Doctor Says Weight Loss May Not Be Your Best New Years Goal featuring Dr. Mikala Albertson (Part 1/2) [Podcast Transcript]

Title: Doctor Says Weight Loss May Not Be Your Best New Years Goal featuring Dr. Mikala Albertson, Part 1/2

Podcast Date: January 7, 2025

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Description

Today Heather is joined by author and board-certified physician, Dr. Mikala Albertson. In part one of this two part episode, Heather and Mikala discuss why women feel so much pressure to do and be everything and "look good doing it." They talk about control, striving, believing that we can control all of our health outcomes, and the pressure to be thin because of the belief that thin equals healthy. Heather asks Dr. Albertson what to do when your doctor makes you feel like your top focus should be weight loss and why doctors focus so much on weight and body size. 

Ready to join us for the 40-Day Journey? Learn more here: https://www.improvebodyimage.com/40-day-challenge

Learn more about Dr. Mikala Albertson and check out her new book here: https://amzn.to/3W6PqtS

Read Dr. Albertson's open letter to anyone who's been body shamed or similarly hurt by the medical community: https://www.mikalaalbertsonmd.com/blog/im-sorry

(Amazon affiliate link - a tiny portion of your purchase goes to support ministry of Compared to Who?)

Transcript

Disclaimer: This transcript is AI-generated and has not been edited for accuracy or clarity.

Heather Creekmore [00:00:02]:

Life audio. Hey, friend. Heather Creekmore here. I'm glad you're listening to the compare to show today. Today, we're talking about what it seems like most everyone's talking about the beginning of January, Health, weight loss goals, all of those kinds of things. But today, my guest, doctor Michaella Albertson, she's a board certified physician. She's been practicing for almost 20 years. Today, she's gonna give us a bit of a unique angle on all of these things because doctor Albertson wants us to see ourselves as more than just bodies.

Heather Creekmore [00:00:39]:

But I put her on the spot. I asked her what to do when your doctor gets on you about your weight. We go to lots of different places today. She just wrote a new book about midlife. But even if you're not in that midlife part of life, I think you're gonna get something out of today's great conversation with doctor Mikaela Albertson. So I'm glad you're here for it. Hey. The 40 day journey starts today, Tuesday, January 7th.

Heather Creekmore [00:01:07]:

If you're not listening to this in real time, if it's another date, you can still sign up, I would say, after the 1st week. After 14th, it's probably best for you to wait till our next session starts, But you can watch the video if you missed today's session, or you can sign up in time and join us either at lunchtime or this evening for the 40 day journey. You can start reading the book right away online and then order your copy. You'll get it in plenty of time to keep up with us for the next 6 weeks as we journey through the 40 day body image workbook. And really, friends, this is like your cheapest way to get body image coaching because we do Zoom calls where we all just connect and talk about the content and really journey together. So I encourage you to be a part of that.com. And just sign up, join the list, become one of our email friends because what we're gonna do is every month, we are gonna send you an email with links to podcast episodes and blog posts that connect to our theme for the month. So January's theme is health.

Heather Creekmore [00:02:13]:

And if you start listening to some of January's episodes and you're like, I want more of this, we're gonna have a resource for you monthly where you can find all those episodes. Because I know there's, like, 420 episodes or something silly like that. You can't sort through them all. There's, oh, I don't know, 700 blog posts. So we are going to curate a list for you. If you wanna dig in deeper, you can do that. So be on our mailing list, and that list of resources for January is gonna go out next week. Okay.

Heather Creekmore [00:02:41]:

Now let's get to the station. Welcome to Compare To Who, the podcast to

Heather Creekmore [00:02:49]:

help you make peace with your body so you can savor God's rest and feel his love. If you're tired of fighting body image the world's way, compare to who is the show for you. You've likely heard lots of talk about loving your body, but my goal is different. Striving to fall in love with stretch marks and cellulite is a little silly to me. Instead, I want to encourage you and remind you with the truth of scripture that you are seen, you are known, and you are loved no matter what your size or shape.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:03:16]:

Here, the pressure is off.

Heather Creekmore [00:03:19]:

If you're looking for real talk, biblical encouragement, and regular reminders that God loves you and you're not alone, you've come to

Heather Creekmore [00:03:26]:

the right place. I hope

Heather Creekmore [00:03:27]:

you enjoy today's show, and, hey, tell a friend about it.

Heather Creekmore [00:03:33]:

Doctor Mikaela Albertson, thank you for joining us on the Compare To Who Show today. Happy to be here.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:03:39]:

Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm excited to be here. Well, I'm excited to talk to you.

Heather Creekmore [00:03:44]:

And this month we're talking about health. And health is such a tricky, like, in some cases, triggering word Mhmm. For a lot of people, especially, like, a lot of listeners of the show. Because we've been told by culture and Instagram and all the places that health means one thing, and then we chase that thing and maybe we don't feel very happy after chasing it, or it just never seems to be enough. And so you just wrote a brand new book called Everything I Wish I Could Tell You About Midlife. It's amazing. But today, I'm excited to have a conversation with you about something that might be kind of controversial. But I love I love this angle you take in your book.

Heather Creekmore [00:04:25]:

But today, I wanna talk about why a medical doctor like yourself may not necessarily recommend that weight loss be your first goal this year. And that that should not be earth shattering, but that is kind of earth shattering.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:04:44]:

Especially this time of year. Right?

Heather Creekmore [00:04:46]:

Right. Right. Because it's like lose weight, lose weight. So have everything lose weight. So I can't wait to get into this. But where

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:04:51]:

I would love to start today is tell us a little bit about your story.

Heather Creekmore [00:04:57]:

I I I read a little bit about you. You are very vulnerable in your book, but can you tell us where Mikaela Albertson's coming from today?

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:05:07]:

Yeah, sure. That's a big broad question, but I'll try to answer that. I, I am a family practice doctor. I have a fellowship in women's health. So, I love taking care of and talking to other women and hearing their stories and really kind of getting to know them. I think that practicing medicine has been just a gift to me because I get to meet people with a few of their layers peeled away. And that is just such a special privilege, I think. And it has taught me so much about people and humans and humanity.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:05:41]:

And so that's my favorite part about practicing medicine and seeing women. I did all of my medical training in Omaha, Nebraska, and we moved to Utah. So we're in Salt Lake City. We moved here about 12 years ago, and that's when I started practicing part time and started having a lot of children. And as I've had more kids, I've worked less and less and less in clinic. And so my story is I worked out in clinical practice for 18 years, and then a couple years ago, I actually quit my job in clinical practice to be an author full time. And that's about the time that I started this book. And really, I hope from the title, people are like, what does that mean exactly? What do you wish you could tell us? I do feel like medicine has these constraints of time and also vulnerability a little bit.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:06:33]:

I sort of had this feeling like I I would so much rather go out for lunch with this patient and really talk about things than have to kind of stay within like the parameters of medicine, if that makes sense. Yeah. So yeah. And then I have 5 children. They range in age from 2nd grade to sophomore in college. Wow. And I've recently found out that I'm going to be a grandmother this summer. So that's another little bonus.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:07:02]:

And my husband is a physician as well. He is 15 years into recovery from drugs and alcohol use. And so my time in residency was the same time that I was a young mom, had 2 little children, and my husband was in and out of rehab. And so I really feel like that was this really defining time in my life where I became kind of a different person.

Heather Creekmore [00:07:27]:

Mhmm.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:07:27]:

And I saw people in a different way, and I sort of began to see life in a different way. Like, oh, life is actually really hard, and it's really hard for me, and it's really hard for every patient that I'm seeing for different reasons and different parts of their story. And so I hope that writing and actually being real and honest and vulnerable just allows people to be more fully themselves when they read it, because that's certainly my intent. Like, let's be in our actual bodies that aren't perfect and let's live these actual lives that we have that are certainly not perfect. And how could we sort of muddle through together?

Heather Creekmore [00:08:10]:

I love that. That was the perfect answer. Thank you. Let let me loop back to something that you said about the struggle between kind of what's expected in the medical community and what you really have a heart for. And I think in your book that comes through so clearly. And, like, as an author, I was kinda just, like, empathizing with you because you talked a little bit about and maybe us in the introduction or chapter 1. You talk early in the book about kinda what the publisher wanted from you and, like, what you wanted to do. And as I started reading, I was like, oh, boy.

Heather Creekmore [00:08:46]:

Here's a book by a doctor. There's medical terms. Oh, boy. She's gonna have to say things politically correct because she's a medical doctor and use the right terms and definitions. And you had, like, a little bit of a little bit of your story in the beginning where it was, like, it was enough for me to be like, oh, I like her. Like, wow. Like, I think she gets it. But then there's these terms.

Heather Creekmore [00:09:10]:

Yeah. And I'm so glad I didn't give up on your book after chapter 1 or 2 because it just unravels like this beautiful portrait. I don't even know, like, what unravels. That's probably beautiful portraits don't unravel. I don't know. It's it's early in the year. I'm not all of my words aren't back yet after the holiday, but it's just really good. It's just really good.

Heather Creekmore [00:09:33]:

And I don't say that about every book. So, but you're you are so vulnerable, and you're honest. And, you know, I think this is a problem that all authors have. Right? You can't just, like, it's like meeting someone for the first time. You can't just say, hi. I'm Heather, and here's all my deepest, darkest secrets in chapter 1 because that would be awkward and you would overwhelm people. So you kinda have to, like, take them on a journey to get to know you a little bit. But, boy, by the end, you had me crying.

Heather Creekmore [00:10:04]:

I didn't think I would cry. Dang. And my husband's like, you're reading a book on midlife and you're crying?

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:10:12]:

Yeah. Well, it's

Heather Creekmore [00:10:12]:

not hormones. It's actually really good writing. So, So it was it was just beautiful. But what stuck out to me the most was what you were just talking about. I could see that transformation in in as you're telling your story of someone who and you do have a whole chapter on this. Someone who was probably high control in her life. And then life just became to be too like, you can't you get to a tipping point. Like, I think that's why I have 4 children.

Heather Creekmore [00:10:41]:

You have 5. Like, I think if I had 1 or 2, like, I would have still somehow had the illusion that I was in control and make things happen. So I mean, god had to give me more children so I would learn, nope. There's like, I just do not have enough need to take care of everything that they need all the time on every level. Like, it's it's out of my control. And so that was really beautiful. Let's let's take this to a scenario that I think most of the women listening, because I think most of us have a issue with control. What do you see? Why do we want to be in control? And, you know, you said your tipping point was kind of your husband's addiction and children and all those things, but like, how do you see that unraveling happening for women you know or or even women you've cared for?

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:11:34]:

Yeah. I I wanna take us all off the hook a little bit and just say, I don't think that it's our fault necessarily. I think that we are taught that from the very beginning. And I think we are surrounded by this idea that life is manageable. We just haven't found the right tools or the right things or the right diet or the right exercise program or whatever it is. And if we would just try a little bit harder, then we would get it all figured out. That's how marketing works. And, I mean, that's kinda how the book publishing industry works.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:12:16]:

Like, I really had to have a lot of discussion about that and say, I can't I can't provide a product that says, what is the problem that women are having? How is your book gonna solve it? And then write this thing and give it to them in this tidy package because that isn't real. Yeah. And that is, like, the exact opposite of what I want to hand to women.

Heather Creekmore [00:12:42]:

Yeah.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:12:42]:

And so that was actually a really hard thing to work out together. And I was so grateful that they let me or they were okay with me writing about that actual process in the first chapter where it was like, we want you to write about this and do it like this. And I was like, no. So I just I don't think that it's necessarily our fault. It's what we've been taught to believe by everything that surrounds us all the time. Yeah. And I don't think social media and all of the ads and the things, especially that we're seeing in January and, you know, it doesn't help because what we're what we're being sold is, well, look at her. She's got it all figured out.

Heather Creekmore [00:13:23]:

Right.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:13:23]:

You're just not working hard enough.

Heather Creekmore [00:13:25]:

Right.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:13:25]:

You just haven't found the thing. And, I think it all comes down to control. You're not controlling yourself enough. Right. You're not following the rules. These are the rules and you're not doing it. So I don't know. I don't think it's our fault, but when we can step outside of it and be like, oh, that's all just a bunch of baloney over there.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:13:46]:

There's so much freedom available and so much peace available. And if I'm being really honest, I step back into that line all the time Yeah. Because it's hard to stay over there Yeah. In that bit of freedom because we're surrounded by it. We're inundated by it all the time.

Heather Creekmore [00:14:04]:

Right. Right. That's the water we swim in for sure.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:14:07]:

It is.

Heather Creekmore [00:14:08]:

Yeah. And and also, I think as Christian women, like, I think the concept of self control kind of gets conflated with control to be like x y z person influencer. Right? And so it almost it's like there's this American dream concept of, like, you know, put yourself up by your bootstraps and you can do whatever you wanna do, whatever you set your mind to, you can accomplish it. Right? So we've got that. And then we also have this, like, Christian, like, Puritan work ethic. Like, you know, if you just trust God enough and control yourself enough, then you can be like x y z.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:14:47]:

Yeah. Well, and actually kind of deny yourself because yourself can't be trusted. And so you need to control that part of yourself because it's so bad. And it's so, you know, that's where kind of obedience comes in and those words that you're like, well, that's really confusing. Yeah. Because, yeah, it's kind of a mixed picture that we get. Well, because we are supposed to deny ourselves, but not in the way that,

Heather Creekmore [00:15:13]:

I think, diet culture is the label. I give it. It's not in the way that diet culture telephests you. Because God gave us signals like hunger. Yes. Right? Yeah. Like, he created our bodies that way. But it's been so conflated that deny yourself means, like, don't eat when you're hungry.

Heather Creekmore [00:15:29]:

Like, wait, what? Mhmm. But, you know, Jesus fed his disciples. Like, there you know, it just doesn't it doesn't add up. So, yeah, it's a it's a tough bag. The one other thing that I kind of observed from your story, and I just feel like it resonates, is, like, I think a lot of us struggling with this are the type a strivers, achievers, get it all done. Yeah. I mean, I was reading your story, and I was like, how in the world were you doing residency with little kids and a husband? Like, woah. And that is another one of those myths, right, that we should be able to be super women.

Heather Creekmore [00:16:12]:

Yes. And, like, you shouldn't need help. And you're honest about, like, kinda your your your struggling and quest in that as well. Like, why?

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:16:21]:

Why do we do it?

Heather Creekmore [00:16:22]:

I mean, is this just another influence of culture, or are we trying to prove something to ourselves, or is this a trauma response?

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:16:29]:

Yeah. I actually when I think back about that time, I actually think a lot about trauma. I think, I mean, for me personally, there were so many things that were out of my control that I really grabbed on to the things that I did have control over. And like those were the things that I could control. And so, I was going to do them like so well because then at least I had something that was like falling in line. And so, I think that's like how I muscled my way through, but I do talk about that in when I sort of talk about my interview process and how I came to medical school the 1st year that women to men was 5050 and I don't think sort of our traditional roles had kinda caught up. And so it was like, well, great. Like, if you wanna be working, that's fine.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:17:20]:

But, like, you have to be over here in this world and you have to be this amazing mom and caring for your children and doing all these things at home as well. I fully held on to that. Like to be a strong woman and to be a successful woman, I was gonna have to do all of

Heather Creekmore [00:17:37]:

1. Yeah.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:17:38]:

And it took me a really long time to sort of lay down those expectations and be like, oh, what can you actually do? Right. And be a little bit happy and at peace in the middle of that and not just a crazy stressed out Yeah. Anxious control freak.

Heather Creekmore [00:17:57]:

Yeah. Well, and that kinda yeah. That goes back to the deny yourself thing. Right? Because I do, like, I I think similarly, it's like you kinda convince yourself that you just have to work so hard in all these things and you deny yourself the joy, or you deny your you don't deserve rest because you haven't done it good enough. Right? You don't deserve, you know, any peace or joy in your life because you gotta work harder. And then maybe someday, someday you'll arrive after you've got all the things done perfectly, and you have a great body while doing it. Then you'll arrive and be able to rest. But you don't you haven't earned your rest yet is kind of the I don't know the sentiment.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:18:36]:

Yeah. That's the idea of all of it is that, like, there's this finish line. Yeah. So no matter what it is, whether it's the body you want or the marriage you want or the work you want or whatever, like, that there is this finish line. And if you just, like, work hard enough, once you get there, that's where your peace will be or that's when, you know, I don't know, all your wildest dreams will come true. Right? And I'm like, well, I haven't gotten there yet. So I have to sort of change how I'm doing the journey along the way because all I've noticed is that the goalposts keep moving

Heather Creekmore [00:19:13]:

Right.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:19:13]:

No matter how hard I work at something. So yeah. That was the idea behind the book, I suppose. It's like, how do we just be here today Yeah. And take care of these bodies today. Right?

Heather Creekmore [00:19:27]:

And how I mean today. Yeah. It's kinda it's the Kate Buller, like, there's no cure for being human. Yes. Kind of kind of concept. But, you know, it's funny you just, you know, you said about the goalpost keep moving or, like, the wellness journey there being a finish line. I mean, I like to say it's not a very encouraging thing, but I'd like to say we have a 100% chance of mortality, like, we are all sure. Right? And and but, I mean, it does feel like there's this belief that if I were doing everything correctly, right, if I were eating right and exercising right and, you know, resting correctly.

Heather Creekmore [00:20:05]:

And, like, if if I could just check off all the things in the list, then I wouldn't have any suffering. Like, I'll never get a disease. Like, nothing will ever like, my body will just be, like, it'll look great. First of all, it's gonna look like a model's body. Yeah. Because I'll have done everything. Right? Yeah. So that's what's most important, like, if we're honest.

Heather Creekmore [00:20:23]:

Yes. And then but then beyond that, like, I'll have optimal health. That there is this way it goes back to control. Right? That there's this way for me to achieve optimal health. Mhmm. But you're a doctor. Like, am I in complete control of my health? Yeah.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:20:43]:

I mean, my answer is no. There are a lot of things that we can control and there are a lot of things that

Heather Creekmore [00:20:47]:

we

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:20:47]:

cannot. And so we kind of have to come to this level of acceptance, I think, as we move through this journey. So, yeah, I have a whole chapter in the book on acceptance and sort of figuring out, okay, this is the body I live in. This is how old I am. These are the parents I have and the genetics that I have. This is these are what my limitations are. So how do I move through life knowing all of those things? What are the things I can't control, and what are the things I can't? Yeah. Over the over this break, we were actually I actually came upon an accident, and I was, like, the first responder to an accident Oh.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:21:32]:

With my family. And so I had to get out and do CPR on a man until the ambulance came and he died. And that's the first time that I have done full life, you know, life giving support to someone outside of the hospital. And it really affected me and I just thought all over kind of my kids' Christmas break and things I just kept thinking about that man and it really just brings a lot of perspective, I think, that obviously there are some things that we cannot control. Control that we're out walking our dog in the evening and we get hit by it, we're struck by a truck and killed. And so I just how do we want to live our lives knowing that mortality is the like, this is what's coming for us. And I would love to have some peace in my day to day life and joy as you mentioned. And I do want to be healthy, and I do want to feel well in the body that I'm in, but not at the expense of deprivation and strict rules and, you know, restriction and all of these things.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:22:41]:

Right? And so how do we get that right? How do we figure out that balance?

Heather Creekmore [00:22:45]:

Well, because I feel like in order to do it all the way the Instagram influencers tell me to do it, like, it has to be my life.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:22:53]:

Yes.

Heather Creekmore [00:22:53]:

Right? I mean, like, you cannot go on a lot of these programs and plans without devoting, like, a good amount of either actual time or mental time Mhmm. To, you know, calculating and planning and plotting and, you know, and then it becomes it becomes what life's about. Right? Like, I gotta get up tomorrow to do well on my diet and exercise. Great. Right. It's like, is that like we we're trying to lengthen our lives by to do, like that? Right? Like, I was like, once at 4. Yeah. Like, right now, I don't even longer.

Heather Creekmore [00:23:28]:

So I can diet more and exercise more. Wait. What?

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:23:31]:

Yeah. But I I think we're missing our lives. Like, we're missing our actual beautiful, just flawed, messy, ordinary lives, right, with all of that. And so I'm not saying throw all healthy lifestyle out the window and just do it over the heck you want all the time and, like, just you know? Right?

Heather Creekmore [00:23:51]:

Right.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:23:51]:

Right. Right. Really not saying that, but I I do think, like, let's make healthy lifestyle kind of part of real living Right. Through the hard stuff and through the joy and all

Heather Creekmore [00:24:04]:

of the things. So yeah. Yeah. Well, I loved, actually, I've already quoted you. You you wrote about how you haven't met a person in midlife who didn't have a little bit of a stomach role. Yeah. It's true. To a client recently.

Heather Creekmore [00:24:21]:

I was like because it it we feel like from the messages, you know, that if we were doing things right, we wouldn't have that stomach role. Right? That stomach role is what's gonna give me diabetes and heart disease. And as long as I keep that stomach role, like, I'm just on the fast track to death early. Right? And and it's like, but wait, but everyone has a stomach roll at a certain point. Right? I mean, you know, so it is. It's so tough to not make that, like, the focus of my life is to get rid of my stomach rolls. It's IP is hard to say.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:24:53]:

Yeah. I like to say healthy bodies look all kinds of ways. And in this book I sort of point out if you ever go to watch like the end of a marathon or really probably any, that's just where I've been because my husband is a runner.

Heather Creekmore [00:25:08]:

Okay.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:25:10]:

And you just watch the varied people that come across the finish line who are all ages and all shapes and sizes, and they have just run 26 he runs ultra marathons, and so he just did a 50 mile run. The ages and shapes and sizes of people who came across the finish line and who were obviously, you know, loved physical exercise and were in great shape and we don't know a lot. We didn't measure their internal parameters of health. Right? But it's like healthy bodies can look all kinds of ways. I think we are missing it by thinking about thinness and health as one and the same. And so if we could just switch that little switch, I think in our minds that would make such a big difference for so many people.

Heather Creekmore [00:26:02]:

It sure would. Okay. But let me put you on the spot here, doctor Albertson. A lot of women I work with will start a body image freedom journey, and they're like, I'm feeling better in my body. Maybe they start intuitive eating. They're done with dieting, you know. And maybe the scale does go up a little bit because I mean, well, first of all, I think at midlife, right, it it goes up period. But, like, for any woman, and this was my story, I mean, I was probably atypical anorexic for 20, 30 years.

Heather Creekmore [00:26:32]:

Yeah. But when you start to eat, your body weighs more than it does when you are not eating. Correct? That's kinda basic. Right? So a lot of women will come to me and they'll be like, I'm just doing great. And then I went to the doctor, and the doctor noticed that I gained weight from my last appointment. And the doctor told me even it was like for my midlife people, you know, my doctor told me, hey, Now that you're 50, you really need to watch it or you would be doing better if you just, you know, could just lose £20, £30, or or whatever the number may be. Can can you shepherd those women that are saying this just happened to me? Yeah. I mean, of course, you know, doctors are trained with science and data and but but what's what's missing in that equation? Can can you help us out here?

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:27:25]:

Yeah. I just well, I first just wanna say I'm sorry about that and I'm sorry that that's happened to you and I'm sorry that I think there are lots of providers who maybe aren't on the same page. And it's okay to shop around a little bit for a provider that you feel comfortable with. So I actually have had this experience myself, as a patient myself, and I just wrote something about that. I think it was actually maybe a year ago now I wrote my apology to, people as a medical provider and for saying I'm so sorry that you come to the doctor. We measure your BMI and, like, that you get that because that was exactly the experience I had. So I also have been someone who has not fed myself well for my whole life and who would definitely fit into disordered eating, but who maybe didn't quite fit into like an eating disorder, but was like real close to being an eating disorder, but never quite. Right? So, and I would say I only learned to really feed myself in the last few years, which is a really sad admission to make, I think, because I'm seeing patients and I'm writing advice and I'm talking to people about health and then I would turn around and mistreat myself in all the worst ways, especially around food.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:28:49]:

So I also am just learning how to feed myself and learning to practice intuitive eating and in doing so gained 10 or 15, maybe £20. I feel like I overcompensated a little bit because it was like, oh, I can eat now. Yay. Yay for me. Food is so good. And then I sort of settled into my set weight point, which I've been at probably now for well over a year or maybe 2. And it's not the way that I would like it to be, if I were still living in like, you know, beauty culture, diet culture times. Right? Okay.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:29:25]:

I thought, yep. Well, I went for my wellness exam and actually decided I was not gonna look at the scale. I was just gonna hop on there and I just kept chit chatting to the nurse and talking to her about whatever because I felt so good and I was just doing great. Like and the whole appointment went great. And she said, you're doing great. And my blood pressure was at goal and, you know, all the things. Got my blood drawn, but then I got my little printout at the end. And then Printout.

Dr. Mikaela Albertson [00:29:52]:

Yeah. Yeah. And so I got my printout and, like,

Heather Creekmore [00:29:58]:

friend, it's just about to get good. I hope you'll come back on Friday for the second part of my interview with doctor Albertson, and we're gonna talk about what do you say to your doctor? What happens when you're in the same scenario? When you're in their office knowing that you have a history of disordered eating or body image issues, and they tell you that you need to lose weight, that's where we're going. Plus, we'll talk about some really helpful ways for you to think about your body and health and compassion for your body and how to handle stress. Oh, so much good stuff coming up in Friday's episode, so I hope you'll come back for the second part of this interview. Thanks for listening today. Hope something today has helped you stop comparing and start living. Bye bye. The Compare Do podcast is part of the Life Audio Podcast Network for more great Christian podcasts and life by your day.