08/01/2019
This is so well stated. Take the time to read the whole post.
In making peace with food, your weight will do 1 of 3 things: go up, go down, or stay the same. Anti-diet isn’t anti weight loss, it’s anti-prescribing intentional weight loss as an intervention. Weight change may occur as an outcome, but the ‘after’ body is not more valuable than the ‘before’ body. By celebrating a smaller body, we are reinforcing that thinner is better. We are degrading the ‘before’ body. As if this version of the person did something wrong, or didn’t try hard enough, or was undeserving of celebration. A weight-inclusive practice says that all bodies are worth celebrating, especially the ‘before’ body because it holds a very important story that doesn’t deserve to be erased.
What would this world be like if we were proud of our body outside of a physical change? What about celebrating hard work and dedication in attending therapy sessions? What about cleaning the kitchen or vacuuming? What about eating consistently, challenging diet culture’s food rules? What about setting boundaries at work? What about taking your medication or getting enough sleep? What about celebrating that we are just doing the very best that we can.
Next time you see a before and after photo celebrating a physical change, I invite you to take a moment and celebrate something about your body that isn’t visible. You don’t deserve to be erased.
