HealthNotDiets Digest, Issue 18, 2018
April 29 - May 5, 2018
To celebrate 'International No Diet Day' month (May), Health Not Diets online courses are on special!
Unpacking Weight Science $20 off (RRP $59AUD)
Book here: https://www.trybooking.com/SKZK
Non-Diet Approach for Dietitians $45 off (RRP $195AUD)
Book here: https://www.trybooking.com/VRFQ
Enter 'NODIET' at checkout to apply discount
Australians can also get $5 off my books:
The Non-Diet Approach Guidebook for Dietitians for $40
The Non-Diet Approach Guidebook for Psychologists & Counsellors for $45 (including postage)
Order books via email: fiona@healthnotdiets.com
As always, if you like what you read here, please support the original author by liking/sharing/following/up-voting/subscribing directly to their feed.
Happy reading!
Articles and Blogs
Why I don't talk about weight loss
by TaLynn Kel
“I believed that if I built my life around fitness, then I would be successful. Fit at any cost. Then I had a pulmonary embolism.”
http://talynnkel.com/blog/2018/3/26/why-i-dont-talk-about-weight-loss
Why are we addicted to weighing ourselves?
by Kasey Edwards
“Rather than building us up, each weigh-in session instead undermines the trust we have in our bodies. After all, if we have to constantly defer to the great Scale God in the bathroom, then how much control do we really have?”
I used to be a holistic nutritionist
by Denby Royal
“my world crumbled like a dry piece of raw gluten-free paleo cake.... I had fallen for the false language of pseudoscience where a morsel of real medicine is blended with enough nonsense and conviction to fool so many people.”
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/i-used-to-be-a-holistic-nutritionist/
The Clinical Trial Is Open. The Elderly Need Not Apply.
by Paula Span
“The problem...is that when researchers leave older people out, ‘you end up with a very homogeneous group that is not representative of your real-world patients.’”
Let’s also have some studies done to help larger peeps that aren’t aiming for weight loss!
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/health/elderly-clinical-trials.html
We’re Having a Baby! + a few thoughts on infertility
by Emily Fonnesbeck
“no matter what life throws at you, Intuitive Eating gives you the tools to adapt. This ability to be flexible certainly beats the more commonly used all-or-nothing mentality”
https://www.emilyfonnesbeck.com/were-having-a-baby-a-few-thoughts-on-infertility/
When a coach suggests athletes drop a few pounds
by Rachael Steil
“When athletes prioritize their own health and wellness, they can spread a culture of body positivity, acceptance, and emotional support that makes proper fueling for sport a team value.” (interview with Dr Paula Quatromoni)
Faster at a cost
by Cindy Kuzma
“A sport like running can be a nice cover for disordered eating for men and women, because so much of what you do as a runner intersects with the behaviors you might have as someone with an eating disorder”
CW: ED behaviors, weight, calories
https://www.runnersworld.com/health-injuries/a19602635/male-runners-disordered-eating/
An open letter to Dr Phil about eating disorders
by Colleen Reichmann
“folks with mental illnessess are already a vulnerable population....TV shows like yours are clearly out to exploit this population.”
http://www.colleenreichmann.com/2018/04/29/an-open-letter-to-dr-phil-about-eating-disorders/
I Felt Despair About Climate Change—Until a Brush With Death Changed My Mind
by Alison Spodek Keimowitz
“someday, there will be a last generation of humans on Earth. But the years we can postpone each loss, and each wild place and creature saved, are incalculably valuable.”
Are We an Orthorexic Nation?
by Toby Amidor
“An unhealthy obsession with food, known as orthorexia, can lead to diets so strict that they have health-related consequences including nutrient deficiencies, social isolation and severe psychological stress.”
https://www.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/news/2018/4/are-we-an-orthorexic-nation-
I’m a Man With Bulimia, and This Is What It’s Like
by Louis Baragona
“I know now [after recovery from bulimia] that my body was never wrong or bad, despite what anyone told me. And what I’d thought would be my secret, the thing under my clothes that left me feeling lonely & torn & ashamed, has now become my celebration.”
https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19634461/im-a-man-with-bulimia-and-this-is-what-its-like/
How Do I Respond To People Who Tell Me Body Positivity Is Promoting Obesity?
by Megan Jayne Crabbe
“Fat people are allowed to simply exist in their bodies without promoting anything. The idea that someone with a fat body wearing a cute outfit, going to the pool, or just living their damn life means that they're promoting fatness is absurd.”
Yes, It Is Fine To Be Fat
by Ragen Chastain
“The point of body positivity and fat acceptance is not to tell people what lifestyle choices to make, but to be clear that people of all sizes — including and especially fat people — have the right to exist without shame, stigma, bullying, & oppression.”
https://ravishly.com/fine-to-be-fat
Where is the #fitspo for fat, fit women?
by Amy Jones
“I have big thighs, a wobbly belly and everything jiggles when I run – but I can run... and I can swim and do yoga and lift weights with my body looking the way it is now. I just didn’t believe it until I saw other fat women doing it first.”
Living my best life through failure
via LividLipids
“It’s very common for folks to insert themselves into a discussion that they don’t understand or respect, especially if they feel personally attacked or judged by someone else’s feelings on how they’ve been wronged or oppressed. It’s a real problem”
https://lividlipids.wordpress.com/2018/02/18/living-my-best-life-through-failure/
Suicide Is A Leading Cause Of Death For New Moms But Awareness Is Low
by Catherine Pearson
“I want people to know that this is so serious,” she added. “If it gets bad, it can go bad very quickly.”
Anorexia has the highest death rate of all psychiatric illness. Why isn't treatment funded properly?
by Tracy Bowden
“Before I got sick I always had this idea that people who get sick are taken care of.... it was such a sharp and steep learning curve to discover that really isn't the case.”
To My Friends And Colleagues In Larger Bodies
by Rachel Millner
“Those of us with body privilege need to stop assuming that we know what people in larger bodies are thinking or feeling or that we understand their experience. We need to listen to their experience and believe them.”
https://www.resilientfatgoddess.com/blog/2018/5/2/lettertolargerbodiedcolleaguespart3
The Only Way Is Ethics?
by Jack Monroe
“Poverty diets are not a choice. A diet lacking in meat and dairy products for wont of the finances, resources and availability of them, is not the same, not remotely the same, as having access to these products and choosing not to use them.”
https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2018/05/02/the-only-way-is-ethics/
Don’t Beat Yourself Up When Burnt Out, You’ll Blossom Again
by Philippe Leonard Fradet
“We blame ourselves for the burnout we experience because that’s often the easiest target.”
https://thebodyisnotanapology.com/magazine/dont-beat-yourself-up-when-burnt-out-youll-blossom-again/
Streaming Services Have a Conspiracy Theory Problem
by Alan Levinovitz
“Ultimately, demand for conspiracy theories is a symptom of our inability to face the world’s imperfections.”
Of course I am privileged: The question actually is…what should I do about it?
by Marie McInerney
“There’s nothing wrong with being white. What is very wrong is being white, knowing how that plays out especially in healthcare, and doing nothing to redress the inequity that our privilege fosters and promotes.”
https://croakey.org/of-course-i-am-privileged-the-question-actually-is-what-should-i-do-about-it/
Why Fear of 'Sugar Addiction' May Be More Toxic Than Sugar Is
by Rebecca Scritchfield
“wellbeing does not grow from fearing what’s on your fork. It grows from thinking about reasonable changes that still allow you to experience pleasure and birthday cake.”
https://www.self.com/story/why-fear-of-sugar-addiction-may-be-more-toxic-than-sugar-is
My wedding was perfect – and I was fat as hell the whole time
by Lindy West
“I have never in my life been fatter than I was on my wedding day....I have never felt more at home in that body. I was fully myself, & I was happy. We are happy. This life is yours, fat girls. Eat it up.”
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jul/21/my-wedding-perfect-fat-woman
The Problematic Use of Weight as a Metric in Eating Disorder Recovery
by Ali Shields
“we cannot continue to ignore the harm caused by the prevalent use of weight as a metric in eating disorder recovery.”
http://www.adiosbarbie.com/2018/02/problematic-use-weight-metric-eating-disorder-recovery/
Research &
Clinical Practice
Announcement advocating increased screenings for diabetes ignores harms of overdiagnosis via Northwestern University
“We can’t lose sight of the fact that high blood sugars is a surrogate marker, the modification of which may never have any clinical benefits, and in fact could be harmful.”
Ketogenic diets reduce athletes' anaerobic performance
via Science Daily
“unless there are compelling reasons for following a low-carb diet, athletes should be advised to avoid these diets."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180501130858.htm
This study looked at the relationships between weight change and health related quality of life in people aged 75 years or above in Korea, using a nationally representative sample. _____ Unintentional (accidental) weight loss was reported by 15% of the participants, 6.8% were actively trying to lose weight, 73.7% were stable weight, and 4.3% had gained weight in the previous year. Dieters had higher scores for anxiety and depression and half of them rated themselves as 'unhealthy' vs 37% of the stable weight participants. The kicker is that the BMIs of the dieters and the weight stable participants was THE SAME. _____ It's an interesting paper and also includes a summary of the concerns about unintentional weight loss in this population. _____ So, Eun Sun (2018) The Impacts of Weight Change and Weight Change Intention on Health-Related Quality of Life in the Korean Elderly, Journal of Aging and Health, First Published March 5, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1177/0898264318761908
FULL TEXT: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0898264318761908
Soapbox & Shareables
There is such huge variation in what, when, why and how much people eat, as well as variation in biological energy and nutrient requirements, which change from day to day, month to month, season to season and across the lifespan. A food diary can tell you much more about food privilege than weight or health.
FREE Unpacking Weight Science Podcast Episode! To demonstrate the methods outlined in Episode 5 'Anatomy of a Weight Loss Paper', I've deconstructed this little beauty for you, which itself is hot off the press: Hutchesson M, Callister R, Morgan P, Pranata I, Clarke E, Skinner G, et al. A Targeted and Tailored eHealth Weight Loss Program for Young Women: The Be Positive Be Healthe Randomized Controlled Trial. Healthcare. 2018;6(2):39. https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-podcast-18594048
Like podcasts?
How about bite-sized podcasts that you can claim as professional development?!?
I've designed the Unpacking Weight Science Podcast to suit health professionals, health science students and anyone who wants to know more about human body weight, health outcomes, interpreting weight related research and the far ranging effects of weight bias.
Twice a month, my 20-30 minute podcasts unpack different elements of weight bias & stigma, weight research, BMI, health behaviours and weight neutral approaches. Paid subscribers (only $5/month!) get the podcast six months before everyone else, plus full show notes, reference list, self-test quiz and resource materials for use in practice. This equates to an hour of professional development each month :-)
Available for subscribers on May 7th is:
"The Anatomy of a Weight Loss Paper"
A research paper is a piece of persuasive writing. This episode breaks down how all the pieces fit together, the expected rhetoric of weight loss research, common research methods that guarantee statistical significance at the cost of clinical practicalities, how to spot hyperbole, and how the way we usually read research papers leaves us at the mercy of the authors biases.
Subscribe now at: https://www.patreon.com/UnpackingWeightScience
and instantly access 6 months of episodes before the rest of the world
AUSTRALIAN WORKSHOPS!!
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Want some training in the non-diet approach or unpacking weight science? Resources include books, courses, workshops and handouts: visit www.healthnotdiets.com
See anything you think I'd like to share or comment about? Post in the comments below or email me at fiona@healthnotdiets.com