All posts by Isabel

Is sugar (un)healthy? It depends.

VIP Blogs

Like most things in life, it all depends on the context. 

…am I eating it with fiber or protein or something else that will slow its absorption into my blood?

…is it bringing me joy, or serving some kind of mental health purpose in my life?

…am I weight restoring after a period of restriction?

…is it somebody’s birthday? Or some other celebratory occasion?

…am I diabetic and going hypoglycemic?

…did my daughter bake it for me with her loving bare hands?

…am I an athlete in need of quick fuel for a race?

…am I super hungry and need something to cut the discomfort while I wait for my meal?

…how are we defining “sugar?” (glucose? fructose? sucrose? maltose? Some of these are required for SURVIVAL…not to mention “health”).

…how are we defining “health?” (the absence of disease? improved quality of life? holistic well-being? stress levels or anxiety? ability to connect with others or participate in your social world?)

Human beings love to label and categorize things—but the reality is context matters. 

In other words, it’s not as simple as “to sugar” or “not to sugar;” it’s a much more nuanced conversation than that.

For more of my take on healing our relationship with all foods, check out my video training series at stopfightingfood.com.

 

Feel like you could eat forever? A word on satiation.

Uncategorized, VIP Blogs

Yes, there will come a moment when you will be satisfied,
a moment when you’re not only full but simply don’t want anymore.

But that moment only comes to those who are not grasping for it,
who let go of the constant attempts at control,
who let go of the constant judgment of their choices,
and who let go of their food needing to look a certain way.

As long as we live in the judgment,
as long as we live in the need to control,
we will feel utterly compulsed by food—no amount of food will be enough.

On the flip side, when we let go,
when we allow our food to be what it wants to be,
rather than trying to force it into what we think it should be,
satiation finds us. 

Want more of my take on food and eating? Check out my free video training series at stopfightingfood.com.

How to manage ANY health condition…without dieting

Uncategorized, VIP Blogs

I’m often asked—

“If the pursuit of weight loss (almost always) leads to bingeing or rebound weight-gain in the long-run, how am I supposed to address ‘weight-related’ health issues I may be facing? 

What if I have joint pain?
Or high blood pressure?
Or diabetes?
Or any others of the infinite conditions I’m always told will be alleviated through weight loss?

Good question—here’s my answer: 

First of all, it’s important to remember that “weight-related” does not necessarily mean “weight-caused” (in fact, it very rarely does), and weight loss in-and-of-itself is not a fix for any of the problems listed above. More on this here.

That being said, even if a particular condition could be managed through weight loss alone, the fact remains that dieting simply isn’t sustainable for almost anyone long-term (and usually leads to higher weight outcomes, and worse health indicators in the long-run).

In other words, trying to lose weight is not an effective method for dealing with any “weight-related” conditions, by virtue of the fact that there’s currently no proven, safe, or effective way to accomplish that goal.

Thankfully, there are plenty of other (more effective) ways to address all of the conditions mentioned above.

For instance, someone struggling with joint pain may be helped by strength training. If trying to lose weight doesn’t work long-term, let’s get more muscle on you, so you can comfortably carry more weight.

If you have high blood pressure, you may want to work on getting more exercise in your day or lowering the amount of sodium you consume.

If you have diabetes, you can work on managing your blood sugar through exercise, food-pairing, or various other dietary changes.

Ultimately, these behavioral changes *may or may* not lead to weight loss—

but whether they do or not, they have a much better chance of improving your *actual health condition* long-term than some arbitrary attempt at weight control…which is almost surely doomed to fail in the long run. 

Another way of thinking about this is…

if you accepted that the pursuit of weight loss is not an effective course of treatment for any health conditions—by virtue of the fact that diets have a 95% failure rate and a long list of side effects, including weight gain,

what would be your Plan B? How would you approach this problem if dieting (or attempts at weight reduction) was not an option?    

and if you need help figuring out an effective Plan B for managing your particular condition—

ask yourself (and/or your doctor),

how would a thin person manage this condition? 

thin people also get diabetes,
thin people also get high blood pressure,
thin people also get joint pain,
and pretty much any other ‘weight-related’ condition you can think of.

What do *they* do when faced with these medical concerns? Probably something a lot more effective than hopping on the yo-yo diet train…

Food for thought.

(and speaking of your doctor, if you’re struggling to find a healthcare professional who will work with you in a weight-neutral way—e.g. your doctor is refusing to work with you around a particular condition “until” you lose weight, or is shaming you for something that very few people actually achieve—make sure to check out this important book. You may also be able to find a more compatible health professional in your area by clicking here.

Like this blog post? There’s a whole (free) video series about where this came from. Check it out at stopfightingfood.com. 

“I haven’t found long-term dieting success…but shouldn’t I keep trying?”

VIP Blogs

People often tell me that they don’t want to pursue size acceptance, do body image work, or let go of dieting (despite clear evidence that dieting almost always fail long-term, and is the single leading predictor of binge-eating),because they say it feels like “giving up,” or they feel like they should “keep trying.” 

Ultimately, letting go of dieting IS giving up…on a fight that you’re likely doomed to lose anyway, and that’s beating you black and blue along the way

(…so, no, you probably shouldn’t ‘keep trying,’ unless your goal is to push yourself further and further down the diet-binge rabbit hole as time goes on). 

Sometimes the wise, rational, and even “healthful” thing to do IS give up,
specifically when the thing you’re trying to do doesn’t seem to be working,
and is having the *exact opposite* effect on your life that you’d like.

Considering the incredibly low success rates of dieting long-term, and the enormous amount there is to lose along the way (e.g. your time, sanity, and long-term weight gain),

“giving up” on dieting is the responsible thing to do…just like “giving up” buying lottery tickets is also the responsible thing to do.

In business this is referred to as cutting your losses—when you let go of a costly strategy that you were hoping would pay off (but hasn’t), because you’re simply not willing to risk further losses or damages.

You’ve already lost [fill in the blank] number of years to diet-binge cycling…how many more years are you willing to gamble before you’re not willing to lose anymore?

On that note, if you’re ready to let go of dieting (for real) and want to learn what *does* work for creating permanent, long-term health outcomes (including mental health outcomes, like freedom from binge-eating, etc.) Check out my free video training series here. It’s worth the watch.