Tag Archive for: weight neutral

What is Weight Neutral Care?

Have you ever heard the phrase “weight neutral care”?

 

To be honest, at first when I heard this phrase many years ago, I didn’t know what it meant. So, I dove deep to learn more about it.

 

Weight neutral care “supports the enhancement of physical and mental health for people of all sizes without the intention of weight change”. (haesaustralia.org)

 

In simple terms, weight neutral care takes the emphasis off weight loss and instead provides evidenced-based interventions to promote health.

 

Research shows that weight is not a reliable predictor of health. Your health is multifaceted and cannot be inferred simply from weight or a number on the scale.

 

In health care, focusing on weight (known as weight centered care) promotes more harm than good. It causes weight stigma, disordered eating, weight cycling and more.

Imagine going to the doctor for a sore throat and leaving with a prescription for weight loss. This happens all the time. How soon do you think you’re going to want to go back to this doctor? So you delay caring for your health, because you want to protect yourself from fat shaming in the doctor’s office.

 

In this weight centered approach to healthcare, the doctors, nurses and other medical professionals focus on weight loss as the be all end all of managing disease.

 

This approach sends 2 FALSE messages to the patient:

Message #1: Weight loss is a behavior that you can just do (FALSE!)

Message #2: Weight loss is the cure for disease (FALSE!)

 

Instead what this message causes is disordered eating, weight cycling and creates a stigma around weight and body.

Weight loss is not a behavior, it is an outcome of habit and behavior change.

You have a lot less control over what you weigh than what society and the current culture has led you to believe.

 

Factors that influence weight

There are many factors that go into your weight or body composition—genetics, environmental influences, age, hormones, sex, medical conditions, socioeconomic status, medications, and so much more!

Shifting the focus away from weight loss and instead bringing into focus behaviors and habits one can change (like food choices, regular movement, stress management) is the main focus of weight neutral care, and the approach I recommend people to take when wanting to improve one’s health.

 

Weight Neutral Care is Not Anti-Weight Loss

 

This is a very important point. Those who advocate for weight neutral care are not against potential weight loss that can happen when you change your habits and behaviors. It simply removes the pressure and views weight loss as a possible “outcome” rather than a “behavior” or “skill” that you can do.

 

Habits and Behaviors that Can Improve Health

 

  1. Listen to your body: I know, this is easier said than done with all the noise out in diet culture. Consider seeking support and surround yourself with others that are on the same journey. (Click here for a free online community of support).

 

  1. Engage in gentle movement that is enjoyable and kind to your body. There’s no extra health benefit to beating yourself up in the gym. Find something that energizes you, not something that depletes you.

 

  1. Become aware: Tap in to how eating certain foods, or amounts of foods, feels in your body. Allow this information to inform future eating decisions.

 

 

  1. Practice mindful living! Not just mindful eating (but yes, of course this is important too), but mindfully move through all aspects of your day from the moment you wake up until you go to sleep.

 

  1. Change the self-talk: Ahh, another one easier said than done. If you’ve been trying to lose weight and keep it off for a long time, then chances are the tape that plays in your head doesn’t sound so nice. It is imperative to work on changing the negative self-talk to positive self-talk!

 

Key takeaway: Focus on habits and behaviors to improve your health, rather than on weight loss. You will see how much better you feel.

 

 

Is Weight a Symbol of Something Deeper?

Isabel walked into my office having made the decision to make changes in her eating behaviors. She recently went to the doctor for her annual exam and her doctor put the scare of life into her. Her diabetes was “out of control”, her blood pressure was elevated, and she was just diagnosed with gastroparesis (delayed gastric emptying, a complication of uncontrolled diabetes). She was distraught but committed. The doctor sent Isabel on her way with a prescription to lose weight.

This isn’t unusual. Most doctors will prescribe weight loss to lower blood glucose, cholesterol levels and blood pressure. And while you may see a reduction in these values if you lose weight, the problem is that weight loss is not a behavior you can just tell someone to do. If you’ve been a dieter, you know what I mean.

Is Weight Loss Through Dieting Sustainable?

Anyone can lose weight when they “follow” a diet. But the question is – can you sustain that way of eating for a lifetime?

Research shows us the answer is NO. About 95-98% of people who lose weight on a diet regain that weight and up to two-thirds gain back even more.

You may be thinking “Bonnie, I know someone who lost weight and kept it off”. I bet you do. But the 3-5% that do keep it off most often do so with disordered eating behaviors such as tracking their foods, counting points, eliminating certain foods, not allowing themselves full pleasure in eating what they want and spending a LOT of time in the gym (to name a few). Most people really cannot live a “normal” life of “normal” eating and “normal exercising” if they are trying to maintain a weight loss achieved through dieting.

When I explained to Isabel that we will not be focusing on weight loss but instead, we will focus on habits and behaviors that will enable her body to better use the insulin she is producing and ultimately help her improve her health (which SHE really wanted to do), including learning how to minimize the symptoms of gastroparesis, she was relieved. And then, she started to cry!

Using Weight as a Cover Up

All is not always how it looks. Many times, when working with a client on improving their relationship with food, it becomes apparent that there’s a reason why they’ve struggled so long. With the realization that the odds are low that they can lose weight and keep it off, they self-sabotage their own efforts in order to keep the weight on.

Why you might ask?

Having “failed” so many times, they are embarrassed to continue to yo-yo diet. So, they cover up the shame and embarrassment by making jokes about themselves and allow others to joke about them too.

This is what happened to Isabel. She was known in her group of friends as the “fat funny one” and she took on this persona, making jokes at her own expense, when deep down she was hurting terribly.

Isabel never told anyone this, until she broke down and cried in the safe space of my office.

Weight-Neutral Nutrition Therapy: A Focus on Behaviors, Not Weight

A weight-neutral approach to nutrition therapy, including diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol management focuses on the habits and behaviors you can change which ultimately lead to improved health, regardless of body weight. These behaviors include balanced eating, joyful movement, stress management, improving sleep, taking medications as prescribed and engaging in mindful eating behaviors.

This approach takes the emphasis off weight and brings a sense of relief to those who’ve tried to diet to lose weight as the treatment prescribed for health. It promotes positive behavioral change without the shame and guilt often felt and it empowers them to continue along the path of healthy living.

Is Losing Weight “Bad”?

Let me assure you that I am not against weight loss. I want to make this perfectly clear. What I am against is intentionally pursuing weight loss in an effort to shrink your body to meet the warped societal standards of the “thin ideal”, and as the treatment of medical conditions.

If in the process of learning about your disease state and making sustainable habit and behavior changes (including managing your stress better and having better sleep), you lose weight, then that means it’s what your body needed to do to return to it’s natural healthy weight. And in this case, I DO believe that this will be sustainable.

Remember, weight loss is not a behavior. It is an outcome of habit and behavior change.

Take Action

If you are ready to improve your health without a focus on weight loss, reach out to me here!

 

 

 

 

Taking a Leap of Faith

When’s the last time you took a leap of faith?

 

I met with a new client last week. Let’s call her Lindsay.

 

Lindsay was referred to me by her friend’s husband, Bob. He had been a client of mine a few years ago, coming for medical nutrition therapy for diabetes management. While working with Bob on habit and behavior changes to better manage his blood glucose, he happened to lose weight. He referred Lindsay to me because she has been struggling with her weight for many years.

 

As a matter of fact, Lindsay has been dieting for 35 years. On and off diets, losing and gaining weight, and trying whatever she could to lose weight. When she heard that Bob lost weight working with me, she made an appointment. She felt THIS would be her answer.

 

I met with her and as soon as we started talking, it was apparent that her situation was very different than Bob’s. Bob didn’t come to see me with a focus on weight loss. His focus was on diabetes management, which we worked on with a weight neutral approach.

 

What does diabetes management from a ‘weight neutral’ approach mean?

 

It means encouraging individuals to engage in health promoting behaviors to manage their diabetes without focusing on weight and the number on the scale.

 

In Bob’s case, he happened to lose some weight in the process of taking care of himself and learning to manage his diabetes.

 

For Lindsay, it’s a whole different story. Lindsay does not have diabetes, or any medical conditions. She came to see me with one purpose in mind: weight loss.

 

When we started talking about Lindsay’s history with dieting, I helped her understand why a meal plan was not in her best interest. She knew in her heart of hearts that “following” a meal plan would become just like another diet, but she didn’t know another way.

 

Until I introduced her to INTUITIVE EATING!

 

Lindsay had never heard of intuitive eating before. She has been so immersed in diet culture that she never even considered that there was a way out. Lindsay thought she’d be dieting until the day she died.

 

Lindsay decided to take a leap of faith. As much as she said to me “Bonnie, I’m so scared”, she was ready to leave dieting behind. She just needed to know that I am here for her and will be here for her as she starts her journey back to the way she was born > an intuitive eater.

 

What about you? Are you scared to leave dieting behind? Let me know in the comments below.