Commitment & The Importance of Nonscale Victories
For those of you who are not aware, there is an active Internet movement called “health at any size,” or HAES for short. It originated in the context that anyone could aim for a healthy lifestyle, no matter what size they were. It has since greatly deviated from that message, but that's a rant for another day. Being accepting of ones body is a great, positive attitude to have, but our bodies are machines that perform the best when taken care of. You can be happy with and accept the fact that you're driving a beat down '88 Pontiac, but at the same time you can't really be surprised when the car keeps giving you problems. Be proud of your car, but you have to know that you can't drive it in that condition forever. Problems build up, one begets another, and next thing you know your car is dead and far too expensive to fix. And the only way to avoid these problems piling on is by putting the work in. Unfortunately for us, our bodies are different than cars in that once our bodies break down, we can't sell them for scrap and buy another body.
In theory, I am a total advocate of true HAES. I believe that no matter what level of fitness you're at, no matter what size you may be, being healthy is something to strive for, and just like education and makeup, there is always some way you can improve simply by investing time into yourself. And just for perspective, I've been all over the spectrum. I've been very overweight, very underweight, and I've spent a good bit of time somewhere in the middle. This isn't an attack on fatness. This is an attack on unhealthiness and diet culture. And I admit, we do live in a diet culture that preaches the Thinness Gospel. The diet industry is huge, but it plays into our culture of impulsiveness and quick fixes. It's a cyclical problem. The makers and distributors of diet products know that the public craves instant results, and the public will jump on any chance to achieve those, even if it means a never-ending cycle of jumping from one diet pill to another.
In fact, the idea of what “diet” means as a concept has been twisted from what one eats on a regular basis (e.g. pandas live on a diet of bamboo), to a strange, unnatural concoction of this pill and that pill now with extra foreign Chinese plant you've never heard of and no carbs on the first week only carbs on the second week, and only eat bananas and grapefruit this week and don't forget this tummy wrap to lose inches now!
What have we turned into? We no longer aim for health, but thinness. (I think it's worth considering that just like there used to be weight gain products for women back when we were too thin, the dialogue of weight politics has shifted in America to where a clinically “healthy” weight almost looks too thin because we've all gotten bigger. Just a side thought.) I was overweight for a long while, but I didn't wake up one morning fifty pounds heavier than I should have been. It slowly built up over just a few years of unhealthy living. When I went off to college, my amazing Aunt Kay told me to avoid pizza and beer. I should have listened to her but I didn't and I wound up fat. And when I finally realized how big I had gotten, I immediately reverted into that urgent, I need a quick fix now train of thought.
We all want that quick fix, but unless you go under the knife, there is no quick fix. There is no magic pill or powder or wrap that will undo years and years of polluting your body in the mere span of a week, two weeks, maybe not even an entire half year depending on what your goals are and what you're doing to achieve those goals. We as a society need to change “a diet” from a thing that we're on to a thing that we consistently do - a lifestyle change and commitment to better health. Thankfully there are some more natural products out there such a Plexus which may act as a catalyst to breaking those sugar and carb addictions we have, but nothing is going to give you long-term results without a long-term commitment to changing your lifestyle.
When we go into a weight-loss attempt thinking, “Okay I'm going to cut out all carbs to lose these fifteen pounds,” we wind up with a situation where we lose fifteen pounds and immediately revert back to our old, unhealthy eating habits. And it's those very unhealthy eating habits that got us into this big, fat mess to begin with. It's no wonder people like to tout the “95% of all diets fail” statistic like it means no one can possibly lose weight. It's because despite what diet culture tells us, no one can permanently keep weight off if they go back to polluting their bodies the second they hit their goal weight.
So if you're trying to lose weight and you want to try a new diet, I say go for it. But be smart. Ask yourself, “What results am I expecting? Am I expecting this in a reasonable time-frame? Is this a sustainable diet that I can see myself committing to long-term or is it too extreme? Am I just looking for a quick fix?” So long as you do some research and commit to a healthy lifestyle, you WILL see results! It might take time, and there might be times when you're discouraged, but during those times, focus on non-scale victories and overcoming that addiction to convenience. Park in the far back of a parking lot next time you go shopping and be proud that such a simple thing can add up to a lot of extra calories burnt over time. Pack yourself a healthy lunch the night before work and be proud that not only did you save money by not spending $10 on some grease sandwich, but also that you are taking control of your own nutrition. Waking up with a little bit more energy or noticing that despite what the scale says, your pants are feeling a little looser, even feeling happier with yourself because you know you're doing the right thing... These are all non-scale victories that you should be proud of, because those non-scale victories will pave the path to your health success!
