Ask a Health Coach: Can You Be Overweight and Healthy?

Hey of us. Board-Certified Health Coach — and Primal Health Coach Institute’s Coaching Director — Erin Power is right here to reply your questions on weight reduction, weight loss plan tradition, and well being at totally different sizes. If you’re questioning how these match right into a Primal method to consuming and way of life, learn on! Have a query you’d prefer to ask our well being coaches? Leave it under within the feedback or over within the Mark’s Daily Apple Facebook group. 

Tamara requested:
“Can you settle a debate between my sister and me? I am so sick of diet culture and fat shaming. Yes, I’m a large-sized woman by some standards, but I feel fine and am otherwise healthy. My sister insists that can’t be the case and keeps telling me to lose weight or go to the doctor. This infuriates me and makes me feel like crap about myself. Please weigh in: Can you be overweight and still be healthy?”

I’ve immense empathy for anybody battling fats shaming or the painful, dangerous results of mainstream weight loss plan tradition. I’m so sorry you’ve experiencing this, Tamara. Shaming, stigmatizing, or stereotyping somebody about their physique dimension or different elements of bodily look isn’t okay. It’s additionally the precise reverse of what often encourages a significant and productive method to attaining well being and wellness.

Having this come from a sister or different member of the family is very tough. Family dynamics are typically lengthy practiced, deeply triggering, and troublesome to shift. Plus, it’s simply not as straightforward to stroll away from a relationship when it’s with a member of the family. It’s by no means snug to be in relationship with somebody who oversteps boundaries and feedback on or criticizes your physique or weight. Many individuals sadly expertise such remedy from relations, companions, associates, colleagues, and even strangers on the Internet.

Again, that is by no means okay. Good for you for recognizing that and searching for backup.

Before we get to your query, I do need to encourage you to let your sister understand how her phrases are affecting you. Rather than level out what she’s “doing wrong,” you would possibly calmly and truthfully clarify that whereas she might imply effectively, her commentary is painful, leaves you feeling unhealthy about your self… or no matter wording rings most true to you. Approach this as setting a boundary, slightly than as lodging a grievance, which might trigger her to turn out to be defensive and shut down.

It’s extremely vital so that you can converse what it was that bothered you, why, and the way you want to talk about this subject shifting ahead (if in any respect). Let her know that in order for you her recommendation sooner or later, you’ll particularly ask. Otherwise, request that she kindly chorus from citing your physique weight.

Now onto your query…

Health at Any Size?

It’s actually vital for me to reveal that whereas there are lots of specialists on this subject (and whereas the anti-diet method is one that’s rising more and more attention-grabbing to me as a coach), I’m not a number one professional within the Health At Every Size (HAES), physique neutrality, fats acceptance, intuitive consuming, or anti-diet house. For that, I’d direct you to somebody like Stephanie Dodier, who we hosted on our podcast, Health Coach Radio. She studied beneath Evelyn Tribole who is taken into account the chief on this house.

I additionally need to point out that this subject is extremely polarizing, and feelings run excessive. If you’re feeling bothered, triggered, or upset by something on this article, I invite you to take just a few deeps breaths and discover what particularly is troubling you about this subject earlier than you head into the feedback part. Sometimes the language round this subject turns into needlessly hurtful to the individuals round us, as evidenced by Tamara’s query right here. Let’s observe compassion and kindness, and have a great, productive dialog about it. This is the coach method.

So, are you able to be wholesome at any dimension? And, is there a correlation between physique weight and well being?

Sometimes, sure. Specifically, extra physique fats (versus muscle) and weight problems are sometimes correlated with widespread fashionable illnesses comparable to heart problems, hypertension, excessive ldl cholesterol, kind II diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver (even in youngsters), obstructive sleep apnea, and most cancers. These often go hand-in-hand with persistent irritation  and a weakened immune system.

In different phrases, extra physique fats and weight problems does appear to issue into our state of well being and wellness, a minimum of from a correlative perspective. There is a few query within the Health At Every Size house as as to whether this correlation is powerful or vital sufficient to make widespread judgements concerning the well being of fats individuals. I’m right here to say: making widespread judgements concerning the well being of anybody whose well being standing you don’t know is mostly a horrible thought. So let’s all comply with cease doing that.

Being chubby may, for many individuals, place additional pressure on joints and inside organs, restrict mobility, and contribute to emotions of low vitality or fatigue. Some, all, or none of this can be true for you: a person with a novel, lived expertise inside a novel physique. You, greater than anybody, understand how YOU really feel in your physique, each bodily and mentally. If you really really feel your most significant, healthiest self, that’s a unbelievable signal. We are fast to dismiss the subjective, lived expertise of being in a physique, as a substitute speeding to guage it in opposition to the cultural norm, or in opposition to the hastily-formed well being and medical opinions of acquaintances, family members, and web strangers. If you’re feeling good, that’s good. 

If you don’t really feel good, or if you happen to suspect there is perhaps room to really feel a bit of higher, that’s a very sturdy and highly effective “come from” to think about implementing some adjustments to your meals, motion, or way of life.

A checkup with a medical skilled can present additional data, too. Gather the target knowledge from a well being care skilled which you could match as much as the subjective expertise of residing in your physique. If going this route and if accessible, I like to recommend trying to find a practical drugs physician skilled in metabolic well being and utilizing a spread of remedy modalities, together with way of life and dietary steering (not simply prescribed drugs).

Health Beyond Size

You didn’t point out your consuming or way of life habits, however as a coach, I ask about these firstly. They are the most important well being and vibrancy dial-movers, in any case. Regardless of physique dimension, of us who don’t eat a nourishing, nutrient-dense weight loss plan or comply with the opposite 10 Primal Rules typically are likely to battle with lack of vitality, unmanageable vitality, mind fog, low moods, and different signs that simply don’t really feel good.

And this goes manner past physique dimension. I’ve had chubby, underweight, and “healthy weight” shoppers who’ve expressed this lack of vibrancy.

Almost anytime a shopper strikes towards consuming a Primal weight loss plan made up of high-quality animal protein and dairy, wholesome fat and oils, veggies, fruits, and reasonable quantities of nuts, seeds, and darkish chocolate, they really feel higher, appear to gradual or reverse their accumulation of physique fats, and ultimately step into the energetic vitality that has all the time been their birthright.

If they’re consuming Primal and nonetheless battling extra physique fats or different unfavorable well being markers, I look to the opposite Primal Rules:

1) Eat Plants and Animals
2) Avoid Poisonous Things
3) Move Frequently
4) Lift Heavy Things
5) Sprint Once in a While
6) Get Plenty of Sleep
7) Play
8) Get Plenty of Sunlight
9) Avoid Stupid Mistakes
10) Use Your Brain

(Even after 15 years of Primal residing, I’m all the time struck about how these guidelines simply make sense. They replicate how our our bodies and minds have advanced to dwell and thrive.)

To be clear, none of that is about blaming, shaming, or stigmatizing. It’s merely pointing to the proof and a part of my position and accountability as a coach. Clients rent me to do precisely this (a a lot totally different situation than somebody giving unsolicited “advice” or commentary on one other particular person’s physique or well being).

When working with a talented, considerate, compassionate coach, the main target is on serving to you determine what’s occurring and what you most have to really feel your finest. This requires connection to the target (knowledge and information) and subjective (how does it really feel) elements of getting a physique of any dimension.

This permits us to slowly extract ourselves from weight loss plan tradition by aligning with our thoughts, feelings, and biology to help wellness, longevity, and feeling actually good.

Back to You

Body dimension, meals, and well being are extraordinarily private, multilayered points that go manner past what’s on our plate or what dimension pants we put on. It takes a complete lifetime to get the place we’re with meals, consuming, and physique picture, and there are lots of components at play.

In the top, you’re your number one caretaker and know finest how you’re feeling. As people, we every have a accountability to get actually trustworthy with ourselves, make supportive decisions, and dwell in ways in which enable us to be as wholesome as attainable inside our private set of circumstances. That, plus checking in with a medical skilled when wanted and accessible, is a much more correct predictor of well being than unsolicited commentary.

By the way in which: it’s not all the time straightforward. Part of taking particular person accountability is understanding when to ask for expert, caring help. This type of help does NOT come from “fat shaming” or “diet culture.” It does come from significant conversations about your targets, the expertise of residing in your physique, and your imaginative and prescient of well being and happiness.

Having exterior perspective and accountability will assist you understand whether or not you’re on observe with well being at any dimension. Working with a coach may also help you set strong methods in place for coping with well-meaning however unhelpful household and associates. Visit myprimalcoach.com to be taught extra and get began.

Do you battle with mainstream weight loss plan tradition? Or have somebody in your life who gives unsolicited well being “advice”? Let it out and drop different questions for me within the feedback!

About the Author

Post navigation

If you would like so as to add an avatar to your whole feedback click on right here!