Starting Over With HAES
By Kelsey Burlini a dietetic intern with Nourishment Works, Summer 2020
Small potted plant and message board that reads: “difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations.”
It’s Time for a Reset
As a dietetics student, I was taught from day one that dieting and restricting foods are almost always ineffective ways to live life. I spent quite a bit of time discussing and learning that diets do not encourage us to live life fully and honestly and they make us feel awful physically and mentally. Dieting often takes us through a vicious cycle of feeling like we aren’t good enough, to feeling on top of the world when we see the numbers on the scale go down, to feeling depleted and agitated because we miss the foods we love. We get stuck in this diet binge cycle due to hunger, exhaustion, and deprivation. Yet, our culture is so engulfed in dieting and taking away foods we love because they are judged as “bad.” Well, I am here to tell you that it is time to stop following the cultural norms and break the stigma on dieting and weight. I am here to tell you that it is time to encourage yourself and others to honor your body, eat freely and enjoy food again. I am here to tell you it is time to live a life where you can fully express your love for your body no matter what. Before I discovered Health At Every Size (HAES), my mind was only thinking: “Is this going to make me gain weight or is this going to help me stay in shape?” There was seldom a time where I thought, “this tastes really great and will nourish my body, I can enjoy it!” There was no, “I deserve to enjoy this because I truly want to.” There was only, “If you eat that, you’re going to have to go on the StairMaster extra today to burn it off.” I mean, come on, how miserable does that sound?! It was a negative cycle that pushed me into restrictive habits that would then lead to the inevitable nighttime binge because my body was craving some nourishment. But ultimately, diving into Health At Every Size and learning techniques to help me accept what health meant to me, changed it all. I became more than just a number on the scale, I became more than the pizza I ate after a night out with friends, and I became more than the size of my jeans.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, “well if it was as easy as it sounded to accept myself then yeah, I would”. I understand that this is a big thing to try and do. I am essentially telling you to rewire your brain. Rewire it to think that fitting into society’s standards are not always healthy and do not determine your worth. But I understand that you have been exposed to a monumental amount of negativity and harm throughout your life from our diet culture. I mean, think about it, how long have you been exposed to a culture that encourages weight loss, unrealistic bodies, and dieting? Probably for as long as you can remember. But you have the ability and the tools to take the first steps away from dieting and diet culture, it’s as simple as getting started. Of course, there is no quick fix that will automatically allow you to think differently about your body and how you eat. But, as someone who has struggled with body image and stressed about food, I know there are things we can do to help improve how we see ourselves.
What is Health at Every Size?
This is a weight-neutral approach to healthcare that promotes the pursuit of healthful behaviors for the inherent health benefits of those behaviors, rather than for the explicit purpose of weight manipulation.
Sooooo... What does this really mean?
The goal of this movement is to pursue healthy outcomes for the purpose of benefits other than weight loss. For example, instead of exercising for weight loss, move your body for mental health, the cardiac benefits, and the pleasure of it. The HAES movement is made up of a variety of different people and each member of this movement advocates for one another. Although the goals of each person may differ, it is important to understand that you will always have a support system through HAES. Not only that, but the HAES approach has shown to improve health outcomes and you can ditch the nasty side effects that come with dieting. There are several reasons why I would recommend embracing HAES to people. Not only is it more sustainable than dieting but it promotes adding what's missing in our life rather than living a life bound by restrictions, judgments, and rigid black and white thinking (Now I like the sound of that way better!)
Takeaways
Remember, you are not the number on the scale. Weight is a downright flawed indicator of “health.” It is time you stop nagging your body and start worshiping yourself for the beauty you were blessed with! Embrace all that you are and all the things you do. You are worth more than what social media is telling you. Relish in the smarts that you hold, the strength you have, the kindness you deliver, the positivity you radiate, and the life you live.