Is LC Morphing to HAES? Part VIII: Can you be? Are You?

HAES = Health At Every Size

It is the brainchild of Dr. Linda Bacon.

Let’s face facts. We’ve lost the war on obesity. Fighting fat hasn’t made the fat go away. And being thinner, even if we knew how to successfully accomplish it, will not necessarily make us healthier or happier. The war on obesity has taken its toll. Extensive “collateral damage” has resulted: Food and body preoccupation, self-hatred, eating disorders, discrimination, poor health... Few of us are at peace with our bodies, whether because we’re fat or because we fear becoming fat.

Health at Every Size is the new peace movement.Very simply, it acknowledges that good health can best be realized independent from considerations of size. It supports people—of all sizes—in addressing health directly by adopting healthy behaviors.

For those who hadn't heard it a bunch of times from my participation on discussion boards, I'll preface this post with my personal story.  After almost becoming anorexic and then bulimic in my late teens, and spending the next 15 or so years yo yo dieting intermittently with binge eating, I again had topped out in the 200-210 lb range wearing my usual "backstop" size 14/16/18 (whatever the biggest size in regular departments were with variation was that limit).  I decided to try Atkins for the first time.  Rapidly dropped around 40 lbs down to a size 8.   For various reasons, I drifted off the diet - never really "broke" it - and in a couple of years time I had gained back the 40 and added a whopping 60+ more!  How can that happen?  Well, one reason was I gained weight differently than I ever had before so that my weight went up far more rapidly than my pants size.  In 2002 I decided to give the Atkins diet a second try.  It worked quite well again and I dropped from 20's down to 12's.  This time with my efforts, however, came some rather frightening health issues that I believe relate to hypoglycemia.  My brother passed away suddenly during this time, and the stress of that period no doubt contributed, but I was experiencing these weird feelings prior to that, often w/o even the slightest exertion and when I did exert some -- e.g. pilates -- there were times I had to stop and sit still waiting for the racing heart to calm down.  Batteries of tests found nothing but I noticed eating a few carbs helped the situation so I ... drifted again off the plan and in a couple of years had put the weight back on along with who knows how many more pounds.  

By this point I reached a size in my life that was physically "disabling".  No, I wasn't disabled, I was still quite active, but my ankles would swell if I was on my feet for even short periods.  I got winded easily.  I was at that point where airplane seats became more than uncomfortable for just me.  Other conveniences a normal sized person takes for granted -- like being able to walk to the bathroom in a reasonably spaced restaurant w/o my ass taking along Morty's toupee -- let alone fitting comfortably in some bathroom stalls, etc. started to become inconveniences for me.   The regain of all that weight and then some was mentally debilitating.  I just couldn't imagine what the point of even trying again was if I was only going to lose weight, gain it back and get even more obese.  I actually had those "conversations with myself"  for well over a year.  I think had I found HAES in 2007, I might still be that morbidly obese person, likely weighing over 300 lbs wearing stretched out 20W pants and Men's 2XL tee shirts.  

You see, aside from the ankles and discomforts, I was otherwise healthy.   My lipids were probably out of whack a bit (they were a little off when I got almost that large the last time, I boycotted the doctor this time), but my BP was normal, I healed quickly and I was rarely sick.  These are benchmarks I hear many rattle off and I agree they are markers pointing towards health.  I was pretty resigned that I would just learn to be a happy, or at least content, fat person because that would be better than going through it all again.  Something -- a picture of myself I did not recognize -- something, I can't even pinpoint the date, I think it was in June 2007, when I just decided that was not me and I was going to do something about it.  I set no goals.  I told nobody but my husband and later my sister, I did not step on a scale or take out a measuring tape.  I just went out and purchased a pair of 18W's of the same style pants I was wearing 20W's and decided to do Atkins induction whenever possible.  And the weight fell off as the sizes went down.  By August vacation I was in 16W's, by January 2008 vacation I was in 14's and by May of that year I could squeeze into the size 10's of the same style/brand.  Sometime in Fall of 08 I fit into my first pair of Lee size 10 jeans that I wear now and that pair is long since in the trash heap from being worn out!  

If there are any lingering suspicions that I'm some sort of lying Agro mole consortium out to bring down low carb nutrition, I ask they read this post on Jimmy's forum:  I want to cry .  It was as shocking to me to have exceeded my wildest hopes size-wize and still see a weight over 200 lbs on the scale.  You might also notice I was a pretty dedicated low carber at the time believing that buckling down on LC would be the answer.  It was not. You can find me participating in the biweekly induction challenges, etc. and really the only thing that budged my weight was the first few weeks of IF before my weight resettled around 10 lbs lighter.  It's been right around that mark for three years now.  I've recomposed a bit and wear smaller sizes on top than I did.  But as my detractors about the net are anxious to point out, I'm still fat!  LOL.

I personally do not believe that this is the best I can do for my health or my looks, even though I'm healthy and capable and strong (like bull!), and however I may look in pictures doesn't reflect how I look in person.   Clothing sizes don't lie, nor, for that matter do the looks I get from men.  Still, I have again shelved the idea of doing another sprint tri for another year as I'll be damned if I'm going to subject my knees to running weighing almost 200 lbs.  

But actually, I think I would make a very good poster chick for the HAES movement.  Even though I've lost probably 100 lbs and many pants sizes, I've screeched to a halt far short of achieving a "normal" body weight.  And, I'm healthy.   Now I'm not trying to say that I'm better than anyone else ... I'll leave that to the low carbers who belittle all the stupid fat people and diabetics who somehow manage to lose weight and control their blood sugar levels eating more than a starch molecule here and there.  What I am saying, however, without reservation, is that one thing I have done IS better.  I have maintained.  And not by yo yo-ing and forever hopping on the next challenge or fad plan, or by binging one month then rededicating the next, rinse, repeat.   It was the one promise or dedication I made to myself this time.  Whatever weight I took off, even if it wasn't some arbitrary goal number, it wasn't going back on.  

If Laura Dolson lost 35 lbs to remain obese to this day and it has improved her health and her weight remains relatively stable.  You know?  More power to her.  Perhaps she should join Bacon's movement, or perhaps she should be up front on her About bio as to this reality.    I'm not belittling her or making fun of her, but I will point out folks who land at About.com looking for info on LC Diets are looking for weight loss advice, plain and simple.  Laura Dolson makes a poor guide in this regard.

Jimmy Moore is fond of saying that he doesn't weigh 410 lbs anymore.  That's great!  But I'll be the first to tell you that I wouldn't be able to "brag" over 100 lbs lost had I not gotten to be 300 lbs in the first place.  At some point, how many pounds a person has lost is MEANINGLESS.  Don't get me wrong -- it is a huge accomplishment to lose a significant amount of weight.  HUGE.  But it is NOT healthy if you are not able to keep it off in some sort of sane fashion.  And I'm not talking about gaining 5 or even 10 lbs over the holidays and tightening up one's eating choices to lose a few for that upcoming swimsuit unveiling.  Surely even at 275 or even 300 lbs he's better off than at 410, but that doesn't make what he's doing healthy to "maintain".  His cholesterol levels indicate metabolic upheaval and he can rationalize that they are "spectacular" because it's all fluffy LDL all he wants.  He's still a relatively young man -- turns just 40 end of this year -- though he looks quite a bit older in my opinion.  Time is on his side ... for now ... but he should listen to those around him who caution him that this will only get harder each time he puts his body through another drastic weight cycle.

Would Linda Bacon approve of this version of HAES?  I would think not.  But you see, despite the protestations of Jimmy and so many of his overweight/obese guests and yo-yo dieters on the Low Carb Conversations podcast, almost to a one they are still pursuing weight loss and still anxious to share their "fabulous results" with readers - when they are losing weight.  Because, you see, when they are in the act of losing, LC is working for them.   In Jimmy's case, when he's not, it's not the diet, it's something cah-rrraaaazzzy going on with his body -- don't look at me now, wait until the next challenge ... I'm healthy!!!   In many other cases the story is similar.  Only we don't get the blow-by-blow of the weight gain.  We get the mea culpa several weeks, months and sometimes, yikes! years ... I put on a *few* pounds, I made *some* bad choices, etc. etc.  All downplayed considerably and ultimately blamed on that super-addictive power of the glucose molecule in its various forms.  LC is where it's at baaaaaaabbbby.  There's no turning back now!

Even Gary Taubes in his Oz appearance boiled it down to this:  Will you lose weight?  Because, you see, you can't get around that Atkins and related LC plans are for weight loss.  Bacon will tell you, despite the fortuitous name similarity to a fave LC food, you can be HAES having your cake and making it with wheat flour and icing it with sugar too!  

AFAIC, LC is *NOT* working for you if you find that you :

• Fail to lose significant weight at all (far more stories here than are acknowledged)
• Have plateaued out at a higher than desired weight (Me! - and countless others)
• Are regaining despite sticking to the plan (there are many stories of this happening to "real" people who are mostly made fun of and accused of not following the diet properly or cutting their carbs to zero, Jimmy, Dana C.)
• Are regaining because you repeatedly "fall off the wagon" and can't get back on until serious damage has been done requiring a re-commitment (Amy D., at least a dozen members of Jimmy's LLVLC forum I could name w/o even thinking)
• Are avoiding medications when you are unable to stick to LC but want to keep trying, and trying and trying while your health spirals out of control.

The absolute most dangerous thing Gary Taubes came out with lately is this notion of the hopelessly damaged metabolism nonsense.  That LC is going to be your best last chance for success, and if you fall short you better just get used to your sealed fate.  

I'm all for accepting the realities of falling short.  Indeed I admit to doing so myself ... repeatedly ... and to this day.   In my case, this is made easier by the fact that despite what the scale says, I'm looking pretty good these days and of a "normal" size.  But that also makes it harder for me to muster the determination ... and that dirty word in LC circles -- WILLPOWER ... to make another push.  It's been brewing lately and I've always been an all-or-nothing type.  If I can boast over anything these days it's that I found a way around this personality trait to get off the "diet-mentality" thing (and I'll address the WOE thing soon ...) and learned to tread water to maintain the status quo after achieving success.  I wish I could bottle that secret!  LOL.  It would sell out over Metabasol any day!  Double-LOL.

So now in closing, let's answer those questions in this post title.  

1.  Can you be healthy at EVERY size?  No.  Each of us has a size at which adiposity is contributing more or less to metabolic derangement and health risk.  There's no getting around this, and despite what doctors say, there's really no singular or even multiple BMI or absolute weight cut-off.  Hypertension, insulin resistance, lipotoxicity, impaired glucose tolerance, frank diabetes ... to name a few.   The reality is that some can get away with a much higher degree of adiposity before the adverse effects set in (I appear to have been one of those to an extent) ... others cannot.  File it in the "it's not fair" folder and get on with it.  For you, weight loss IS imperative if you are to manage your health w/o medications if you find yourself with elevated or depressed this or that levels.  There's no getting around it.  That Jane Jones is healthy at 400 lbs is IRRELEVANT to you!  And before I move on from this, there are other measures of health besides CVD risk, lipids and blood sugar levels.  Getting frequent bronchitis, pneumonia, suffering gout, shingles, hypothyroid attacks,  yeast or UT infections, edema, infertility, acne, arthritis, boils, etc. etc. etc.   These all reflect and impact health.   Despite the claims that VLC cures all, the blogs and journals and such tell another story.   

2.  Are you healthy?  This is for each of us to answer.  For me, the answer is yes.  But I feel I can still improve my health by decreasing my adiposity further.   The revelations of health issues many LC'ers share despite claims of stellar health indicate many of these folks either aren't healthy or they could also be in a state of better health.

Here's where I stand on all of this.  We all have to be honest and accountable to ourselves and our God if we so believe.  I do believe the "LC for health" mantra is WAY overstated and misleading.  No, sat fat is not inherently fattening or going to cause CVD.  This does not mean that buttering your fatty steak is a healthy practice either.  Low carbers get diseases like the rest of us.  Atkins highlighted a celeb gossip reporter in his first book.  She died at 69 of cancer.  Low carbers get fibroids, skin cancer (both Eades), PCOS, prediabetes, pneumonia, infections, viruses, degenerative arthritis, etc. ad infinitum.  

While you're thinking outside the USDA Food Pyramid box (as if that was really the cause of the problem to begin with), think outside the LC Dogma single cube on a Rubic's cube.