118: Weight-Neutral Self-Care
Today I admit I’m talking about a topic that still causes me a bit of discomfort in my own life. As the focus of my journey and the podcast have shifted away from weight loss, I’ve really had to examine why I was trying to lose weight. I told myself I was losing weight to be healthy. But was that really the truth? When I dug down deep I started to see that the daily societal messages telling us how to look, what to wear, what size to be, and that thin is beautiful were so ingrained that I simply accepted that my body had to look a certain way to fit in. But it doesn’t. So today I’m talking about that discomfort in our own bodies and how to embrace weight-neutral self-care.
Today I admit I’m talking about a topic that still causes me a bit of discomfort in my own life. As the focus of my journey and the podcast have shifted away from weight loss, I’ve really had to examine why I was trying to lose weight. I told myself I was losing weight to be healthy. But was that really the truth? When I dug down deep I started to see that the daily societal messages telling us how to look, what to wear, what size to be, and that thin is beautiful were so ingrained that I simply accepted that my body had to look a certain way to fit in. But it doesn’t. So today I’m talking about that discomfort in our own bodies and how to embrace weight-neutral self-care.
I started to see that everything I was doing for so-called self-care was actually rooted in diet culture and the internalized messages of perfection and thinness. Eating better, yes that’s a great idea but it was rooted in weight loss. Exercise, it’s always a great idea but I wasn’t doing it for the joy of movement, I was doing it to lose weight. So I had to ask myself if I want to keep trying to shrink my body instead of celebrating the other gifts I have to offer the world. That’s part of this idea of weight-neutral self-care. Respecting our bodies. Having gratitude that our bodies let us live the lives we have. Changing our relationships with our bodies so it’s about actually feeling good and not looking a certain way. It’s a journey, it’s not easy at all, and there is a lot to struggle with. But I’m challenging us all, in this episode, to start that journey of self trust and kindness.
About Dr. Michelle Tubman
Dr. Michelle Tubman is a physician and health coach. She helps women ditch dieting and thrive at any size. For the longest time she believed that weight loss was the answer to all her problems. But decades of yo-yo dieting and restriction left her miserable, unhealthy, and exhausted. Now she teaches women how harmful dieting can be and shows them the way to true health and wellness.
As a physician specializing in both emergency and obesity medicine, with additional training in nutrition, eating psychology, and coaching, Michelle can tell you with certainty that dieting is dangerous. Studies associate compromised health more with yo-yo dieting than higher body weight. Yet, everywhere you turn, shrinking your body is hailed as the solution. Women don't need to change. Attitudes do. So let's stop self-shaming, speak out against sizeism, and fiercely champion unconditional self-celebration!
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Learn more about Dr. Michelle Tubman and Wayza Health:
- Website: www.wayzahealth.com
- Follow me on Facebook and Instagram
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