Health At Every Size

You do not have to lose weight to be healthy. HAES has 4 principles to help people approach healthcare from a weight-neutral perspective.
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Health At Every Size is an approach to healthcare that focuses on improving health directly instead of focusing on weight as a catch-all solution.  It is based on careful examination of research that finds that the relationship between weight and health has been overstated and misused.  Lindo Bacon explains more about this in his books and videos.

Health At Every Size has four basic principles:  

  1. Accept your size.  This may feel impossible right now, but there is no guarantee you can change your body so acceptance is the most logical way forward.   This is a process that takes time and willingness to unpack your story as well as acknowledge the role that society plays in telling you your body is wrong.  You don’t have to love your body, just accept it the way it is right now.  
  1. Trust yourself.  Trust your body.  You may have felt at war with your body for some time.  It is time to build a new relationship with your body where you communicate with respect and loving care.  Reconnecting with your internal cues of hunger and fullness is the first step.
  1. Adopt healthy habits.  This encompases you as a whole person – your connection with others and spirit, having a sense of purpose in life, joy in movement, eating a variety of nutritious foods, pleasurable and satisfying foods, giving yourself time to rest and engage in creative expression, and more.  What habits are you interested in developing?   
  1. Embrace size diversity.  Celebrate the unique individuality of every person and the beauty in all sizes and shapes.  Take control of the media you consume and the brands you support.   Speak up when you notice size discrimination.

Whether this is a totally new concept that you’re trying to wrap your mind around or you have been practicing these principles for some time,  I am here to support you in your process of accepting yourself, embracing new ways of caring for yourself, and being a powerful force in the world.

Additional Resource:

Health at Every Size (HAES) 101 with a video on ways to engage healthcare professionals, terminology defined and a list of more resources