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Declare Your Independence from a Weight-Obsessed World

May 5, 2021   32 Comments

As we come to the end of the pandemic, some of you will have put on some pounds. I certainly have.

Declare Your Independence from a Weight-Obsessed World

But, I don’t think it is time to diet. I think it is time to reflect on how the isolation, grief, and deep level of uncertainty made it hard (some would say impossible) to continue a healthy lifestyle.

Some of you gained a healthy lifestyle! Because of the pandemic, you may have been given the opportunity to stop and reevaluate your habits. You guys are amazing.

Those of us who had trouble keeping our healthy habits now have a choice. The truth is that diets don’t work - lifestyle change does work. My definition of diet? Diet means food restrictions.

How many of us have tried to cut out our favorite food because it has too many calories only to find ourselves completely obsessed with it?

Right now, it is time to forget about the jeans we fit in last year and start to rethink things. Not by name calling the food in our lives but by starting to accept and love ourselves - as we are right now.

Declare your independence from our culture of weigh-obsession.

What a radical idea!

I read about this declaration in a nutrition book and I went and found it to repost here because I believe it is powerful.

I was recently in a dressing room waiting for my daughter to try on clothes. It was large and there was a couch for friends or family to sit and wait. I watched young woman after young woman step out, with a new outfit on, and scrutinize herself in large mirrors.

I found myself (despite COVID) wanting to hug them all and tell them how beautiful they are - wondering who or what they were dressing for…..

Maybe every dressing room in the nation should have this posted next to the mirror.

From National Eating Disorder Association:

I, the undersigned, do hereby declare that from this day forward I will choose to live my life by the following tenets. In so doing, I declare myself free and independent from the pressures and constraints of a weight-obsessed world:

  • I will accept my body in its natural shape and size.
  • I will celebrate all that my body can do for me each day.
  • I will treat my body with respect, giving it enough rest, fueling it with a variety of foods, exercising it moderately, and listening to what it needs.
  • I will defy our society’s pressures to judge myself and other people on physical characteristics like body weight, shape, or size. I will respect people based on the qualities of their character and the impact of their accomplishments.
  • I will refuse to deny my body valuable nutrients by dieting or using weight loss products.
  • I will avoid categorizing foods as either “good” or “bad.” I will not guilt or shame myself for eating certain foods. Instead, I will nourish my body with a balanced variety of foods, listening and responding to what it needs.
  • I will not use food to mask my emotional needs.
  • I will not avoid participating in activities that I enjoy (e.g., swimming, dancing, enjoying a meal with friends) simply because I am self-conscious about the way my body looks. I will recognize that I have the right to enjoy any activities regardless of my body shape or size.
  • I will base my self-esteem and identity on that which comes from within!

What do you think of the declaration of independence from a weight-obsessed world? Are you ready to sign?

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32 Comments:

I agree - thanks for sharing - I hope many people take that to heart!

I totally agree and have finally realized that I love my body and all that it does for me.

Yep! I’ve done this for years. It’s true- we have all types of body shapes and sizes. And it’s ok. Consider me signed. And I lost weight I had gained after healing from leg issues - because I take care of me FOR me.

I love this. I am in!

I really think this is IT. THE message that needs to be spread. It is only after we have completely accepted ourself, and decided to be at peace with ourself, that change is possible. (If we want it). We need to stop punishing ourselves. Sleep, water, real nutrition, no good food/bad food, stop before you are full.

I think that is the most refreshing and awesome statement ever !!thank you

I can say it. Getting myself to believe it is hard work.

Man-oh-man! Did I really need to see this today! Thanks so much for sharing. Today I will be easier on me.

Love this. Yes I have been beating myself up for gaining 20 lbs and being right at my goal weight for Weight Watchers so I haven't gone back because I'm embarrassed. I was well below for 4 years. I need to read this daily.

And that is exactly why I disagree with intermittent fasting and KETO. They are diets based upon deprivation. I find it much more productive to make a lower calorie version of what I want. Maybe not so lightning fast to lose weight but there is no on or off dieting for me any more. Stop the insanity!

I wish that I could make this declaration. I cannot. I am trapped in disordered eating. As my treatment progresses, perhaps I will one day, be able to embrace this. I am saving it to take to my therapist and discuss how it can help me move forward.

Amen! And amen to the comment I can say it, but believing it is much harder.Acting on it helps belief.

I totally agree. Now I have to put it into practice. I lost 40 before Covid. BUT GAINED BACK 20LB. GRRRR. I don’t even like to go for a walk. Now I just need to put your words into practice. Thanks for the encouragement.

This is fantastic. I am making progress.

Beautiful views to teach my kids and grandkids. So different than I was raised, but it’s such a different world now.

There are a few clothing stores by me and they have something very similar posted in their dressing rooms. It makes me smile each time I see it!

Thank you! Needed this today.

Oh Snack Girl, I am virtually hugging you right now!! I am already in. What sealed the deal for me was reading a book by Caroline Dooner that has a title I cannot print here, but the initials are TFID. Radically changed me. I am healing from the restriction/binge cycle and I feel normal around food for the first time. I also have more energy, I feel healthier, and I don't have migraines anymore! Probably from kicking artificial sweeteners to the curb. Bless you! I am printing this out and reading it daily to continue to heal. Bless you and yours always.

Well said! Time to accept ourselves and love ourselves as we are. Life is short and everyday is a gift from God. Maybe once we stop shaming ourselves, we will accept a healthier lifestyle naturally.

This is awesome! I'm trying. Thanks, and your site is one of the best!

Snack Girl, you are real and you are kind. Thank you!

All of you - you are worth and deserve love and respect for who you are, not what you look like, and I know you would say this to other people - now we (some of us anyway) just need to embrace saying it to ourselves!

You (yes you, reading this) have something special and unique about you that makes this world a better place because you are in it :) Be kind to yourself, you deserve it! :)

Love this artcle.love the snack ideas.really enjoy your app

So true! I believe as we get older, we get wiser to this & accept more. I've also realized that I enjoy some exercise and am pushing myself to make it a must-do habit. Weird I saw some pics of myself from high school recently and thought ... why did I think I was overweight then?!?!

Love this! Count me in!

If only the pandemic were coming to an end!!! We better learn these good habits for the continuation of restrictions! Dr. William Li’s positive approach suggests foods to include or add not restrict. This is not a commercial just a reference to a healthy way of thinking about food.

It is important to understand what keto and fasting do scientifically. This means a lifestyle not a "diet". It has little to do with weight loss and more to do with health. When one fasts, the body burns sugar in the body first, then it attacks fat. If you fast over 12 hours, the body begins to produce human growth hormones which activate the metabolic process to regulate body fluids, muscle, bone growth, sugar and fat metabolism, and may help heart function. AT 17 to 23 hours, the body goes into autophagy which is a process by where the body gets rid of damaged cells so it can generate new healthier cells. When one goes over 24 hours fasting, the body starts to produce stored fat stem cells. These are cells your own body produces. Stem cells are used to fight disease. Cells crammed with calories are never given a rest so autophagy (self-eating),Human growth hormone and fat stem cells (regenerative) are not able to kick in. Simply skipping breakfast (12 + hours) can be beneficial. Avoiding carbs such as sugars, grain and starches are key to allowing the body to recover. This is science. I do intermittent fasting and have one meal a day. Within the 24 hour fast I can eat for one hour before fasting again. So, I can fast, typically, from 6 p.m. to 6 p.m. the next day. Then I have 3 to 4 ounces of protein, lots of veg and some carbs either from veg or some grains. I can have bacon, lamb or pork chops or eggs, etc. I have been on this lifestyle for over 5 months now. My thinking is clearer, my energy is high, I sleep like a baby, and I have lost weight. As a diabetic I have reduced my insulin intake from 90+ units to 30 or under. You diabetics out there know how great that is. One can take breaks from the keto and fasting rules which I have and still have had benefits. Before anybody decides to use a fasting lifestyle, one should consult a licensed, professional doctor. In the mean time, there are lots of videos made by doctors such as Dr. Eric Berg, Dr. Mindy Pelz, Dr. Mandell, Dr. Ekberg and more on Youtube if you want to know more and how the body works during fasting. I have never felt better and it is easier than you think. I am 70 years old and feel like a much younger woman. Please just take the time to explore fasting. I started small, just skipping breakfast, no snacking and adding hours to my fast as I felt necessary and I don't eat if I am not hungry. Best of luck to all. Happy Mother's Day!

I signed it and then at the advice and insistence of my doctor, I went low carb and lost 55 pounds. I found myself bread some of the tenets of the declaration. This article popped up for me right when I needed it. Thank you!!! I am hereby re-signing the declaration!!!

Sharon, this is a great start in my book. When we love our bodies and treat them well they naturally become healthier. That is the best goal.

THANK YOU ❤️

WE CAN DO IT AGAIN BY "THE GRACE OF GOD" WE ARE MORE THAN WORTH IT!!! I FELL AGAIN TODAY, FEEDING FRENZY, AFTER A BAD YESTERDAY. AFTER HAVING SOME SLOW BUT GOOD SUCCESS.

ALL THAT ALL OF YOU SAID ABOVE IS ALL TRUE, YOU ARE ALL VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE. I SEND YOU OUT A SPECIAL FEELING OF FEELING CONNECTED WITH A SPIRITUAL HUG FOR BEING YOU. I "WILL START AGAIN TOMORROW" WE ARE GOOD & WORTH LIVING PEOPLE. BLESSINGS TO ALL FOR SUCCESS, BE SAFE, ANNETTE

I signed, but frankly I plan to choose whole food vs the crap food. During pandemic I saw carts of frozen pizza, hot pockets, cookies, ice cream, soda and TV dinners. Ugh. Why would anyone feed that crap to their families? Since we were all home we certainly had time to cook healthy meals. I sure did and at my grocery there was never a shortage or limit on veggies or fruit. Our family had time to walk most every day too. We have continued those habits too.

Nice perspective , however , we are far from " the end of the pandemic" . More accurate to say we are in an endemic ... reality and acceptance of this keeps me balanced and prepared to go with the flow with respect to things I can't control;.

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