168: I Feel Fat

Thrive Beyond Size

Hello everyone, welcome to another episode. Today I really want to talk about something important that starts with a personal story. The story is from when Rob and I were camping a couple of weeks ago and has to do with how I felt about shopping for and trying on clothes in my favorite clothing store in Canmore. I love a certain brand and I know they fit well but I decided to try on a new brand in my size and it did not flatter at all. It was constricting and felt terrible. And I had already felt out of place walking in because I’d come straight off a hike with Rob and was dusty and in hiking gear. All of this culminated in this thought popping into my head: “I feel fat.” And I want to talk about what we actually mean when we think that. I want to break that down and take away its power today.

The truth is that when we say we “feel fat” we are actually talking about something else. Because fat is not a feeling. It’s not an emotion. But the word ‘fat’ does carry a lot of weight in our thin-obsessed society and it is a loaded term. We use it to express feelings of inadequacy or discomfort or, in my case, even failure. So I want us to think about what we’re really saying when we say “I feel fat”. When I said that, I projected all my feelings onto my body. I projected society’s idea of fatness as equal to being undesirable or worthless onto my own body. But my body was not the problem. My emotions were what I needed to deal with. Let me say that directly to each of you. Just because you feel discomfort in your body doesn’t mean your body is the problem. I want to help you shift your focus away from blaming your body and help you build a more compassionate relationship with it. I want to help reframe what we mean when we say “I feel fat”. Join me in this episode as I unpack what’s really behind that sentence and how we can remove our bodies as the target of our emotions.

__

About Dr. Michelle Tubman:

Dr. Michelle Tubman is certified by the American Board of Obesity Medicine, which means she understands exactly what's happening in your body when you diet. Although she does not provide any medical advice in her coaching programs, this knowledge gives her an edge over most coaches.

She also holds Level 1 and Level 2 Precision Nutrition coaching certifications which make her skilled at coaching nutrition, dietary change, and habit change in general. Realizing that emotional eating and bingeing are complicated for most of us, she also did training in mind-body and intuitive eating. Peace around food is possible.

__

Learn more about Dr. Michelle Tubman and Wayza Health:

• Website: www.wayzahealth.com
• Follow me on Facebook and Instagram
• Email Michelle: [e-mail]