I’ve had many conversations with people that start out like this; “Gina, you’d be proud of me, I lost weight and now my knee pain is gone!”. In the past, I would congratulate the person, giving them the accolades I know they were hoping for. In the past I was a “weight loss dietitian” so of course one of my biggest reasons for helping people lose weight was to help them manage chronic pain, which ostensibly had to do with their excess body weight. Fast forward about five years, and my thoughts have changed. I wonder, is it the lost weight that is helping with the pain, or is it the likely improvement in physical activity? Is it the lost weight, or is it that for the past several months while on “xyz diet”, this person has made some changes in their wellness habits? I know that weight loss is associated with reductions in a lot of chronic diseases, and pain, but do I know that it’s the loss of weight that is causing the positive outcomes? Nope, no one knows this, as research simply indicates association, not causation.
Diet tools that remove body trust.
The next time you talk with a friend who has lost weight and seen improvements in pain, ask yourself if you could also see those same improvements by making the following changes (all of which are a part of an intuitive eating journey, and have nothing to do with weight);
- Improving your relationship with food and your body
- Developing a self-care plan that works for you, and that considers nourishment as an important piece
- Finding an exercise and stretch routine that you enjoy, is sustainable, and that involves stretching and resistance training twice a week
- Finding an physical therapist who can review your daily routine and suggest different/better ways to do certain repetitive movements that you do throughout the day
- Remind yourself that feeling your best can happen at any weight, despite what the media tries to make you believe
The thing about weight loss diets is that they are only effective 5% of the time, long term. Why not find other ways to improve your health and health outcomes? Letting go of the diet and weight loss fantasy is not easy, but it starts with questioning what you think you know to be true. Soon you’ll realize it’s best to find ways that work, and that last a lifetime.
