Can You Be Body Positive and Still Want to Lose Weight?

Summer is on its way! There is a shift that comes with the warmer weather and the sunshine, a shift in energy and priorities. This transition can be a great time to start new habits or routines, and to prioritize what’s important to you.

This is also a time of year that people can get worried about what their bodies look like. Whether it’s wearing cooler summer clothes, thinking about heading to the beach or the pool, or just getting out and about more as pandemic restrictions relax, this time of year can bring up anxiety. Weight loss companies try to capitalize on this anxiety by asking questions about “bikini ready bodies.” That’s why it’s important to state right up front: every body wearing a bikini is a bikini body. The message from the body positivity movement is that all bodies are worthy of love, care, joy, and fun. Each person gets one body to carry them through life on this planet, and all of those bodies are great! You are the only person who knows if you are carrying extra weight that affects your health. Instead of just looking in the mirror or trying on all your pre-pandemic clothes, try these assessments instead.

1. Blood sugar levels. A waking blood sugar reading, after at least 8 hours of fasting, of less than 100 mg/dL, and less than 140 mg/dL 2 hours after eating, is considered normal. It is common to have a reading of 70-80 mg/dL right before eating, and every one has their own range that is normal for them. You can check your blood sugar levels at your health care practitioner’s. You can also purchase a monitor and test strips at a pharmacy. If your blood sugar is consistently higher, talk to your general practitioner. 
2. Blood pressure. A blood pressure reading of less than 120/80 mm HG is considered to be in the normal range. Elevated blood pressure can be a sign that your heart is working extra hard because of stress or excess weight. Your healthcare practitioner can tell you your blood pressure, and there are numerous pharmacies that will take it as well.
3. Heart rate variability. Heart rate variability is simply the amount of time between one beat of your heart and the next. Research has shown that the more variable that number is, the more it indicates the flexibility and resiliency of your body to stress. Your heart rate is controlled by your autonomic nervous system, which means it is entirely out of your conscious control. It can give you information about whether your body is operating from the sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system response, or more simply, are you in fight-flight-freeze-fawn mode in response to a threat, or are you in a calm and relaxed state? When your sympathetic nervous system is activated, you experience less variation in your heart rate. This used to be data that could only be collected by an electrocardiogram in a hospital or clinical setting, but modern technology means that you can collect this information with a tracker at home such as the Oura ring. You get direct feedback about how your body is responding to your life—your quality of sleep, how your body responds to the fuel you give it, how emotional interactions affect you, how your body responds to exercise. This information can help motivate you to make changes in your habits to support your health. 
4. Mental health. Tracking your mood can help you identify patterns and habits, and evaluate how they are serving you. You can journal with a pen and paper, or explore a number of mood tracking apps on your phone. Keeping track of your moods can help you identify triggers.
5. Lung and heart health. Are you winded when you climb a flight of stairs? Does walking briskly to catch a bus feel like excess exertion? Is your resting heart rate within a normal range, 60 to 100 beats per minute?
6. Strength, endurance, and flexibility. Can you bend the way you want to? Can you lift and carry the way you want to? Can you keep up with your children or grandchildren? 

Focus on FUNCTION

These measurements help you determine how your body FUNCTIONS. How it looks may or may not reflect how it functions, especially if you are comparing yourself to images that have been photoshopped or filtered, or are of people who make it their job to keep their bodies very small through rigorous exercise, restrictive eating, or surgeries, and have access to the resources to do so. 

Instead, try taking a look at the assessments above and see what they tell you about your health. You can also try keeping a journal for three days. Zero in on questions such as:

1. How do I feel right away when I wake up in the morning? How do I feel when I go to bed? How do I sleep?
2. How do I feel while I’m eating? Am I happy, distracted, upset, worried? How do I feel an hour after I’ve eaten? Am I hungry again often? Do I feel like I need a nap before or after lunch? What are the things I crave?
3. How much water do I drink in a day? Do I often feel thirsty?
4. How do I feel when I move? Are there body parts that hurt or are stiff? Am I winded after certain activities? Are there things I avoid because I don’t like how they make me feel, or they feel too hard or uncomfortable?
5. How is my mood, and my memory, concentration, and emotional capacity? Do I feel drained, anxious, and depressed often? When do I feel the best? What are the things that light me up? What are the things I’m grateful for?

Bodies come in all sizes, shapes, abilities, and ages (within the range of 0 to 120 or so!). Bodies exist in an infinite variety of states: growing, aging, recovering from illness or injury, existing with diseases or disorders, performing or competing, growing new humans and recovering from birthing them, and so many more. Our bodies reflect our lives. That’s why only you know what your health goals are—you are the one living in your body, and you are the one who can decide what you want. What do you want to focus on? What are the areas of improvement you are interested in? What do you want to be doing, or how do you want to be feeling, in this body, and how can you get there? This is where TruBalance can help you take all of these things into account. Our experts can help you focus on your BIG WHY, on the ultimate reasons why your body is worthy of care and attention, and they can help you come up with goals and a plan that respects where you’ve been and where you want to go. 

Try this: make a list of things you want to DO this summer, of the activities you are excited to engage in. Let this guide your choices, and inform your decisions. Summer can be a time to try a new routine or implement a new habit. It can be easier and more appealing to get outside and move for mental health and to celebrate what your body can do. For more resources and inspiration to improve your lifestyle for health, check out the TRIBE, the e-course, and the cookbook, Eating on Purpose by Dr. Traci Kiernan.