What is a Healthy Weight?Healthy Weight? I'm not just talking BMI (Body Mass Index) here. I'm talking about being fit and feeling good. Waking up in the morning refreshed, with energy, enjoying getting dressed because you feel good about yourself. I'm not interested in what your numbers are. A healthy weight, to me, is about knowing that you are healthy in your body - not too sluggish from overeating and not too weak from malnutrition. Perhaps most importantly, a it means eating when you're hungry, and feeding your body with nutritious food that satisfies. It means stopping when you're satiated, but not stuffed, and not obsessing constantly about the numbers on the scale. I'm a big fan of intuitive eating - that is, listening to your body's cues to real hunger, and also to what it's really needing/craving at any given time. We are all born with this innate ability, and most of us lose touch with it along the way, for various reasons. I'm on a constant mission to get back to this state, of naturally knowing when, what and how much is best for me. Though I'm the first to admit, I'm not perfect, and I often get sidetracked. I've been on my fair share of diets, for health reasons, for weight loss, for curiousity's sake, and I find every time I try a diet, I get further away from trusting myself when it comes to food! I'm on a mission to re-learn self-trust and to follow my intuitive knowledge. I ultimately know what's best for me - I just forget that occasionally!
It's natural for weight to fluctuate, depending on cycles, seasons & even stress. And it's also unrealistic to expect perfection from a diet! A healthy relationship with your weight takes these aspects into account. You can eat that lovely piece of dark chocolate knowing, with a quiet confidence, that you get loads of fresh, natural foods, and your body is strong and healthy. Another crucial part of healthy weight is
healthy exercise.
Why is a Healthy Weight So Elusive for So Many People?We live in a world that has such superhuman standards of how we should live. If we don't look perfect, have the ideal job, partner, family relationships, etc, then we tend to see ourselves as failures, or below standard. I know we've heard it all before but many of the models in magazines are airbrushed. I'm going to say it again. Models are often AIRBRUSHED to make them look perfect. Why are we striving to meet a level of perfection that doesn't even exist?I am here to tell you to BE GENTLE with yourself. Strive to be healthy, not perfect. Because true health exists, but true perfection exists only in our minds. Profound, huh? Wondering where to go from here? Start eating more leafy greens today. Can't stop overeating?Many people don't realize that overeating can actually be a form of addiction. If you think (or know) you might be using food for emotional comfort, or as a coping mechanism, and are ready for some help, I highly recommend this book . It's the best one I've read on the subject of addictive eating, and she has a really genuine approach, and practical steps you can take to work on these issues. She has literally changed lives, enabling people not only to stabilize their weight, but also to acknowledge & work with emotional eating on a deeper level.Are you concerned about or do you have an overweight child? This is a great site on child obesity. Here's a great site that looks specifically at weight loss from a holistic perspective. Are you into counting calories? Check out what I have to say on my calorie calculator page. Go from Healthy Weight Back to Home |
