Here are some Stats from the Institute
For The Psychology of Eating that are Stunning and Unacceptable:
An Estimated 108 Million Americans are on a Diet
Nearly 70% of American Adults are classified as either overweight or Obese
98% of those who Diet Gain Back the weight they lose in a year
Within about a decade 67% of the us population will have diabetes
Approximately 75% of all diseases could be prevented with better nutrition
9/10 Women in the US are UNHAPPY with their appearance
81% of 10 year old GIRLS experience a fear of being FAT
Nearly 50% of Girls aged 3-6 are already concerned about their weight
Adolescent Girls are MORE AFRAID of gaining weight than getting cancer, losing their parents or nuclear war.
97% of women confess they have at lease ONE "I HATE MY BODY MOMENT" EACH DAY
74% of Americans report that they live with ONGOING Digestive Discomfort
For the most of us we have become Chronic Dieters going from one diet to the next over and over again trying to break through the 2% of people who have a small chance of keeping the weight off for the long term.
We are told that weight related issues are a major cause of medical expenses and I can't help for ask how much of this is really true. Since it seems like the stats the we currently use are outdated, the science continues to change and yet we seem to use the old stats regardless of their being no real evidence for them to hold up any longer.
Some other stats that I've discovered in my pursuit for better truth when it comes to diet, body and nutrition is that no one science/scientist/or weightloss guru can agree on what is the best way for us to eat. What the real "health" numbers are for an individual person and if that person even needs to lose weight in the first place. Most diets fail, and we end up gaining more weight than we had even before we began the diet.
So why do we continue to try the next diet? I would like to share my assumptions (possibly very strongly on this being true) that the messages we have received from billboards, magazines, articles, "science" based studies (you know the ones where the big Pharma and big Farm paid billions of dollars for?) have created a culture of FEAR. Fear of appetite, fear of fat, fear of not fitting in. Last night I watched an ad on how a woman who described herself as "overweight" was going to die from (that thing we just experienced that had that shot thingy attached to it) if she didn't hurry up and get in to see her doctor for that shot. I'm seeing ad's once again for weight loss centers, programs, pills, etc. that show people who have "fat" as something to be ashamed of, be afraid of, and desperate to change as quickly as possible.
Look, I've spent 40 plus years attempting to cut the fat and a lot of that time hating the body I was in. Coaching has taught me a lot about learning to love myself, the shaming and blaming never created a positive life long transformation. It never made me more acceptable, lovable, more connected to God or others. What those diets claiming to help you lose all that weight give are false claims. In fact only about 2% of their clientele will achieve what the "diet" personality even claims you could achieve (and only if they just continued to buy more product, take more classes).
And we buy the sham. Because we are desperate for what Culture tells us is NECESSARY FOR US TO BE ACCEPTED and HEALTHY.
I wrote a little in my last post this question of why we are looking for diet advice from the culture with our bible studies (https://www.dammgirlcoaching.com/post/weightloss-bible-studies-why-are-we-subjecting-ourselves-to-something-the-culture-created ) and I'll continue to expand on this theme because I believe that it's time we started telling the truth and being set free from making diets, thinness, excessive exercise, and food groups into Idols.
Our new bible has become what we are currently eating and doing to lose weight in order to fit in this world, then we attach it to a bible study and try to make the two seem like they belong together.
I'm calling this to your attention because we are warned to be set apart from the culture. To stay connected to the Word of God. To love God above all else.
I think this is the easy button for the enemy, The Devil, to sneak in to our lives as overly important to pursue dieting and thinness as the only acceptable and worthy pursuits of our time.
I'm not saying we should just stop paying attention to what we are eating. I'm offering that we have made that the most important pursuit of our lives and it needs to be addressed. It's a slippery lie that takes our focus off of God and out of our own bodies. We are less present with others because we spend so much time consumed with how we look, how much we weigh. What size clothing we wear and if we are doing the right type of exercise in order to burn the most fat off of our bodies.
It's shocking to wake up and realize all that pursuit was unworthy of our calling.
Maybe you did buy into the lies, so what can you do about it? Tear down the idols. Spend some time reconnecting to the body God created you to live in. Discover what it feels like to move with purpose for serving God and others instead of serving a diet/culture mentality. Get rid of anything that hinders you. Diet (bibles) books, and magazines. Calorie counting and scales. Measuring tapes and BMI charts.
Where does our value and worth come from? It comes from God, the maker of Heaven and earth.
Learn to listen to your body wisdom again. God gave our bodies wonderful sensors of hunger and satiation signals. Of indicators for thirst and signals for when we need rest and relaxation. Discover how to move your body for enjoyment and work. Find pleasure again in eating and how food can nourish your soul.
We can learn from our overeating and chronic dieting. It is the doorway to bringing us back to our spiritual connection to God. Learn how to love your body again. To listen. To slow down. To let go of desperation. To rebuild your life centered on your purpose and passions.
Stop mixing the worlds views with bible studies. Discover new ways to Worship God instead of worshiping diet mentality.
I'm aware of the real stats. I'm aware of how I have created my own idols when it comes to my weight, body, eating and my mind. I'm learning to go back to what God created as good. I am learning to trust my body. To be present. To enjoy a relationship with myself, with a good meal, with movement and with what I fill my mind with.
I can teach you too. It's way better than trying to discover it all on your own. Let's question culture more and learn to connect to God's design for our bodies. We can put down our diet bibles and pick up our real ones. We can turn back to how we are created, and allow food to comfort and heal without all of the stress that comes along with diet culture.
I'm all for good nutrition. Mind, Body and Soul nutrition. Keep reading and message me personally if you have a comments or questions. I'd love to sit down with you and have a chat.