What is healthy?
Dear Doctor,
The other day I came to visit you. It was so exciting! I found out that I am 3/4 inch taller than I was last year! How could that be? It must be all the yoga. My posture has improved and I’m taller than I’ve ever been. Isn’t that awesome?!
When we spoke you told me that my triglycerides are down and my sugar levels are down. I guess this is good- we never discussed the numbers as an issue before. My blood pressure is good. My cholesterol wasn’t even mentioned during our discussion. I was feeling pretty positive about my visit.
You checked my heart and lungs. You seemed pleased. You were happy that when I filled out my paperwork and there were no issues listed. But then Doctor you did that thing that you do every year. That thing that makes no sense to me at all...
You stared at my chart and said, “Now about your weight...”. You wouldn’t even look at me as you spoke . You just stared at the screen and said, “You know, it’s summer now and it’s harder to lose weight during the winter so you should get that moving now”. You didn’t even look me in the eye as you continued, “You should try a Mediterranean diet. You should have vegetables, and olive oil. There should be very little red meat, some fish and even some chicken. A few nuts every day is good too”. And that was it. That was all you said. You didn’t ask, “What do you like to eat on a typical day?” Or “what kind of oil do you cook with in your house?” Even, “What’s your favorite vegetable?” By asking those questions you would have learned that I eat all of the Mediterranean diet foods. You just assumed that because the number on the scale doesn’t fit into your expected BMI range that my menu needs to change.
Did you ask about what I do for fun? No. If you did you would know I do yoga almost every day (how do you think I got taller?!). You’d know about my favorite ski runs and the mountains that I love to hike on. Maybe if you knew about all of my physical activity you wouldn’t worry about the number on the scale.
What did you think of the body positivity workshop attended? Or how about the intuitive eating class that I took? Oh that’s right. You don’t know about those things. You didn’t ask any questions about my relationship with my body or my relationship with food.
And what about all those vitals that you said looked good? With healthy vital signs and great body movement why are you fat shaming me? That is what you’re doing you know. If a woman walked in with a “normal” BMI would you lecture her on the benefits of olive oil? The value of nuts in her day?
BMI is just a number by the way. It was invented by the 1800s to evaluate “social physics”. It was created to evaluate a population; it was not meant to be used to evaluate an individual. Meanwhile there you are, using it as a determination of my personal health. Why bother measuring all those other statistics if you’re going to negate them because of a number on the scale?
This year I won’t be spending my time looking for a new way to lose weight. Starting at age 15 I spent a good 35 years trying to lose weight. I’m done playing that game. All it brought me was shame, body image issues, a poor self esteem, and a messed up metabolism. It’s time for me to love me for who I am- the Rocky Mountain Yogi Girl who doesn’t let anything get in her way. Not even a Doctor. This year the only thing I may be doing differently is look for a new Doctor.