MEDICAL AND NUTRITION DISCLAIMER…Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nutritional break downs are done using a commercial nutrition calculator. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctorbefore starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers, this should never be construed as medical advice.
A school yard brat
When I was in 7th grade I sat down on a bench in the school yard next to a boy I had a crush on. I was awkward and pubescent…and he was dreamy. In our small talk and shy banter he blurted out “you’re chunky”. I was crushed and ran away crying. I never spoke to him again.
I was not wiry thin, but I was NOT chunky. I just happened to be going through that really tough stage of going from little kid into a woman. Fat shaming might be a stretch in this instance, but it sure stung. Clothes fit weird and I was a foot taller than all the boys…and most of the girls, too. I was not little, I was athletic and strong and…perfect. Yet that comment (and a few others over time in my teen years) sent me on a roller coaster ride and a journey. Here’s a snippet of my adult life dieting story that lead me to where I am today.
Fan ALERT
I’m a huge fan of Dr. Jason Fung and all his teachings….almost at stalker level. He has a website and program called Intensive Dietary Management Program run out of Toronto Canada and online. Everything he says not only makes sense BUT it’s all based on real life clinical antidotes and true science. He wrote a great article about Fat Shaming and every doctor in the world needs to move into 2019 when dealing with their own current patients. Those doctors that refuse to get on board will fall by the way side before too long.
Fat shaming is so so crushing, especially for young girls and boys that are influenced so easily. It can start as a tiny seed of doubt or comparison to someone that seems to have it all figured out. That tiny seed is what set me off on a decades long journey to figure out why I just couldn’t get my weight to balance out. Was I a failure because I couldn’t eat dry chicken over limp iceberg lettuce and fat free dressing…then go sweat it out for hours in the gym?
The judgement
Sometimes I feel like the fat shaming police. Comments will pop into my head or blurted out by the ill-informed general public regarding someone’s shape or size. Mind you that these thoughts or comments are not always malicious or with harmful intent…but it’s a judgement. Quite frankly it’s none of anyone’s business, but it happens…and we need to take a pause and then mind our own bees wax!
People (including Doctors) are not always fully abreast of ALL the information that goes into why someone is too this or too that. Doctors have like 6 minutes with their patient and could not possibly get the whole story behind why someone has gained or lost. They also rely on the consensus of medical opinion and don’t necessarily have the time to be up to date on all the new science of nutrition. The snap judgement of medical doctors that their patients are non-compliant of current medical advice to “eat less, exercise more” may in fact be true…but that medical advice is soooooooo outdated and just plain wrong.
Take a pause
There is so much more that goes into someone’s shape and size. Stress, lack of sleep, too much sugar, hydration, too much or too little exercise, loneliness…and the list goes on. It all starts with eating real food. As we get closer to knowing what works for our own body and how to regulate what works for us we evolve into a healthy being. It is my mission to take a pause and to encourage others (including doctors) to do the same.
Keto Police
Even in our our Keto community when I hear “that’s not Keto” or you can’t eat carrots (or beets or whatever) I cringe a little. Yes, there are Ketogenic and Low Carb diet guidelines…but who created those guidelines and why do they get to decide? Just asking and I’m curious. I guess technically eating below 20g net carbs per day is a Keto Diet. But how ANY amount of carbs affects my insulin level is really dependent on my own personal chemistry. So if I eat a few chunks of carrot with my pot roast and olive oil is that Keto or not?….for me it is Keto.
What works for me…
Was it fat shaming on that school yard bench or just a stupid awkward moment with a bratty kid that I chose to hold onto for far too long? In hind sight I don’t think that kid meant to really hurt me. People say things that they don’t really mean and usually because they feel bad about themselves. For me I always go back to what works for me…
The routine I always go back to
A shift to REAL science and evidence in weight loss
You have no idea the relief I stumbled upon after years of being told that I just couldn’t lose weight and keep it off. It wasn’t all my fault.
Jason Fung, MD great article on why fat shaming is so WRONG! When I finally found my own way to a balanced diet, life and health all the shame melted away. You can read that article here about The Diet That Changed My Life.
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