Health at Every Size (HAES) is an empowering and sometimes controversial approach at viewing health, wellness and disease prevention. It is a system that focuses on intuitive eating and pleasurable physical activity rather than dieting and weight loss. One’s weight, BMI, and waist circumference are deemed less important but rather attitudes and behaviors are the emphasis. HAES focuses on self acceptance and the normalization of ones relationship with exercise and eating. There are no diets to go on or off of, no carbohydrate or fat restrictions to abide to, and no deprivation of calories to leave you hunger and over thinking about food.

As you might imagine this concept has been embraced and criticized. There is research to support that lifestyle rather than weight is a better predictor of chronic disease prevention. Certainly the research supports the detriments of yoyo dieting that comes from restricting and deprivation. HAES eliminates yoyo dieting.

I encourage you to visit the HAES community at http://www.haescommunity.org/ and learn more about this initiative.