EPISODE #3: Letting Go of Intentional Weight Loss with Cara Carin Cifelli

Cara Carin Cifelli Image for Free to Thrive Podcast episode 3

In this episode...

I'm joined by Cara Carin Cifelli, fellow Holistic Health Coach, to talk about letting go of the goal of deliberate weight loss (aka weight neutrality). We talk about the emotional & physical consequences of trying to shrink your body. And Cara dishes up the science-backed reasons why this is so important for anyone who wants to have a truly healthy relationship with food and their body.

Focusing on weight loss in the name of wellness can actually compromise your health, both in the short-term and the long-term. Leading to binge eating behaviors, feeling out of control around food, food obsession, disordered eating habits, gut health issues, hormonal imbalances, and a life filled with a shame-and-blame cycle that may be all too familiar for us all. I also share my personal journey of dealing with an eating disorder.

We dive deep into why diet culture and our society's fixation with weight loss is problematic on a broader scale - both socially and politically. Digging into how weight loss can perpetuate discrimination and oppression based on weight, gender, class, and many other factors.

Main Takeaways...

How much you weigh does not correlate to how healthy you are. Health is way more holistic and infinitely more complex. The number on the scale (or the size of your jeans) does not tell your doctor or anyone else anything meaningful about your health. Look to blood tests, panels, and other health-related measures instead. BMI is an outdated, inaccurate "measure" of health - carry this truth in your heart at your next appointment and know that you have the right to refuse to be weighed at your doctor's office.
If you are seeking to improve your health, don't simply focus on your physical health, aesthetics, and losing weight. Focus instead on incorporating health-promoting behaviors and practices into your life. Including practices that contribute to your mental and emotional health. Examples of weight neutral health-promoting behaviors include - eating a wide variety of foods, including more fruits and vegetables, moving your body, stretching, meditating, journaling, staying hydrated, going to therapy, cooking, etc.
Focusing on intentionally losing weight can actually be damaging to your physical, mental, and emotional health. And damaging to our society as a whole - the pursuit of weight loss & it's celebration in our culture promotes fat-phobia, perpetuates diet-culture, creates disordered eating habits, and promotes oppression.

Next Steps...

If this episode really spoke to you, it’s likely to help someone else, so help share this episode with someone else by sharing your love for it. Or leave a review in the Apple podcast app to help other people find it.

If you feel like you're struggling with your relationship with food and your body, please reach out for the support you need. You deserve to heal. You deserve to feel worthy. You deserve care, love, and joy.