The fear of weight gain is one thing that holds us back from healing our relationship to food and it can keep us stuck in the dieting cycle for years.
I know. Because this used to be me.
For years, I was too scared to become pregnant. Not because I didn't feel ready, but because I was SO petrified of weight gain.
So, what changed? Well, I came to a point where I refused to let dieting steal any more years, experiences, or memories from my life.
And I was done letting my fears win.
And it was only when I overcame this fear, that I was able to heal my relationship to food once and for all.
Until we overcome our fear of weight gain, we cannot heal our relationship to food.
We cannot eat freely, when we are in a state of fear, guilt, or shame. It is only when we release our mind from the constant worry and anxiety around food, that we can be free again.
Free to focus and pursue our true passions and hobbies.
Free to be present with our loved ones and form deeper connections.
Free to go on a spontaneous brunch or for cocktails with the girls, without having a breakdown over the calories.
Free to rest and do nothing without the guilt that we must always be doing something.
I know what you are thinking, this all sounds great, but I’m petrified of weight gain.
I want you to know that you aren’t alone, and it is scary to overcome this fear.
So today I am sharing with you my top 3 tips to help you overcome your fear of weight gain, so that you can move forward in healing your relationship to food.
TIP 1CHALLENGE YOUR BELIEF THAT FAT = BAD/UNHEALTHY
We are taught the message that fat= bad, or if we gain weight, then we have “let ourselves go”, or we are “lazy”. We have learnt this message because diet culture wants us to keep dieting, over and over and over. The dieting industry is worth over 6 billion in the US alone, so you can see why they want to keep us stuck in this fear. Heck, I used to believe this for years too, until I picked up the Health at Every Size book by Linda Bacon (if you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend you pick up a copy asap, it was a game changer for my recovery).
I learnt that weight is not an indicator of health, and that the BMI tool is an inaccurate scale. The BMI was designed to measure trends of the population over time. It was not designed to measure health. A BMI cannot tell what a person’s health status is, it cannot assess your blood markers, your sleep, your stress, or any other factors that determine health. It is simply a tool that divides weight by your height (squared). In fact, the old BMI scale was previously 27 for the “overweight” category and was reduced to 25 in the 1980s. This meant hundreds of thousands of people who were a “normal” weight suddenly became “overweight”, and this meant that the pharma and dieting industry profited big time from this new “overweight” population. Suspicious much?
Research studies further support the inaccuracy of the BMI scale, a meta analyses study conducted in 2013, looking at death rates from BMI found that those with a BMI of 25-30 (the “overweight” category) had the lowest death rate, and those in the “obese” category (25-30) had the same death rates of those in the “normal” BMI category.
Takeaway.
Awareness and education are key to help you challenge your belief around weight. Pick up a copy of the Body Respect book by Lindo Bacon and Lucy Aphramor . It is an eye opening read.UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR SELF-WORTH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR WEIGHT/ BODY SIZE
Have a think about your best friend. What is it that you love about them? I can guarantee it isn’t about the way that they look, it is about the way that they make you feel right? You love that person for who they are, and not for what they look like.
Next, have a think about someone you look up to professionally or personally. You admire them because of the mark they are leaving on this world, not for how much they weigh.
Takeaway.
Get deep on how you define your self-worth, what is important to you? Who are you at your core?
TIP 3.CHOOSE KINDNESS, SELF-CARE AND VISULISE
Choose kindness and self-care over punishment, shame, guilt, or fear. You can do this by reframing your thoughts around weight gain. Rather than thinking you are “letting yourself go”, reframe this as a form of respect and care for your body. You are taking care of yourself by letting go of the punishing workouts and restrictive diets.
Get deep on what weight gain will really look like for you. I never believed that I would accept myself if I gained weight, but the truth is my weight gain gave me my life back.
You may gain weight but what other things will you gain? Is it date nights with your partner? Eating birthday cake with your kids? Fun nights out with the girls? Holidays where you are fully present and not worried about the food that is being served?
Takeaway.
Visualise and write down all the things you will gain when you heal your relationship to food, exercise and your body. It is so powerful to read this on a piece of paper and it will give you a good perspective of what your life can look like.
THE BIG TAKEAWAY
You deserve to live your life without obsessing over food, exercise, and body image.
If you are struggling right now and need extra support, come and join our community and download week 1 for free of our Nourish Me: Food Freedom, Fun Exercise and Body Peace program. It is an eye-opening read.
TIP 2