Episode Summary: Can You Truly Be Healthy at Every Size? Aimee explores the concept of being "healthy at every size" (HAES). She discusses the original intentions of the HAES movement and how it has been distorted on the internet. Aimee delves into the importance of looking beyond weight as the sole determinant of health and emphasizes the need for comprehensive and compassionate healthcare for all body types, but highlights a key factor not typically included in body positivity and HAES that is worth taking into account. Aimee reflects on how HAES has been co-pted and distorted into more extreme messaging and the unintended consequences this will have. A thought-provoking episode that challenges popular narratives and encourages self-advocacy.
Notable Quotes:
"Food does matter to our quality of life, to our mental health, to our physical health. And we can't ignore that. We can't throw that out in an attempt to get the world to accept us for whatever size we happen to be. That's just stupid." - Aimee
"Staying healthy requires questioning the popular wisdom of the day and pretty much doing the opposite of going with the flow." - Aimee
"Pushing back and advocating for yourself persistently increases the odds that you will find someone who will hear you and help you. Very few people are going to be able to care for your health as much as you do." - Aimee
HOW TO RATE AND REVIEW BLASPHEMOUS NUTRITION Leaving a Review on Apple Podcasts Via iOS Device 1. Open Apple Podcast App (purple app icon that says Podcasts). 2. Go to the icons at the bottom of the screen and choose “search” 3. Search for “Blasphemous Nutrition” 4. Click on the SHOW, not the episode. 5. Scroll all the way down to “Ratings and Reviews” section 6. Click on “Write a Review” (if you don’t see that option, click on “See All” first) 7. Rate the show on a five-star scale (5 is highest rating) and write a review! 8. Bask in the glow of doing a good deed that makes a difference!
Episode Summary: Can You Truly Be Healthy at Every Size? Aimee explores the concept of being "healthy at every size" (HAES). She discusses the original intentions of the HAES movement and how it has been distorted on the internet. Aimee delves into the importance of looking beyond weight as the sole determinant of health and emphasizes the need for comprehensive and compassionate healthcare for all body types, but highlights a key factor not typically included in body positivity and HAES that is worth taking into account. Aimee reflects on how HAES has been co-pted and distorted into more extreme messaging and the unintended consequences this will have. A thought-provoking episode that challenges popular narratives and encourages self-advocacy.
Notable Quotes:
"Food does matter to our quality of life, to our mental health, to our physical health. And we can't ignore that. We can't throw that out in an attempt to get the world to accept us for whatever size we happen to be. That's just stupid." - Aimee
"Staying healthy requires questioning the popular wisdom of the day and pretty much doing the opposite of going with the flow." - Aimee
"Pushing back and advocating for yourself persistently increases the odds that you will find someone who will hear you and help you. Very few people are going to be able to care for your health as much as you do." - Aimee
HOW TO RATE AND REVIEW BLASPHEMOUS NUTRITION Leaving a Review on Apple Podcasts Via iOS Device 1. Open Apple Podcast App (purple app icon that says Podcasts). 2. Go to the icons at the bottom of the screen and choose “search” 3. Search for “Blasphemous Nutrition” 4. Click on the SHOW, not the episode. 5. Scroll all the way down to “Ratings and Reviews” section 6. Click on “Write a Review” (if you don’t see that option, click on “See All” first) 7. Rate the show on a five-star scale (5 is highest rating) and write a review! 8. Bask in the glow of doing a good deed that makes a difference!
Hey Rebels, welcome to Blasphemous Nutrition. Consider this podcast your pantry full of clarity, perspective, and the nuance needed to counter the superficial health advice so freely given on the internet. I'm Aimee, the unapologetically candid host of Blasphemous Nutrition and a double degreed nutritionist with 20 years experience. I'm here to share a more nuanced take. On living and eating well to sustain and recover your health. If you've found most health advice to be so generic as to be meaningless, We're so extreme that it's unrealistic, and you don't mind the occasional F bomb. You've come to the right place. From dissecting the latest nutrition trends to breaking down published research and sharing my own clinical experiences, I'm on a mission to foster clarity amidst all the confusion and empower you to have the health you need to live a life you love. Now let's get started. I want to start today's episode with a listener review. I've got my first bit of shade thrown at me. As a lonely meercat in Germany writes, among other things,"I'm glad to listen to a podcast that is not regurgitating the misinformation about nutrition that is plaguing social media today. I've always wondered, where is the person negating the lies? Well, here she is. Aimee is informative and engaging, not blasphemous on enough, in my opinion. Doesn't go off on a tangent without reeling herself in." Okay, lonely meercat. I hear you. And you're right. I haven't been watching myself rein it in a bit, and honestly, I'm still struggling with balancing the unapologetic asshole that lives within me with the other more sane and balanced parts of me as well. I'm still censoring a bit as I work to unshackle myself from. Heavily censored city. I lived in for nearly 20 years. Bit by bit, my friend I'm working on it and damn it. Thank you for listening and calling me out on my shit. I totally appreciate it. Hey, if you're a regular listener and you have yet to leave a review, please do. So it seriously means the world to me. All right, let's get onto the good stuff. You Today, I'm going to talk about whether we can truly be healthy at every size. And I want to start by giving some context around. What healthy at any size is what it originally intended to be and how like nearly all well intentioned movements in the Western speaking industrialized world, healthy at every size has also been co-opted by the idiots and freaks on the internet. Who have morphed it into something. That it is not. So healthy at every size, which I'll refer to in the rest of this episode by its acronym, H a E S or HAES. Is broadly speaking. A movement to eliminate discrimination against people. That society would perceive as being fat. While, predominantly focused on improving the quality and access to health care that these people need to have to be on par with what we call normal weight individuals. It also acknowledges the bias against large people in job acquisition and other areas of life. And has more recently taken on a social justice theme to expand on inclusiveness for all. And to say, as everyone likes to say right now that they believe in inclusion for all. Now the original components of HAES advocated for moving away from a simplistic weight centric model of health. Which really has operated on this assumption that thinner bodies are inherently healthier to a model of health that emphasizes overall wellbeing and overall health, regardless of a person's physical size. Key principles of the HAES approach include weight inclusivity. Health enhancement. Respectful care. I mean, these aren't big asks here. Eating for wellbeing, as opposed to, um, any externally regulated eating plan, focusing exclusively on wait. And life enhancing movement. Regardless of size and ability. there are expanded definitions of these original principles available on my sub stack, as well as on the HAES website, which I've linked to in the show notes. So these original principles are strongly focused on access and inclusion without judgment or rigidly defined rules attached to them. And these principles do not state that you can retain optimal health regardless of size. HAES advocates argue that health outcomes are primarily the result of social, economical and environmental factors. And are not solely determined by weight or body size. And there is a lot of our medical system. That, has, and in some areas continues to focus on weight, BMI and body size. As a key determinant of health and health outcomes. But HAES rather a stresses, the importance of looking at a broader range of indicators to assess health rather than focusing exclusively on weight. The original focus of HAES is to reduce stigma and discrimination against overweight and obese individuals by effectively promoting size acceptance. And acknowledging that people come in different sizes. And that is not necessarily indicative of their quality of health. Okay. And essentially. Encouraging and pressuring our medical care and healthcare systems to shift the focus from weight loss to overall expanded indicators of health and wellbeing. Now social media influencers have twisted the original HAES principles, or honestly, they've kind of neglected to acknowledge them completely. And reduced healthy at every size to effectively be a very simplistic movement. With really one objective in mind. And this is not the first time a well-intentioned movement went sideways and created some problems. One day. I'm really, really hoping to get someone on the podcast. One of these big fish in a small pond folks who created, who was like a key instigator in creating a certain movement within the health sphere. And bring her onto the podcast to share her personal story of well-intentioned movements going hell is sideways, but I need at least a hundred reviews on iTunes before I think I even stand a chance to get an hour of her time. And yes, that is your cue to leave a written review in iTunes, if you haven't done so already again, these reviews helped me to establish credibility and a sense that this podcast is worth listening to not just for people who haven't found me yet, but for some of those larger names in the health and wellness sphere, who I would love to bring onto the podcast and get them to talk about some more nuanced. approaches to health. So that way we can get more information out there to more people. Anyway, in regards to the story of a narrative, taking a life on its own and going bonkers. We have these influencers who claim that to be healthy at every size advocates stating that. weight. Is irrelevant to your health. They pontificate on how fat shaming is inherently a product of the patriarchy and racism. Because everything that we don't like about our society is racist in some way, and obviously directly caused by white dudes. So throw away the scale. Don't worry about your weight and push back against fat shaming and diet culture by boldly loving your fat self and enjoy all kinds of foods. Nothing is off the table. So you can see in that message, there are some of the original principles. Of HAES, but you can also see that it is feeding into this kind of rebellious devil may care attitude that will ultimately end up biting a lot of people in the ass. If they take it as gospel. In the simplistic message that there are no bad foods. Are assessed me street, child mind interprets this as all foods are good foods. And that's categorically false. I'm sorry. That's just not true. I mean maybe you're smarter than I am in this area, but I still catch myself playing this kind of knee jerk opposite game in my head when I hear messages like this. Oh, if there is no bad foods, then that means that all foods are good. Right. And the reality is. The reality is, is that putting a value judgment on food? It's just, it's the wrong approach. It's neither bad nor good. It's an edible substance that won't tell you. Okay. But in my opinion, something like hyper processed, highly palatable food. If I consume it. Doesn't do my body much good than if I was eating like a racers or pages out of a book. It's not going to give me the vitamins and minerals. I need. And in the case of hyper processed palatable food, it's going to have fucking less fiber than the textbook that's sitting next to me. So, you know, But. We need to take these religious value judgments out of foods altogether. So when you say there's no bad foods, That also means there's no good foods and food is food. And so nothing is bad, but. As with everything in nutrition. And almost everything in the world. It is far more nuanced than that. Now some of this interpretation of HAES, you know, that there are no bad foods. Dovetails with. Mindful eating principles. And in mindful eating principles, people are encouraged to tap into their feelings and their body sensations as a guide for their food choices. Now while mindful and intuitive eating, definitely play an important role in certain circumstances. Influencer messaging is in complete denial of consequences of just relying on how you feel in the moment. And it's also a subtle message that you can ignore any dietary advice at all, because anything that resembles a boundary is conflated with oppression and racism. It's all very adolescent. I mean, if you want, well-meaning white people to turn away from an idea, call it racist. It is an extremely effective strategy at this moment in history. This alert racist is today. What communist was in the 1950s. The problem with relying exclusively on intuitive eating, is that what we feel? Our intuition is may not be strong enough to override the marketing, the hyper palatability and the pervasiveness of foods, which are strongly linked to increased disease. And for some people who have dealt with long-term dietary restriction, Something like intuitive eating. Particularly how it is presented in these like 15 to 32nd video snippets on Tik TOK. Might feel like permission to rebel and effectively throw the baby out with the bath water rather than find more realistic and sustainable changes that can improve their health. Regardless of their physical size. I sometimes see these people in my office after they've tried working with a mindful eating coach and they're none the better off for it. And all or nothing mindset. Usually leaves us with nothing. There was a recent Washington post article discussing how the food industry has jumped on the bandwagon with healthy, at every size and mindful eating. And is using these ideas, these ideologies, these concepts to promote and market their foods. I mean, Jesus fucking Christ. What. Just. There is nothing sacred in the United States anymore. There's like, there's no fucking guardrails. It's. So infuriating, I don't have words to properly express the amount of rage in my body. Kela Nova and general mills is looking out for you really well. That's what they're telling you. My friend. They're sensitive, progressive companies, and they really, really care about your wellbeing. Now, what they care about is their fucking bottom line. And as they saw, when they adopted breast cancer awareness month and pink washed every fucking thing every October for 15 years, If they claim to be on board with a good cause they know you're going to buy their shit up. They're using you is what they're doing. Honestly though, if candy bar and processed cereal companies adopting a health advocacy stance that aligns their product with morality and virtue, doesn't cause you to raise an eyebrow or both of them. This podcast might not be for you.. Now I can't speak to the British. And I can't speak to the Australians. Because I was born and raised and I've lived my adult life in the United States. What I can say is that Americans are absolutely captured by extremism. And we fucking love to take a concept way too far. And this precedes the internet. If you'll remember McCarthyism from history class. Okay. But as we love this concept of extremism and going way too far on one end and then swinging all the way over to the other end. We have naturally pushed back against body size ideals that peaked with the goddamn Kate Moss and heroin chic in the nineties. To the opposite end of the spectrum, which is where we are now. The internet conversation around HAES has taken the original correct argument that body size leads to less quality medical care and that this needs to be changing. And it's pushed it to a place where people are being told your weight's not a factor in your health at all. And what you eat doesn't impact your health. Well, those of us who have been around the sun a couple dozen times, or who have an interest in health and might know this is not true. There are millions for whom there is no counter-argument to this prevailing narrative. That's in part because the algorithm is just going to keep affirming this message to them because they liked it and they keep liking it. So that's going to become their truth. Until they get a diagnosis or their health completely breaks down. They're going to skip merrily down this path of obliviousness and the majority of them will end up ill. This is the preordained path for most of the population in any Western industrialized nation as is reflected in our year over year worsening health statistics from chronic diseases of lifestyle. And I've discussed that in other episodes. I will discuss that in future episodes, but I'm not going to discuss that today. Now with the food industry in the United States, being strongly embedded in nutrition research that comes out of the United States as well as marketing, and then using expert influencers on social media, there is no fucking happy ending in our future. Staying healthy requires questioning the popular wisdom of the day and pretty much doing the opposite of go with the flow. That said. There is a slice of the population. Small, but not insignificant. For whom obesity comes with no disease markers. I'd see this now and again, in the obesity clinic that I once work at. Now, these people have definitely been harmed by the medical community in their lifetimes. As they're quite heavy. And despite having like seriously gorgeous lab work, perfect glucose levels. Excellent cholesterol. No sign of heart disease, no impeding diabetes. Their doctors would still chastise them for their weight. Anyway. Super not okay. So it is important. That everyone listening to this podcast, understand these people are out there. Not everyone. Who's obese is going to drop dead of a heart attack. Not everyone. Who's obese is a huge burden on our healthcare system. However, it's not typical. Most of us are not blessed with the genetics that allow for an extra a hundred to 150 pounds of fat to be placed outside the organs, where it does relatively little damage. For most of us. Our extra fat begins to accumulate around the organs and that leads to fatty liver disease and a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. So these people who truly are healthy. Despite being obese will go to their doctor to get a pap smear. And their pap smear is fine. It's normal, but the fucking doctor keeps him in the room for an extra 20 minutes to lecture them about the importance of weight loss, when that is not why they are there. These are the people that would sit in my office and weep when I believed them about how hard they have tried to lose weight. Rather than telling them they need to try harder. Like every other provider they had encountered in their life. These are the individuals who will benefit most from increased acceptance of all body types. However, some of these people, despite having stunning lab work may end up having problems in the future because at some point in time, gravity itself can end up being a problem for your joints. Simply due to the weight that you carry. When your bones begin to buckle under your weight, that stress sheers at the joints and creates alterations in mobility that can lead to all sorts of structural issues that are extremely painful, inhibit mobility, and really fuck up your quality of life. I have seen this in my office as well. And while healthy at every size influencers don't acknowledge this reality. The original HAES movement would advocate for this person to receive proper, comprehensive and adequate care for this condition, regardless of their size. And that is absolutely a proper tenant of compassionate healthcare. I also want you to know that on the backend here. Many healthcare providers are being discouraged from having honest Frank conversations about weight. I've heard in some nutrition schools, future nutritionists and dieticians. Are explicitly told they should not ever mention weight to someone they are working with. This reminds me of when I was getting my personal trainer certification, 25 years ago, I was explicitly taught not to ever touch a client I was working with because it could be misconstrued as inappropriate and set me up for a lawsuit. Do you know how hard it is to teach proper form without laying your hands on someone? Like seriously, it makes the job so much harder because. You can physically shift a body's position to get it the way that you want to much more easily and effectively. Then using words. I think now they actually encourage people to ask and get explicit permission before touching them. But way back in the day, we were told to avoid it entirely. And this is what many of today's nutrition students are reportedly being told about the topic of weight. Now here's the deal. Everybody's got their undies all wadded up in their unwashed asses about how any mention of weight as analogous to being a fucking Nazi. And the state of medical right now is that a provider's livelihood and ability to practice without being harassed by the administration is sometimes directly tied to those customer service questionnaires that you might receive after a visit. We get ranked by a patient's perception of our care, rather than the outcomes of the care that were given. Most people will not bother to rock the boat and raise a sensitive topic, especially if they are newer to their profession. Providers are covertly pressured to be silent. And refer out to a nutrition professional, which in and of itself is actually a better option until you come to find out that most of us in the nutrition space are avoiding the topic of weight loss as well. In many nutrition groups that I'm a part of online, people are actively avoiding and refusing to take weight loss clients or patients because this topic is such a loaded gun and they don't want to touch it. Other people genuinely have antiquated misconceptions of what someone looking to lose weight actually wants. Like. You know, looking good in a bikini for summer and shit like that. And still others are drinking. The tick-tock Kool-Aid are not going to prescribe feel-good nutrition, tactics that are not very likely to get you the results you're looking for. We are also seeing the loudest and most extreme voices on the internet. And by and large, we're just saying thanks, but no, thanks. Don't want to deal with that shit. Since I really hate social media and hate trending group. Think even more. I have been spared this fate. I've also been in the field so long that I remember ancient history before Facebook. And I've worked in weight loss for so long that I know the reality of it, that many of you do not feel okay with the extra weight. But now you're shaming yourself for having that feeling. And you're also not openly talking to anybody about how nice it would be to get those extra 25 pounds off your knees. I will speak to that in a future episode because I see you and I know what's happening. This has been going on since 2018. But again, I don't want to derail myself talking about that because today it's about healthy at every size. I do want to say that the one hope I have for the genuine OG healthy at every size movement is expanded access to those seeking joint replacement surgery and still living with obesity. I've had several firsthand experiences of people I work with being denied this surgery due to weight. And being over a very specific number that a surgeon has predetermined is a quote, safe, wait for the surgery to occur. This scale number is usually based upon their BMI, which is an utter crock of shit and a multitude of ways that I really should take note of to discuss in a future episode. That number is the only thing that is keeping them from improved mobility and quality of life. It's not their inflammatory markers. It's not their immune status and the ability to withstand surgery. It's simply their body weight. In one case with someone I was working with, it was 10 fucking pounds. And this person had already lost quite a bit of weight, but the surgeon. Didn't give a shit. It wasn't enough. I consider this a Bismal behavior and apportioned medical care. In one instance. I was able to get help a patient get surgery. By sharing her stellar adherence to dietary recommendations. The improved health that she had had as determined by her lab markers. And her continued lack of additional weight loss that was needed for a surgery in part, because she was in too much pain to move. When her primary care provider received that message and looked over her medical records. He was Seeing what I was seeing and referred her to a second surgeon who was able to give her the care that she needed. Now, once she recovered from her surgery, she was able to be more mobile than she had in over a year. Unfortunately, I was unable to see if this had any impact on our physical weight, but I know the impact on her quality of life. Which let's be honest is more important Was profound. And that was one. Of the most meaningful and rewarding moments that I've had in my career. To be able to be an advocate for someone in this way. And see them get what they really, really needed. People it is so important to advocate for yourself. And to find providers who will advocate for you as well. And I know how hard that is. I know, I know what a mess healthcare is but I share this because pushing back and advocating for yourself, persistently increases the odds that you will find someone who will hear you and help you. Very few people are going to be able to care for your health as much as you do. So you have to be the loudest and most persistent voice to get what you want, especially now. So to summarize today's episode healthy at every size started as an advocacy movement. To allow overweight and obese people to get adequate, comprehensive quality medical care, because that is a way we have been shortchanging them. For generations. However the internet. And the game of telephone. With all its fucking bullshit. Has co-opted that movement to a large degree and turned it into this hedonistic, eat whatever you want. It doesn't fucking matter and your body weight has no relevance to your health. So. Just have fun. That is not true. And even for those who do have excellent blood work, And no chronic disease markers. There is still a point where your physical size will become a detriment to your health, simply because of gravitational forces on the joints. And that's something to take into consideration if you're 20 or 25 years old right now, and you're 50, a hundred pounds overweight. Particularly if you are a female and you're going to enter peri-menopause at some point where a weight tends to accumulate more, you may be looking at facing joint replacement surgery earlier than you would want to because those often don't last, as long as we do. And if things don't change with the way that surgeons are assessing, who is fit to go under the knife, you might be living with extreme chronic pain for years. Nobody wants that for you. You don't want that for you? And food does matter. Food does matter to our quality of life, to our mental health, to our physical health. And we can't ignore that. We can't throw that out. In an attempt to get the world to accept us for whatever size we happen to be. That's just stupid. All right, folks, I'm going to wrap this up. A special, thank you to Chris for riding my ass and get me to record this episode. All right. You didn't really ride my ass, but you put the bug in my ear and I'd been thinking about it anyway. And thanks for sharing that YPO article with me. Super-duper appreciate it. I have linked to that article in the show notes. If you want to take a look at the Washington post article on how the food system is integrating itself into healthy at every size movement and mindful eating movement and fucking shit up sideways because. Because they got the power on the money to do so. If you like this show and you want more, be sure to subscribe so that it drops into your podcast app each week. Thank you again for listening folks. And I'll talk to you next week. Any and all information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is not to be misconstrued as offering medical advice. Listening to this podcast does not constitute a provider client relationship. Note, I'm not a doctor nor a nurse, and it is imperative that you utilize your brain and your medical team to make the best decisions for your own health. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked to this podcast are at the user's own risk. No information nor resources provided are intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Be a smart human and do not disregard or postpone obtaining medical advice for any medical condition you may have. Seek the assistance of your healthcare team for any such conditions and always do so before making any changes to your medical, nutrition, or health plan. If you have found some Nuggets of Wisdom, make sure to subscribe, rate, and share Blasphemous Nutrition with those you care about. As you navigate the labyrinth of health advice out there, remember, health is a journey, not a dietary dictatorship. Stay skeptical, stay daring, and challenge the norms that no longer serve you. If you've got burning questions or want to share your own flavor of rebellion, slide into my DMs. Your stories fuel me, and I love hearing them. Thanks again for tuning in to Blasphemous Nutrition. Until next time, this is Aimee signing off, reminding you that truth is nuanced, and any dish can be made better with a little bit of sass.