RE: Thoughts about Medical Conditions?

[Guest guest]

Hi Meg,

You are right, it is common for people with some kind of medical condition to be triggered to want to diet. Often they have been told by a doctor to lose weight or, like in your case, they think losing weight could make a difference in their quality of life. I'm really sorry you have this situation to deal with, it sounds like quite a challenge. I am not a doctor, nor am I qualified to give medical advise, but I do have some thoughts that may be helpful for you. Just remember that you don't want to ignore any doctor recommendations, it's best to work with your doctor to come to an agreement that works for you and that your doctor is ok with.

You didn't say that your doctor told you to lose weight right now and I'm really happy to hear that. From what you have shared, I am assuming that you have come to the conclusion yourself that losing weight will make a difference in your quality of life a few years down the road. If this is the case, then I think you are in a great position. It sounds like you are really enjoying applying intuitive eating to your life and you are progressing. What you described about your intuitive eating journey so far is really exciting and in my experience, both personal and professional, your progression is normal and will just continue to get better. The binges will become further and further apart and the compulsion will continue to diminish. Over time your weight will begin to normalize, meaning you will return to whatever your natural weight is. This may not happen as quickly as dieting, and no one knows when the weight loss will happen. But the important thing to ask yourself is, "What will happen if I go on a diet and lose weight?" Of course you'll have that initial weight loss but what has happened everytime you've dieted in the past?

As you already know, I'm sure, when we go on a diet, it is almost always followed by overeating or binging, followed by guilt and shame, followed again by an overwhelming compulsion to diet. Once again you are stuck in the diet mentality, and you've obviously done a lot of really great work to remove yourself from it, why go back? We always seem to forget the end result of dieting when we feel that panic and start thinking about dieting.

Tribole, one of the authors of Intuitive Eating, said in a class I took that when she is working with a patient whose doctor has said weight loss is necessary, she will talk with the doctor and explain her approach and why weight loss is put on the back burner while the other stuff is taken care of, like the emotional reasons for eating, relearning hunger and fullness, etc. She must do a great job explaining it because the doctor usually understands and stops putting the pressure on the patient, knowing the weight loss will eventually happen and will be a lasting change.

One other thing to consider is the effect of some kind of activity, it's great that you are already involved in regular exercise. Are you doing any kind of strength training? My degree is in exercise physiology and I am very familiar with all the benefits of improved fitness. There may even be some strengthening exercises you can do to prevent any further problems with your spine. I can't say for sure, but it's possible. The muscles involved in supporting the spine are complex and my guess is you would need something pretty specific to target that area. Maybe your doctor can refer you to physical therapy to see what you can do. It's amazing what a little bit of strength and flexibility can do, and it's recommended often for general arthritis.

I hope this is helpful, let us know if you have questions or thoughts.

Thanks!GillianGillian Hood-son, MS, ACSM

Get your report, "The 6 Steps to Guilt-Fr*e Eating" at http://www.HealthierOutcomes.com Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gillianhood

From: IntuitiveEating_Support [mailto:IntuitiveEating_Support ] On Behalf Of Meg MunroeSent: Thursday, April 08, 2010 9:25 PMTo: IntuitiveEating_Support Subject: Thoughts about Medical Conditions?

Hi All,

I feel like this isn't an uncommon question or experience on the listserve, but I was just wondering what tips people have when you find yourself in a situation where losing weight feels necessary for health reasons, but you still want to do the intuitive eating process and can't face the idea of another diet.

Okay, so I'm talking about myself. I was just diagnosed with having arthritis in my lower back that has caused a small shift in my lower spine which is causing me pain. It was really depressing news for me because I'm only 25. The doctor thought it was related to my weight when I was a teenager, since I was very obese then but lost a lot of it about five years ago. I feel very frustrated about this, since I guess even though I am still overweight I feel like I'm in much better health than I was when I was a teenager. I exercise regularly and enjoy a wider variety of foods. I also feel very happy about having discovered intuitive eating, because I just want to normalize my relationship with food. I feel like I've been doing better with this the past couple of months- not that I haven't overeaten or even binged, but I do feel like the compulsion to do those things is lessening a bit.

Anyway, this diagnosis is giving me the urge to diet again. I guess I feel panicked, like if I don't do everything to lose more weight somehow it will be five or ten years from now and I'll just be hunched over in pain. Or having a heart attack or something (I've had high BP since high school, which has went down much with weight loss and lifestyle change but is still borderline).

Sorry to paint a depressing picture. I guess this diagnosis is just leaving me a bit at a loss. Thanks for whatever input you might have.

Meg