When you need to grab some groceries for the week, you can't go wrong shopping at Trader Joe's. This one-stop shopping destination has something for everyone, including some top-tier offerings that can make any dieter happy. While some of the store's products can easily put a dent in any weight-loss regimen, denizens of Reddit recently identified a ton of Trader Joe's weight loss foods that can help you shed some pounds while tasting great.

Make sure to keep an eye out for these enticing products next time you hit up a grocery store, but don't feel limited to just these items. Make sure to check out The Best & Worst Trader Joe's FoodsRanked! and keep an eye out for some extra meals worth adding into your weekly meal rotation.

When you want to eat healthily, you can't go wrong with adding some black beans into your diet. Out of all the options available at Trader Joe's, the brand's Cuban Style Beans ranked as one of the most popular weight loss foods around.

Reddit user emvelee wrote "The Cuban Style Beans are fantastic! Seasoned but not spicy, in case you're wondering." Jasminewindsong2 agreed, stating "Yes!! There are also green peppers and onion cooked in with them."

Including this item in your diet just makes sense. Black beans rank as the best carb to eat to lose weight and you can easily transform this Trader Joe's staple into a tomato and black bean soup.

When you want something a bit more substantial and quick to make, you can't miss the Cowboy Quinoa Veggie Burgers. Redditors love this offering, and u/Jasminewindsong 2 makes them a specific way. "I prefer them in an air fryer to get a bit of 'crunch,'" they said. "But overall, baking them is fine, and the flavor makes up for the texture in my personal opinion."

See how this product stacks up against the competition when it compares to the 30 Best and Worst Veggie Burgers.

If you want to enjoy a gnocchi with a lower carb content that can help you lose weight, you can't go wrong with Trader Joe's Cauliflower Gnocchi.

"Love the cauliflower gnocchi I always have a bag or two in my freezer," user Maire13 said. If you love the idea of this meal but don't know what to do with the gnocchi once you buy it, have no fear. Use this product and whip up one of these 5 Genius Ways To Turn Trader Joe's Cauliflower Gnocchi Into Dinnerfor a great-tasting meal that can keep your diet on track.

Trader Joe's excels at delivering delicious salads and their pre-made kits don't disappoint.

"Don't sleep on their salad kits," writes user chelstrels. "They are less than $4, and I split one with my partner every weekday for lunch. We add hard-boiled eggs or chicken for protein. They even have pre-made chicken so it couldn't be easier."

"The lemon arugula is my go-to happy food," user s05k14w68 added. "Sooooo amazing."

"I don't usually love pre-made salad but I like the five-spice chicken one with noodles," says Guilty-Diver4109 "The noodles make it feel a little more substantial while being low cal and it tastes good."

For more salad inspiration, give 35+ Healthy Salad Recipes for Weight Loss a read.

If you love rice but don't count yourself as a fan of the carbs, you can't go wrong with caul rice, and Trader Joe's has a great version of this food that Redditors love.

"The Mexican style cauliflower rice is a must," writes maybeshesmelting. Reddit user timefornotheraccount agreed, saying, "I was surprised how spicy it was, but in a good way! I added fresh cotija, lime juice and tajn."

"Nothing is ever spicy enough for me, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that this actually has a bit of a kick," maybeshesmelting adds. "I add lime juice as well, plus the ajika seasoning."

When you want to curb any sweet cravings, Trader Joe's has a slew of great diet-friendly desserts.

"The Hold the Cone ice creams are such a great sweet treat in a small and manageable dose of sugar/low calorie," says user raindorpsonroses.

The product ranks as one of The Best Trader Joe's Products For Weight Loss and deserves to enter your meal rotation next time a craving strikes.

For a pre-made item that can get anyone's mouth-watering, you can't go wrong with Trader Joe's Cilantro Chicken Mini Wontons.

"The cilantro chicken wontons in the ginger miso broth plus some baby bok choy/spinach, sliced mushrooms, and cooked shrimp is my go-to healthy lunch," says user timefornotheraccount. "Swap or omit based on availability and time. I've definitely just done broth and wontons but adding veg and protein is a nice upgrade."

"The mini wontons are the BEST," writes user DefiantRaspberry2510. "4 for 50cal, which is amazing."

Don't assume that you can cook this item any way you like to get the same results. Check out 15 Tips to Enjoy Dumplings and Stay Slim and learn the very best way to prepare these wontons.

When you want to keep your diet on the straight and narrow, you can't go wrong with shakshuka.

"Shakshuka Starter plus two eggs is about 300 calories," one Redditor says. "Make two boxes in a 10in skillet plus 4 eggs for a fantastic hot breakfast with minimal effort. (Use a 6" skillet if you're just cooking one box) Serve over farro if you want the slow carbs."

Learn how to transform this starter into a paleo shakshuka for an even tastier final product.

Sometimes you crave an incredibly hearty dish, but trying to find one that agrees with your eating plan is easier said than done. Luckily, Trader Joe's pulls through with a crowd-pleasing take on shepherd's pie.

"The Beef Shepherd's pie is 340 calories for the whole pound, and 32 [grams] of protein," another Redditor says. "This is a great low-calorie substitute for take-out when I don't have the desire to cook." Just be sure to keep the sodium count in mind, which contains 580 milligrams per serving!

If you don't have time to cook, you can't go wrong with this staple, but if you have enough energy, you can whip up this item for yourself at home using A Healthy Take on the Classic Shepherd's Pie Recipe.

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Trader Joe's Shoppers Love These 9 Healthy Weight Loss Foods | Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

If one is looking to lose weight, they must be consistent about their fitness routine. Since every body type is different, people may look to different things to reach their desired weight goal.

Mayur Gharat, a lifestyle and fitness influencer says that when it comes to picking economical, efficient, and do-anywhere exercises, running and jumping ropes stand out as top contenders. Both the exercises help to build endurance, strengthen heart muscles, maintain a healthy weight and bone density, increase longevity, and improve overall fitness, he says.

But which one is ideal? There are pros and cons of each, says Gharat.

Benefits of jumping rope

Faster weight loss

If your goal is more caloric expenditure, then jumping rope is a better option than running. One minute of it can burn 10-16 calories, which means skipping rope for 30 minutes, segmenting into three 10-minute rounds can burn around 480 calories. Ten minutes of jumping rope is equivalent to running for an eight-minute mile, which can result in faster fat loss, especially around your abdomen and trunk muscles, he explains, adding that people who have high blood pressure or heart problems should avoid it.

Strengthens lower body muscles

Jumping rope can make your lower body muscles stronger. Light and repetitive movements put less strain on your knees, improve ankle stability and develop the shape of your calves. Thus, jumping rope is a great exercise for people who have an injury that does not allow them to run.

Improves coordination and agility

Jumping ropes require quick footwork and full-body coordination with the wrists rotating in order to create continuous jumping motions. It is considered to be a great exercise for athletic conditioning, enhancing balance and coordination and building stamina.

Benefits of running

Improves cardiovascular endurance

Running is an excellent exercise to condition your cardiovascular system, strengthening the walls of the heart and increasing its overall efficiency. It also supports healthy blood flow and reduces bad cholesterol levels in the body. People who run every day tend to have stronger hearts and low pulse rates, which reduce their risk of developing hypertension or other cardiovascular issues by 35-55 per cent.

Reduces mental burden

Running at moderate or vigorous levels helps your body release chemicals in your brain like endorphins and serotonin, which reduce stress levels and anxiety. Besides, running out in the open lessens feelings of depression, loneliness, and isolation, which also improves the quality of sleep.

Clears out lungs

Running helps to cleanse your lungs by removing excess carbon dioxide, decongesting mucus and even phlegm. Besides, running builds the endurance capacity of your respiratory muscles, allowing more fuller and efficient breaths, which helps prevent the risk of lung-related disorders.

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Running vs jumping rope: Which is a better way to lose weight? - The Indian Express

Fat loss coach Ben Carpenter. Martin Irvine

Relying on cardio to burn calories is the biggest mistake people make when trying to lose fat, trainer Ben Carpenter told Insider.

It can ramp up your appetite, which can lead to more eating, he said.

Cardio is important for health, but eating in a calorie deficit is most important for fat loss.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Cardio is the most overrated form of exercise for fat loss, personal trainer Ben Carpenter told Insider.

Although cardio can help keep your heart healthy, relying on cardio when trying to lose weight is where many people go wrong, he said.

Aerobic exercise, like cardio, has a range of benefits, including boosting your immune system and improving cholesterol levels.

But doing too much of it to lose fat can backfire, Carpenter said, because it doesn't burn as many calories as people think, and it can ramp up your appetite.

"Lots of people start doing cardio because they want to lose body fat, but unless you're doing a really high workload, cardio doesn't burn a huge amount of calories," he said. "And for at least a subset of people, it increases the appetite disproportionately to how many calories they've burned."

For example, you may think you've burned 200 calories by running on the treadmill for 30 minutes. The activity can increase your appetite, which can lead to eating extra calories later in the day. If you continually eat more calories than you burn off, you won't be able to maintain a calorie deficit, which is crucial for weight loss.

"Over-relying on cardio without dietary intervention" is a common mistake, Carpenter said.

Research shows that activity trackers overestimate calorie burn, and if you are tracking calories and eating back what you think you've burned (which most experts advise against), you may be moving further away from your goals.

If you want to lose fat and maintain muscle, strength training while eating in a calorie deficit is key. But that doesn't mean cardio will hinder your progress, as long as time spent doing cardio is not taking away from your resistance workouts.

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There's no one-size-fits-all workout regime that's best for fat loss, but a 2020 meta-analysis suggests that resistance training increases metabolism more than cardio, which can make weight loss maintenance easier because the body burns more calories at rest.

However, doing some exercise of any kind is better than none at all, so if a form of cardio is what you enjoy and will stick to, you should do that.

Read the original article on Insider

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Don't focus on cardio for fat loss. You're probably not burning as many calories as you think, according to a personal trainer. - Yahoo! Voices

The latest weight-loss trend to conquer social media is coffee mixed with lemon. Videos of people trying the concoction on platforms like TikTok have become common and searches for the terms "coffee, lemon, and weight loss" have increased substantially over the last year.

Uploads like the one posted by Hilda Ama Braso, which showed the TikTokker drink a coffee and lemon brew on her third day of the diet, have received thousands of likes.

"Millions of people are being benefited by the coffee lemon mixture to lose fat and weight which are itself two unique ingredients best known for its calories burning and fat cutting abilities," claims website Health Buffet, which features different ways to mix the two common kitchen staples.

Is there any truth in the claim that coffee mixed with lemon is a "weight-loss hack" or that it is the "STRONGEST BELLY FAT BURNER," as one YouTube video which has been viewed over 600,000 times boldly states?

"This is nonsense," Marcela Fiuza, dietician and member of the British Dietetic Association (BDA), told Newsweek. "There is no physiological explanation that would justify mixing coffee and lemon to lose weight."

Fiuza, who operates the website Marcela Nutrition, adds that as there is no evidence of coffee and lemon assisting in weight loss, she wouldn't advise anyone going down this route.

The dietician adds: "Not only it is unlikely to have any beneficial effect on weight, but too much caffeine might also cause nervousness, insomnia, nausea, increased blood pressure, and other problems."

Aisling Piggott is a nutritionist and registered dietitian with the BDA. She told Newsweek that there was no scientific evidence of coffee and lemon assisting weight loss in humans.

"Much of the research into either lemon or coffee and weight loss is done in mice. Mice are not human and have very different metabolic pathways to us," she says. "There is not a scientific basis to link weight loss to coffee and lemon in humans."

Like Fiuza, Piggott also points to the possible negative effect of too much caffeine in a diet, adding that alongside the possible benefit of boosting alertness comes side effects like withdrawal.

She continues that while lemons can be considered healthy due to the fact they are high in vitamin C, which is an antioxidant, it would be wrong to consider the fruit a "wonder food" or a pill for weight loss. Any benefits conferred by lemons depend on the diet in which they sit.

Fiuza offers her opinion on why trends like the coffee and lemon "hack" spread so easily on social media platforms like TikTok.

"People compare themselves to others and social media creates an environment in which people compare their lives, eating habits, etc to the perceived ones of the person posting, often in sponsored posts which have been heavily edited," she says.

The dietitian added that the best solution for weight loss suggested by science is still a combination of a healthy diet and exercise." The best diet needs to be one that works for you in the long term," Fiuza continues. "Overly restrictive diets are not the solution and often lead to yo-yo dieting which is harmful to overall health. "

Piggott believes that there is no easy answer when it comes to weight loss, seeing it as a complex problem that hinges on dietary balance and individual needs.

Both BDA dieticians warn against the tendency to seek "magical solutions" to weight loss. Fiuza says: "Posts promoting quick fixes and magical solutions can be extremely damaging and trigger problematic behaviors."

While Piggott highlights why such solutions may seem appealing: "When a professional like me is saying it's a complex area, with lots of effort and energy required to solve and an Instagrammer comes up with this magic solution of lemon water... which one is more appealing?

"We love a magic solution to a complex problem!"

Continued here:
Does Drinking Coffee and Lemon Juice Help With Weight Loss? The TikTok Trend Explained - Newsweek

Since the pandemic started, people of all ages have gained weight. At the same time, the rate at which youth and young adults are seeking treatment for eating disorders, particularly anorexia nervosa and binge eating disorder, has increased.

While the reasons for these changes are complex, pandemic-related stress and weight bias the belief that a thin body is good and healthy, while a large body is bad and unhealthy are prominent contributors.

As researchers who study health behaviors and are also parents of young children, we often see health research and health initiatives that place a disproportionate emphasis on weight.

Thats a problem for two big reasons.

First, it draws attention away from better predictors of chronic disease and strategies to address these factors. Although a high body mass index, or BMI, is one risk factor for various chronic diseases, it is only one of many, and far from the strongest. And while moderate weight loss does reduce chronic disease risk for some people, about 80% of individuals who manage to lose weight regain it. The other 20% describe their ongoing efforts to maintain their weight loss as stressful and exhausting.

Second, disproportionate emphasis on weight reinforces weight bias. Weight bias, in turn, contributes to weight-related discrimination, like bullying and teasing, which is common among youth. Across diverse samples surveyed, 25% to 50% of children and adolescents report being teased or bullied about their body size, and these experiences are linked to disordered eating and depression, as well as poorer academic performance and health.

To best support the physical and emotional health of children during this pandemic, we suggest reducing the emphasis on body size. Below are some specific tips for parents, teachers and medical providers.

When asked, children and adults with larger bodies consistently indicate that these are the least preferred and most stigmatizing terms to talk about body size, while weight and body mass are the most preferred.

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So, consider modeling less stigmatizing language. For example, if your teen refers to her friend as overweight, respond by saying, Yes, your friend does have a larger body. Likewise, if your doctor refers to your child as obese, ask them to share their body mass index percentile instead. Or, better yet, ask them not to talk about weight at all which leads us to our next recommendation.

Physical activity, eating habits and emotional support from friends and family are stronger predictors of disease and death than BMI, and all of these have been greatly affected by COVID-19.

Considering that behavioral weight loss programs are ineffective for the majority of people, we recommend focusing on behaviors that are more easily changed and have stronger influences on health and well-being. Regular physical activity, for example, improves mood and lowers risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes, even in the absence of weight loss.

Building and sustaining new health behaviors can be challenging. Parents are more likely to be successful if they start by setting realistic goals that include the whole family rather than singling out one child based on their body size.

Like adults, kids enjoy activities more when they have a say in the activity. So let them choose whenever possible. There are additional physical and mental health benefits if these activities are done outdoors.

Weight bias stems in large part from the belief that individuals are responsible for their body size, and if they are unable to lose weight or keep it off, they are deserving of blame and ridicule. These beliefs may contribute to an increased risk of disordered eating in children through parental behaviors like overly restrictive feeding practices and negative comments about weight.

Parents are also greatly affected by this bias, reporting guilt and sadness for their perceived contributions to their childs weight.

We suggest that parents challenge weight bias by acknowledging that quite literally hundreds of factors outside of a persons immediate control contribute to body size, including genetics, racism and trauma, and environmental factors, like levels of crime and proximity to green space and recreational facilities.

Weight is the No. 1 reason youth are teased, according to a large sample of teenagers in the United States. However, weight bias is lower in schools where body weight is part of anti-bullying policies. Consider talking with your childs principal, attending the next PTA meeting and advocating for the inclusion of weight discrimination into existing bullying policies.

If your child is being teased, get curious. Ask them how they feel about it. Acknowledge that weight discrimination is a very real phenomenon. Do not take this time to encourage weight loss. Instead, help your child appreciate their body as it is. Then, talk with their teacher. Schools who have teachers who are willing to intervene have less bullying.

And if your child is struggling, consider working with a mental health professional, in-person or remotely. During the pandemic, there has been a twelvefold increase in psychologists in the United States providing care remotely, and although there are some reported challenges like finding a private, quiet space youth in treatment for eating disorders describe an appreciation for the accessibility, convenience and comfort of this approach.

[Insight, in your inbox each day. You can get it with The Conversations email newsletter.]

Youth who spend more time on social networking sites feel more dissatisfied with their bodies and engage in more disordered eating. Furthermore, more than half of adolescents surveyed reported increased experiences with weight discrimination on these sites during the pandemic.

Of course, social media isnt all bad. Research suggests that it may depend on how youth engage with these sites, with photo-based activities being most closely linked to disordered eating symptoms.

Parents can help their children learn to notice when posting and viewing photos or following appearance-focused influencers leaves them feeling bad or comparing their body to others, and encourage them to take a break. They can also suggest that they consider unfollowing those accounts and instead seek out people who inspire them, make them laugh and help them feel empowered.

The last year and a half has been hard. As people consider how to resume some of their pre-COVID activities, it is our hope that food and movement can help families and communities to reconnect and feel good. Our bodies have carried us through an extremely trying time and are deserving of respect and kindness.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Nichole Kelly, University of Oregon; Elizabeth Budd, University of Oregon, and Nicole Giuliani, University of Oregon.

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Nichole Kelly receives funding from the University of Oregon and the National Institutes of Health for research focused on children's health behaviors and mental health. She has no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Elizabeth Budd receives funding from the National Institutes of Health for research related to promoting COVID-19 testing and other preventive behaviors among Latinx communities and from the University of Oregon for research focused on children's and adolescents' health behaviors and health outcomes. She has no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Nicole Giuliani receives funding from the University of Oregon, the National Institutes of Health, and the Medical Research Foundation of Oregon for research focused on parental influences on child self-regulation and related health behaviors. She has no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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If you want to support the health and wellness of kids, stop focusing on their weight - Yahoo News

Bernardo Barbosa, 31, shares with Men's Health how he transformed his body and his mind after making some lifestyle changes post-Covid.

Following the end of a relationship in the middle of the pandemic, I realized I wasn't happy. I was no longer the confident, outgoing guy that people were used to. I'd reached a real low point, which then affected my friendships and relationships, and I knew I wanted to make a positive change.

I signed up for a 12-week transformation program at Ultimate Performance Manchester, and started working out with my trainer, Christian. With someone on your side, it is so much easier to stay motivated: they are there to push you when you think you cannot do it. We only trained three times per week, in hour-long, full-body sessions. For the first four weeks, I did these workouts remotely, and then after I started to lose weight and see promising results, I joined Christian in the gym.

I overhauled my entire diet and nutrition. I weighed all the food I ate and started paying attention to the times when I was consuming caffeine, how much water I was drinking, and especially to my macros per meal. I cannot say I had a bad diet before, but I didnt necessarily know what I was eating, and what my body needed in order to develop. I was doing the standard diet that everyone does when they are looking to develop their bodybut I learned that each body needs a different approach.

Over the course of 12 weeks, I went from 158 pounds to 132 pounds, a total loss of 26 pounds. I also cut my body fat by 4.6 percent.

In the beginning, it wasn't easy. I lost a lot of weight, and my friends and family were not used to see me like that. It was a complicated process when you do that for the first time and when you are not used to managing your macros, going up or down when needed. But after my photoshoot, everyone was shocked by the difference.

It was definitely more a non-physical change than a bodily change. With this experience, a workout is important, but it a small fraction of our whole transformation.I gained a lot more confidence, and I got more active during the day with more energy. But most importantly, I feel happier with myself. My next goal is to enter a bodybuilding competition, Mens Physique, in 2022. I will apply everything I have learned during my time at Ultimate Performance to keep improving myself.

If you are at the start of your own fitness journey, I would highly recommending getting the help of someone trained, who can help you to understand exactly what your body needs Dont think it will be an easy process, and stay focused on what you want to achieve.

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How This Man Lost 25 Pounds and Got Shredded in Just 12 Weeks - menshealth.com

ComplexCon returns to Long Beach Nov. 6 - 7 with hosts J. Balvin and Kristen Noel Crawley, performances by A$AP Rocky and Turnstile, and more shopping and drops.

Secure your spot while tickets last!

With Adeles long-awaited comeback finally on the horizon, the singer-songwriter opened up about her divorce and much more in a cover story forBritish Vogue. Writer Giles Hattersley notes the artisthasnt spoken to a journalist since 2016, the year after her monumental25album arrived.

Adele filed for divorce from Simon Konecki in 2019,finalizingthe process in March of this year. The 33-year-olds new album30is expected to broach the topic, and she got candid about how the split impacted her relationship with her andKoneckis young sonAngelo James.

My son has had a lot of questions. Really good questions, really innocent questions, that I just dont have an answer for. Why cant you still live together? she said. I just felt like I wanted to explain to him, through this record, when hes in his twenties or thirties, who I am and why I voluntarily chose to dismantle his entire life in the pursuit of my own happiness. It made him really unhappy sometimes. And thats a real wound for me that I dont know if Ill ever be able to heal.

She also elaborated on why she chose to end her marriage, saying it was more of a drifting apart situation than anything headline-grabbing. It just wasnt right for me any more, she said. Nothing bad happened or anything like that.

Adele has made it clear she doesnt tolerate bullshit before, and was quick to fight back against the common misogynistic narrative that a divorced woman isspinning out of control.

Like, Oh she must be crackers. She mustve decided she wants to be a ho. Because what is a woman without a husband? Adele said. Its bullshit.

As for her new relationship, she confirmed that shes been dating Rich Paul since earlier this year. Yes, were together, she said. Were very happy. Hes great. Hes so fuckng funny. Hes so smart, you know.

The Hello singerfamously keeps her private life out of the public eye, and when she posted a photo in May 2020 she surprised her fans with her weight loss. I think one of the reasons people lost the plot was because actually, it was over a two-year period, she said. After keeping to herself for at least two yearsshe had lost 100 lbs,explainingthat exercise was a means to help deal with anxiety.

Working out, I would just feel better, she said. It was never about losing weight, it was always about becoming strong and giving myself as much time every day without my phone. I got quite addicted to it. I work outtwo or three times a day. As for her routine, she added that she does weights in the morning, boxing or hiking in the afternoon, and cardio at night. I was basically unemployed when I was doing it, and I do it with trainers, she said. Its not doable for a lot of people.

Circling back to the reaction around her body image, she insisted, I did it for myself and not anyone else. She thinks people were shocked because at no point did she share her journey, which might appear common in the social media age of documenting everything.

People have been talking about my body for 12 years. They used to talk about it before I lost weight. But yeah, whatever, I dont care, Adele said. You dont need to be overweight to be body positive, you can be any shape or size.

With her album on the way, the story also briefly teases a few elements to expect. There areno big-name guest features when it comes to vocals, which is perhaps wise considering few singers could match Adele, but there are a number of interesting names behind the scenes. Pop producer Max Martin, London producer Inflo, andBlack Panthercomposer/Donald Glover go-to Ludwig Gransson all worked on the album.

In what could be considered a massive flex, Adele also appeared on the cover of the American edition ofVoguefor a separate profile. In Abby Aguirres piece, the artist said she doesnt think she deserved to win Album of the Year for25at the 2017 Grammys, and that BeyoncsLemonadeshould have taken home the award instead.

My personal opinion is that Beyonc definitely should have won, Adele said. I just got this feeling: I fucking won it. I got overwhelmed, with, like, I will have to go and tell her how much her record means to me. After winning the award, she went to Beyoncs dressing room and wasinitially unable to expressjust how muchLemonademeant to her.She burst into tears before paying Queen Bey a second visit.

I just said to her, like, the way that the Grammys works, and the people who control it at the very, very topthey dont know what a visual album is, she elaborated. They dont want to support the way that shes moving things forward with her releases and the things that shes talking about. For my friends who are women of color, it was such a huge acknowledgment for them, of the sort of undermined grief that they go through. For her to nail that on the head, and also bring in the entire globe? I was like, This album is my album, she just knows what Im going through. That album was not written for me. But yet I could still feel like, this is the biggest gift.

Read the fullBritish Voguefeaturehere, and theVoguecover story here.

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Adele Opens Up About Divorce, Weight Loss, and Why Beyonc Definitely Should Have Won Album of the Year Grammy - Complex

Ill admit it; when I first heard that Adele had lost weight, I was crestfallen. Ditto Lizzo, who took to Instagram last winter to defend her juice cleanse; ditto Jessica Simpson and Rebel Wilson and almost every other larger-than-straight-size celebrity Id ever looked up to. As a currently fat woman living with an eating disorder whos been every size under the sun, I understand better than most how much weight can fluctuate (even if youre not actively trying to fit into a size 4). But there was still part of me that felt left behind as I saw woman after woman Id admired slim down in the public eye.

I maintain that my initial skepticism was well earned, given the lack of fat representation in Hollywood and media overall, as well as the still-punishing societal body norms that tell the 42.4% of Americans who have obesity that we can only hope to be seen as full, actualized human beings if we lose weight. But once I got over that knee-jerk disappointment and began to think about what I was really asking of these celebrities, I saw that my initial reaction had been more than slightly unfair. After all, one of the goals of the body-positivity movement is (or should be) creating a world in which all of us feel empowered to live safely and joyfully in our bodies, regardless of their size; what was I saying to Adele, or to Lizzo, if I made my appreciation of them contingent on their bodies looking a certain way?

Of course, weight loss and weight gain arent a one-to-one exchange; sadly, thinness will likely always be societally lionized in a way that fatness is not. But was my chagrin at seeing these women lose weight really so different from the stigma I facedcourtesy of everyone from doctors to not-so-great partners to family memberswhen I gained weight? Ultimately, wouldnt I and all other fat people be better served by working to create a culture that actually appreciated and respected bodies of all sizes, rather than electing a select few fat representatives and insisting that their appearances be fixed and immutable?

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When I reach out to Stephanie Yeboah, a London-based fat-acceptance advocate and author of Fattily Ever After: A Black Fat Girls Guide to Living Life Unapologetically, she has plenty to say on the topic. There is still this general impression that if you are somebody within the fat-acceptance community and people start noticing that youre losing weight, then you must be doing it for insidious reasons or to fit in with societal standards of beauty, says Yeboah, noting that she has lost about 40 pounds herself since the COVID-19 pandemic began, due solely to an exercise routine shes undertaken to rebuild strength in a once-broken ankle. I definitely think that you can be part of the fat-acceptance community and also lose weight. I just think it gets a bit shifty if the reasons for losing weight are purely to do with your appearance, desirability, accessibility, or wanting to fit in with other people.

If youre a person in the public eyelike, say, Adeleand your weight loss coincides with an increase in exercise devised to make you feel stronger and help you take on mental health challenges, is it fair for the world to scrutinize you and snidely say youre just doing it to be skinny? For that matter, was it fair for the world to zero in on Adeles physical appearance when she weighed more than she currently does? The best solution is arguably learning to abstain from a celebrity culture that encourages us to place more value on a famous womans appearance than on her body of work.

The media industry stands to profit when we click on exclamation-point-riddled gossip articles about so-and-sos dramatic weight loss!!!, and the diet industry thrives when we chase the ideal of thin bodies that may not actually bear any relationship to health and comfort. But what about us? What do we stand to gain from evaluating and placing expectations upon other womens bodies, and what could we be doing with all that mental energy instead?

Virginia Sole-Smith, a journalist specializing in body-image issues and the author of The Eating Instinct, wishes our conversations about women in the public eye could evolve past issues of weight, full stop. Last time I checked, there is not a body type that one needs to have in order to be a talented musician. Musical ability is not tied to BMI in any of the research Ive read, says Sole-Smith, adding, I think it would be so great if we lived in a culture that talked about peoples art and didnt talk about their bodies. And then if their bodies changed, we wouldnt have to examine that quite so much.

Sole-Smith acknowledges that the issue of celebrity weight loss is a fraught one, explaining, Teenage girls look up to Lizzo and Adele, so there is some responsibility there. But I also think it is a mistake to expect that just because one individual broke a boundary and became famous in spite of their weight they then have to be the poster child for fat artists everywhere. It just really speaks to how far we have to go in terms of increasing representation.

A call for increased representation can often feel like a hedge, a way of acknowledging the severity of an issue while passing the buck to the nebulously defined scourge of society. But when it comes to fat acceptance and body positivity, its frankly hard to imagine anything else working. One musician or two or evengasp!three will not meaningfully move the needle in terms of convincing fat people everywhere that they are worthy just as they are; what it will do, however, is reinforce the pernicious notion that these individuals need to look a certain way to earn admiration and respect.

While fat individuals in the public eye can act as much-needed role models, asking them to take up the mantle of self-love all on their own, with no substantive or structural changes to a society that still profits off of rampant fat phobia, simply isnt enough. Hopefully, someday, well have enough fat musicians, dancers, actors, comedians, and artists of all kindsand a culture that actually supports them with fat-positive policies and meaningful consequences for size-based discriminationthat one persons weight fluctuations will no longer make headline news.

Originally Appeared on Vogue

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How Our Obsession With Celebrity Weight Loss Is Holding Us Back - Yahoo Lifestyle