, and your cholesterol levels returned to their previous (or worse) levels, we would blame the medication, and you would be taken off it. It would also likely be taken off the market.
But if you start Weight Watchers, or keto, or paleo, or adopt "clean eating", or count macros, or over exercise, or take x,y, and z supplements, and you gain back your lost weight (or more), guess what happens?
No one blames the diet.
They blame YOU.
So the diet industry, fueled by society's expectations of what a healthy body is "supposed to look like", keeps rolling. Keeps functioning. Keeps deceiving. Keeps MAKING MONEY off of people like you and me. Because you'll try again and again and again. And when you fail, they'll tell you "you're not strong enough". You "don't want it badly enough". You're not "dedicated enough".
Well, not me anymore.
This was my life. This has been my life - off and on - for the last 14 years. Restrict with a diet. Lose weight. Binge throughout, mostly because I was hungry and deprived. Back on diet, lose more weight, gain it back, feel guilty, binge, go back on diet. Repeat.
When I started my Seeking Starfish blog, I was hoping to turn it into a base for my next career move. I was hoping to share blogs from friends who have taken on health and fitness in their own lives and share how that looks from different perspectives. I have done that so far, and I'm happy with where it has gone to date. However, as I pictured my future career as a health and wellness coach, I believed that would include coaching people to lose weight. However, even though I was pursuing weight loss myself, something didn't sit right with me about that. It felt "shallow" to me, but I think that even then, I knew I was hoping for more.
What if working with people on health and fitness looked different?
What if health meant whole health:
That medication would never be allowed to be put on the market.
Here's a crazy thing.
There is not ONE diet, eating plan, clean eating method, weight-loss product, etc. that has been proven to give long-lasting weight loss. IT DOES NOT EXIST. Only 3-5% of people who lose weight keep it off for longer than a year. And what's worse, they often end up weighing more than they did when they started. This isn't opinion folks. This is backed up by a multitude of studies.
So WHY are these diets and products still around?
Let's go back to the medication. If you religiously took that cholesterol medication, and your cholesterol levels returned to their previous (or worse) levels, we would blame the medication, and you would be taken off it. It would also likely be taken off the market.
But if you start Weight Watchers, or keto, or paleo, or adopt "clean eating", or count macros, or over exercise, or take x,y, and z supplements, and you gain back your lost weight (or more), guess what happens?
No one blames the diet.
They blame YOU.
So the diet industry, fueled by society's expectations of what a healthy body is "supposed to look like", keeps rolling. Keeps functioning. Keeps deceiving. Keeps MAKING MONEY off of people like you and me. Because you'll try again and again and again. And when you fail, they'll tell you "you're not strong enough". You "don't want it badly enough". You're not "dedicated enough".
Well, not me anymore.
This was my life. This has been my life - off and on - for the last 14 years. Restrict with a diet. Lose weight. Binge throughout, mostly because I was hungry and deprived. Back on diet, lose more weight, gain it back, feel guilty, binge, go back on diet. Repeat.
When I started my Seeking Starfish blog, I was hoping to turn it into a base for my next career move. I was hoping to share blogs from friends who have taken on health and fitness in their own lives and share how that looks from different perspectives. I have done that so far, and I'm happy with where it has gone to date. However, as I pictured my future career as a health and wellness coach, I believed that would include coaching people to lose weight. However, even though I was pursuing weight loss myself, something didn't sit right with me about that. It felt "shallow" to me, but I think that even then, I knew I was hoping for more.
What if working with people on health and fitness looked different?
What if health meant whole health:
- Helping clients to make mental health a priority.
- Helping clients make basic needs (hygiene, sleep, etc.) a priority.
- Helping clients to accept and love their bodies as good bodies - RIGHT NOW. As they are.
- Helping clients to learn to trust their bodies to eat when and what they need and want.
- Helping clients to learn to enjoy food and not let food be in control.
- No more calling food "bad" or "good"
- Helping clients to explore and enjoy movement for fun and health for their bodies - not punishment for eating "bad" food.
I'm still on this journey myself. I know I have a long way to go before I am ready to coach others. I want to read more research, read more stories, listen to more podcasts, take classes, become a certified trainer, maybe become a certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, maybe lots of things.
But for now, consider these things ^^^.
But for now, consider these things ^^^.
What if there was research that said that the diets are always going to fail?
Because there is. And I'm done being stuck in the trap.
This article talks about the cycle of disempowerment that is placed on those stuck in diet culture. I hope you find it helpful!
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Right now, I am reading Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon and doing the Intuitive Eating Workbook, but there are lots on my reading list (which I'm sure will grow):
Hunger by Roxane Gay
Body of Truth by Harriet Brown
Shrill by Lindy West
Body of Truth by Harriet Brown
Shrill by Lindy West
Dietland by Sarai Walker
I am also listening to podcasts when I'm in the car or running. First, this NPR podcast was smack-me-in-the-face enlightening:
https://m.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/589/tell-me-im-fat
https://m.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/589/tell-me-im-fat
I'm also listening to:
Food Psych podcasts
Food Psych podcasts
and my new personal fav
Love, Food podcasts
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