Having been obese at one point in my life, I know the emotional pain of feeling big and unacceptable. Our culture has indoctrinated most of us, particularly women, to believe that thinness and media-defined beauty will bring happiness, bliss, and self-love. Unfortunately, it seems that there is no limit to what we will do to achieve the beauty that we think we do not have and a figure that is as close as possible to a desired shape.
It came to my attention this week that the Food and Drug Administration recently approved two new “devices” that contour the body, removing “love handles” and “pockets” of fat. These two medical procedures are intended to remove excess fat from the body without the need for surgery or invasive methods. One technique “freezes” fat cells into “love handles” or specific areas of accumulated fat, causing them to self-destruct over a period of several months. With their “CoolSculpting device,” a patient simply sits in a chair while a technician uses a tool that sucks a handful of fat into a paper bag-sized container that sticks firmly to the body and begins to cool the fat. Over time, fat freezes, causing cells to die prematurely and naturally, which are reabsorbed into the body. The founder of the company, Mitchell Levinson, claims that the fat does not return.
The second technique is a procedure that does not kill fat cells. Rather, a low-energy laser device, called the Zerona laser, creates tiny pores in cell membranes that cause fat content to slowly leak out, deflating cells. According to Ryan Maloney, director of research for the manufacturer, Erchonia Corp., the cells are still viable and can secrete important health hormones. The patient lies on a table while the device rotates around the waist, hips, and thighs. The procedure lasts 20 minutes per side and is repeated three times a week for two weeks. Both procedures cost up to $ 3,000 for each “love handle” (or a similar accumulation of fat cells) and a larger area of fat or a “muffin top” may require two treatments. However, these methods are appropriate only for “inconspicuous” bumps, not large areas of fat.
If you’ve read this far and aren’t deeply concerned, you should worry ~ rather than worry. These companies and the people who pay thousands of dollars for these procedures are supporting a myth that is robbing thousands of self-acceptance and joie de vivre: the myth of bodily perfection. A sixty billion dollar a year diet industry has brainwashed us informing us, both consciously and unconsciously, that we will be what we want: loved, longed for, accepted, admired, and most of all, satisfied and happy ~ if only to lose weight and shape ourselves differently. However, according to recent studies, no one is happier once they are thinner or reshaped according to some external definition of beauty. Also, despite all the bombardment regarding lifestyle change and weight loss, rising obesity ~ now hits our youth with alarming statistics. Something is terribly wrong.
For most of my professional life, I have worked with women struggling with weight issues, self-esteem concerns, and distortions of body image. In my own life, I have gained and lost over 1,900 pounds. I know intimately the desperate attempts to be slim and have a body that resembles the models on the covers of magazines. I have learned that dissatisfaction is not alleviated by dieting or “sculpting” our bodies. Deep and lasting satisfaction with ourselves requires that we dismantle false information that we tell ourselves or others have told us and now believe to be true. We must face ourselves with compassion, accept who we are, and trust our worth and goodness. We must stop believing in the myth that “if I were different from what I am, I would be happy.” We must define our own truth and live with awareness, wise choice, and self-acceptance.
Sadly, many women (and men) live their entire lives believing that they have to be slimmer or more attractive in some way to be happy and fulfilled in life. Too often this quest for perfection leads to a constant state of unhappiness and longing, and all too often the result is isolation, depression, and eating disorders. To live in acceptance, joy and freedom, we must leave the “myth” behind and open ourselves to a truth that is much more liberating, realistic and rich in possibilities: we are already kind and complete, just as we are. We must let go of our attachments despite weighing less or looking differently. Nowhere in the world is it true that the value of the human spirit depends on a number on a scale or a certain carved shape. Attempts to be thinner or thinner take us further and further away from the nitty-gritty ~ and what will bring true happiness: getting in touch with our true nature and realizing that we don’t need to be fixed or improved to be whole, be valuable, be loved.
Aside from hijacking opportunities for personal acceptance and transformation of belief systems on body and weight issues, discarding fat cells from the body may not be healthy in the long run. Fat cells serve a purpose and it is important to understand the role these cells play in health and well-being. In short, fat cells are not just places that store excess calories. They also regulate growth, puberty, healing, fighting disease, and aging. Fat cells release more than 100 hormones, two of which are leptin (which tells the brain to eat more or less) and adiponectin (which helps regulate metabolism). Healthy fat cells are attentive to the body’s needs, according to Michael D. Jensen, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. If fat cells are not working properly, they are not doing their job of storing or releasing fat effectively (a necessary process for the health of the body). Instead, certain fat cells (called visceral fat cells) accumulate both in the heart and around the heart and liver, releasing fat into the bloodstream and increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. .
Another potential danger of newer fat removal techniques is that they don’t target visceral fat, only subcutaneous fat (fat cells that accumulate under the skin, around the hips, thighs, and lower abdomen. ). If a person continues to consume more calories than they burn, it can actually accelerate the process of accumulating harmful and life-threatening fat, leaving them perhaps more sculpted but at a very high price. Additionally, many experts are concerned that shedding fat from fat cells could increase the level of fat in the bloodstream, a dangerous and toxic situation. Also, the loss of fat cells could lower leptin levels and signal the brain to eat more. Although both companies, Zeltiq and Erchonia Corp., assure the public that their methods are safe, they also urge people to change their eating and exercise habits.
It seems that, ideally, subtle excess fat can be removed for a price, and if the patient is wise, they will also change their lifestyle habits to lose weight. This brings us back to the myth of bodily perfection and the apparent failure of the majority of Americans to maintain a healthy weight and fitness. Is it possible that something bigger is at stake than fat cells and body shape? I think so.
We want to be slim and fit because being so is the bargaining chip for happiness and acceptance in our culture. However, this coin is a lie and most weight loss systems fail because in the end they don’t make people any happier. Having a certain shape does not address the problem of emptiness or unhappiness that goes beyond any diet, fat freezing technique, or laser magic. Before true or sustainable joy can be experienced, we must first accept ourselves and be grateful for the bodies we have. We must marvel at the extraordinary complexity and beauty of our body physiology and wisdom. We must take time and listen to the whispers of our hearts and souls. We must find the courage to face our deepest fears and strongest feelings without turning to food or fats as a refuge. We must face our truth, our lies and realize that misery and suffering are based on wanting to be somewhere other than where we are now. This includes our bodies. We must stop contributing to the tyranny and violence of forcing our bodies to be different from what they are, by some external standard.
If you are someone who is tempted to seek fat removal, I wonder if you would consider asking yourself: Am I contributing to the concern and dedication to perfection? Am I drifting away from my feelings, leading to unhealthy eating habits? Do I want a quick fix ~ an overnight cure ~ that robs me of the opportunity to face my real issues and embrace my life with wisdom and a mature choice? Am I avoiding the commitment and discipline necessary to establish a healthy lifestyle, thereby perpetuating a habit of avoidance? Am I setting an admirable and respectable example for the youth of our culture by paying thousands of dollars to fix what never broke, only that it needs a lifestyle change? Can I put this money to better use than freezing or lasering into the pockets of the ‘junk me’?
I believe that when we welcome and accept the parts of ourselves that we want to eliminate the most, we open ourselves to true freedom and happiness. Our lives can become vibrant and full of value and meaning. Facing our feelings, learning new ways of being with who we are and how we see ourselves opens us to all that life has to offer. Releasing ourselves from an existence in conformity with an externally dictated and desired form expands our horizons and broadens our path of entry into life in full color, vivid and satisfying. Walking away from the option of an almost instantaneous body change is the opportunity of a lifetime to live deeply from a core of integrity and strength. From this base, we take a stand and participate in a change that our culture desperately needs: a transformation from being a prisoner of desire and the search for perfection ~ to being authentic, fully and vibrantly alive, embracing all of life with attention, strength. and faith. , certainty and purpose.
“… don’t settle for the stories, how things have gone with the others. Unfold your own myth, without complicated explanation, so that everyone understands the passage: we have opened you up.” ~ Rumi.
