I’m going to say something that’s based on zero scientific research, but that I nonetheless am almost positive is true: aside from January, this is the most prominent time of the year for (northern hemisphere) people to work on, worry about, and talk about weight loss. You know why, right? Because of those two beautiful yet terrifying words: swimsuit season.
I’ve noticed a huge uptick in posts, updates, and tweets from people crowing about their recent weight loss. And why not? I mean, weight loss is hard. It is among the most difficult things many of us attempt. It takes loads of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice. And oh, the rewards! Praise, admiration… and envy. What’s not to like about being envied for the way we’ve transformed our bodies?
A few years ago, I would have been right there with most everyone else, offering up compliments and kudos to every person who managed to shrink their bodies. Now that my eyes are open – now that I know that diets don’t work for the vast majority of people, and often make us fatter than when we started; that they are really about aesthetics and not health, and often result in poorer health outcomes – I no longer comment on weight-loss posts.
There are a lot of people who don’t want to – or maybe can’t – hear what I’m saying here on BFD. They believe that weight loss is a worthy endeavor, that a smaller body size will make them happier, more lovable, better, healthier. They believe, above all else, that weight loss is permanent. How many times have you heard, “I’ve lost X number of pounds and they are never coming back!”?
Maybe you believe it. I did, once upon a time. Why wouldn’t I? From the time I first became aware that my body was “too big” and that dieting was the solution to my “problem,” I was assured that if I just tried hard enough, if I just worked at it in the right away for the right amount of time, I would achieve the magical state of thin… and stay there for the rest of time.
Of course I didn’t. And most dieters don’t. If we did, why would there still be a sixty billion dollar weight loss industry? If diets worked, wouldn’t there be a very small amount of people left in the world to “fix,” because the rest of us succeeded? After all, we followed all the rules, we gave the “experts” our money in exchange for their wisdom. The best evidence we have for how very much diets don’t work? The fact that the diet industry just keeps on growing.
Now, the diet industry – as well as fat bigots – will tell you the reason diets haven’t worked is because fat people aren’t doing them right. Either we give up and go back to our couch-sitting, lard-eating ways, or we just aren’t following the directions right. It’s pretty funny, when you think about it. I mean, tell me one other product or industry that sells you a service that is based on faulty logic and pipe dreams – that fails about 95% of the time! – and then blames you when it doesn’t work.
I’m going to the beach in less than three weeks. I’m going to enjoy the sun and surf and sand with three of my best girlfriends. We come in all shapes and sizes. We are going to have an amazing time, regardless of our BMIs and our hip-to-waist ratios. You can enjoy all the fun that swimsuit season has to offer, too, without punishing your body through restrictive eating. I know it probably feels like I’m just trying to burst your bubble, but the chances of you keeping off the pounds you’ve lost and staying thin forever are about five percent. Five percent! And truthfully? There’s a pretty fair chance you’ll end up even bigger than when you started.
So, just for a moment, imagine taking all of the energy you put into shrinking your body and instead using it to make your body healthier. What if you spent the weeks until summer increasing your lung capacity so you can swim longer, strengthening your muscles to help you pop up onto that surfboard?
Imagine focusing on ways to make your body more instead of less. Less eventually dwindles down to nothing. But more? More grows until it’s as big as the summer sky.
