I was compensated by Med-IQ through an educational grant from Novo Nordisk, Inc. to write about the realities of obesity as a chronic disease. All opinions are my own.
Can we talk about how stressful the past few months have been? I have been working a full time job from home, running a business and helping my child with her schoolwork. Thankfully my husband is here to help, but even so, the sheer amount of stress is overwhelming. And when I’m stressed, I eat.
Anyone else find eating a giant bowl of pasta comforting? I keep seeing all these Instagram posts and news stories telling me about self-care, and at-home workouts.And I feel like a loser if I’m not motivated to lose weight or get healthy while we’re under quarantine. I’m just trying to get through the day.
That doesn’t mean I’m not doing things to take care of myself like going for walks or jumping on the trampoline with my daughter. Every little bit of movement I can get is re-energizing especially for someone like me. I know I have obesity and I need all the help I can get to stay healthy. Wow. Just typing that word is powerful, right? There is so much stigma around the word obese and obesity and many women are afraid to type it much less say it or talk about it with someone.
I want to share some tools with you that will help you navigate those conversations. That’s why I’m thrilled to work with a company like Med-IQ who is actively working to generate awareness of obesity and its status as a chronic disease. Med-IQ is an accredited medical education company that provides an exceptional educational experience for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other health care professionals. Together we want to encourage you to know the facts about obesity and elevate the conversation you have with that voice in your head.
Steps to Empower You:
1. Choose Your Words Carefully. The word “obesity” conjures up powerful feelings for a lot of people. So if you think you have obesity ” So instead of saying you are obese, you can start saying I have obesity. Just like anyone else would if they have a disease. Words are powerful so don’t give the word obesity so much power.
2. Maintain, don’t gain! I was recently on a conference call with Donna Ryan, MD: President of the World Obesity Federation. She encouraged me to stop worrying about losing weight during the pandemic, or in life. The goal should be to
maintain, don’t gain. I know I have obesity and even the slightest amount of stress could set me back in terms of what I eat. So my goal is not to try to be skinny, but just to not gain any weight. That feels infinitely more manageable than a full workout program right now, don’t you agree?
3. Weight is complex. Med-IQ isn’t trying to get people to lose weight or feel bad for having obesity. This is not just the number on the scale or “calories in and calories out”, it’s about your overall health, and. not just the number on the scale.
People suffering with obesity concerned about their weight should also discuss consider changes in blood pressure, cholesterol, waistline circumference and overall body fat composition with their doctorwhen judging whether or not their health has been improved by any weight management strategy. Don’t just focus on the number on the scale.
4. Don’t forget to celebrate your accomplishments. Didn’t gain any weight this week? Celebrate it! Walk around the block without getting over tired? Celebrate it! Whatever small victories you might be reaching are worth celebrating. Don’t forget to cut yourself some slack the way any other patient with a disease would when they have a setback.
This is such a tough time for everyone around the country and around the world. Be kind to yourself. Know that the words you say and the words you think about yourself are powerful. So make sure you’re using the right words and understand why it’s important to know you have for weight gain and obesity. and it doesn’t have to be a death sentence or just a number on the scale. Use this power and knowledge from OAC and Med-IQ the next time you visit your doctor to be a strong advocate for yourself. Before you go out into the world and take charge of your health, I want to encourage you to take this survey from Med-IQ. It’s free, and helps them learn more about patients fighting obesity.
Med-IQ is conducting an anonymous survey and would appreciate your input. The survey, which includes additional education on this topic, will take less than 15 minutes to complete. Survey responses are shared only in aggregate. Your responses to these survey questions will provide Med-IQ with important information about your experiences with obesity and your care team, which will help us develop future educational initiatives. Once you’ve completed the survey, you will have the option of providing your email address to be entered into a drawing administered by SOMA Strategies to win 1 of 10 $100 VISA gift cards. If you choose to enter, your email address will be used only
to randomly draw the winners and notify them of their prize and to send a follow-up survey as part of this same initiative.
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