In this off-the-cuff recording I celebrate being back on the downtrend, and spend time reflecting on my concerns related to the politicization of health. It seems that novel therapeutics and the end of the ‘monopoly on medicine’ may create unique challenges for biological human rights in the future.

I am experimenting with using libre audio & video formats in this post, so please let me know if anything isn’t working.

Bouncing Back: A new low

I am thrilled to report that I’ve managed to hit a new low again, confirming that I am already back on the downtrend. It is comforting to overcome being disrupted by pain as well as become slightly more comfortable with making mistakes. I have to admit that I’m at kind of a weight point in my journey. Having made so much progress since the high of over 570, I’m struggling to comprehend how much better I can feel as I approach a healthy body weight. As strange as it may sound, I am now near the lowest I’ve been for most of my adult life, so I feel the best I have been acclimated to in a long time. That said, I’m very much looking forward to biking in the spring time, and many other activities that open up as I change.

Does natural weight loss matter?

To satisfy my insatiable curiosity, I’ve recently been absorbing discussions around anabolic steroid use, as well as experimental peptides. In reflecting on these issues I’ve wondered to myself if losing weight (or building muscle) ’naturally’ matters much. I have not / will not be taking any weight loss or performance enhancing drugs, but I am very fascinated by the broader discussion around these things. The implications seem to be directly related to broader trends in healthcare and human rights in our time.

To spoil the rant a bit, I am concerned that the combination of unique therapeutics, social pressure, and public health initiatives can politicize health on a level previously unthinkable. This is especially concerning in light of governments and Big Tech taking control of people’s health data, and potentially weaponizing it against the public. I wholly expect that a combination of debilitating austerity and the digitization of health information can create a terrifying form of automated bio-tyranny.

I wholeheartedly believe that natural (and healthy!) body change is an act of defiance and rebellion from some of the most insidious forces at play in our time. However, I think it is important to have the humility and understanding to recognize the forces that drive people to consider potentially self-destructive ’enhancements’. So I would say, how we approach weight loss or other body change does definitely matter. The challenge is that these novel advancements seem to ultimately raise the stakes of our responsibility to care for those around us in the face of very insidious challenges.