By SHANNON SKAE, health and life coach at Revive with Shan
In this article, I want to talk about shifting the focus from losing weight to living a healthy lifestyle. There is a substantial amount of focus on women’s bodies in particular and from both men and women.
Men look at a woman’s body more than her face, while women compare their body to another woman’s body. Women are continuously objectified in daily life, on television, and on social media. We as a society are obsessed with the size and shape of women.
It is then no surprise that women focus on weight loss, being skinny, and trying to diet all the time. Society deems it acceptable to be thin. If you have fat rolls, cellulite, and a big anything except your bottom, you are immediately thrown aside and deemed not to fit the ideal standard of beauty. This places a lot of pressure on women. Curvaceous women are often criticized and fat shamed.
Extreme dieting and a focus on weight loss are, however, counterproductive. This is because when we become obsessive about weight loss and dieting, we produce the stress hormone known as cortisol, which is stored as fat and stops us from losing weight. It is also immensely draining to be worried about how much you weigh continuously and what you are eating.
Calorie counting can be detrimental if it places you in a restrictive and deprivation mindset. Yo-yo Dieting is not healthy, as it slows down the metabolism, and eventually, when you stop the diet (which you will because it is not sustainable), you will gain the weight back and will struggle even more to lose weight.
So, how do we shift this? The answer is to focus on nourishment, intuitive eating, eating for health, and throwing out the scale.
How to nourish yourself:
- Ditch the diet
- Eat foods that make your body feel good
- Load up on fruit and vegetables
- Remove calorie counting
- Focus on being fit and healthy to avoid illness and disease rather than losing weight
- Stop weighing yourself
- Get involved in a sport that makes you feel good
- Have that treat when you really feel like it, not when you are emotional or bored, and ENJOY it!
Remember, you are beautiful just as you are, and anyone who tells you differently does not deserve to be in your life. Live a healthy lifestyle and do things to stop yourself from getting sick. Keep active and eat lovely colourful foods.
Please contact me at: revivewithshan@gmail.com if you need nutrition, health coaching or fitness advice!
