Since 1969, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) and other advocacy groups have been working to improve quality of life for, and end stigmas and bias against, overweight men and women. The value of accepting yourself at any size lies in better mental health and more dignity and self-respect, but as it turns out, size acceptance can also lead to better physical health and, quite possibly, weight loss as well.
Accepting yourself at your current weight doesn’t mean giving up on controlling or losing weight, if that’s what you need to do. It is simply a change in approach toward weight control. It’s a non-diet method wherein you shift your focus from weight loss to good health, regardless of your size. The non-diet approach to good health and weight control includes mindful, or intuitive eating. That means teaching yourself to eat in response to your own internal cues of hunger, fullness and appetite, rather than formally restricting the type or amount of food you eat. It is actually a less restrictive approach.
Health at Every Size® (HAES) is a weight management approach that supports intuitive eating and the concept of weight acceptance with a goal of improved health. One study of obese women, age 30 to 45, found that those who participated in a traditional diet program were more than five times more likely to drop out than those participating in an intuitive eating group. At a two-year follow-up of those who remained in both types of programs, women in the diet group initially lost weight but weight was regained and little or no improvement in eating behavior, psychological outlook or physiological improvement (such as lower blood pressure or blood fats) was sustained. In contrast, the health-at-any-size participants maintained their weight, showed many improvements in physiological and psychological measures, such as better eating habits, increased self-esteem, and decreased body dissatisfaction, and sustained those improvements over the years to follow-up.
A 2014 review of 20 similar intuitive eating programs found that, overall, completion rates were as high as 92% for programs that teach a nonrestrictive, intuitive approach to eating. The review found that, overall, participants improved their eating and weight control behaviors, mental outlook and metabolic fitness (i.e. improved lab results for blood pressure and blood fats), and reported feeling better about their bodies.
One of my favorite advocates of size acceptance is HAES® supporter Deah Schwartz, Ph.D., a teacher, art and recreation therapist, performer, blogger and, most recently, author of Dr. Deah’s Calmanac, an interactive, month-by-month journey to a positive body image. For a variety of helpful links to sites that support size acceptance, self-acceptance, and tools for mindful eating and healthier living, check out Dr. Deah’s Body Shop at www.drdeah.com.
For more on intuitive eating from two dietitians who specialize in intuitive eating and eating disorders, and who wrote the original book on this topic, head to http://www.intuitiveeating.com.
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