Body Size is Not a Behavior

Below is something I think about all the time. I think about it because it’s one of those things that just really makes sense to me and it’s something that there is actual science research around. 

The "health benefits" of weight loss are not about the weight loss itself but about the BEHAVIORS done to cause the weight loss. The weight loss is merely a side effect and not the health promoting thing we think it is.

Think about what actually changes when someone "gets healthy" through weight loss. They're moving their body more. They're usually eating more nutrient dense foods. They're sleeping better, managing stress, drinking more water. Those are the things improving their health... the weight loss is just along for the ride.

This matters because it means you don't have to worry about the scale at all to start getting healthier. The benefits kick in the moment the behaviors do.

And it's worth saying: pursuing health is a personal choice, not a moral obligation. Your worth isn't measured by how hard you're working toward it. No one owes anyone health. Wanting to pursue health (or not) doesn't make you a better or worse person.

Because here's the thing: fat people can be healthy and thin people can be unhealthy. Health lives in the body's internal landscape, not its size or shape. Using appearance as a proxy for health is shortsighted, and it harms everyone. When a medical provider does it, the stakes are even higher. People avoid care, get misdiagnosed or undiagnosed, or leave appointments feeling unheard...all because someone confused body size with a health status.
There's also a measurement problem. If someone is actively trying to lose weight, it becomes nearly impossible to isolate the health benefits of their behaviors from the weight loss itself. Did their blood pressure improve because they started walking every day or are we just crediting the number on the scale? When weight loss is the goal and the metric, it clouds our ability to see what's actually driving better health outcomes.

What if, we just stop weighing ourselves and stop letting our doctors weigh us. You can do that you know. You can refuse and I do, every time. Now, there are medical conditions where knowing your weight and keeping track of it is vital along with certain medications needing to be dosed correctly, but if that’s the case, turn around on the scale. Tell the nurse not to mention to you what the number is. Ask to have your health measured by actual health markers by having blood work done and recording blood pressure (make sure the cuff is the right size for your arm or it will read high), by discussing regular movement and what way of eating is the most supportive for you. 

Because I’m not saying you should neglect your health. I’m actually saying that it might be fun to be way more involved and curious about it. How do you feel when you get enough sleep regularly? How do you feel when you get some movement on most days? What is your stress like? How do you feel when you get outside? If you’re worried about eating the best way for you, even with a medical condition, could you reach out to a HAES (Health at Every Size) nutritionist who isn’t focused on weight loss? (I did and it was life changing! ¹)

I don’t know about you, but I remember, back when I was heavily involved in diet culture, when I started eating a little differently or when I started moving more, I thought I had lost weight…I hadn’t, but I felt better, stronger, more confident, immediately. It wasn’t the weight, it never was. 

When I move more, I feel stronger, my brain feels clearer and I sleep better. When I do yoga or stretch more, I am more flexible, when I eat a more varied diet of nutrient rich foods, I feel better ². I don’t have to wait or even try to lose weight to be taking care of myself in those ways. 

And, there is a lot of research showing that weight cycling is the actual bad actor here. Weight cycling, (losing weight and regaining it), often more than you lost, affects around 95% of people who lose weight. If that's your story, it's not a personal failure. It's an incredibly common experience. Your body thinks that you’re starving it so it is slowing your metabolism and holding on to the food that you are eating so you don’t die. How cool is that?! If I never dieted in my life, I would be in a smaller body today. I’ve come to be comfortable in this fat body, so it’s not that I regret this body today, it’s just kind of ironic that the diets that were supposed to make me smaller, actually did the opposite. 

There is so much nuance and so many other things that affect our health. I haven’t even mentioned the social determinants of health. Those are things like: where you live, if you have clean drinking water, your access to healthcare, what education you had, if you are in a group that is discriminated against, if you have a job that pays you enough to get all of your needs met, if you have large debt or medical bills, if you are connected with community, ANTI-FAT BIAS and much more. And that’s a whole ‘nother blog post. 
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So, what do you think? If you want to pay attention to your health, I’d be curious if you might put down the external measuring stuff? Could you get rid of the scales, the step counter (did you know there is no actual medical research that supports the 10,000 step goal? It was for a pedometer company to sell more pedometers) and focus on behaviors, not size? 


Here are just a few resources and great people to follow, who know more than me about this stuff.
Regan Chastain https://weightandhealthcare.substack.com/
Health at Every Size Health Sheets https://haeshealthsheets.com/


¹My HAES nutritionist was Chelsea Levy, RD https://www.chelsealevynutrition.com/​
² I want to be clear, none of these things make me better than anyone else and that also goes for anyone who thinks they are superior for losing weight. 
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