Health at Every Size- This book will change your life forever!

I look forward every year to the summer when I can relax, catch up on reading and writing and get into my garden.  Not this summer. In the past two months, I've written a NIH grant, nearly finished a manuscript, had one graduate student successfully complete her dissertation, advised two students on their Master's theses, hosted a weekend reunion with 48 of my favorite in-laws where I was committed to preparing healthy meals and for an encore I kept my 3 year-old grandson, Ameen, for an entire month. I am currently making plans to help my brother move into a new apartment in Miami because he needs to be closer to family members. School starts in 21 days so I must start to prepare for classes but in the midst of all this busy-ness,  I am making the time to read this one book because I think it will change my life forever.

The book is "Health at Every Size" by Linda Bacon.

 As you may recall from my last blog (written BEFORE Ami's visit), that I found this author while writing the "Obesity is not an illness" grant proposal that was submitted in May. During that frantic time, I just had time to skim her web resources. But now I'm giving this material some serious scrutiny.

 Dr. Bacon is making a very strong case based on published peer reviewed research that show why diets and exercise don't work for the mass majority of people who desire permanent weight loss. Furthermore, repeated dieting actually causes eventual weight gain because of the diet-induced changes that occur to the body's metabolic set point. She presents findings that weight reduction surgeries (the deliberate debilitation of functioning organs in order to reduce food intake) actually have serious side affects, including higher mortality rates. She also shares findings from numerous studies that show "overweight" people live longer than thin people and that those extra pounds may actually be protective. Sounds CRAZY! I know...but there's more. There is research with twins who were raised apart that show the genetic influence on body size and shape is much stronger than we realize. So, thinking that I need to go on another diet is problematic.

Dr. Bacon not only provides facts she give background. For instance, she recounts the history of when our culture became obsessed with thinness in the 1920's and the marketing that keeps the thin ideal in place. She talks about how much of the food in grocery stores are calorie dense but nutrient poor. Almost all processed food contains corn or soy products (including meat and dairy products from corn-fed animals). Yet, we have inherited a body physiology that is programmed to seek out nutrients and store calories in case there is a famine. So, the food choices are a problem.

 Moreover, she connects the dots between the processed food industry, agribusiness, poor health and pharmaceutical companies. And although I don't regularly go for conspiracy theories, her "follow the money" argument is VERY compelling. There is a reason that potato chips provide more profit than a potato. There is a reason that research sponsored by companies that make high fructose corn syrup will conclude that there is no harm in consuming high fructose corn syrup. There is a reason that medical students don't study nutrition. So, lack of knowledge about our food is a another problem.

 In the end she makes some very clear cut recommendations that take the focus off of the relentless but mostly futile striving for thinness and aims instead at becoming healthy  Calling this the new Peace Movement, because it stops the war against our own bodies, Dr. Bacon concludes that well-being and healthy habits are more important than any number on the scale. She confronts the "my-big-body-is-ugly" or the "fat-means-lazy&stupid" way of thinking head on. And makes the radical conclusion that becoming thin does not equate with loving yourself. So, our thinking is the biggest problem.

Dr. Bacon list the ways to participate in the HAES movement, where you can even sign on as a member. Although she describes these principles as simple, this radical new way of thinking is not necessarily easy. To actually live out these principles will require mental, emotional and spiritual fitness, just like I advocate here at Sacred and Fit. But if in the end, you can look at yourself in the mirror everyday and feel nothing but love and appreciation for what you see, then the effort is worthwhile.

Ways to participate in the HAES movement.
Accept your size.  Love and appreciate the body you have. Self-acceptance empowers you to move on and make positive change
Trust yourself. We all have internal systems designed to keep us healthy- and at a healthy weight. Support your body in naturally finding its appropriate weight by honoring its signals of hunger, fullness and appetite.
Adopt healthy lifestyle habits. Develop and nuture connections with others and look for purpose and meaning in your life. Fulfilling your social, emotional and spiritual needs restores food to its rightful place as a source of nourishment and pleasure.
Embrace size diversity.  Humans come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Be open to the beauty found across the spectrum and support other s in recognizing their unique attractiveness

Too busy to read the book. No problem, I will be outlining each chapter in the coming blogs as many of the principles go right along with Sacred and Fit. I'll be sharing how I am adopting this radical new "Peace Movement" in my own life as part of my Sacred and Fit philosophy, so stay tuned. This book might just change your life forever, too.