Tag Archives: weight loss

Remembering God’s Gift of Water

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Question: Are we forgetting how important water is?

Clean water is a goal for many Americans.Is God’s gift not good enough?
I have had some interesting conversations about water lately. As a Wellness Advocate, I have learned a lot about the importance of water for our physical health. Today I want to share a short reminder about why water is not only important for our health, but also why it is especially essential to us as healthy Christians.

Water is mentioned a total of 722 times in the Bible, more often than faith, hope, prayer, and worship. In the Bible, it doesn’t take long for water to be mentioned. Right away in Genesis 1:2, “The earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” Water is such an essential component of life, it was created on the very first day.

In Revelations water is mentioned again, and it is almost the last words of the Bible.  Revelations 22:17, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.” Water flows throughout the scripture, and this should remind us of its importance…both spiritually and physically.

St. John Damascene summarized, “Water, then, is the most beautiful element and rich in usefulness, and purifies from all filth, and not only from the filth of the body but from that of the soul, if it should have received the grace of the Spirit”. (An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith– Book 2: Chapter 9). Water has the power to heal, as can be seen from the stories of Naaman – the Syrian cured from his leprosy in the waters of Jordan (2 Kings 5:1-14) and the annual miracles at Bethesda in Jerusalem (John 5:1-9). Water has the power to purify, to provide deliverance, and it can also destroy evil and enemies as in the stories of the Flood (Genesis 6:17) and the flight of Israel from Egypt (Exodus 14:1-15:21).

Christ of the Abyss--Cristo_degli_abissi70 to 75% of the earth’s surface is covered with water. Roughly 70% of an adult’s body is made up of water, and about 85% of the adult brain is made up of water. Water is essential to life, and all living things need water to survive. So why do we as God’s children, sometimes take this gift…His gift of water for granted?

Jesus, the source of Living Water, extends an invitation to all who thirst. We take communion to remember His body…broken for you, and His blood… shed for you. We remember that water and blood poured from Jesus’ wound (John 19:34), while he was crucified. Water is given to us by Our Lord Almighty. Let us remember this, and honor His blessings daily. My father never drank water, and he spent the last 3 years of his life on kidney dialysis. My brothers and sisters, I challenge you to drink more water daily.

“O Christ, He is the fountain,
The deep, sweet well of love;
The streams on earth I’ve tasted
More deep I’ll drink above.
There to an ocean fullness
His mercy doth expand,
And glory, glory dwelleth
In Immanuel’s land.”
–Taken from Sam Rutherford & Anne R. Cousin’s hymn The Sands of Time Are Sinking

10 Reasons to Drink Water (from Allaboutwater.org)
1.    Water is absolutely essential to the human body’s survival. A person can live for about a month without food but only about a week without water.
2.    Water helps to maintain healthy body weight by increasing metabolism and regulating appetite.
3.    Water leads to increased energy levels. The most common cause of daytime fatigue is actually mild dehydration.
4.    Drinking adequate amounts of water can decrease the risk of certain types of cancers, including colon cancer, bladder cancer, and breast cancer.
5.    For a majority of sufferers, drinking water can significantly reduce joint and/or back pain.
6.    Water leads to overall greater health by flushing out wastes and bacteria that can cause disease.
7.    Water can prevent and alleviate headaches.
8.    Water naturally moisturizes skin and ensures proper cellular formation underneath layers of skin to give it a healthy, glowing appearance.
9.    Water aids in the digestion process and prevents constipation.
10.    Water is the primary mode of transportation for all nutrients in the body and is essential for proper circulation

Cool Extras

  • Water Your Body, and Drinking Water are two free App for Android users that remind you to drink water daily and also help keep track of your water drinking habits.
  • “Unicef TAP Project” For every ten minutes you don’t touch your phone, UNICEF Tap Project donors and sponsors fund one day of clean water for a child in need. Take the Challenge and help provide a child in need with clean drinking water.
  • How Much Do You Know About Hydration? Take the 15 question Water Quiz from WebMD.

-Dwight Tucker

First image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons via Creative Commons; second image is Christ of the Abyss at San Fruttuoso, courtesy of Wikipedia via Creative Commons

Rev. Dan Gobble: Success With Naturally Slim

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This is a guest post by Rev. Dan Gobble, pastor of Providence UMC in Salisbury, NC. It was originally featured in Naturally Slim’s newsletter and is reprinted with permission.  

All Spirited Life participants have had the opportunity to participate in Naturally Slim, and pastors still receiving services (Group 3) will have an final opportunity to enroll in 2014. 

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I recently turned 50 years old. At my annual physical in 2012, my doctor told me, “Dan, it wouldn’t hurt you to go hungry once in a while.” At that time I weighed around 240 pounds. I knew he was right. There is a BMI chart on the wall beside the scales in his office. I knew that, for my height, I was way over my ideal weight, almost in the morbidly obese category. I was frustrated because I wanted to do something about my weight, but I didn’t have confidence in what I knew about weight loss.

Dan collageIn the meantime, my employer, the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church began a program to help clergy better manage their health. Being a pastor is a high stress job, and clergy often have problems dealing with the stress that comes with it. As a result, they often experience weight gain and develop markers for metabolic syndrome like, high blood pressure, high or out of balance cholesterol, and even diabetes, which affect their health and quality life. Since entering the ministry in 2002, I have gained about 45 to 50 pounds. Over the years, my doctor had put me on blood pressure and cholesterol medicine. I was also borderline diabetic. When he told me at my last physical that it wouldn’t hurt me to lose weight, I finally RESOLVED that I would DO something about it. When the church offered the Naturally Slim program as a possible way to help us manage some of our healthcare concerns through weight loss, I jumped at the chance.

I had always been skeptical of diets and weight loss programs because I saw how folks struggled to sustain the results over the long haul. The thing that attracted me to this program was the overall common sense wisdom and the well-organized approach. This program looked like something I could incorporate into my lifestyle by making some “doable” changes. When I tried to lose weight in the past, I had no real success because I had no real understanding of how my body deals with food. Naturally Slim explains how our bodies and food interact and then Naturally Slim gave me a straightforward, workable plan for losing weight that made sense, and which is backed up by nutritional and medical facts. For example, after following the Naturally Slim plan for just a few weeks, I realized that I didn’t need to eat in the morning. I had been a big cereal eater for years, but it was more out of habit than a true need for fuel. Now I have some H-2-Orange in the mornings, plus some coffee, and I can enjoy food when my body needs it later in the day. This cut out a lot of unnecessary food on a daily basis.

Another facet of the program which really helped me lose weight was cutting out the sweets and high sugar foods (especially the constant snacking and grazing on sugary foods). Lowering my food intake, and learning the importance of eating slowly gave me a winning strategy for weight loss. The final component of the program that I found helpful was the pedometer that Naturally Slim sent in the starter package. It made me become more intentional about walking around the neighborhood and working to get a minimum number of steps in each day. As a footnote, I have now walked over 1,000 miles since April of 2013. I’ve always wanted to do more running and jogging. I am happy to say that I can now run a 5K (something that was impossible prior to the weight loss). I also enjoy an active lifestyle, including walking with my wife and our dog, running, and riding my bicycle.

I never really thought I would come close to attaining these results at this point in my life. I thought there was no other option for me but being overweight and in declining health for the rest of my life. But Naturally Slim has helped me reverse some negative trends in my health. At my last physical in June, my doctor took me off blood pressure and cholesterol medicine. I’m at the recommended BMI for my weight & height. I’m wearing the size clothes I wore when I was in my early 20s! I look and feel so much better and I have a much better self-image (I took my shirt off and body surfed the waves at the beach this summer, without being self-conscious about my appearance). My family is really proud of my weight loss. I get asked on a regular basis to reveal my secret. I tell everyone who will listen, “If you’re really interested in losing weight, then you need to check out Naturally Slim”. I’m a believer!

Update

Since Dan started the program in late March of 2013, he has lost 63 pounds.  At that time he weighed 233. He now weighs 170 pounds.  His waist has been reduced 10 inches from 44 inches in March of 2013 down to 34 inches in Oct 2013. He also reports that he is off all medication to control his cholesterol, and all cholesterol numbers have improved to the point that they are better than they were when he took the medication to keep them under control. 

Questioning the Necessity of Breakfast

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3692867013_59a2b2e3a8A new report questions the age-old wisdom that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and that it is essential for weight loss. It has long been assumed that folks who eat a healthy breakfast are less hungry throughout the day, thus consuming fewer calories, but it turns out that there is little evidence to substantiate that claim. Furthermore, the breakfast foods that usually ARE consumed (cereals, muffins, bread products) are known to help pack on the pounds. So why the confusion? To eat breakfast or not to eat breakfast?

According to a recent New York Times article, very few studies have been done that look at the correlation between weight loss and breakfast eating, and of those that have been completed, the findings are mixed. There is no question that eating breakfast can be an important part of a healthy day, but is it essential? Probably not. While many Americans have included breakfast as a part of their weight-loss diet, it is unclear whether breakfast-eating itself is a contributor to the weightloss.  As the article explains:

Data from the National Weight Control Registry showed that after their weight loss, about 80 percent of people reported regularly eating breakfast. “There was no difference in reported energy intake between breakfast eaters and non-eaters,” the registry showed, “but breakfast eaters reported slightly more physical activity than non-breakfast eaters.”

The research showed only that eating breakfast was a common behavior among people who were actively trying to avoid regaining weight, just as diet soda might be a common drink of choice among dieters but not necessarily the cause of their weight loss.

4041800875_c26b204e80None of this will be news to anyone who watched even the first video of the Naturally Slim program (the mindful eating program available to all Spirited Life participants). Marcia Upson, the Nurse Practitioner behind the program, insists that instead of eating breakfast out of habit, we should wait until we’re hungry. If we stay hydrated, drinking our “H2Orange,” then we may not be hungry until 10 or even 11 in the morning. We may then decide to instead eat an early lunch, reducing our number of meals consumed to two a day. By paying attention to their bodies’ true hunger cues, many people have successfully lost weight on her program.

All of this is not to imply that you should suddenly STOP eating breakfast. Everyone has different caloric needs, and everyone has different hunger patterns. Perhaps yours kick in first thing in the morning, while your spouse’s don’t kick in until much later. Either way, the best thing to do is listen to your body’s signals, and follow the wisdom that we KNOW is true: eating when we’re not hungry leads to weight gain, and learning to listen to our body’s signals can help us achieve a normal body weight. Maybe it’s time for me to kick my daily bowl of cereal habit!

–Caren Swanson

Images by flickr users *Zoha.Nve and Stephanie Kilgast, via Creative Commons.

To Bike or Run?

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As we head toward fall, many people who gave up exercising outside in the heat of the summer are getting ready to lace up their running shoes or pump up their bike tires. Recently, on the New York Times Well blog, a reader asked if either biking or running are superior forms of fitness from a weight loss perspective. The conclusion of the response is that it depends on the individual. In terms of calorie-burning, you expend more calories by running for an hour than you do by biking for the same amount of time:

Someone weighing 150 pounds who runs at a brisk seven minutes per mile will incinerate about 1,000 calories per hour. That same person pedaling at a steady 16 to 19 miles per hour will burn about 850 calories. Meanwhile, walking requires far fewer calories, only about 360 per hour at a four-mile-per-hour pace.

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That being said, running isn’t for everyone.

Running has a downside: Injuries are common. Biking, meanwhile, is gentler. “Cycling is a nonweight bearing activity, so it is better for your knees and joints,” Dr. Tanaka said, “and it does not cause much muscle soreness.” Walking, likewise, results in few injuries, unless, like me, you are almost comically clumsy.

The most important thing, when considering taking up a new exercise, is to find something that you enjoy. As we move toward cooler autumn days, try different activities that get your heart rate up, and see what is the most fun for you. Remember, the best exercise for YOU is the one that you actually do!  Any activity is better than none!

–Caren Swanson

Image by flickr user Ed Yourdan, via Creative Commons.

The Reflection in the Mirror: A Personal Story of Weight Loss

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When I joined the Clergy Health Initiative in early 2012, I was charged with coordinating the bi-annual health screenings that, in part, help pastors in Spirited Life track their personal progress in the program.  Over time, I’ve come to see my role as helping to provide a “mirror” for Spirited Life pastors.  Some of our pastors love the reflection they see when they come to a health screening… 20 pounds lost, blood pressure that’s come under control, a waist circumference that means it’s time to go shopping for smaller clothes.  Other pastors, I’m certain, dread what they expect to see in the health screening mirror. Despite great intentions, too many desserts were consumed last month.  Mornings once spent on the treadmill have fallen victim to busy schedules, and the numbers will be evidence of that. It’d be easier to skip the health screening this next round, to not have to look in that “mirror” and see the reflection that proves the digression.  After all, ignorance is bliss, right?

Not quite.  You see, I know first-hand that ignorance of our health is anything but bliss.  And I know this because I was once obese.  Not heavy or just a tad overweight, but legitimately and clinically obese.  I started early, initially gaining weight in high school, and despite running the gauntlet of several fad diets, continued to pile on weight in college.

Upon graduation, I loaded up my car, left North Carolina and headed west to San Diego.  As a young adult in an expensive city, I quickly took two jobs – one working in an HIV research center, and the other, serving specialty coffee drinks in a local café.  My first year in San Diego often included 70-hour work weeks, often not having a day off for 30 days in a row.  My schedule, and limited budget, made it difficult (in my mind) to eat healthy meals or make time for exercise, and so I piled on even more pounds.  I told myself it was okay if I was overweight, because I was doing important work for society in my HIV research job.  And I was kind, charitable, intelligent.  That should be enough, right?  It shouldn’t matter what I looked like on the outside, because I was a good person on the inside.  And sure, there’s truth to that.  But in focusing on superficial appearance with that approach, I was ignoring the part of my inside that was my health. And health does matter.

Back then, my dad tried to be my first “mirror.”  He’s a family physician, a two-time marathon finisher, a fit and healthy guy.  When he looked at me, I knew he saw a good person, but he also saw my future reflected in many of his patients – a future that was likely to include heart disease or diabetes.  But I ignored that part of my reflection in his eyes – the one of sadness over my poor health.  I was even ignoring real mirrors in my apartment… no full-length mirrors hung on my walls back then.  And what about pictures?  Well, thanks to technology, I could quickly crop those to “shave” off my arm fat or eliminate my hips from view altogether. I spent extra time on my hair and makeup and focused on that part of my physical appearance, easily ignoring the rest.

But then, there was the picture I couldn’t fix. My brother had come to visit and one particular photo featured us standing on a vista overlooking the ocean. There was no way to crop the picture without getting rid of all that beautiful background.  That’s the day I finally, truly saw the reflection I’d been so actively avoiding.  I was double the size of my brother. My posture was slumped, my eyes sad. I looked unhealthy.  And when I plugged the numbers from my last doctor’s visit into a BMI calculator, the big block letters that popped up agreed.  I was OBESE and officially at risk for all the things my dad so feared for me.

This time, I didn’t jump on a fad diet.  Little by little, I started changing my unhealthy ways and working to build healthier habits.  Sugary lattes were traded for plain coffee with a bit of skim milk. Lunches eaten out were replaced with portion-controlled meals and an apple. And a few months later when my dad was diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer, I decided to deal with my emotions on the pavement, and in his honor, became a runner.

Nearly 8 years later, I’m 50 pounds lighter than I was back then. My blood pressure is low, my cholesterol levels are in check, and most days, I feel pretty darn good. But that victory has taken years to achieve, and more importantly, maintain. I’ve certainly struggled through my fair share of battles along the way. A knee injury sidelined my running career 6 months after it began. More recently, after having started running again, I temporarily lost my go-to running buddy when my dog was injured in an accident. And then there’s the demanding seasonal work schedule that comes with coordinating dozens of health screenings twice a year. It’s easy to get off track. But I’ve also learned, that it can be just as easy to get back on track if I keep mirrors around me.  Sure, there’s the full-length one in my bedroom now hung in a place that can’t be avoided.  But there are other “mirrors” I choose to see too.  There’s the bathroom scale I step on each week.  The self-awareness that I feel better when eating mostly fresh fruits and vegetables over processed foods.  The joy that comes from seeing my recovered pup’s tongue dangling out of his mouth in exhaustion after a run.  There’s a new picture I make sure to look at too and this one’s not cropped! It was taken while on vacation with friends in Europe a couple years ago. My face reflects pure happiness – and I’m literally jumping for joy in my new, lighter, healthier body.

For those readers who are participating in Spirited Life, there’s a good chance that you’ve seen me at a screening, heard my voice on the phone, or received an email from me about attending your next screening.  I wanted to share the story of my own weight loss and health maintenance journey so that you’d also know how much I really do celebrate your victories with you.  And that I understand the hard work, time, and setbacks that are part of the journey toward better health.  I used to look at thin people and think that being skinny and healthy was natural for them. I know now that, more than likely, they reflect upon and work on their health in their own ways each day, and they surely have their own challenges to contend with on their journey.

I hope you’ll let us, the health screenings team, continue to be a mirror in your lives.  And I hope that by sharing my story, you’ll take some time to find the metaphorical mirrors that might help you along your own path towards wellness.

The Power of Habit: Keystone Habits

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Don’t miss the news about the winner of this week’s giveaway on Monday’s post, and check in with us next Monday for another fun giveaway!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On Monday, Kelli posted on The Power of Habit, a book that has been passed around our office and has generated interesting conversation. We rely on habits to help us make it through our days, so that the activities we do regularly are not as taxing to accomplish and so that we can run on autopilot when we need to.

In the book, Charles Duhigg talks about keystone habits: small changes or habits that people introduce into their routines that unintentionally carry over into other aspects of their lives. Keystone habits have a ripple effect into other parts of life, creating positive change unexpectedly. And who doesn’t want this whole behavior change challenge to be a bit easier?

Two keystone habits that Duhigg highlights are exercise and food journaling. On exercise:

5447958713_a375185097_o“When people start habitually exercising, even as infrequently as once a week, they start changing other, unrelated patterns in their lives, often unknowingly. Typically people who exercise start eating better and becoming more productive at work. They smoke less and show more patience with colleagues and family. They use their credit cards less frequently and say they feel less stressed. It’s not completely clear why…‘Exercise spills over,’ said James Prochaska, a University of Rhode Island researcher. ‘There’s something about it that makes other good habits easier.’” (p. 109)

Once people invest time and energy in exercise, it appears that they are set up to make other beneficial changes, even without consciously doing it.

Food journaling seems a little more clear cut: if someone is focusing on weight loss, keeping track of what they eat increases the intrinsic reward of good behavior by creating an extrinsic reward, which is seeing the food consumption documented. But researchers of a large weight-loss study were surprised to see just how effective it was, and how it influenced other behaviors:

“It was hard at first [writing down everything one day per week]. The subjects forgot to carry their food journals, or would snack and not note it…Eventually, it became a habit.  Then something unexpected happened. The participant started looking at their entries and finding patterns they didn’t know existed. Some noticed they always seemed to snack at about 10 a.m., so they began keeping an apple or banana on their desks for mid-morning munchies. Others started using their journals to plan future menus, and when dinner rolled around, they ate the healthy meal they had written down, rather than junk food from the fridge.” (p. 120)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThe chore of recording food was difficult at first — as all new habits are.  But researchers found that six months into the study, people who kept food records daily lost twice as much weight as everyone else! And because of their heightened awareness, they were primed to make additional positive changes to their behavior.

Exercise and food journaling are just two examples of keystone habits, and they’re by no means simple to implement. But they’ve been shown to serve as catalysts for other changes.

What are the keystone habits that set you up for flourishing?

–Catherine Wilson

Top image by eccampbell, lower one by John’s Brain, both used with permission via Creative Commons.

If not for aesthetics, then why?

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In his book The Cure for Everything, health-policy expert Timothy Caulfield tries to dispel various myths related to health and happiness. In his chapter about fitness, I was struck by a point about exercise by Todd Miller, a professor in the Department of Exercise Science at George Washington University.

People don’t [care] about health. People don’t say, “Wow, you have great blood pressure,” or “Check out that [person’s] cholesterol.” They may say they care about being healthy, but they really don’t…People want to look good, and they equate looks with health. The entire fitness and physical-activity industry is built on this reality. It is driven by aesthetics (p. 5).

Obviously, this is a cynical generalization, but I’ve been reminded of it every time I’ve seen a health magazine or commercial. Adonis-like figures are all over the place, implicitly promising me that if I buy their products and follow their routines, I too can be a buff beach-side beauty.

Caulfield believes research demonstrates that Miller has a point.

Research has shown that people do, in fact, care mostly about appearances; at least, this is one of the biggest motivators for exercising….Yes, there are vast cultural and age-related complexities associated with the issue of exercise motivation…, but looks and weight control (for the purpose of looks) are constant themes in almost every study (p. 5).

This creates an interesting challenge for Christians. As Lent reminds us, we take seriously that we are fragile creatures, that life is fleeting, and that true contentment is not found in personal health reform efforts. But just as Lent gives way to Easter, and Death to Life, is it possible that something as mundane as our motivation to be healthy might also be transformed?  Could it lie in the possibility that as healthier individuals, we might better serve others and live into the calling God has given us?

In Spirited Life, we feel privileged to journey with pastors as they explore these questions. To focus on one area of health, many have found that exercise has decreased their stress and given them more energy; it has helped them to prepare mentally for church meetings and bible studies and strengthened their discipleship.

As Christians and pastors, how have you wrestled to find a faithful motivation to exercise?

—Tommy Grimm

photo by flickr user Thomas Hawk, via creative commons

Perspectives on New Year’s Resolutions

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Happy New Year, folks!!!!

Next week begins the first FULL week of the new year. This is an important detail for those of us who have strategically delayed executing goals to maximize any final moments of vacation – i.e., to procrastinate. For clarity’s sake, you are not alone. My name is Angela, and I am a procrastinator.

But, as we hit the reset button on how we envision our healthier, wealthier, happier selves for 2013, I would like to offer some optional approaches. My most practical offering is Craig Ballyntyne’s book entitled How to Set Goals: Ultimate Goal Setting Guide to Having Your Best Year Ever.  This book is a very worthwhile 99-cent investment (via Kindle) — full of practical guidance in achieving goals around our “health, wealth, social self and personal enrichment.”

However, I’ve included additional perspectives/insights that you may find helpful, but mostly humorous. For instance…

…if you’re looking for MOTIVATION…

…if you find REALISM more helpful…

…perhaps an alternative form of BEHAVIOR CHANGE…

…or a more CLINICAL perspective…

……..or just a good old-fashioned prayer!

Remember, it’s all a matter of perspective.

– Angela M. MacDonald

(Images courtesy of thehealthfiles.wordpress.com; bengallagher.com; Icanhascheezburger.com; curiositiesbydickens.com and
searchquotes.com)

Pastor spotlight: Lee Pittard

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In an interview with North Carolina Health News’ Rose Hoban, Rev. Lee Pittard shared his journey toward wellness as a participant in Spirited Life.

Initially a skeptic, Lee signed up for Spirited Life because he thought it was expected of him.  But “when I actually saw that I was making progress and having a different attitude, I thought, ‘changing things is possible,’” he said.

One of Lee’s initial goals was to acknowledge his stress-eating patterns and form some new habits to help with weight loss.

Realizing the importance of community support, Lee made a request to his congregation that they stop feeding him so much.  “A lot of people would make a cake for me for my birthday in December,” he explained. “I told them this past year, ‘Don’t love me so much. Just tell me happy birthday, but no more cakes!’”

He also enlisted the help of a wellness advocate.  “Having a Spirited Life coach email me and check up on my progress has been really useful. One thing I need is someone to hold me accountable for exercising,” he said.

Lee began with walking as his main form of exercise; he now jogs 3-4 times each week. He chose running in part because it was an activity he could do with his son, who runs cross country for his high school.  In April, Lee achieved one of his health goals when he completed a 5K race, beating the time he had set for himself.

By late April, Lee had lost almost a hundred pounds, and his blood pressure is down.  “I’ve lost over 11 inches in my waist, and gone from an 18.5 neck shirt to a 16-16.5,” he said. “I can’t even wear my robe anymore; I trip over the extra material.”

Lee will graduate from Spirited Life at the end of 2012 and plans to continue working hard toward achieving his health goals. “Multiple times we get reports of pastors who have had heart attacks or strokes, and weight on top of stress plays a factor,” he said. “I don’t want that to happen to me.”

-Compiled by Kelli Christianson

Read the full North Carolina Health News article here.

 

Living on a Scale?

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Unless you wear inflatable clothes, you can’t get around the public nature of weight-management. We know people notice when we gain and lose weight because we notice when others gain or lose weight. We praise and revel when someone becomes slimmer, and we whisper and speculate when we notice new girth. You don’t have to be a contestant on The Biggest Loser to feel like your weight struggles are a spectator sport.

But I guarantee your weight hasn’t been as public as Wang Jun’s, a performance artist in China. According to China Hush, for a month earlier this year, Jun lived in a hotel room on a large scale displaying his weight, never leaving it (he set up a small curtained area on the scale to go to the bathroom). He abstained from hearty meals, sustaining himself on soup alone. His goal was to lose 15 jin, or 16.5 pounds, and the whole project was open to visitors and broadcast live over the internet.

Jun wasn’t only after a slimmer waistline or more twitter-followers; there was a deeper meaning to his performance. According to China Hush,

“Wang Jun’s weight loss program is closely linked to the social reality. [He commented,] ‘In this materialistic age, in the era of pleasure-seeking and greed, all things are inflated infinitely, slowly losing the beautiful and clear origins.’ Wang Jun told the reporter that his weight loss is also a metaphor of the current inflated era which should lose some weight.”

Jun thinks that in our era all things are “inflated infinitely,” and he offers his own weight loss as a metaphor for finding lives of greater simplicity and purity. But the more I thought of his performance, the more I saw it speaking to our society’s inflated interest in literal weight-loss itself, trapping and confining us to a life measured solely by a scale.

I imagine Linda Bacon might heartily agree. Bacon, author and nutrition professor at City College of San Francisco, believes we mistakenly conflate weight and health and that they really are two separate issues. She’s started the movement “Health at Every Size,” advocating that we appreciate bodily diversity and define health by mindful eating and joyful activity, not by where the needle settles on the scale. Jun’s performance embodies what many of us feel, that our lives are spent monitoring (and broadcasting) our weight, and Bacon believes this fixation gets in the way of living fully and healthily.

Jun lived a month on a scale because he believed our practices and pursuits have lost their “beautiful and clear origins.” Has weight-loss and -management supplanted the beautiful, clear reasons for health and well-being? If it’s not for an ideal size, then what do we want to be healthy for?

–Tommy Grimm

(See here for an article reporting midway through Jun’s performance.)