So Good It's Bad.

A friend of mine was raving about her looks-like-I-was-in-the-kitchen all day cranberry chicken that only takes 15 minutes to make. Cranberry sauce, a stick of butter, and some spices get mixed on the stovetop and then poured over the chicken. A magical 30 minutes later, your gourmet chicken comes out of the oven and your kids are ready to sign you up for Top Chef.  

She had me at the 15 minute prep time, but I let her go on about how it tastes so good and smells so delicious (insert gesticulating arms). But, she lamented quietly, it’s not very healthy with that stick of butter. 

I thought about what “health” really meant to her (and maybe you) at that moment.

Health didn’t mean having a meal on the table for her family to enjoy each other’s company and conversation.
Health didn’t mean gaining back minutes or hours of food prep time so that she had more time to do what she needed/wanted that night.
Health didn’t mean eating something for the sake of joy and comfort.

To her, health simply meant if I eat something with a stick of butter, I might not stay or become skinny and then I’ll be “unhealthy”.

Health = size was her equation.

You maybe were taught this health = size equation in school, at home, at the doctor’s office, or with your friends. You’re not to blame for this miscalculation. You’re literally swimming in diet culture’s constant barrage of ads, campaigns, billboards and commercials that want to convince you that this health = size equation is indeed true and correct so they can make their billion(s) dollar profit. 

I give you full permission to ignore the health and size correlation. Ragen Chastain just wrote a must read piece on this topic. Yes size is correlated with certain health conditions, but this correlation DOESN’T MEAN CAUSATION. That’s statistics 101. Just because two things, like weight and certain health conditions, are correlated doesn’t mean that one thing causes the other thing. Ragen points out that perhaps it’s not the weight that causes adverse health conditions, but the weight cycling (repeated dieting), weight stigma and inequalities in healthcare that are to blame for certain conditions seen in individuals with bigger body sizes. 

It's easy to get caught up in our current diet and lifestyle obsessed culture where everyone is just one green juice, one yoga retreat or one Peloton ride away from perfect “health”. But health is far more than just our physical appearance and ability. 

Health is too often promoted as what I can do to be thin.  True health is really much more diverse encompassing mind, body and spirit and doesn’t just prioritize physical appearance.

What’s your definition of health? Maybe it’s time to redefine what health means to you. Do you want your version of health to be about zero sugar intake or zero regrets in your life because you had enough mental and physical energy you needed to make your mark? 

You decide. I’m off to get my stick of butter.