May 14, 2024 • 34 mins
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Last week I shared my latest battle (and arsenal) with body image issues. If you heard it and wondered "well, why don't you just lose the weight?" I understand the questions.
But I'm not.
As I've immersed myself in the latest research and findings, I'm changing my attitude about weight loss.
Today I'm sharing six research-backed and six mindset-based reasons why I'm not choosing to chase the scale.
Want sources for the research? Find them here.
Resources mentioned:
Season 19 Episodes that began January 2024:
- Embracing a Grace-Focused Approach to Aging and Body Acceptance After 40 (Core Essentials 1)
- Achieve Resilient Aging with Grace and Holistic Nutrition (Core Essentials 2)
- Holding Body Wisdom and Christ-Centered Health Over 40 (Core Essentials 3)
- Learn Expansive Health Topics to Enhance Your Midlife Season (Core Essentials 4)
- 30+ Non Gym Ways to Improve Your Health [free download]
Your CORE Strength: A Young Woman's Go-To Guide to Eating, Exercise, and Empowered Health
30+ Non-Gym Ways to Improve Your Health
Receive my free monthly journal full of food, fitness, faith, fun & more
Core Essentials: Episode 1 2 3 4
30+ Non-Gym Ways to Improve Your Health (free download)
Connect with Amy:
GracedHealth.com
Join the Graced Health community on Facebook!
Instagram: @GracedHealth
YouTube: @AmyConnell
Join GracedHealth+ for virtual community meetups and bonus episodes
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Hey there, welcome to the graced health podcast, your
source for aging strong in yourphysical, mental and spiritual
health.
My name is Amy Connell.
I'm a weight neutral, certifiedpersonal trainer and nutrition
coach who loves walks withfriends, chocolate and Jesus.
Whether you're looking to growstronger as you age, nourish
your body, mind and spirit, orfit all the pieces of your
(00:32):
health together to holisticallythrive, this is the place for
women over 40.
I'm here to guide you in theareas I can and bring on experts
in the areas I'm still learning, and, of course, we cover it
all in a whole lot of grace.
I'm glad you're here and, bythe way, if you're new here, I
invite you to check out season19, which started January 9th
(00:53):
2024, to fully understand thefoundation of this show.
In short, this this is theCliff Notes version.
This is a grace-filled,christ-centered show focusing on
women over 40 who want to ageresiliently, in a holistic way.
And then, after you listen tothat, be sure to check out the
episode called 30 Plus Non-GymWays to Improve your Health for
(01:17):
Women Over 40.
And you can grab that freedownload.
That goes with it.
All of those links are in theshow notes.
That goes with it.
All of those links are in theshow notes.
I used to be an expert onparenting, and particularly an
expert on parenting babies andtoddlers.
When was I this expert?
It was before I had children.
(01:46):
Who is with me?
These are some of the thingsthat I said before I had kids.
My children will never havefood dripping down their mouth.
My children will never weartheir clothes inside out.
What kind of parent lets theirchildren wear their clothes
inside out to target?
Yeah, good ones, by the way.
Good ones because they'reletting their child dress
themselves.
Oh, here's a good one my child,when I'm ready to potty train,
(02:09):
will be potty trade in one day,because a friend of mine had a
friend who read a book whotaught you how to potty train in
one day.
And so I'm going to follow thatbook and I will potty train my
child in one day.
And I'm going to pause forlaughter here, because if you
have ever done that with yourchild, if you have potty trained
a young one, a toddler, apreschooler yeah, it takes a lot
(02:31):
longer than one day.
It wasn't until I became a momthat I learned to give so much
grace to new moms and probablythe very best piece of wisdom I
received from one of my friends.
One time is when you are in thegrocery store, when you are in
(02:51):
Target, when you are out andthat kid is throwing a fit, the
kindest, most compassionatething we can say to that mom, if
anything needs to be said, issome days are better than others
, and I just feel like that justgives so much grace for the
situation, because some daysreally are better than others.
(03:12):
As I am walking through theperimenopause phase and entering
into, I'm sure in a few years,full menopause, some days are
better than others.
I shared last week that Irecently have had a just a body
image breakdown and some of thearsenal, some of the pieces of
(03:33):
arsenal that I am using to fightback.
And, quite honestly, fight isan intentional term because this
is an attack, and while I amnot one who thinks that the
enemy is lurking around everycorner, I do believe that the
enemy is out to pick fights whenhe gets uncomfortable and I've
(03:55):
been saying some uncomfortablethings about how God loves us
and how our body just needs tobe able to do what it's called
to do and not necessarily look acertain way, because when
better does the enemy have uswrapped up when we are so
focused on what we look like andso focused on our size, just
like having babies and childrengave me so much grace for new
(04:19):
moms.
I have a lot of grace for womenin menopause who say things
like I woke up one day andgained a ton of weight.
Because you know what?
I am right there with you.
My body size has increasedfairly significantly over the
past two years, really so muchso that my older son graduated
(04:46):
from high school two years agoand I know the pair of pants I
wore, because I have pictures ofhis graduation day and I went
to put them on recently.
I couldn't even get the buttonand whatever you call the thing
that you put the button in, likewithin inches, like it wouldn't
(05:07):
even go so far apart.
This was not a surprise.
I prepared my heart and mindfor this to happen.
So I was at that moment,because some days are better
than others.
At that moment I was in a spaceto laugh it off.
But let me tell you this hasbeen a challenge for me.
Again.
(05:28):
You can go back and listen tolast week's episode.
I am no longer in between, like,sometimes I'm a small,
sometimes a medium, like justsolid medium.
I'm not even looking at thesmalls.
I am buying bigger clothes.
I recently purchased new bras.
Third Love, which is probablymy favorite retailer for a lot
of different reasons, had agreat sale and I got three new
(05:51):
bras in a band size bigger andhalf a cup bigger as well.
Like every, everything is justbigger.
I'm also throwing out the oldsports bras that are so tight
that they're leaving marks andI'm just smushed in.
And they're so tight that whenI put them over my head because
(06:12):
it's like they're just the kindthat you pull over your head I
have a hard time like reachingback and pulling it down because
it's so tight.
Like why, why, why do I havethese?
I do not know, because you knowwhat.
Walmart has wonderful sportsbras and I have found some that
I really like.
Why don't I just go buy somenew sports bras?
(06:34):
And I recognize the privilege inthis Like I recognize that not
everybody can do that and itkind of stinks.
Like those pants that I wore tomy older son's graduation two
years ago.
They're cute pants and I hatethat.
I wore them like once or maybetwice and now they don't fit and
they're sitting in my closet.
I've talked to friends who arelike I just want my clothes to
fit.
I get it.
(06:55):
I get it.
I grieve my old body size.
If I'm honest, I'm a littlefearful of my future body size
because I'm sitting here goinglike, if this has been the
change in the last two years,like what does it look like two
years from now and two yearsafter that?
And I have been told, like myGP, my general practitioner
(07:19):
who's awesome, she's like Amy,things settle out, don't worry.
I've I've had some encouragingwords from clients who are older
than I am, so I know that's notrealistic, but of course,
that's the way that my mindspins.
I truly believe that health isso much more than just our
weight.
Health is demonstrated in ourblood metrics How's your HDL,
(07:43):
your LDL, your triglycerides,your A1C, your glucose, how are
your hormones?
And, of course, there's so manymore.
But how are these thingsshowing up in your blood, which
tells a much more complete storythan body size or body weight?
How's your sleep?
Also, how's your mental health?
And these are all things, bythe way, that I'm trying to
(08:05):
teach the young women who arereading your Core Strength.
I have a whole chapter on howdo I know, if I'm healthy.
So these are things that I'mtrying to instill in them, so
maybe, maybe we can plant a seedso they're not dealing with all
of this nonsense and makingpodcast episodes about this kind
of stuff when they are 49 yearsold.
(08:26):
I say all of that and at thesame time, I recognize the
duality of last week's episodeand this week's episode, which
last week's was boo-hoo.
I'm frustrated body image, junk, nonsense.
Here's some things I'm doing tofight it.
(08:47):
And in this week's episode, I'msaying I'm not going to try to
lose weight, because if you'reof my age, then probably the
natural inclination is to say,well, why don't you try to lose
weight?
Like, if you're unhappy withthat, why don't you try to lose
weight, which I felt likedeserved its own episode?
So that's what I want to talkabout today.
(09:07):
Before I do, though, I want tojust hold space.
I want to hold space for thoseof you who listen and still may
want to check the scale, stillmay think but if I could just
get a few pounds, or if I couldlose some weight, and, if I'm
honest, if I woke up tomorrowmorning and my body size was
(09:29):
back to where it was a coupleyears ago I would not complain.
And how that integrates intothis conversation.
I don't know.
I realize that soundsconflicting with the message of
today's episodes, but it's justthe truth.
Again, I am here today to sharewith you where I am today
(09:53):
because, again, some days arebetter than others and just kind
of the decisions that I'mmaking and I recognize they're
not all going to make sense toeveryone and I completely get
that and I completely understandand get those of you who are
struggling with this andstruggling with accepting
(10:14):
changes and just not really surehow you feel about that.
I had a friend say one time shewas talking about I don't
remember exactly what it was,but she was talking about weight
loss and she said, amy, I knowweight isn't your thing, but and
then kind of went on to talkabout things so if you're like
in the butt section, like, but Istill would like to change mine
, then that's okay.
(10:36):
Like we can have differentthoughts and we can have
different, different things.
Like weight is not my thing, ifweight is your thing, we can
still sit at the same table.
My older son says this all thetime two things, two opposing
things, can exist in the samespace.
We can all exist in the samespace.
(10:57):
So I don't want you to feelshamed.
Like I'm not trying to shameyou if weight is your thing,
like I'm not trying to shame youif weight is your thing, if the
scale is something that you arefocused on, I get it.
I get it, I get it.
I'm just here to share myjourney of where I am right now
and the decisions I am makingright now.
(11:18):
I have done this long enoughand I have put out enough
content to recognize that wechange and we grow and there may
be some things that in thefuture I would change about what
I'm saying today, and that'sokay.
So wherever you land or standor feel about weight and like
(11:41):
the actual gravitational pull ofyour body toward Earth, which
is all weight is, then that'sokay.
So we can be here together.
I just want to share with youwhy my choice today is not to
try to lose weight.
I've been planning on doing thisepisode for several weeks, even
(12:03):
before the body image breakdown, and as I was writing down just
ideas and thoughts and reasons,they fell into two different
categories.
One of them was more theresearch back and the science
backed reasons, and then theother is the mindset.
So I want to start with some ofwhat the research says, because
this has been surprising to me.
(12:24):
This has been a learning curve.
I will tell you upfront some ofwhat the research says, because
this has been surprising to me.
This has been a learning curve.
I will tell you upfront, someof this is very different than
what we have learned or what wesee.
Depending on who you follow onInstagram, it may be very
different from that.
Let's talk about some of theresearch I have come across and
really this has probably beenthe last year year and a half
(12:47):
max and this is why, at thebeginning of this year 2024, I
said Look, we are an intuitiveeating podcast, because the more
I'm learning, the more I'mrealizing that this just kind of
makes sense.
The first reason that I havechosen not to try to lose the
perimenopause weight is dietsuck.
That's actually that's anoverall reason.
(13:11):
Specifically, more they willlead to restrictive behaviors.
They can lead to obsessivebehaviors, things like skipping
meals, ignoring hunger cues,exercising way too much rather
than promoting nourishment.
If you've been with me a longtime, if you have read your
(13:33):
Worthy Body, I talked aboutintermittent fasting.
I did do that for a while andstopped.
I love breakfast, I nourishmyself, I feel better when I
have breakfast, and then, ofcourse, the latest science from
the American Heart Associationis saying oh no, actually, this
is really bad on your heart.
So it was not a long time, butit was long enough for it to be
(13:56):
recorded forever and ever, amen,in my book.
But that's okay.
So I am not going to restrict,I am not going to you know what.
I was obsessive for a long time.
That's the whole reason thatgraced health exists Because I
was so obsessive about so manythings.
I'm not interested in dieting,I'm not interested in doing that
to my body and to my mind.
(14:18):
Another research backed reasonis our body is designed to have
homeostasis.
Our body is designed to be atthat at a certain point, at a
certain size.
There's that set point theorythat says that our body is going
to fight to stay at agenetically predetermined size.
(14:41):
So what happens when we loseweight?
Well, our metabolism will slowdown because, number one, our
body size is different and so weneed less.
But also, like it's like whoawe're, we're getting below where
we want to be.
You know, we're gonna, we mightbe slowing down this metabolism
.
And then the other thing that isinteresting is it can impact
(15:04):
our hormones that respond tofullness and satiety.
So ghrelin or ghrelin I usedifferent variations of it, I
don't really know why, butghrelin or ghrelin, however you
want to say it, that is a hungerhormone.
So that is what kicks in whenwe start growling and saying
like, okay, I need food, my bodyis out of energy.
(15:26):
Leptin is the hormone that says, okay, we've had enough, we're
satisfied, let's stop.
So I remember like growling,growling and leptin, let's stop.
But when we start to restrictand start to have this obsessive
behavior, that can impact ourhormones and so our hormones,
(15:46):
things are not working right.
The hormones that say, hey,you're hungry, hey, let's stop,
those don't work as well or asefficiently and so those are
kind of off.
So if we don't have ourinternal mechanisms to say eat,
stop, then it's going to beharder to listen to our body,
because our body is not going tobe saying no, what we, what it
(16:08):
needs.
I hope that makes sense.
Oftentimes diets will have likeyou can't have this and it's
like full on restriction.
How many of us have heard ofdiets that are like, okay, you
can't have gluten or dairy orsugar or corn or soy, like
there's.
There's so many differentthings of like full on
(16:29):
restriction.
Now, obviously, if your bodyhas a reason, like a medical
condition, for not to have those, then don't have them.
Like I don't as much as I thinkhighly of dairy products and
whey protein, my body justdoesn't work with very well with
that.
So, yeah, I do restrict it, butI do it because I know it
(16:49):
doesn't make me feel well.
Yeah, I do restrict it, but Ido it because I know it doesn't
make me feel well.
When we restrict, what canoften happen is it will turn
into binging on the other end.
So it's like, rather thansaying okay, I'm not going to
have any chocolate ever, when wecompletely take out a piece of
food or a food group, then thatcan rebound into eating way more
(17:11):
than we need, whereas if wesaid, okay, I'm just going to
have a small amount of thisbecause I can and I'm going to
enjoy it and savor it and besatisfied for it by it and then
move on, then it's just notgoing to be so much of a
psychological issue.
Another reason revolves aroundthis 3500 calories, or calories
(17:33):
in and calories out, math that Igrew up with.
I heard I have coached.
I now actually don't focus onthat.
In the first draft of your corestrength was this whole concept
of 3500 calories.
I have since taken out prettymuch any reference to calories,
but Leslie Schilling wasgracious enough to go through
(17:54):
and kind of go through it I jokethat she was the diet culture
head of the FBI for me with thatbook and she said actually that
has been debunked that 3500calories is equal to one pound
of adipose or body fat and thatactually is a lot more nuanced.
(18:14):
Now when we diet we're prettymuch focusing on calories in and
calories out, and there's justa lot of factors beyond that,
like genetics, your foodenvironment, your social factors
, like all of these play a rolein weight regulation.
That isn't just calories in,calories out.
(18:34):
I mean, obviously there is someenergy management by our body
that will result in bodycomposition or size, but it's
just it's not so structured likegetting on to whatever your
favorite food tracking app andtracking all of that again
(18:55):
doesn't allow for the nuance ofour bodies.
And also, fun fact the FDAallows for calorie estimates to
be off by as much as 20%.
So if you're looking at a labeland it says Okay, this is 200
calories, it might be, or itmight be 160 calories, or it
(19:18):
might be 240 calories.
And so if we're makingdecisions based off of what a
calculator in a computer thatwe're holding in our hand says,
rather than making decisionsbased off of our body and the
feedback that it provides, thenthere's a good chance that we're
(19:38):
going to be off.
So all of those things likewith the calories and calories
out 3500 calories, that the 20%like it just doesn't to me make
sense to try to diet per thefitness tracker or per counting
calories, because there's just alot of nuance with that.
(20:00):
Another reason that I'm choosingnot to lose weight and this
actually may be the primaryreason is it depends on the
statistics, but you will seeanywhere between 90 to 97% of
people who lose weight throughdieting will regain it within
(20:20):
two to five years, and many willend up heavier than when they
started.
I do not say this to bediscouraging.
If you have recently made somelifestyle changes and your body
size or composition has changed.
I do want to hold space forsomeone who has just made some
(20:42):
changes in their life.
Maybe they are eating morenutritionally dense foods.
Maybe they're eating morevegetables and fiber and protein
and fueling themselves better.
And maybe they're eating morevegetables and fiber and protein
and fueling themselves better.
And maybe they're moving andthis is a new lifestyle for them
.
And it may be that that is nottrue for them because they have
gone from one lifestyle andchanged it to another nether.
(21:17):
So I do want to hold space forsituations like that.
For me, I feel like an economicsprinciple I learned in college
is probably most applicable, andthat is the law of diminishing
returns and that basically saysas an investment in a particular
area increases, the rate ofprofit from that investment
after a certain point will notcontinue to increase if
everything else remains constantand your rate of return will
(21:40):
actually begin to decrease.
So in my Amy world, with withhealth and weight and all of
that kind of stuff, I feel likethere's some diminishing returns
of the investment of my timeand my energy.
From where I am right now, I amchecking a lot of boxes from a
(22:01):
health perspective.
Am I checking them all?
No, but that's by choice.
That's because I know for me,if I was going to check every
single health box all the time,that would take my heart into a
pattern and an obsessivebehavior that I don't want to do
anymore.
I've spent my time doing that.
Part of my journey is beingobsessive and part of my journey
(22:25):
is just focusing way more onthis kind of stuff than I want
to, and I don't want to do thatI.
That's not how I want to spendmy day, and we'll talk about
that here in the mindset in asecond.
But I am not willing at thispoint in my life to focus, to do
more and more and more andconstantly change the variables.
So the output or the weightloss is there, like I'm, just
(22:48):
there's not a whole lot I canchange right now.
Are there some things?
Yes, but there's just not awhole lot.
The final research back toreason why I'm choosing not to
lose weight is when we weightcycle.
So we drop the weight, we gainit back.
We drop the weight, we gain itback.
We know that when we drop theweight, a large percentage of us
(23:12):
are going to gain it back, andso it's just that, up and down,
up and down, up and down.
There are cardiovascular risksto that.
Now, as a woman in thatperimenopause phase, like my,
cardiovascular risk is alreadyincreasing because I'm not
producing estrogen, because thisis just the stage of my life.
If you are menopause or beyond,your cardiovascular risk is
(23:36):
increasing as well.
I don't want to increase therisk because my body size is
going up and down, and up anddown, and up and down.
Now, with all that said, I wantto be clear.
I do pay attention, particularlyto my blood metrics.
There are some things in myblood work that are having a bit
(23:56):
of an upward trend that I'm notcomfortable with, and so I will
be focusing on that, but in anon diet way.
I don't like seeing my LDLcoming up.
I've always had amazing LDL,and the last two blood works
I've had it's going up.
Well, guess what that's?
Because that's because of thephase that I'm in.
(24:18):
Well, I can talk about that onanother episode, if you're
interested in that.
But I am paying attention tosome other data, not the scale
data, not the BMI data, whichyou know how I feel about BMI.
It's not in the Bible, so let'sjust not worry about that.
But I am playing, payingattention to HDL, to LDL, to
(24:39):
triglycerides, to glucose, toA1C.
Those are the ones that arepertinent to me, that I'm like
Hmm, okay, I'm seeing a trendand I do feel like it's
important to make some changesto adjust those.
So I am not like willy nilly,whatever intuitive eating.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
No, I'm still applying thegentle nutrition, but I'm doing
(24:59):
it with a different mindset,which leads us into the mindset
of why I am choosing not to tryto lose weight.
When I am restricted, when Ihave to restrict because I am
dieting, I don't feel well.
I shared earlier that I used topractice intermittent fasting.
(25:20):
I don't anymore and let me tellyou how much better I feel at
9am now that I am eatingbreakfast.
That's fine.
That was part of my journey,it's part of my story and so it
is what it is.
It's not something I recommendnow, it's not something that I
practice now, and particularlywith the latest research from
(25:40):
the American Heart Associationsaying it increases your
cardiovascular risk.
But from a mindset perspective,I don't want to not feel well.
I don't want to intentionallymake myself not feel well
because I am restricting.
It also takes my heart awayfrom the joy of food.
I really like food.
(26:01):
There are some people out thereand I don't get it, but they're
like they could.
They just eat because theirbody says they need to eat and
then they don't think anythingof it.
I am not one of these people.
I enjoy food, I enjoy cooking,I enjoy exploring flavors, I
enjoy sitting around the tableand having a meal with my family
(26:23):
.
Now, granted every meal and I'mgoing to quote Leslie Schilling
on this, she said it and itmade me laugh and I think it's
so funny Not every meal is goingto be a party in my mouth, so I
am not like every meal is sowonderful and satisfying.
(26:45):
It might satisfy me in thatlike I'm not hungry anymore and
sometimes I'm just eatingbecause like it's leftover from
dinner and my job is to eat allof the leftover vegetables.
My husband and I joke like heeats some of the leftovers, I
eat other leftovers and then weget them all out.
So sometimes I'm eating becauseit was dinner last night and
because I just need to eat andthen just move on with the next
thing.
(27:05):
But I don't want to lose the joyof food.
God gave us so many differentfoods and it's fun and it's
enjoyable and I don't want tolose that.
And when I'm dieting andrestricting, I'm losing it
because it's blah and it'sboring and it's like chicken
breast and broccoli and you know, and is that it?
(27:25):
I don't know, like I'm not.
No, I'm not doing it.
I'm not doing it.
Another reason is because somany years ago and many of you
have heard this story I heardGod whispering to me you are
spending more time thinkingabout the food you're going to
eat and the exercise you'regoing to do than you are about
me, and it took me a long timeto shift that and I still do,
(27:52):
admittedly, like I feel, like Ithink about this kind of stuff a
lot, but I think about it notfrom an inward facing focus, but
from an outward, so I can servemy community, so I can help
educate, so I can help giveother perspectives.
So there, once again, a duality, like there's that.
But in terms of that inwardself focused, I don't want to go
(28:14):
back there.
I don't want God to call me outagain hey, amy, you're thinking
more about you than you areabout me.
So I don't want to do that, andthat's what happens when I diet
.
I also don't want to create thisidol out of a particular body
size.
And, yeah, I can idolize thebody that I had 5, 10, 15, 20,
(28:39):
30 years ago so easily If I, ifI let myself.
I'm not looking at anyone else.
I'm not looking at them.
I I shouldn't say that I trynot to it can.
The comparison thing can creepin for sure, especially when I
look at other women my age andI'm like why hasn't this hit
(29:00):
them Like it has me, Like thisis not something I am proud to
admit.
I don't like that.
I think it but I do, and so I'mhonest about it.
But in general, my comparisonand my idolizing now is really
on my past self, and I don't.
I don't want to do that.
(29:22):
I've talked a lot like I'mdifferent.
I've grown.
I talked last week about thegoodness that God has grown in
me and I like that.
I like that, and so I don'tneed to idolize a shell, a, just
a body from previously, when Ilike the inside of what has
(29:44):
happened better, the finalmindset piece that I want to put
out there, and I'm I'm reallystruggling with how to say this.
Well, but I'm, I am doing whatGod has called me to do.
I never intended to do a.
(30:06):
I never wanted to write a blog.
I mean, 10 years ago I said theworld does not need another
health and fitness blogger.
We just didn't.
I didn't want to blog.
I didn't want to turn that intopodcasting.
I hadn't really planned onwriting a book.
I did have a dream when I wasin middle school that I wanted
to write a book, but it wouldn'thave been about this Like this
(30:29):
is.
This is just where God hascalled me to be, and I do feel
like he is asking me to walk thewalk.
He's kind of saying, amy,you're saying over and over,
health is not a size and we takecare of ourselves so we can do
what we're called to do.
And I'm asking you to live thatout, I hope, if nothing else,
(30:54):
if you too have seen your bodysize change, you know that
you're not alone.
And if you're struggling withthe duality of believing that
health is not a size and you canbe healthy in whatever size
body God gave you and grievingthat change, you're not alone
(31:17):
because I'm right there with you.
And so if my bigger body is anencouragement to anyone, if it
helps you process your ownthoughts or your emotions, then
I'm here for it.
Let's be honest there are muchworse things that God could be
(31:38):
asking me to live out.
If you need a story around that, you can go read the book of
Job.
If you need a story around that, you can go read the book of
Job, like Job probably wouldhave liked to have gained some
weight rather than all of theother stuff Like this.
This is nothing.
This is just internal, stupidattacks from the enemy.
(32:00):
That you know what my God isgreater than that.
Attacks from the enemy that youknow what my God is greater
than that.
And my God, with his help, canhelp change my mind and change
my heart and get the focus offmy body size, and I want to
leave you with this.
I've been trying to figure outthe right way to say this as
well.
If I'm honest, I fear thatpeople who have known me for a
(32:27):
while may look at me and say,man, she's really gotten bigger,
she's really let herself go.
That is not true.
I am still doing the thingsthat are important to me, that
are important to my physical, mymental and my spiritual health,
and I believe you are too.
(32:51):
I believe you are too, and youand I may have some different
priorities, but we have not letourself go.
We are holding onto ourpriorities our priorities of
community, our priorities ofsatisfaction, our priorities of
finding joy in food and joy inmovement, even if that's
different.
We have not let ourself go.
(33:13):
We are holding on to ourpriorities.
What's next for my body?
I don't know.
I don't know, but I do knowthat I am trusting God with my
body, as I honor it by moving itin a way that brings me joy, by
feeding it when I'm hungry andwith foods that make me feel and
(33:36):
function well in my body, in mymind, in my spirit, and knowing
that he made me and he createdme, and that is good enough.
Okay, that is all for today.
Go out there and have a gracedday.
Hey, as we wrap up, if you areinterested in seeing the sources
(34:01):
for some of the research Iprovided today, those will be in
the show notes.
Also, if you are interested inchecking out your core strength,
even if you don't have a youngwoman, if you just want to read
it for yourself, that's fine.
You can read it too.
You can find that virtuallyanywhere online, and I will have
the links in the show notes aswell.
Hey there, welcome to the graced health podcast, your
source for aging strong in yourphysical, mental and spiritual
health.
My name is Amy Connell.
I'm a weight neutral, certifiedpersonal trainer and nutrition
coach who loves walks withfriends, chocolate and Jesus.
Whether you're looking to growstronger as you age, nourish
your body, mind and spirit, orfit all the pieces of your
(00:32):
health together to holisticallythrive, this is the place for
women over 40.
I'm here to guide you in theareas I can and bring on experts
in the areas I'm still learning, and, of course, we cover it
all in a whole lot of grace.
I'm glad you're here and, bythe way, if you're new here, I
invite you to check out season19, which started January 9th
(00:53):
2024, to fully understand thefoundation of this show.
In short, this this is theCliff Notes version.
This is a grace-filled,christ-centered show focusing on
women over 40 who want to ageresiliently, in a holistic way.
And then, after you listen tothat, be sure to check out the
episode called 30 Plus Non-GymWays to Improve your Health for
(01:17):
Women Over 40.
And you can grab that freedownload.
That goes with it.
All of those links are in theshow notes.
That goes with it.
All of those links are in theshow notes.
I used to be an expert onparenting, and particularly an
expert on parenting babies andtoddlers.
When was I this expert?
It was before I had children.
(01:46):
Who is with me?
These are some of the thingsthat I said before I had kids.
My children will never havefood dripping down their mouth.
My children will never weartheir clothes inside out.
What kind of parent lets theirchildren wear their clothes
inside out to target?
Yeah, good ones, by the way.
Good ones because they'reletting their child dress
themselves.
Oh, here's a good one my child,when I'm ready to potty train,
(02:09):
will be potty trade in one day,because a friend of mine had a
friend who read a book whotaught you how to potty train in
one day.
And so I'm going to follow thatbook and I will potty train my
child in one day.
And I'm going to pause forlaughter here, because if you
have ever done that with yourchild, if you have potty trained
a young one, a toddler, apreschooler yeah, it takes a lot
(02:31):
longer than one day.
It wasn't until I became a momthat I learned to give so much
grace to new moms and probablythe very best piece of wisdom I
received from one of my friends.
One time is when you are in thegrocery store, when you are in
(02:51):
Target, when you are out andthat kid is throwing a fit, the
kindest, most compassionatething we can say to that mom, if
anything needs to be said, issome days are better than others
, and I just feel like that justgives so much grace for the
situation, because some daysreally are better than others.
(03:12):
As I am walking through theperimenopause phase and entering
into, I'm sure in a few years,full menopause, some days are
better than others.
I shared last week that Irecently have had a just a body
image breakdown and some of thearsenal, some of the pieces of
(03:33):
arsenal that I am using to fightback.
And, quite honestly, fight isan intentional term because this
is an attack, and while I amnot one who thinks that the
enemy is lurking around everycorner, I do believe that the
enemy is out to pick fights whenhe gets uncomfortable and I've
(03:55):
been saying some uncomfortablethings about how God loves us
and how our body just needs tobe able to do what it's called
to do and not necessarily look acertain way, because when
better does the enemy have uswrapped up when we are so
focused on what we look like andso focused on our size, just
like having babies and childrengave me so much grace for new
(04:19):
moms.
I have a lot of grace for womenin menopause who say things
like I woke up one day andgained a ton of weight.
Because you know what?
I am right there with you.
My body size has increasedfairly significantly over the
past two years, really so muchso that my older son graduated
(04:46):
from high school two years agoand I know the pair of pants I
wore, because I have pictures ofhis graduation day and I went
to put them on recently.
I couldn't even get the buttonand whatever you call the thing
that you put the button in, likewithin inches, like it wouldn't
(05:07):
even go so far apart.
This was not a surprise.
I prepared my heart and mindfor this to happen.
So I was at that moment,because some days are better
than others.
At that moment I was in a spaceto laugh it off.
But let me tell you this hasbeen a challenge for me.
Again.
(05:28):
You can go back and listen tolast week's episode.
I am no longer in between, like,sometimes I'm a small,
sometimes a medium, like justsolid medium.
I'm not even looking at thesmalls.
I am buying bigger clothes.
I recently purchased new bras.
Third Love, which is probablymy favorite retailer for a lot
of different reasons, had agreat sale and I got three new
(05:51):
bras in a band size bigger andhalf a cup bigger as well.
Like every, everything is justbigger.
I'm also throwing out the oldsports bras that are so tight
that they're leaving marks andI'm just smushed in.
And they're so tight that whenI put them over my head because
(06:12):
it's like they're just the kindthat you pull over your head I
have a hard time like reachingback and pulling it down because
it's so tight.
Like why, why, why do I havethese?
I do not know, because you knowwhat.
Walmart has wonderful sportsbras and I have found some that
I really like.
Why don't I just go buy somenew sports bras?
(06:34):
And I recognize the privilege inthis Like I recognize that not
everybody can do that and itkind of stinks.
Like those pants that I wore tomy older son's graduation two
years ago.
They're cute pants and I hatethat.
I wore them like once or maybetwice and now they don't fit and
they're sitting in my closet.
I've talked to friends who arelike I just want my clothes to
fit.
I get it.
(06:55):
I get it.
I grieve my old body size.
If I'm honest, I'm a littlefearful of my future body size
because I'm sitting here goinglike, if this has been the
change in the last two years,like what does it look like two
years from now and two yearsafter that?
And I have been told, like myGP, my general practitioner
(07:19):
who's awesome, she's like Amy,things settle out, don't worry.
I've I've had some encouragingwords from clients who are older
than I am, so I know that's notrealistic, but of course,
that's the way that my mindspins.
I truly believe that health isso much more than just our
weight.
Health is demonstrated in ourblood metrics How's your HDL,
(07:43):
your LDL, your triglycerides,your A1C, your glucose, how are
your hormones?
And, of course, there's so manymore.
But how are these thingsshowing up in your blood, which
tells a much more complete storythan body size or body weight?
How's your sleep?
Also, how's your mental health?
And these are all things, bythe way, that I'm trying to
(08:05):
teach the young women who arereading your Core Strength.
I have a whole chapter on howdo I know, if I'm healthy.
So these are things that I'mtrying to instill in them, so
maybe, maybe we can plant a seedso they're not dealing with all
of this nonsense and makingpodcast episodes about this kind
of stuff when they are 49 yearsold.
(08:26):
I say all of that and at thesame time, I recognize the
duality of last week's episodeand this week's episode, which
last week's was boo-hoo.
I'm frustrated body image, junk, nonsense.
Here's some things I'm doing tofight it.
(08:47):
And in this week's episode, I'msaying I'm not going to try to
lose weight, because if you'reof my age, then probably the
natural inclination is to say,well, why don't you try to lose
weight?
Like, if you're unhappy withthat, why don't you try to lose
weight, which I felt likedeserved its own episode?
So that's what I want to talkabout today.
(09:07):
Before I do, though, I want tojust hold space.
I want to hold space for thoseof you who listen and still may
want to check the scale, stillmay think but if I could just
get a few pounds, or if I couldlose some weight, and, if I'm
honest, if I woke up tomorrowmorning and my body size was
(09:29):
back to where it was a coupleyears ago I would not complain.
And how that integrates intothis conversation.
I don't know.
I realize that soundsconflicting with the message of
today's episodes, but it's justthe truth.
Again, I am here today to sharewith you where I am today
(09:53):
because, again, some days arebetter than others and just kind
of the decisions that I'mmaking and I recognize they're
not all going to make sense toeveryone and I completely get
that and I completely understandand get those of you who are
struggling with this andstruggling with accepting
(10:14):
changes and just not really surehow you feel about that.
I had a friend say one time shewas talking about I don't
remember exactly what it was,but she was talking about weight
loss and she said, amy, I knowweight isn't your thing, but and
then kind of went on to talkabout things so if you're like
in the butt section, like, but Istill would like to change mine
, then that's okay.
(10:36):
Like we can have differentthoughts and we can have
different, different things.
Like weight is not my thing, ifweight is your thing, we can
still sit at the same table.
My older son says this all thetime two things, two opposing
things, can exist in the samespace.
We can all exist in the samespace.
(10:57):
So I don't want you to feelshamed.
Like I'm not trying to shameyou if weight is your thing,
like I'm not trying to shame youif weight is your thing, if the
scale is something that you arefocused on, I get it.
I get it, I get it.
I'm just here to share myjourney of where I am right now
and the decisions I am makingright now.
(11:18):
I have done this long enoughand I have put out enough
content to recognize that wechange and we grow and there may
be some things that in thefuture I would change about what
I'm saying today, and that'sokay.
So wherever you land or standor feel about weight and like
(11:41):
the actual gravitational pull ofyour body toward Earth, which
is all weight is, then that'sokay.
So we can be here together.
I just want to share with youwhy my choice today is not to
try to lose weight.
I've been planning on doing thisepisode for several weeks, even
(12:03):
before the body image breakdown, and as I was writing down just
ideas and thoughts and reasons,they fell into two different
categories.
One of them was more theresearch back and the science
backed reasons, and then theother is the mindset.
So I want to start with some ofwhat the research says, because
this has been surprising to me.
(12:24):
This has been a learning curve.
I will tell you upfront some ofwhat the research says, because
this has been surprising to me.
This has been a learning curve.
I will tell you upfront, someof this is very different than
what we have learned or what wesee.
Depending on who you follow onInstagram, it may be very
different from that.
Let's talk about some of theresearch I have come across and
really this has probably beenthe last year year and a half
(12:47):
max and this is why, at thebeginning of this year 2024, I
said Look, we are an intuitiveeating podcast, because the more
I'm learning, the more I'mrealizing that this just kind of
makes sense.
The first reason that I havechosen not to try to lose the
perimenopause weight is dietsuck.
That's actually that's anoverall reason.
(13:11):
Specifically, more they willlead to restrictive behaviors.
They can lead to obsessivebehaviors, things like skipping
meals, ignoring hunger cues,exercising way too much rather
than promoting nourishment.
If you've been with me a longtime, if you have read your
(13:33):
Worthy Body, I talked aboutintermittent fasting.
I did do that for a while andstopped.
I love breakfast, I nourishmyself, I feel better when I
have breakfast, and then, ofcourse, the latest science from
the American Heart Associationis saying oh no, actually, this
is really bad on your heart.
So it was not a long time, butit was long enough for it to be
(13:56):
recorded forever and ever, amen,in my book.
But that's okay.
So I am not going to restrict,I am not going to you know what.
I was obsessive for a long time.
That's the whole reason thatgraced health exists Because I
was so obsessive about so manythings.
I'm not interested in dieting,I'm not interested in doing that
to my body and to my mind.
(14:18):
Another research backed reasonis our body is designed to have
homeostasis.
Our body is designed to be atthat at a certain point, at a
certain size.
There's that set point theorythat says that our body is going
to fight to stay at agenetically predetermined size.
(14:41):
So what happens when we loseweight?
Well, our metabolism will slowdown because, number one, our
body size is different and so weneed less.
But also, like it's like whoawe're, we're getting below where
we want to be.
You know, we're gonna, we mightbe slowing down this metabolism
.
And then the other thing that isinteresting is it can impact
(15:04):
our hormones that respond tofullness and satiety.
So ghrelin or ghrelin I usedifferent variations of it, I
don't really know why, butghrelin or ghrelin, however you
want to say it, that is a hungerhormone.
So that is what kicks in whenwe start growling and saying
like, okay, I need food, my bodyis out of energy.
(15:26):
Leptin is the hormone that says, okay, we've had enough, we're
satisfied, let's stop.
So I remember like growling,growling and leptin, let's stop.
But when we start to restrictand start to have this obsessive
behavior, that can impact ourhormones and so our hormones,
(15:46):
things are not working right.
The hormones that say, hey,you're hungry, hey, let's stop,
those don't work as well or asefficiently and so those are
kind of off.
So if we don't have ourinternal mechanisms to say eat,
stop, then it's going to beharder to listen to our body,
because our body is not going tobe saying no, what we, what it
(16:08):
needs.
I hope that makes sense.
Oftentimes diets will have likeyou can't have this and it's
like full on restriction.
How many of us have heard ofdiets that are like, okay, you
can't have gluten or dairy orsugar or corn or soy, like
there's.
There's so many differentthings of like full on
(16:29):
restriction.
Now, obviously, if your bodyhas a reason, like a medical
condition, for not to have those, then don't have them.
Like I don't as much as I thinkhighly of dairy products and
whey protein, my body justdoesn't work with very well with
that.
So, yeah, I do restrict it, butI do it because I know it
(16:49):
doesn't make me feel well.
Yeah, I do restrict it, but Ido it because I know it doesn't
make me feel well.
When we restrict, what canoften happen is it will turn
into binging on the other end.
So it's like, rather thansaying okay, I'm not going to
have any chocolate ever, when wecompletely take out a piece of
food or a food group, then thatcan rebound into eating way more
(17:11):
than we need, whereas if wesaid, okay, I'm just going to
have a small amount of thisbecause I can and I'm going to
enjoy it and savor it and besatisfied for it by it and then
move on, then it's just notgoing to be so much of a
psychological issue.
Another reason revolves aroundthis 3500 calories, or calories
(17:33):
in and calories out, math that Igrew up with.
I heard I have coached.
I now actually don't focus onthat.
In the first draft of your corestrength was this whole concept
of 3500 calories.
I have since taken out prettymuch any reference to calories,
but Leslie Schilling wasgracious enough to go through
(17:54):
and kind of go through it I jokethat she was the diet culture
head of the FBI for me with thatbook and she said actually that
has been debunked that 3500calories is equal to one pound
of adipose or body fat and thatactually is a lot more nuanced.
(18:14):
Now when we diet we're prettymuch focusing on calories in and
calories out, and there's justa lot of factors beyond that,
like genetics, your foodenvironment, your social factors
, like all of these play a rolein weight regulation.
That isn't just calories in,calories out.
(18:34):
I mean, obviously there is someenergy management by our body
that will result in bodycomposition or size, but it's
just it's not so structured likegetting on to whatever your
favorite food tracking app andtracking all of that again
(18:55):
doesn't allow for the nuance ofour bodies.
And also, fun fact the FDAallows for calorie estimates to
be off by as much as 20%.
So if you're looking at a labeland it says Okay, this is 200
calories, it might be, or itmight be 160 calories, or it
(19:18):
might be 240 calories.
And so if we're makingdecisions based off of what a
calculator in a computer thatwe're holding in our hand says,
rather than making decisionsbased off of our body and the
feedback that it provides, thenthere's a good chance that we're
(19:38):
going to be off.
So all of those things likewith the calories and calories
out 3500 calories, that the 20%like it just doesn't to me make
sense to try to diet per thefitness tracker or per counting
calories, because there's just alot of nuance with that.
(20:00):
Another reason that I'm choosingnot to lose weight and this
actually may be the primaryreason is it depends on the
statistics, but you will seeanywhere between 90 to 97% of
people who lose weight throughdieting will regain it within
(20:20):
two to five years, and many willend up heavier than when they
started.
I do not say this to bediscouraging.
If you have recently made somelifestyle changes and your body
size or composition has changed.
I do want to hold space forsomeone who has just made some
(20:42):
changes in their life.
Maybe they are eating morenutritionally dense foods.
Maybe they're eating morevegetables and fiber and protein
and fueling themselves better.
And maybe they're eating morevegetables and fiber and protein
and fueling themselves better.
And maybe they're moving andthis is a new lifestyle for them
.
And it may be that that is nottrue for them because they have
gone from one lifestyle andchanged it to another nether.
(21:17):
So I do want to hold space forsituations like that.
For me, I feel like an economicsprinciple I learned in college
is probably most applicable, andthat is the law of diminishing
returns and that basically saysas an investment in a particular
area increases, the rate ofprofit from that investment
after a certain point will notcontinue to increase if
everything else remains constantand your rate of return will
(21:40):
actually begin to decrease.
So in my Amy world, with withhealth and weight and all of
that kind of stuff, I feel likethere's some diminishing returns
of the investment of my timeand my energy.
From where I am right now, I amchecking a lot of boxes from a
(22:01):
health perspective.
Am I checking them all?
No, but that's by choice.
That's because I know for me,if I was going to check every
single health box all the time,that would take my heart into a
pattern and an obsessivebehavior that I don't want to do
anymore.
I've spent my time doing that.
Part of my journey is beingobsessive and part of my journey
(22:25):
is just focusing way more onthis kind of stuff than I want
to, and I don't want to do thatI.
That's not how I want to spendmy day, and we'll talk about
that here in the mindset in asecond.
But I am not willing at thispoint in my life to focus, to do
more and more and more andconstantly change the variables.
So the output or the weightloss is there, like I'm, just
(22:48):
there's not a whole lot I canchange right now.
Are there some things?
Yes, but there's just not awhole lot.
The final research back toreason why I'm choosing not to
lose weight is when we weightcycle.
So we drop the weight, we gainit back.
We drop the weight, we gain itback.
We know that when we drop theweight, a large percentage of us
(23:12):
are going to gain it back, andso it's just that, up and down,
up and down, up and down.
There are cardiovascular risksto that.
Now, as a woman in thatperimenopause phase, like my,
cardiovascular risk is alreadyincreasing because I'm not
producing estrogen, because thisis just the stage of my life.
If you are menopause or beyond,your cardiovascular risk is
(23:36):
increasing as well.
I don't want to increase therisk because my body size is
going up and down, and up anddown, and up and down.
Now, with all that said, I wantto be clear.
I do pay attention, particularlyto my blood metrics.
There are some things in myblood work that are having a bit
(23:56):
of an upward trend that I'm notcomfortable with, and so I will
be focusing on that, but in anon diet way.
I don't like seeing my LDLcoming up.
I've always had amazing LDL,and the last two blood works
I've had it's going up.
Well, guess what that's?
Because that's because of thephase that I'm in.
(24:18):
Well, I can talk about that onanother episode, if you're
interested in that.
But I am paying attention tosome other data, not the scale
data, not the BMI data, whichyou know how I feel about BMI.
It's not in the Bible, so let'sjust not worry about that.
But I am playing, payingattention to HDL, to LDL, to
(24:39):
triglycerides, to glucose, toA1C.
Those are the ones that arepertinent to me, that I'm like
Hmm, okay, I'm seeing a trendand I do feel like it's
important to make some changesto adjust those.
So I am not like willy nilly,whatever intuitive eating.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
No, I'm still applying thegentle nutrition, but I'm doing
(24:59):
it with a different mindset,which leads us into the mindset
of why I am choosing not to tryto lose weight.
When I am restricted, when Ihave to restrict because I am
dieting, I don't feel well.
I shared earlier that I used topractice intermittent fasting.
(25:20):
I don't anymore and let me tellyou how much better I feel at
9am now that I am eatingbreakfast.
That's fine.
That was part of my journey,it's part of my story and so it
is what it is.
It's not something I recommendnow, it's not something that I
practice now, and particularlywith the latest research from
(25:40):
the American Heart Associationsaying it increases your
cardiovascular risk.
But from a mindset perspective,I don't want to not feel well.
I don't want to intentionallymake myself not feel well
because I am restricting.
It also takes my heart awayfrom the joy of food.
I really like food.
(26:01):
There are some people out thereand I don't get it, but they're
like they could.
They just eat because theirbody says they need to eat and
then they don't think anythingof it.
I am not one of these people.
I enjoy food, I enjoy cooking,I enjoy exploring flavors, I
enjoy sitting around the tableand having a meal with my family
(26:23):
.
Now, granted every meal and I'mgoing to quote Leslie Schilling
on this, she said it and itmade me laugh and I think it's
so funny Not every meal is goingto be a party in my mouth, so I
am not like every meal is sowonderful and satisfying.
(26:45):
It might satisfy me in thatlike I'm not hungry anymore and
sometimes I'm just eatingbecause like it's leftover from
dinner and my job is to eat allof the leftover vegetables.
My husband and I joke like heeats some of the leftovers, I
eat other leftovers and then weget them all out.
So sometimes I'm eating becauseit was dinner last night and
because I just need to eat andthen just move on with the next
thing.
(27:05):
But I don't want to lose the joyof food.
God gave us so many differentfoods and it's fun and it's
enjoyable and I don't want tolose that.
And when I'm dieting andrestricting, I'm losing it
because it's blah and it'sboring and it's like chicken
breast and broccoli and you know, and is that it?
(27:25):
I don't know, like I'm not.
No, I'm not doing it.
I'm not doing it.
Another reason is because somany years ago and many of you
have heard this story I heardGod whispering to me you are
spending more time thinkingabout the food you're going to
eat and the exercise you'regoing to do than you are about
me, and it took me a long timeto shift that and I still do,
(27:52):
admittedly, like I feel, like Ithink about this kind of stuff a
lot, but I think about it notfrom an inward facing focus, but
from an outward, so I can servemy community, so I can help
educate, so I can help giveother perspectives.
So there, once again, a duality, like there's that.
But in terms of that inwardself focused, I don't want to go
(28:14):
back there.
I don't want God to call me outagain hey, amy, you're thinking
more about you than you areabout me.
So I don't want to do that, andthat's what happens when I diet
.
I also don't want to create thisidol out of a particular body
size.
And, yeah, I can idolize thebody that I had 5, 10, 15, 20,
(28:39):
30 years ago so easily If I, ifI let myself.
I'm not looking at anyone else.
I'm not looking at them.
I I shouldn't say that I trynot to it can.
The comparison thing can creepin for sure, especially when I
look at other women my age andI'm like why hasn't this hit
(29:00):
them Like it has me, Like thisis not something I am proud to
admit.
I don't like that.
I think it but I do, and so I'mhonest about it.
But in general, my comparisonand my idolizing now is really
on my past self, and I don't.
I don't want to do that.
(29:22):
I've talked a lot like I'mdifferent.
I've grown.
I talked last week about thegoodness that God has grown in
me and I like that.
I like that, and so I don'tneed to idolize a shell, a, just
a body from previously, when Ilike the inside of what has
(29:44):
happened better, the finalmindset piece that I want to put
out there, and I'm I'm reallystruggling with how to say this.
Well, but I'm, I am doing whatGod has called me to do.
I never intended to do a.
(30:06):
I never wanted to write a blog.
I mean, 10 years ago I said theworld does not need another
health and fitness blogger.
We just didn't.
I didn't want to blog.
I didn't want to turn that intopodcasting.
I hadn't really planned onwriting a book.
I did have a dream when I wasin middle school that I wanted
to write a book, but it wouldn'thave been about this Like this
(30:29):
is.
This is just where God hascalled me to be, and I do feel
like he is asking me to walk thewalk.
He's kind of saying, amy,you're saying over and over,
health is not a size and we takecare of ourselves so we can do
what we're called to do.
And I'm asking you to live thatout, I hope, if nothing else,
(30:54):
if you too have seen your bodysize change, you know that
you're not alone.
And if you're struggling withthe duality of believing that
health is not a size and you canbe healthy in whatever size
body God gave you and grievingthat change, you're not alone
(31:17):
because I'm right there with you.
And so if my bigger body is anencouragement to anyone, if it
helps you process your ownthoughts or your emotions, then
I'm here for it.
Let's be honest there are muchworse things that God could be
(31:38):
asking me to live out.
If you need a story around that, you can go read the book of
Job.
If you need a story around that, you can go read the book of
Job, like Job probably wouldhave liked to have gained some
weight rather than all of theother stuff Like this.
This is nothing.
This is just internal, stupidattacks from the enemy.
(32:00):
That you know what my God isgreater than that.
Attacks from the enemy that youknow what my God is greater
than that.
And my God, with his help, canhelp change my mind and change
my heart and get the focus offmy body size, and I want to
leave you with this.
I've been trying to figure outthe right way to say this as
well.
If I'm honest, I fear thatpeople who have known me for a
(32:27):
while may look at me and say,man, she's really gotten bigger,
she's really let herself go.
That is not true.
I am still doing the thingsthat are important to me, that
are important to my physical, mymental and my spiritual health,
and I believe you are too.
(32:51):
I believe you are too, and youand I may have some different
priorities, but we have not letourself go.
We are holding onto ourpriorities our priorities of
community, our priorities ofsatisfaction, our priorities of
finding joy in food and joy inmovement, even if that's
different.
We have not let ourself go.
(33:13):
We are holding on to ourpriorities.
What's next for my body?
I don't know.
I don't know, but I do knowthat I am trusting God with my
body, as I honor it by moving itin a way that brings me joy, by
feeding it when I'm hungry andwith foods that make me feel and
(33:36):
function well in my body, in mymind, in my spirit, and knowing
that he made me and he createdme, and that is good enough.
Okay, that is all for today.
Go out there and have a gracedday.
Hey, as we wrap up, if you areinterested in seeing the sources
(34:01):
for some of the research Iprovided today, those will be in
the show notes.
Also, if you are interested inchecking out your core strength,
even if you don't have a youngwoman, if you just want to read
it for yourself, that's fine.
You can read it too.
You can find that virtuallyanywhere online, and I will have
the links in the show notes aswell.
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