So how do you go from the theory of Health At Every Size® to the practice of it? My advice is—just start somewhere. Just do one thing that you associate with Health At Every Size® and commit to it for a week or a month or however long you need.

Let’s take a step back and define Health At Every Size®. I like to use notes, “It supports people in adopting health habits for the sake of health and well-being (rather than weight control).” By adopting and internalizing these principles, we practice HAES®.

These principles are, of course, deceptively simple. If you’ve been a chronic dieter for years and years, it’s likely going to be a difficult transition from dieting and restricting to “flexible manner that values pleasure and honors internal cues of hunger, satiety, and appetite.” If you’ve only ever exercised to lose weight and burn calories, it may be heard to find the joy in moving your body. If you’ve believed heart and soul in the thin beauty ideal all your life, “accepting and respecting the natural diversity of body sizes and shapes” likely will be challenging.

Truthfully, this is the bulk of what I do with my clients—supporting them to really make these principles part of their every day lives. And of course, working with a HAES® counselor is a really wonderful way to get support with living a HAES® lifestyle.

But if you aren’t working with a counselor, where can you start? I say, start anywhere. Start with anything that seems fun and/or even a little easy. For example, if you already have an idea of how you can exercise in a way that makes you feel vital, go for it. If feel like you’re already starting to see the beauty in a diversity of bodies, focus your efforts on that. If you’re intrigued by the idea of really paying attention to your hunger and fullness and eating with that awareness, try that. Don’t start with the thing that seems really hard or incomprehensible.

One of the beautiful things about HAES® is that each of the 3 main principles interact with one another. Respecting the natural diversity of body sizes and shapes may lead you to respect your body more, which may lead you to eat and exercise in a more intuitive healing way. Paying attention to your hunger may allow you to notice what else you’re hungry for in your life, which may lead you down a very healing path of connecting with yourself and your desires. Moving your body with joy may allow you to see the beauty in a variety of bodies.

You really don’t know where your HAES® journey may take you, but it’s important to take that first step. Whatever first step you take is a good one.

What was or will be your first step on your HAES® journey? Let me know in the comments section below.

Golda is a certified holistic health counselor and founder of Body Love Wellness. She counsels women and men throughout the country on how to get off the dieting roller coaster, give their bodies what they really crave, and love their bodies and themselves. Golda's counseling and activism work have been featured on CBS's The Early Show, ABC's Nightline and Time Out New York. For more support with healing your relationship with food and your body, get your free copy of Golda's Top Ten Tips For Divine Dining by clicking here.