Dear Eating Disorder Dietitian, What IS My Healthy Weight?
Tiffany Haug, MS, RDN, EDOC
This piece was written by Tiffany Mei Haug, MS, RDN, EDOC and first published on November 16, 2017 on the blog Freedom With Nutrition
Dear Reader,
This is an age old question and I know it feels so important.
I'm sincerely sorry for all the answers you’ve been given to this question in the past that have led you to believe the answer is a single static number.
It’s not.
And even if it is for now, it won’t always be the same number. So here is my best effort to answer this question that burdens you, because society has taught you that it matters most. Actually I would go 10 steps further to say that society has taught you that it is your life’s mission (it isn’t).
Deep breath, & here we go:
A healthy weight in the broadest sense factors in the weight your body naturally settles at when you are nourishing and moving (or not moving) your body in a way that makes sense for you at any given stage in your life.
A healthy weight is a place where your physical health is not placed on a pedestal of superior importance above all other aspects of your health (psychological, emotional, relational, and spiritual).
A healthy weight is a place where you did your very best to feed your family consistently this month, in a way that made sense within your grocery budget.
A healthy weight is a place where you are receiving meaning from your life outside of your weight.
A healthy weight is a place where you can go on a 2 week camping trip with friends and be able to eat those canned beans and grilled cheese sandwiches and move or not move in a way that doesn’t isolate you from spontaneous social experiences.
A healthy weight is being able to give yourself permission to sleep in a little bit longer this morning and skip the gym since your 6 year old was up all night and you desperately need the sleep.
A healthy weight is whatever amount of weight a mother needs to gain for her pregnancy (and whatever happens after), according to her body’s own innate wisdom.
“A healthy weight is being able to have that sample of dumplings at Costco without mentally adjusting how this will impact your lunch or snack.”
A healthy weight is saying yes to that free yoga class at that cool studio your friend invited you to, even though it's not the run you had originally intended for today.
A healthy weight is dynamic.
A healthy weight is nuanced.
A healthy weight is compassionate.
There is no "perfect" healthy weight.
Yours most sincerely,
Tiffany
Tiffany Haug, MS, RDN, EDOC is Master's level Dietitian in San Diego who specializes in helping individuals with Eating Disorders make peace with food and their bodies. Tiffany knows that working through recovery can be incredibly hard. Being herself recovered for almost a decade, she is incredibly honored to now be able to give back by supporting her clients along this challenging, but so-very-worth-it journey. In addition to being an Outpatient Eating Disorder Dietitian at a group practice dedicated to exclusively treating eating disorders, Tiffany serves as the Education Chair for the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (IAEDP) San Diego Chapter and also works as a Dietitian at Center for Discovery in Del Mar, CA. Learn more about Tiffany here.
