Weight loss and body image are complex issues that affect people from all walks of life. This article explores the challenges and triumphs of women navigating societal pressures around weight, drawing on the experiences of journalist Mika Brzezinski and other women who have publicly shared their struggles with food and body image. It also provides insights into how to develop a healthier relationship with food and exercise.
The Pressure to Be Thin
Many women face immense pressure to conform to societal ideals of thinness. This pressure can lead to unhealthy relationships with food, including disordered eating patterns, excessive exercise, and body image issues. Mika Brzezinski, co-host of MSNBC's "Morning Joe," has been candid about her lifelong struggle with food and weight. Despite being a successful and seemingly "thin" woman, Brzezinski has battled multiple eating disorders, including bulimia and orthorexia nervosa. She openly admits to a cycle of overeating, starving, binging, and excessive exercise.
Brzezinski's experience highlights the fact that the struggle with food and body image can affect anyone, regardless of their size or perceived success.
The Myth of Weight Loss Through Exercise
The common misconception that exercise automatically leads to weight loss can be particularly damaging. Many people start exercising with the primary goal of losing weight, and when they don't see the desired results, they become discouraged. This is exemplified by a runner who, upon signing up for her first marathon, immediately thought about how much weight she would lose. However, as she trained, she started gaining weight, leading to feelings of betrayal and frustration.
Marathon nutritionist and dietician Kristy Baumann explains that when our bodies are moving so much, they become more efficient at preserving glycogen-a stored form of carbohydrates-so that muscles can use this energy during workouts. But crucially, this isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it’s a sign that you’re doing things right. “In order to feel good on your runs, in order to adapt to the training, you have to make sure that you’re eating enough to support that,” she says. “If you’re running to lose weight-and lots of people do it for that reason-you’re asking to be burnt out and injured.”
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Reputable research has shown that overly restrictive diets are rarely effective for athletes. In fact, they often can lead to a decline in performance and injury. The not-eating-enough lifestyle can also negatively impact runners’ iron levels, immune systems, and stress responses. Instead of worrying that I didn’t “look like a runner,” I should’ve been paying more attention to what my body really needed.
Reframing the Narrative: Embracing Strength and Performance
Increasingly, young women are outright rejecting this toxic framing. The experience of training has, in fact, managed to rewire their entire view of eating and exercise-even outside of training, which is a Herculean feat given the pervasive pressure American women are under to be the thinnest possible versions of themselves. Their videos, racking up hundreds of thousands of views and with lively, affirming comment sections, were like an open invitation to a run club that’s always accepting new members. And I wanted to be one of them.
For many women, focusing on performance rather than appearance has been transformative. Megan Kanai, a 28-year-old content creator, shared that gaining weight while running reframed her entire perspective after years of struggling with eating disorders. “I got so obsessed with that feeling of doing something hard that I never thought I could do that it stopped being about my physique and became more about performance,” says Megan.
Nicole Winter, a 29-year-old certified personal trainer from Austin who posts about her marathon training, said putting on extra weight showed her that women are usually expected to prioritize how they look above all else. “I’m tired of women not enjoying our lives and not doing the things we want to because society wants us to look a certain way,” she says. “We see that we should be this ideal body type and we should do this to be lean and ‘healthy’ and there’s so much pressure.” She posts videos about the positives of marathon weight gain so that other women can avoid the shame. “The body that’s gaining weight is going to carry you through 26.2 miles.
Mika Brzezinski's Turning Point
Brzezinski's journey towards a healthier relationship with food involved confronting her own eating issues and seeking help from professionals. She realized that her obsession with food was affecting her health and well-being. After a lifetime of binge eating and purging and exercising excessively, Brzezinski realized that she suffered from a food addiction and wrote the story of her troubles in a new book, “Obsessed.” The tale took root after she had a conversation with one of her friends, Diane Smith, who had gained about 100 pounds over the course of their friendship. While she was telling Smith she was worried about her health because of the weight gain, Brzezinski realized that she, too, shared many of the same poor eating habits as her overweight friend.
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With the support of a psychologist and a nutritionist, Brzezinski began to change her eating habits and her mindset. She started eating more calories and stopped weighing herself every day. Her biggest victory is going to bed at night without weighing herself first and beating herself up about what she ate during the day.
Practical Tips for a Healthier Relationship with Food
Based on the experiences of Brzezinski and other women, here are some practical tips for developing a healthier relationship with food:
- Focus on how you feel: Pay attention to your body's signals of hunger and fullness. Eat when you're hungry and stop when you're satisfied, not stuffed. Don't worry too much about your number on the scale. Just be concerned with how you feel.
- Challenge negative thoughts: Identify and challenge negative thoughts about food and your body. Replace them with positive and realistic affirmations.
- Practice self-compassion: Be kind to yourself, especially when you make mistakes. Everyone has setbacks, and it's important to learn from them and move on.
- Seek professional help: If you're struggling with disordered eating or body image issues, don't hesitate to seek professional help from a therapist, registered dietitian, or other qualified healthcare provider.
- Focus on overall well-being: Prioritize your physical and mental health by engaging in activities that you enjoy and that make you feel good. This could include exercise, spending time in nature, connecting with loved ones, or pursuing hobbies.
- Don't give yourself ridiculous, unreachable goals regarding your weight.
- Don’t have a private war with the number on the scale.
The Importance of Open Conversation
Brzezinski emphasizes the importance of open and honest conversations about food and weight. She believes that by sharing our struggles and experiences, we can break down the stigma surrounding these issues and create a more supportive environment for everyone. She says her TV co-host, Joe Scarborough, supported her efforts. He has gotten healthier himself by losing weight "and looks really good."
She wants to be healthier for her two teenage daughters, ages 14 and 17. "I would love for them not to have an obsessed life. I'd like them to be as happy and healthy as they are right now.
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