Health At Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight

390 Pages·2008·4.57 MB·English

by  Linda Bacon

"A <taynv»-buMing book
b.'ncrl on solid urirncc "
-GUN* A. CAtMU. PHD
THE SURPRISING
FRUTH ABOUT
YOUR WEIGHT

The Surprising Truth About Your Weight
Linda Bacon, PhD
BENBELLA BOOKS, INC.
Dallas, TX
This book is for informational purposes only: It is not intended to serve as a
substitute for professional medical advice. The author and publisher specifi
cally disclaim any and all liability arising directly or indirectly from the use of
any information contained in this book. A health care professional should be
consulted regarding your specific medical situation. Any product mentioned in
this book does not imply endorsement of that product by the author or pub
lisher.
Copyright © 2008 by Unda Bacon, PhD
Additional Materials© 2010 by Unda Bacon, PhD
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever wi.thou t written permission except in the case of brief quo
tations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
~~\§.\&.
c.~
S~NS~~L..A
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Send feedback to [email protected]
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ISBN 978-1-935618-25-6
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication xvii
Preface xix
Introduction 1
Part 1: Deconstructing Weight 9
Chapter 1: We're Wired to Maintain a Healthy Weight 11
Chapter 2: We're Emotionally Starved 31
Chapter 3: We Resist Weight Loss 43
Chapter 4: We're Eternally Hungry 67
Chapter 5: We're Victims of Food Politics 101
Chapter 6: We're Victims of Fat Politics 123
Part 2: Health at Every Size 159
Chapter 7: The Story Behind the Health at Every Size Program 161
Chapter 8: Respect Yourself, Body and Soul 173
Chapter 9: Take Care of Your Hungers 193
Chapter 10: Live Well 215
Chapter 11: Change Your Tastes 235
Chapter 12: Solving the Weight "Problem" 257
Appendix 271
Acknowledgments 331
References 335
Index 367
About Linda Bacon, PhD 373
• XV.

DEDICATION
F
or Meg Tara Webster, a role model for a life well lived.
I asked Meg to help me live more fully in the present. She
advised that I choose an ordinary action and imbue it with
meaning. Each time I did this action, I was to take a few deep
breaths and appreciate the present. I chose a challenging action to
serve as this cue, something I do many times each day: beginning
and ending work on my computer. This process has been invaluable
to me as I've written this book, helping me to be productive and
appreciative of the work and also supporting me in letting go of my
work at appropriate times.
The value of cultivating an appreciation for the present has
become even more painfully vivid to me as I watch Meg bravely con
front her mortality, providing yet another lesson in how to live life
with gratitude, immediacy, authenticity, and heart.
Thank you, Meg, for your contribution to this book and to my
world.
MEG TARA WEBSTER
Died l 0/8/08

PREFACE
I
am tempted to weigh mysell, to reassure mysell and you, the
reader, that I am qualified to write a book about weight regulation
and can lead you through your own journey of understanding and
making peace with your body. Withstanding the temptation has at
times been like the fight of an alcoholic to stay sober, the drive a
clear statement of the insidious nature of the cultural attitudes that
have lodged inside my psyche.
Only through extraordinary effort and education have I been
able to free mysell from my obsession with weight. Starting in early
adolescence, I stayed abreast of the day-to-day differences on the
scale. Convinced that I would be more popular if I weighed less, I
started dieting to escape a weight problem that existed only in my
head. I would endure weeks on a semi-starvation diet until my des
peration for food drove me to eat everything in sight. I thought there
was something deeply wrong with me because I could not control
my unrelenting drive to eat.
Despite my preoccupation with losing weight and my repeated
attempts to shed pounds, however, the scale continued to document
my failure. My weight inched up. My sell-esteem plummeted.
Both my parents are well practiced in the art of weight loss. Dur
ing many dinners, I watched my mom exhibit extraordinary sell
control, barely eating or nursing her shrimp cocktail, while the rest
of us dined on course after course of sumptuous, heavy restaurant
foods. The next day a large bag of potato chips would mysteriously
xx • HEALTH AT EVERY SIZE
disappear from the pantry. My dad was also adept. He would order
his turkey sandwich dry and then carefully remove a piece of bread,
only to experience an attack of the munchies later at home, where he
would wolf down ice cream and cookies.
But I don't blame them for my own dieting history. If I didn't get
it from them, I doubt I would have escaped the culture outside our
home.
My pain regarding my weight reached an intolerable level by the
time I was in college. I became convinced that if only I could lose
weight, I could change my hfe. And so my hfe deteriorated as I
obsessed about food and activity to the detriment of my studies and
social relationships. I weighed myself daily and let the scale deter
mine my mood.
My junior year of college, when I studied for a year in India, was
a turning point. My surface reason for going was a fascination with
India's spiritual traditions and the hope for discovering some sense
of inner peace. But I was even more motivated by the idea of escap
ing my family, friends, and social insecurities so that I could diet in
earnest. I na'i.vely pictured myself meditating and rising above
earthly needs, especially food.
For short periods, I did find solace. Even better (or so I beheved
at the time), I accomplished my goal: returning to the United States
thin. It only took a few months, however, for my weight to zoom
back to its previous level-and then higher.
My pain preoccupied me so completely that I felt httle choice in
deciding on a course of study when I returned to college. To save
myself, I became determined to understand everything I could about
weight regulation.
At first, I studied the cultural issues, which taught me the ''why''
behind my body image issues. I came to understand that the shame I
felt about my body was part of the North American female experi
ence, reflective of a cultural pathology regarding a woman's appear
ance. Since that time, cultural pressure on women has bumped up
several notches, with accompanying pressure on men, many of
whom now share women's eating and body image dissatisfaction.
I then earned a master's degree in psychotherapy, with a specialty
in eating disorders and body image, and worked as a psychotherapist.