We have all witnessed a lot of talk in the last few months about Oprah’s involvement with Weight Watchers. There are those in the excitement camp, feeling that this will be a new burst of energy and popularity in the business that had been seeing a decline in popularity and those that are shocked that after so many years of struggle with weight and food, Oprah would turn now to yet another diet.
When I heard the news, admittedly I was disappointed. This isn’t about coming down on our girl, because I love her and she has been a light to this world for the entirety of her public life. But I groaned the same groan I have for myself or anyone else around me, still caught up in the lie that if you can only loose the weight everything will be better. If you can be smaller, you’ll be better. If you just lose those 10 more pounds…
It’s hard to drown out the messages when they are so deeply internalized. It’s nearly impossible to tune back in to the natural wisdom of our body and the natural world around us when we are bombarded with all of these ways that are suppose to return us back to where we once started. We are all victims to body dysmorphia. And it creates a desperation within us that is fueled by our lack of self worth. It is what drives us to deprivation, body mutilation, malnourishment and the resulting lash back of binging and overeating.
Most of us are suffering from some degree of disordered eating because we are constantly being told we’re the wrong size and given remedies for that, which have nothing to do with our own personal wellness and intuitive connection to the natural world in which we thrive.
No one is immune. Not even Oprah, it seems.
Connection To Life As A Measure Of Wellness
It seems in our mission to get healthier or thinner, which often is synonymous, it can often mean pulling further and further away from that which is natural and a pulsing expression of life.
I often think back to my time in Italy and to my time at Slow Food International as well as the work I’ve done with Slow Food here Stateside. In both culture, Slow Food originated in Italy, eating food is a celebration of the land people live on as well as life. It’s a natural connection to the world and life we are all part of. And to me, a sacred communion with the ways that life expresses itself in all these forms that nourish each other.
There is a depth of connection that also enhances your own personal connection to ourselves, your health, your state of being when partaking of food in a reverent way that reflects an understanding of the life force it is and brings back to us.
Turning food into a formulaic number completely eliminates attention paid to your body and how it responds to the food you’re eating and how it’s affecting you. It also strips the face and identity of the food you’re eating away and reduces it to a score you have to keep at a minimum.
Is the food whole? Delicious? Organically grown and kind to the planet? Is it most reflective of what that food is suppose to taste like? Does it induce pleasure? Is it feeding a very real nutritional need in your body right now? Or does it cause allergic reactions? Are you feeling the urge to binge on this particular food because of how this week has gone for you? Is there room in your life to really dive deep and explore those issues before you serve yourself a plate of food?
All of these things are just a small fraction of a dynamic intuitive relationship with food that feeds and reflects your overall wellness. And a very real measure of your personal wellness is how connected you are to your body, to the world around you and the food your choose to prepare and feed yourself with.
Drop The Diet Formulas
Know your food. Learn your body.
Have a relationship with both that goes well beyond a number, whether it be the calorie amount or some other number used to represent it’s calorie count.
Let’s return to a place of internal dialogue, connected intuition to the natural world around us and the way we nourish ourselves.
Your best body is one that is a reflection of your overall wellness. It’s not a singular stand alone factor, not does it have anything to do with your size.
It seems I am in a constant battle between intuition and connection vs diet and regulation. And the pressure is rather intense presently to fall to the diet side. Thank you for this post, the reminder there really is another way, and I am not alone in this struggle.
I’m loving this work you are doing in the world, Elena, it is so important. Hugs to you, my friend.
Denise, thank you! Despite my knowing and these writings, I too still struggle, though each day it gets better. The path for me seems to be self care, self love and embodied movement. Daily… it’s a beautiful and heart piercing dancing.
Ah, yes, I recognize that daily dance. I forgot it for a while and am bringing myself back… holding tight to the belief that the struggle is one that can be filled with grace, ease, trust, and love.
Grace… I pray daily for grace, for all of us.
Elena- I laughingly post this comment. This article reminds me of the concept of skinny jeans: THEY DONT WORK FOR EVERY BODY. My Sister says to eat intuitively- this truly means slow down and pay attention. It is a revolutionary act to connect with our deepest Self. We are all so uniquely different- we should honor what works for each individual. Thank you for sharing this!