By Jeanne Rust, PhD, Founder and CEO, Mirasol Eating Disorder Recovery Centers
In this morning’s New York Times appeared the article, “Tossing Out the Diet and Embracing the Fat.” Whew!! Quite a mouthful. Easier said than done when someone has been accustomed to dieting and hating the fat for years.
As a therapist who has treated hundreds — if not thousands — of compulsive eaters who are overweight according to our beloved insurance charts and BMI tables, I wish someone could wave that magic wand and have everyone who has lived on and off diets for most of their lives be happy just with themselves as they are.
So many women live sad lives of “when I lose the weight” or “if I’m able to take it off by Christmas,” my life will be pretty perfect! So many lives of creative, brilliant women literally on hold with these unattainable dreams.
It could be that we might be in the midst of a bit of a paradigm shift. Even Oprah “now sites her goal as not being ‘thin, but ‘healthy and strong and fit.” What a statement! I’ve always thought that Oprah manages to look pretty snappy even when she’s heavier! She’s certainly an attractive woman. What would it take for more and more American women to say, “You know, I think I’ll be like Oprah! I think my goal will be to be fit, strong, and healthy.”
