ive been going back and forth about asking this but as someone who never had healthy eating to a healthy approach to body image modeled for me, what does waning the healthfully lose weight look like? ive been considering trying to lose weight for health reasons (my doctor supports me if i choose to or not) but i realize i have no idea how to keep diet and exercise from becoming disordered. thank you for your time
That is a very good question! I'm glad you have access to a medical professional who supports you either way. I'm going to go ahead and put my answer under a cut so that people who find diet advice triggering can choose not to read. The truth is that for many people who've experienced disordered eating, all dieting is a risk and can lead to ED relapse. I was really hesitant about answering this, because I do personally believe in health at every size, and because I do not know your specific medical needs/previously existing medical conditions. However, because as someone who had to be put on a very restrictive diet when I was experiencing terrible GI problems, I REALLY wish I'd had someone to talk me through having to restrict with a previous ED, because it was SO triggering. I truly hope my advice can help, whether you choose to pursue this or not.
I am going to bold something I ended up putting in the end of my written piece, though: If you try still find yourself struggling too hard with your mental health and body image, it's really okay to stop dieting. If you find yourself too hungry, too tired, just too deprived, you can quit. I don't know how you feel about the "health at every size" movement, and I do not know your current weight, nor do I need to ask. All I know is that ANYTHING is healthier than developing a lifelong eating disorder. And I know that you deserve a life in which you feel the best you possibly can, regardless of what that looks like! I personally believe it is okay to be fat. Yes, really. It is okay to be fat. It can be hard, in this world that demonizes fatness, to accept that for yourself, but it is okay to be fat. And it is much, much healthier to be a self-loving fat person than to be someone who self-destructs in pursuit of thinness.
Please take care of yourselves, followers. Know your limits and mind the tags before reading on.
So if you choose to pursue this, first and foremost, make sure you're not cutting too many calories, because you will fuck up your metabolism in the long run. Remember that 2000 (give or take) is considered the MINIMUM for an adult. Many diets recommend 1500 - that is BAD. That is a starvation diet. There have been studies showing this will fuck with your metabolism and health long-term. 2000 is the minimum, and remember that calories have no morality. You may find yourself needing to add more if your exercise plan is particularly rigorous. Remember, giving your body what it needs will make it feel safe. Exercising while going into deprivation mode will trigger your body into starvation mode in the long run.
That leads me into a segue - never let your body feel deprived or starved. This is the gateway to eating-disordered thinking - the idea that you should deprive yourself if your body is not where you feel it "should" be, or that you are displaying moral weakness for feeding your body when it tells you it needs feeding. Use intuitive eating - eat nice and slow, savoring each bite, and absolutely keep eating until your body tells you it feels full enough. Remember, once your body is full, there is nothing wrong with putting away the rest for leftovers!
(And keep in mind - eat until you feel ACTUALLY full, not using ana tricks to make your body temporarily THINK you are full.)
Take joy in cooking and finding new foods! Food is not bad. It is something that we all need and it is natural for us to take pleasure in it, so don't let your eating or food prep experiences become "guilty!" Experiment with nutritious recipes, savoring the journey of finding what you like, and remember, you don't have to force yourself to eat specific foods if you don't enjoy them. I know kale got really big a while back, but it's just not for everyone. (It can also be cooked in different ways - it is VERY difficult to enjoy raw kale.) Now drinking liquefied celery seems to be the new fad diet. You don't have to like that either (I hate celery, myself!) There is no morality attached to eating foods that you hate because the latest fad diet says you have to, and you do not deserved to be deprived of enjoyable food at ANY size, remind yourself of that! Remember that your body does not need to "detox" from food, and that there are a wide variety of foods that can offer you good nutrition. Depriving yourself leads to a mentality of feeling like you deserve to be deprived. Do your research and find what you like.
Remember that healthy fats, carbs, salt, and sugars are necessary nutrients. While your doctor may advise you to somewhat reduce these things, do not trust ANY diet that tries to keep you from incorporating these things into your regular meals. (In fact, you need many of these things in order to properly absorb your vitamins.) Eat complete meals rather than falling to fad diets.
You are human and humans need little treats! If you have a favorite type of "junk food" it will not lead to a healthy mentality to deprive yourself of it completely. Your doctor may advise you to reduce the quantities of these treats and replace them with more nutritious snacks, but a total-deprivation diet is not mentally healthy. Keep your treats. Remember that your worth does not decline at ANY size, and you deserve to have treats here and there at ANY point in your journey. And that's ANY treat. Yes, processed food. Yes, refined sugars. Yes, "empty calories." We all deserve a little bit of our favorite things every now and again, and these foods have no morality. They are not "guilty" or "bad" foods. They're treats. Allow yourself to enjoy them. I also would NOT follow the practice of setting aside one specific "cheat day" where you allow yourself to go ham, followed by more restriction. I'm concerned that could lead to a binge-restrict pattern, fuck up your metabolism, and encourage an unhealthy relationship to guilt and food. Instead, allot yourself these treats in measured amounts throughout your week.
(Also, try to keep from falling into the mentality that you are only allowed to feel joy, pride, happiness, etc once you have reached a certain weight. If you never lose an ounce, you are every bit as human and worthy as a hypothetical thinner self. If you deprive yourself of joy in the process, having no idea how long it will take, you may arrive at your weight goal only to find that you have forgotten how to feel positively about yourself as a person along the way.)
Remember that exercise is not for punishing your body! Try to find exercise that you enjoy. You can take little walks while listening to music. Perhaps you can go swimming, try yoga, or sign up for a dance class. It can be hard to do these things while you don't feel comfortable in your body, but remember that regardless of what anyone else thinks, you deserve to have activities you enjoy at EVERY size. Typical exercise like running and lifting are totally fine, but not everybody likes these things and that's okay. There's no morality to that either. Some people just hate running. Remember that you're trying to create a lifestyle in which your mind and body feel good, a life that you enjoy. So ask yourself, as you exercise - are you doing something good for your body, or are you punishing your body? Your body does not deserve to be punished. (And don't be discouraged if you have to work up to the exercise abilities you want. It doesn't happen overnight.) Oh, and you don't need to exercise excessively after a holiday or a treat! Exercise is not something you use to punish yourself for eating. Eating is a life necessity, not a punishable offense. Remember that.
Allow yourself to enjoy events like holiday parties, birthdays, family events. It can be hard not to struggle with guilt on these days, but you are still deserving of enjoying the treats and festivities at any size. And if well-meaning family members try to guilt you, feel free to let them know that if you wanted their advice, you would ask.
Do not be tempted to punish your body through restriction or painful levels of exercise, even if you don't lose weight as fast as you'd wanted to. Even if you find yourself not losing any weight at all! All bodies and metabolisms are different, and you don't deserve to punish yourself no matter what. These behaviors can create mental health problems and can set you up for serious long-term physical health problems down the line. And you deserve better than that - at ANY size! Keep in mind that you may not end up at the ultimate weight you had envisioned, but try not to become frustrated. Go at it slowly and steadily. Drastic levels of rapid weight loss just do more harm than good. Try to enjoy where you are at every part in the process, and give your body love and appreciation wherever it's at. There is a lot of pressure to want and relentlessly pursue a thin body, but it's not sustainable if you can't be in the moment loving your body along the way.
And finally, if you find yourself struggling with a mentality of guilt, shame, or fear around food, it is okay to go off your diet. If you find yourself too hungry, too tired, just too deprived, you can quit. Yes, really. There can be a lot of stigma or shame attributed to a "failed" diet, but there is nothing shameful about making the right choices to best protect YOUR mental and physical health. So if you try this and still find yourself struggling too hard with your mental health and body image, it's really okay to stop. I don't know how you feel about the "health at every size" movement, and I do not know your current weight, nor do I need to ask. All I know is that anything is healthier than developing a lifelong eating disorder. And I know that you deserve a life in which you feel the best you possibly can, regardless of what that looks like! I personally believe it is okay to be fat. Yes, really. It is okay to be fat. It can be hard, in this world that demonizes fatness, to accept that about yourself, but it is okay to be fat. And it is much, much healthier to be a self-loving fat person than to be someone who self-destructs in pursuit of thinness.
I might suggest you consult with a therapist and nutritionist who might be able to help you monitor yourself, and might also help you gain better insights into your mentality around body image and food. That way you're not doing this alone and will have other people to tell you if what you're doing is taking a turn into the unhealthy/disordered.
Whatever you decide to do, anon, I hope you find a life that you enjoy and in which you feel well!
Enough with the calorie counts everywhere. We’ve had to deal with this for years and it’s done nothing to combat obesity. Those people aren’t looking. Just give them the drugs. Boom, problem solved.
Sometimes I’ll see a calorie count and it takes my appetite right away. And then I don’t eat for two or three days, it’s two Diet Pepsis and call me full.
A calorie counter is among the simplest strategies to consistently keep tabs on your calorie intake. It’s a timeless calorie counter popular among users that are attempting to drop some weight in a more systematic way. It’s a calorie counter too, and you may even hook this up to compatible gym equipment with the support of GymLink technology.
Apparently, the calorie count logged here won’t be…
