The FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) Movement is how I stumbled into the personal finance space. It’s how I landed on my career change and new path of entrepreneurism. It’s how I’ve made great friends around the country and around the world. All this to say that overall, the FIRE Movement has a lot of great things going for it in my book. I’m not sure I would say I’m on any sort of straightforward “FIRE” Path, but it has strongly influenced my thinking on money.
While the majority of the FIRE and Personal Finance Twittersphere is lovely, there is this concerning thread I’ve noticed popping up again and again. And it finally annoyed me enough that I decided to call it out. I see some people in the FIRE movement arguing some variation of this line: If fat people just applied the same discipline to their health as they did to their finances, they’d lose weight. Or: Until you’re a healthy weight, you shouldn’t waste time worrying about money. Or: They just need to try harder/track macros/do intermittent fasting and all of their problems would be solved. This general thread is all too similar to the “optimization” mindset that I’ve previously called bullshit on.
All of these threads are frustratingly out of line with the science on weight and weight-loss. They’re also dangerous and throw up more barriers for people who aren’t inferior–morally, intellectually, or with regard to willpower.
The Science
I know there are so many people out there who are like, I lost 70 pounds exercising and counting calories and now I’m healthy! I’m calling bullshit. The science just doesn’t pan out regarding diets and weight loss. The vast majority of people who go on a diet and lose weight end up regaining it all back…or more. And this is true whether or not they maintain their diet or exercise program. Because your body doesn’t understand that the weight loss was on purpose. Instead, it says, “oh shit, our calorie consumption has gone down–must be a famine!” and it starts automatically slowing metabolism and storing more energy in fat. Once more for the people in the back: Your 👏anecdotal 👏evidence 👏has 👏no 👏scientific 👏validity!
Did you know that of those who go on a diet and actually lose weight, 95% will regain that weight (or more) in 5 years? 95%!!! What’s more, chronic dieting, and yo-yoing weight, have major health impacts. Dieting encourages your body to store more energy…so many dieters will end up heavier than when they started.
This isn’t a willpower thing. And before you @ me, how about you read all of the science behind this research. I’ve been doing a deep dive into this topic lately (though I’ve only skimmed the surface). Here are some of the notable takeaways from Dr. Linda Bacon and Dr. Lucy Aphramor, who have written quite a bit of the seminal text on the topic. Emphases are my own.
Weight Science: Evaluating the Evidence for a Paradigm Shift by Linda Bacon and Lucy Aphramor
“Current guidelines recommend that “overweight” and “obese” individuals lose weight through engaging in lifestyle modification involving diet, exercise and other behavior change. This approach reliably induces short term weight loss, but the majority of individuals are unable to maintain weight loss over the long term and do not achieve the putative benefits of improved morbidity and mortality. Concern has arisen that this weight focus is not only ineffective at producing thinner, healthier bodies, but may also have unintended consequences, contributing to food and body preoccupation, repeated cycles of weight loss and regain, distraction from other personal health goals and wider health determinants, reduced self-esteem, eating disorders, other health decrement, and weight stigmatization and discrimination…
While it is well established that obesity is associated with increased risk for many diseases, causation is less well-established. Epidemiological studies rarely acknowledge factors like fitness, activity, nutrient intake, weight cycling or socioeconomic status when considering connections between weight and disease. Yet all play a role in determining health risk. When studies do control for these factors, increased risk of disease disappears or is significantly reduced”
Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, and Just Plain Fail to Understand about Weight by Linda Bacon, PhD and Lucy Aphramor, PhD, RD
“Rather than being an indelible character trait or personal failure, post-diet compensatory eating comes as a direct consequence of dieting itself, our bodies’ nearly irresistible biological compensation triggered by weight loss. Accusations of personal failure ignore this science and are value judgments based on stereotypes or blame-ridden interpretations of behavioral counterreactions to starvation.”
“Several studies, including the largest health and nutrition study conducted by the U.S. government, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, document that higher-weight people eat no more than lean people, despite the popular misconception. One review examined thirteen studies, and found the intake of heavier people to be less than or equal to thin people in twelve of them.”
There is so much more science on this topic. Here’s a great article from Slate that links to several key findings. I’m not a scientist, and this isn’t a science blog, so I’ll leave it there for now in terms of evidence.
My Story
After my accident, I gained 30 pounds in a year. And then I kept gaining. For a very long time, I beat myself up about this. Coping with that (VERY) traumatic experience with pints of Ben and Jerry’s was weak of me (went my inner dialogue). If I was strong, and if I was healthy, and if I made good decisions, it shouldn’t be hard to get back to that lower weight, which I always thought of as my baseline. And as I cycled through diets and subsequent weight gain, my body got even more screwed up and confused.
I almost died in that accident. If the truck had been going a little faster, it would have thrown me head-first into a parked car. And then I went through months of intense pain and recovery, which included multiple surgeries. I am not at all ashamed of how I handled that time–I was surviving. But it isn’t surprising that the weight stayed on even after I recovered and regained mobility. Especially since my stress levels have stayed pretty consistently high in the years since that weight gain. Do I wish I was back at my weight from sophomore year? Yes! Am I going to let that get in the way of enjoying my life, eating what my body wants, and moving in ways that feel good? Hell no. I can be healthy without losing that weight. And in fact, I’m better off not dieting to achieve that pipe dream because that comes with its own health side effects.
The Financial Angle
The weight-loss industry is a $72 billion behemoth. And they’re really good at messaging couched in science that sells more product. Fatphobia is good for their business. That’s billions of dollars each year that Americans (and the majority are women) are spending on weight loss. Money they aren’t investing (which is an insult to the injury of lower pay to start with). But more than that, this message affects people lives. There’s a stigma around owning your space and being the healthiest version of yourself–no matter your size.
Because of that very effective messaging, the general “truth” that obesity is the root of all health evils seems to be taken as scripture. However, when you read articles or studies where obesity is discussed, there is not necessarily any strong link to causation. In any of them. And anyone with even a small background in science or math can tell you that correlation DOES NOT imply causation.
Look, I’m not saying it’s cool to go out and eat a dozen Krispy Kremes every day. But I also wish we could move past this trend of fat-shaming (in a space where it isn’t even remotely relevant). And even when we are talking about health, that conversation should be on promoting good things rather than restriction and failure.
Because the science is complex, I’m sure this conversation will continue to evolve. But one of the things I love about the personal finance community is the support we give each other. And this is definitely an area where we seem to fall short. Let’s get better.
As I understand it, the exercise is good and everyone who can should be doing something regularly they ideally enjoy and so are more likely to stick to for the long term. For example I enjoy lifting weights so that’s good for me because I will do it just for fun and not because it’s something I’m “supposed to do.” That actually doesn’t lead to lasting behavior change. Dieting doesn’t seem to have a good evidence base really because for reasons you note it’s hard and our bodies resist. Though making healthy switches I think is still good if you can, for example less processed food (which you have to have time/privilege to prep). So, not dieting but trying to include fruits and veg, not overloading on processed carbs and sugars, getting fiber. But: just like such substitutions can be time or money intensive, not everyone can exercise. I was reading recently that exercise is actually no longer a recommended therapy for folks with chronic fatigue as it can cause their overall energy level to crash.
There’s also an odd thing that I’ve noted where behaviors that would be a red flag for an eating disorder for a woman are considered “optimized” when a tech bro CEO recommends them. And a general denial of structural factors that contribute to obesity in favor of placing the responsibility on the individual (libertarianism for health)… that way we don’t have to actually fix anything and can more easily ignore the cost.
Good post, sorry I came to it so late.
Hi Elizabeth.
As the entire premise of our blog is based upon the intersections between health and wealth/fitness and FIRE, I hope you’ll allow me to join this conversation.
First of all, I COMPLETELY agree that our culture of “fatphobia” absolutely must change. I too am endlessly frustrated with unrealistic, and often terribly unhealthy, ideals of what constitutes a “fit” or healthy body. As someone who works in the health care setting (genetics specifically) and with a graduate degree in the sciences, I know too well that exterior appearance is a poor indicator of actual health. I’m also entirely fed up with anyone that perpetuates the classic “bro science” argument that all that matters is “calories in, calories out.” There is SO MUCH MORE that influences our overall health and weight, including our psyche, hormones, genetics, and lifestyle circumstances, among other factors. For many of us, our bodies simply have a natural set point beyond which it can be hard to lose more weight. This is completely okay, and we should embrace all the different shapes and sizes of our community. Body shaming in any way, shape or form is never okay.
However, I also think it is completely okay to want to improve one’s health and share this journey with others. The FIRE movement is predicated upon optimization of one’s finances to enhance overall happiness and quality of life. The pursuit of fitness and health is just another form of lifestyle optimization. Most of the people we have encountered in the FIRE movement don’t shame others for the way they live their lives, but rather offer an attractive alternative and share their journey towards getting there. Similarly, discussing health and fitness shouldn’t be viewed as a method of shaming others for their body type or lifestyle habits, but rather as a way to share different strategies to optimize one’s strength,physique, diet, etc., so long as a reader is interested in reading and discussing this topic. Just as I would never shame anyone else for their food or exercise choices, I would hope that others would not shame me for my passion for health and physical fitness.
I think as a whole, we could all work a little harder to embrace, accept and encourage one another, rather than tear each other down. For now, this is what I’ll strive for 🙂
Elise
Thanks Elise! And I completely agree—the focus must be on health rather than weight or weight loss. Because it’s far more likely that people focused on weight loss and dieting specifically are engaging in UNhealthy behaviors that isn’t actually doing their body any favors.
I think I general in the FIRE space, this conversation lacks nuance, which is also frustrating. Especially when talking about fitness, there’s a certain ableist tone that is all too prevalent generally. We should definitely talk about optimizing strength and health, but we have to realize that my version of optimal is different than someone else’s. I will never run a marathon because of my foot injury, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be healthy and active in less traditional ways.
I really appreciate the ongoing discussion on this—the more we talk about it, the more likely the problem changes!
Thank you for this post, Elizabeth! I have noticed some ridiculous fat shaming on Twitter of ppl in the FIRE movement if they happen to NOT be thin and fully optimized with their health according to the Tim Ferris school of keto/Intermittent fasting/blah blah blah healthy trend. Bodies do come in all shapes and sizes and if we could start focusing on if our bodies work the way we want and need them to work and not necessarily the way we look, we would all be better off. A decade or so ago when I was into running half and full marathons, I would discount/disrespect ppl all the time (in my own silly little head) who might look a little bigger and they would leave me in their dust. It only took a few times of this happening for me to realize 1) what an a-hole I was (and sometimes still can be), 2) those folks might not *look* as fit as I thought I was, but they were in fact, much fitter.
You rock! Thank you for sharing again.
Ugh, don’t even get me started on Tim Ferriss! Talk about anecdotal evidence not being scientific fact…I’m so glad that your own thoughts on this have evolved; my hope is that by talking more about this, more people will have the same experience.
That post was well written but painful to read because I can feel your sadness about the situation. Like most things in life trying to figure out the best first step to take with nutrition and fitness is really hard. But if you put one foot in front of the other it starts slowly snow balling on itself and a few months later your eating and exercising in ways you never thought possible. Your the only one that fully understands your current circumstances and injuries ect. Hopefully you are able to kick start things and get on good path. Its weird knowing that our mind technically has the power to make us think and do just about anything. I wish you all the best in finding a place of fitness and health that truly makes you happy!
I wouldn’t say I’m sad at all–not anymore. Rather, I’m frustrated by the general messaging in this space and the weird habit that some people have of telling overweight people what to do with their bodies. The science doesn’t support pursuing weight loss as a goal, so instead I’m just focusing on being healthy and happy.
I really think you missed the point here 😊
Seconded.
This post is a sad example of the very far shamming the article is about.
THANK YOU. A lot of the FIRE movement has legitimate problems with realizing their privilege is what enables them to FIRE. The same goes for health. Health privilege is everything and you can have severe, chronic conditions that have nothing to do with “lifestyle” – I have an autoimmune condition so I know first hand. Not to mention, Type 2 diabetes is largely genetic, and the “lifestyle” we’re supposed to live to avoid Type 2 diabetes is reserved only for the privileged. Try having multiple jobs. Try living in a food desert. Type 2 diabetes and the stigma surrounding it is rooted in structural classism and racism.
You’re welcome! And I completely agree–there’s definitely an ableist tone to a lot of these conversations as well. It’s important to call out those assumptions when they show up. Type 2 diabetes is also a really interesting example of correlation =/= causation–there’s no proof that obesity causes Type 2 diabetes but rather that it’s likely to appear in tandem. Those two things are very different.
I think you summarize it well we should be about promoting good things and supporting each other.
The problem I see in health or finances is that we over focus on big changes and the end goal. And not the small changes that can make the real sustainable difference in the long term.
Example friend i am going on a diet I am cutting out all carbs!
Or I need to save more money I am not going out to restaurants any more.
We all know how how these two thing end up.
Me: what about cutting down from two slices of toast in the morning two one?
Or increasing your 401k percentage from 10% to 12%.
We can not control how much we weight or how much money we will have in the future.
But we do have some control over what we save what we eat and how much we move.