(Health at Every Size)
Why not?
HAES is not just for fat people. Its not just for skinny people, or just for non surgery people. HAES is a philosophy that one can improve their health without doing anything about their weight, and that ANYONE, at ANYTIME, can be taking steps to be healthy.
For me, HAES is also learning to not focus on the scale as a measure of success, or self worth, or failure. HAES is learning how to eat what my body wants me to eat, and how to move within myself.
One of the attitudes that the WLS “community” has is that same attitude that dieters have: the idea that one can restrict their calories to lose weight, and that this is the only thing they need to do. I see every day posts about “im not losing enough weight” (when they stall at 3 weeks out.) Or “I starve myself and im not losing weight.” Yes, surgery is a drastic measure, and may often have complications, and many people regain their weight. But, teaching EVERYONE that they can listen to their bodies, eat what is good for them, and enjoy movement is a worthwhile endeavor.
Sure, I am a traitor to the cause. I had a radical surgery in which part of my stomach was removed from my body, in order to restrict the amount of food that I could eat. By this food restriction, I lost weight. But, I also practiced HAES philosophies while doing so. I listened to my body, I learned what it liked and did not like, I amazed myself at what my body would do for me, because I was treating it right. Stomach or no, those are still HAES ideas.
I also gained a lot of insight into myself, and a lot of insight into how the “Diet” mentality fits into things. A friend mentioned that “size acceptance” is not just fat people not trying to lose weight. “Size Acceptance” is accepting the size that you are, without judgment. Its about trying on clothing that is too small, and not jumping to “OMG, im gaining weight and its the end of the world.” Regardless of the size and weight you started from. And, that is the mentality I am trying to break, regardless of current size, and even after having WLS.
I often reference the Fantasy of Being Thin when talking about how to live your life. EVERYONE needs to read this, regardless of their weight or surgery. As she says: “the message we’re sending is that you’re actually allowed to love your fat body instead of hating it, and you can take steps to substantially improve your health without fighting a losing battle with your weight.”
If the Size Acceptance community will “accept” people with failed weight loss attempts/surgeries, why not accept those who are living HAES lifestyles but havent gained back the weight (yet)?
