Welcome to episode 489 of The Whole View! This week, Stacy and Dr. Sarah break down the science behind the diet dogma of healthy weight and what you can do to make better choices more easily.
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The Whole View, Episode 489: New Years Resolutions & Healthy Weight
Welcome to episode 489 of the Whole View! (1:20)
Listener Question:
Hello to Stacy and Dr. Sarah! Thank you for all the work you both do to help keep us all in the know! I really was touched by your recent shows on weight issues. I’m not 100% there yet but I have heard you!
I would love a show that is a ‘How-to’ on this topic. If our physical size is no longer a good marker, what should the goal be? How do we REALLY find a way to not care about our weight? I just feel very overwhelmed and confused after so many years of using my weight as my goal post, the one that keeps moving on me!
I love the whole idea of body positivity, but how do we even start that process? What are your priorities when focusing on your health and not your weight? I think I just need to know what this looks like day to day.
– Beth
Why We Love This Question
The “New Year, New You” predatory marketing aims to get you to spend money by making you feel bad about yourself. (14:15)
Stacy and Dr. Sarah talked about this at length in episodes 471 & 472, but science shows that losing weight does not make you healthier. Healthy habits make you healthier!
- Can You Really Be Healthy at Any Size?
- Ditching Diet Dogma
- 421: The Science Behind Body Image
- 471: The Harm of Weight Discrimination and Stigma – Part 1
- 472: The Harm of Weight Discrimination and Stigma – Part 2
- 436: What Is Health, and How Do You Measure It?
- 466: Our Stories on the Healing Power of Food and Ditching Diet Culture
It also sets up a diet yo-yo rollercoaster which we talked about in Episode 353.
New Year’s Resolution for Healthy Weight: Statistics and Science
Exercising more and improving fitness (50% of participants), losing weight (48%), saving money (44%), and improving diet (39%) are the most popular resolutions for 2021. Source (19:35)
This study examines the percentage of participants who maintained their resolutions after one month, three months, six months, and two-year intervals.
Stacy and Dr. Sarah want to encourage listeners to think about New Year’s resolutions differently this year and focus on making them habit-centered rather than goal-centered.
For more on resolutions and habits, see:
So today, let’s address Beth’s question through the lens of mindset and priorities!
Letting Go of “Healthy Weight” Goals
Beth asked how to even get started. The answer is mindset! (24:25)
Loving yourself the way you are starts with positive self-talk, viewing our choices through the lens of nurturing, and looking after ourselves.
Dr. Sarah has found that appreciating body functionality over appearance is very helpful. For example, she reminds herself she loves her legs not because of how they look, but because they take her to beautiful places when she go hiking every morning!
Dr Sarah also encourages you to take pride in making the choice, whether it be eating a healthy breakfast, going to bed early, or going for a longer hike.
Stacy reminds listeners nothing will ever be perfect. So, don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good!
What To Prioritize
Dr. Sarah and Stacy prioritize a few different ways. (31:30)
For more on what Stacy and Sarah eat for breakfast and how they make it easy:
- Is Breakfast The Most Important Meal of the Day? New Science Has Answers!
- TPV Podcast Episode 381: Is Breakfast the Most Important Meal of the Day?
- Episode 453: Breakfast Before 8:30am
- Episode 479: Stress, Coffee, Breakfast
- Intermittent Fasting: Secret to Weight Loss or Dangerous Fad?
- Episode 386: Intermittent Fasting
Nutrivore is broad strokes diet priorities! For more on making it easy:
- Episode 437: Intro To Nutrivore
- The Nutrivore Score
- What Is a Nutrivore?
- Episode 475: Can I Be Nutrivore If I Don’t Eat Organ Meat?
- Episode 411: Do we still follow the Paleo diet?
Fill your plate with many veggies; it’s not as hard as it sounds!
- All About Vegetables
- How Many Vegetables Part 2: Lectins & Oxalates
- How Many Vegetables Part 3: Souping vs. Smoothies
- How Many Vegetables Part 4: Powdered Veggies
- What’s Better: Raw or Cooked Vegetables?
- 30 Fruits and Vegetables a Week?!
- Cruciferous Vegetables
- Is protein from veggies enough?
- The Importance of Vegetables
- The Health Benefits of Root Veggies, Leafy Greens, Alliums (Onion Family), Cruciferous Vegetables, the Parsley Veggie Family, Winter Squash, Sea Vegetables, and Ginger.
Living an Active Lifestyle
For more on what Stacy and Dr. Sarah stay active and fit it in the day:
- Episode 469: Insulin Sensitivity
- The Importance of Exercise
- Balancing Physical Activity with Rest: How Do We Get It Right?
- TPV Podcast, Episode 47: Exercise
- Why Exercising Too Much Hurts Your Gut
- The Too Much of Exercise
- TPV Podcast, Episode 151: Exercise Performance & Gut Health
- TPV Podcast Episode 389: How Do I Optimize Calories Out?
- The Benefits of Gentle Movement
- The Paleo Diet for Performance
- 3 Ways to Regulate Insulin that Have Nothing to Do With Food
Get Enough Sleep
For more on how Stacy and Dr. Sarah prioritize sleep in a practical way that makes sense, see:
- Episode 57: Sleep Troubles
- Sleep and Disease Risk: Scarier than Zombies!
- Sleep Requirements and Debt: How Much Sleep Do You Need?
- The Link Between Sleep and Your Weight
- 10 Tips to Improve Sleep Quality
- How Much Sleep Do We Need? Understanding the Hunter-Gatherer Evidence
- The New Science of Sleep-Wake Cycles (and How to Improve Yours!)
- Science Suggests Fiber Improves Sleep Quality!
- Go To Bed: 14 Steps to Healthier Sleep
- Episode 408: Insomnia?
- 5 Biohacks for Better Sleep
- Joovv Red Light Therapy for Mental Health, Stress, and Sleep
- Episode 224, Kids’ Sleep Health
- Episode 397: Practical Tips for the Sleep Stress Cycle
- Sleep Hygiene
- Episode 399: What’s the Deal with Those Funny Amber Glasses?
- Episode 409: Let’s Talk About Magnesium
- Regulating Circadian Rhythm (and why that’s important)
Manage Stress for Healthy Weight
Resilience vs. load is critical to handling stress. For more on what this looks like, see:
- Episode 288: Productivity & Work-Life Balance
- How Chronic Stress Leads to Hormone Imbalance
- Episode 351: Stress on Health
- Demystifying Adrenal Fatigue, Pt. 1: What Is Adrenal Fatigue?, Pt. 2: Testing Adrenal Glandular Function, and Pt. 3: Nutrition & Lifestyle Support for the Adrenal Glands
- How Stress Undermines Health
- Episode 397: Practical Tips for the Sleep Stress Cycle
- Episode 372: Stress Management Reminder
- Nutrient Deficiencies Caused by Stress
- Episode 319: Abundance Mindset
- Episode 432: Giving Thanks
- The Health Benefits of Connection
- Episode 476: Social Isolation – Can Living Like A Hermit Be Healthy?
Self Care for Healthy Weight
Top priorities:
Positive self-talk is not always easy! Check here for more strategies for silencing the inner critic:
- The Science Behind Body Image
- The Harm of Weight Discrimination and Stigma – Part 1
- The Harm of Weight Discrimination and Stigma – Part 2
Sources and Citations
Eric R. Spangenberg, Ioannis Kareklas, Berna Devezer, David E. Sprott. A meta-analytic synthesis of the question-behavior effect. J Consumer Psychology. 2015 Jul; 26(3):441-458 doi: 10.1016/j.jcps.2015.12.004
Larkin M. Have a healthy new year: easy to say, hard to do. Lancet. 2000 Dec 23-30;356(9248):2164. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)67248-0.
Norcross JC, Ratzin AC, Payne D. Ringing in the new year: the change processes and reported outcomes of resolutions. Addict Behav. 1989;14(2):205-12. doi: 10.1016/0306-4603(89)90050-6.
Final Thoughts
Healthy weight goes far beyond the number on the scale. (1:20:00)
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