2016 and obviously struggling with my health and, consequently, my weight.
“I know people who are viewed as having the ideal diet and exercise regimen who drop dead suddenly because they weren’t actually healthy.”
Fit but Fat?
As someone who has been heavy my whole life, I was offended by an article I saw that said being fit but being fat was a myth. How dare someone judge like that?
However, once I jumped down off my high horse and really evaluated the statement, I felt compelled to share my experiences as a fat woman who has been healing herself steadily for a decade now.
During that time, I have lost 150 pounds and counting. I never focused on losing weight, mind you. During my younger years, I reached close to the weight I was in the picture from 2016 (3 years after I’d started school, and while I was still struggling to find health). It was my highest weight ever. I’d gotten close before, but I would always diet and lose the weight. I usually starved myself to lose the weight.
Today, I am not at my lowest weight, but I actually think my body will normalize at a weight similar to my very lowest in adulthood in the next year or two.
You see, my goal now isn’t weight. I recognize weight for what it is. This is why I am sharing this article today–to share some of what I’ve learned about weight and how to really lose it.
But back to the topic at hand. Can you be fat and still fit? Yes, I think if you take those two terms, you can be. You see, fit isn’t healthy. Fit is strong and able to do the things you want to do. While fit has the definition of healthy, it actually isn’t. It can have that definition, but when used in the phrase fat but fit, it doesn’t work in terms of health.
I know plenty of folk who are heavy and healthier than those who are thin and “fit”. I also know people who are viewed as having the ideal diet and exercise regimen who drop dead suddenly because they weren’t actually healthy. People say, “If it can happen to them… they did everything right!” However, they don’t know.
What it means to be fat
So, back to the question at hand. Can you be healthy and fat? Yes and no. You see, fat is a symptom or side effect of your body struggling. It is an outward sign of your body being unable to let go of the weight. It is usually a combination of psychological reason (like me using my weight to keep others away and pad myself) as well as a physical reason (too many toxins where my body couldn’t let go of the weight it was using to protect itself from even more damage).
So, what makes us fat? I remember that spikey-haired woman screaming when I was younger to stop the insanity and saying eating fat made us fat. It seemed to make sense. I jumped onto the low-fat bandwagon! However, that wasn’t the solution for me. Eating less can help, but I know people who eat less and still struggle to lose weight. Exercise can help. However, again, I know people who exercise and struggle.
So what causes us to be fat? It is toxicity. There is always a level of the body trying to protect itself. Being fat is an outward sign there is a buildup of toxins in the body.
It is why I don’t ever work with someone who just wants to lose weight. That isn’t the point they should be focused on. Yes, could I work with them in a roundabout way? Sure, but to make lasting changes, they need to realize they are fat because of toxicity and be ready to work to clear the toxicity.
Something is out of balance. We are holistic beings, so it is probably something in several levels to get to the point of manifesting as physical weight gain. To make changes means you need to reestablish balance and harmony within the body, mind, and spirit.
2023, getting even healthier.
What it means to be healthy
So, knowing that fat but fit is possible but it doesn’t mean healthy, can you be fat and healthy is the next logical question.
Yes, but only if you are improving your health. You absolutely can still be fat but healthier than you were and healthier than someone who is simply thin.
I am healthier now than I ever was in my life–from my heaviest moment to my lightest moment.
So, does weight even matter? To some, yes. I am not one of those people. I am much more interested in what your health looks like. At my heaviest ever, I was around 420 pounds. At my lightest as an adult, I was 200. That still sounds high. Keep in mind, I am 5’11” and have thick bones. Those sound like excuses, but I am not a short woman, nor am I ever going to be accused of being willowy. I have made peace with those facts. In fact, I love myself so much more than I have at any point in my life too (another aspect of being healthier–I have a better mental state).
So, what does it mean to be healthy? It means I work to eliminate the toxins in my life. I do this by eating cleanly, getting plenty of healthy fats to help my body let go of toxin-ridden fat, drinking plenty of good water, exercising my body and mind, working through even tough emotions, and cleansing twice a year (so long as I am strong enough to do so, otherwise I focus on building). I do this by doing the things I always recommend to all my clients. Those basic things that make such a difference! Those things that work to change your life and not just your waistline.
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Using natural modalities, Dr. Hartford works to transform her clients’ health every day. She has worked with thousands of clients from all walks of life. Let her help you find the natural solution for your natural health.
Dr. Ylona Hartford
Traditional Naturopath
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