This week, Jenée Desmond-Harris and Lauren Williams focus on a Prudie letter: “Losing Weight Baggage”
Lauren Williams: Studying this letter, I had one crucial query that I feel would affect my method to this beautiful closely. “I’m not feeling so good.” Does she imply bodily? Or does she imply she’s feeling dangerous about herself at her new weight?
Jenée Desmond-Harris: Oh, nice query.
Lauren: I do know that it’s very potential she means each. I gained a substantial quantity of weight in 2020. And I felt shitty about it in the entire bodily and emotional methods one might really feel shitty about such a factor. However there’s such a giant distinction between “getting bodily wholesome” and “shedding weight.”
Jenée: And it seems like she’s conscious of that, type of? But additionally that the difficulty is so emotionally charged for her that the 2 issues may very well be getting tousled.
Lauren Williams: Studying this letter, I had one crucial query that I feel would affect my method to this beautiful closely. “I’m not feeling so good.” Does she imply bodily? Or does she imply she’s feeling dangerous about herself at her new weight?
Jenée Desmond-Harris: Oh, nice query.
Lauren: I do know that it’s very potential she means each. I gained a substantial quantity of weight in 2020. And I felt shitty about it in the entire bodily and emotional methods one might really feel shitty about such a factor. However there’s such a giant distinction between “getting bodily wholesome” and “shedding weight.”
Jenée: And it seems like she’s conscious of that, type of? But additionally that the difficulty is so emotionally charged for her that the 2 issues may very well be getting tousled.
Lauren: They’re so emotionally charged for ALL of us. We must always all get free physique picture remedy, actually.
Jenée: Completely.
Lauren: The generational trauma.
Jenée: What I discovered most upsetting about that is that she is thrashing herself up each for gaining weight and for having emotions about it which might be fully comprehensible given the world we dwell in. So, it’s nearly like her consciousness that diets don’t work, that being heavier doesn’t make you a nasty individual, and so on.
has made her MORE sad, as a result of her emotions don’t line up with what she is aware of.
Lauren: Proper! Figuring out that the brand new factor to do is be comfortable together with your physique now implies that not solely can we nonetheless really feel dangerous about our our bodies however we ALSO really feel dangerous about feeling dangerous about our our bodies.
Jenée: What a large number.
Lauren: However what I might say to “is there any means I can do this that isn’t a horrible, silly thought” is to consider doing issues that really feel good. Consuming issues that really feel good and doing actions that really feel enjoyable and make you’re feeling de-stressed and don’t really feel like a chore or torture. (I turned an annoying Peloton individual this spring a full three years after shopping for and largely ignoring my bike as a result of I found the rides that labored for me.) It looks as if she has sufficient of a historical past to instinctively know what would possibly work brief time period to “shed some pounds” however shall be dangerous in all the opposite methods. And it looks as if she is aware of to not do these issues.
Jenée: Really, you weren’t annoying—I feel you talked about it one time whenever you found Energy Zone rides, and by no means publicly!
Lauren: Effectively I did document a five-minute explainer video and drive you to observe it.
Jenée: Hahaha oh yeah, I forgot the business you produced and starred in. Anyway, I feel you’re proper that doing issues that really feel good is the perfect path—and that i additionally need to emphasize what I stated about getting assist with the underlying grief and stress. These are actual issues that may deserve consideration even when they didn’t result in weight acquire.
Lauren: I feel the factor is, as a result of “weight” is bizarre, she might incorporate some new life-style issues and never truly lose a lot weight. However she might FEEL higher. And that’s the last word aim. Or quite, she ought to consider that as her final aim, as a substitute of shedding weight—feeling higher.
Jenée: That’s excellent. Desk the query of whether or not shedding weight is sweet or dangerous. And simply attempt to really feel higher, which is one thing we are able to all agree is an efficient aim! So she gained’t must torture herself.
Lauren: Effectively, I feel we tied that into a pleasant little bow.
Jenée: The Eating regimen-Industrial Complicated higher be careful as a result of we simply found out a means round it.
