Australia Stands up for Women’s Health - But Is the Shoe on the Wrong Foot?
This week marks Women’s Health Week - a great reminder for all Australian women to set aside time to focus on their health and wellbeing. But with so many mixed messages about what health really means, women are becoming further removed from their bodies, and falling further down a rabbit hole of guilt, shame and confusion. But are we too big for the glass slipper of ‘health’, or has diet culture just put the shoe just on the wrong foot?
The unfortunate reality is that the line between ‘weight’ and ‘health’ has become scarily blurred. To make matters worse, the global weight loss industry is expected to reach a whopping $279 billion by 2023. With unhelpful ‘health’ messages plastered on every second post (both physical and virtual), it’s no wonder the face of ‘health’ has taken on a whole new meaning.
A positive relationship with food, exercise and your body is a trifecta to be celebrated. And considering Women’s Health Week is a week for celebrating all you female wonders out there, let’s talk about how we can take the first steps to nourish your relationship with them:
1. Changing the way we look at FOOD
Food does not have a moral compass. Psychologist Glenn Mackintosh summed this up perfectly in one of his podcasts: “when we eat an apple, we are not helping an old lady across the street, and when we eat a piece of cake, we are not robbing a bank”. A trend we often see in dieters is a never-ending cycle of restriction, losing control, overeating a ‘forbidden food’ and self-blame. Breaking this cycle is the first step to changing the way we look at food. We can do this by (1) respecting our hunger cues and eating until satisfied and (2) giving ourselves permission to enjoy ‘feel-good’ foods mindfully (see our article on Mindful Eating for more on this)
2. Changing the way we look at EXERCISE
We know that exercise hosts a whole range of benefits - from improved mood and stress management, to better sleep and heart health. But for lots of people, our relationship with exercise needs some TLC - particularly if we are exercising to ‘burn calories’, pushing ourselves longer or harder than our body enjoys, or compensating for something we ate yesterday. Unhealthy exercise tends to involve rules and rigidity, be joyless, shame-based, and shame-inducing. Unhealthy relationships with exercise tend to not be sustainable over long periods of time. We burn out, we feel badly about ourselves, and the cycle begins again.
To make sure that you are on track to building a positive relationship with movement, ask yourself the following questions:
Do I enjoy (or can I learn to enjoy) this movement?
Do I feel confident in this movement?
Am I enthusiastic about this movement?
Do I feel empowered (over the embarrassment, shame and guilt)?
Do I treat barriers/problems (like feeling tired or sore) with compassion?
If you answered no to any of these, I invite you to reflect on what you can tweak to turn that no into a yes. For example, if you notice negative thoughts like “I didn’t run far/fast enough today”, call yourself out! Would you say this to a child? A friend? A partner? If the answer is no, it’s time to reframe that thought in a more compassionate light.
3. Changing the way we look at OUR BODIES
Repeat after me: “the scales do not measure my worth!”. Did you know that your weight can fluctuate up to 2kg in a day? The scales are influenced by so many variables, including water retention (from hormones or salt intake), bowel motions and time of day. The scales fluctuate daily, weekly and across a cycle. So why do we place so much value on these numbers?
When it comes to rediscovering a positive relationship with our bodies, this is a long road. But one of the first steps we can take is to find things that do not serve us and give them the boot. If the bathroom scales don’t help you be a happier, healthier person and just leave you feeling plain cranky - toss them or even better - smash them!.
Shift your focus to your drivers for improving your health in the first place - see our article on How to Set SMART Goals for more on this. Another thing we can do is to spring clean our social media of toxic diet culture messages (anything that promotes rapid weight loss, extreme exercise programs, or makes us question our value). Simply unsubscribe and unfollow. You can also update your notification settings so that you can continue to follow/connect with a friend without seeing any of their notifications.
So the next time you notice elements of diet culture creeping back into your life, I invite you to take a step back, re-evaluate (“what will my life look like after one year of this?”) and proceed with whatever allows you to live life without unnecessary restriction and judgement.