A weekly blog about how to quit dieting for good using an intuitive eating and health at every size approach.
Shame.
It's not just something you shout out at incestual queens who are trying to atone for their sins at Kings Landing.
Shame is something I've mentioned a few times on the blog. It's really important in the conversation about body image for reasons I'll get into next week.
I'm cooking up a post or two about shame and well, it's lengthy. While I finish editing it, I highly recommend listening to this super cool lady named Brené Brown. She has some thoughts on shame.
When I was vegan, I started to believe that I could cure anything if I just ate well enough.
Kriss Carr used a plant-based diet in her battle against cancer. Dr. Esselstyn wrote about how a plant-based approach can prevent and reverse heart disease. Dr. Fuhrman suggests that you can speed up your recovery to the common cold by eating plant-based.
Every holistic person I encountered had some elaborate concoction for curing any ailment:
"Oh, are you knees hurting? You should avoid nightshade vegetables and drink cinnamon."
"You're getting sick? Take this green drink with a ton of ginger and garlic"
It felt like information overload. It felt like I was personally responsible for anything bad that happened to my body.
This week I have one word for you: compensatory
I like to use the phrase "paying penance at the gym" a little too much. There's this video and these blog posts.
Exercise as penance was my form of disordered eating.
Weight is a red herring.
It's the season of New Year's Resolutions. It's the time when a lot of people fixate on weight loss.
I've mentioned in previous posts how people talk as if losing weight were some kind of magic tonic. It's starting to really piss me off because it's not the best barometer of health. Health is measured in a million different ways.
You may want to be healthy. You may want to live a long time. But if you're focusing on the weight, you've caught a red herring.
Joyous Kwanzaa! Happy Boxing Day!
If you celebrated Christmas, Hannukah, Festivus, or Solstice, then happy Christmas, Hannukah, Festivus and Solstice!
Happy Holidays to all of you!
Here's wishing you many great meals, fantastic outfits, happy shopping (and returning items), and lots and lots of wonderful time with people you love or just time off for yourself.
With love,
Noel
