I know it must be boring to you now.
I know, I'm a totally broken record, talking about nothing but food and exercise. You're allowed not to read, if you like.
I'm on day 9 of my 90 day system for the working out. I have had one extra, unasked-for day of rest (last wednesday when I couldn't get any of the DVD players to play the discs), and other than that, I've been pretty consistent about sticking to it. I'm not always happy that I did it while I'm doing it, but I'm always happier afterward.
Also, as of this morning, I have lost 50 pounds from my heaviest, which was 3 years ago. I know it's not that impressive when you say 50 pounds in 3 years, but keep in mind, I got pregnant and had a baby in those 3 years. So it is a big freaking deal to me.
The hardest thing now for me is dealing with patients looking to lose weight. You'd think it'd make it easier. But it's more frustrating. Mostly because I have patients coming in, giving me their various excuses for wanting to lose weight but not being able to. Here are some of the most common:
What I am saying, though, is that the excuses are too easy. And it's hard for me to listen to them when I know that WW works. And when they give me the "I can't afford the meetings" excuse, I tell them to join online and that I've never been to a meeting in my life. When they give me the "i can't afford it at all" excuse, I ask them how many times a week they go out to eat dinner or lunch and how much they're spending. And I emphasize that they can start to rearrange their life and make room for healthy choices: walk up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, park further away from the store, have an apple instead of a coke at your snack, take a 10 minute walking break instead of a cigarette break. And yet, they all have the reasons why it won't work.
And I know them well, because they were my reasons for failing, too. And I know I've lost weight before (this is the weight I was early in my pregnancy) and not been able to keep it off, but I've realized that something is different this time. I think last time, I was expecting to lose weight, be thin and gorgeous and the world would be better. That the things that make me sad won't make me sad anymore. That I will be happy with who I am. And it's simply not the case. I lost weight last time and, yes, things did change. I got pregnant. And maybe that was because of the weight loss, who knows? But it didn't change the integral person who is me. I'm still me. I'm still sad and frustrated by the same things. I'm still disappointed in the same things. I'm still happy about the same things, and overjoyed at the same things as I was when I weighed nearly 300 pounds. Losing the weight didn't change me, it just changed how people viewed a part of me. But not the people who know me best: they still loved me or hated me or felt however they felt about me the same way as before the weight loss.
I'm not sure what I'm getting at, other than to express some frustration at the people who come in and claim they cannot lose weight, while I'm in the middle of my weight loss journey and having success. I guess it's just about what you want to spend to get what you really want. And I don't mean that financially. I mean, what are you willing to spend, to part with, to give up, in order to be healthy? What would you give in order to walk up the stairs without huffing and puffing? What would you sacrifice in order to feel good about yourself physically again?
Most people say they'd give anything, but they wouldn't. Because they don't have the time to exercise, and they don't have the money to buy fresh fruits and vegetables instead of McDonald's. They don't have the time to make healthy meal choices or to walk 20 minutes a day. So while people say they'd give anything, what they don't understand is that they have the tools at their hands and it's time to actually use them. And that what they'll have to give up isn't money. It's time and effort. And people would rather slap down the cash. You know? And hearing people ask me to prescribe them a "jumpstart" pill to get them going is disappointing and frustrating to me, since I never had anything like that nor required it.
I realize that I'm at the point on my own path where I feel like "if I can do it, you can too." And that's not my job. My job is to show people the tools they have, teach them how to use them and then let them make the choices. Which is what I do. And I withhold any judgment based on their inability to get past the obstacles they've thrown in their own paths, because sometimes they're harder to clear than others. Who knows? I just know that I have to really reign in how I feel about other people asking me, professionally, to help the lose weight and then have them tell me that the things that I and they know to be true about diet and exercise are not right for them, because somehow they are special. Their weight problem isn't the same as every single other weight problem I've seen walk in the door (or my own). They can't possibly just get better with diet and exercise, despite all of the evidence that points to the contrary. I guess that's what gets at me: the people who honestly believe that their weight problem is not the result of making bad food choices and not exercising enough and therefore simply encouraging them to make good food choices is somehow not enough for them. When the truth is that there are some hormonal and genetic issues that keep heavy people heavy, but a person who eats correctly and who exercises on a fairly regular basis will simply not continue to weigh 300 pounds or more.
I'm not sure what the point of this post was today, other than to say that I'm as happy as can be with my own progress. Maybe I should stick to focusing on that instead of on other people looking to do similar things.
I'm on day 9 of my 90 day system for the working out. I have had one extra, unasked-for day of rest (last wednesday when I couldn't get any of the DVD players to play the discs), and other than that, I've been pretty consistent about sticking to it. I'm not always happy that I did it while I'm doing it, but I'm always happier afterward.
Also, as of this morning, I have lost 50 pounds from my heaviest, which was 3 years ago. I know it's not that impressive when you say 50 pounds in 3 years, but keep in mind, I got pregnant and had a baby in those 3 years. So it is a big freaking deal to me.
The hardest thing now for me is dealing with patients looking to lose weight. You'd think it'd make it easier. But it's more frustrating. Mostly because I have patients coming in, giving me their various excuses for wanting to lose weight but not being able to. Here are some of the most common:
- I'm very stressed out and I am a stress eater (the latest was a woman who's mother recently died and since that time has put on 20 more pounds and says, flat out, "when I miss my mom, I eat.")
- I don't really eat all that much
- I walk a lot during the day already at work.
- My family won't eat anything but food that's fattening.
- I can't afford that type of diet (which is usually the South Beach type diet, which is just a lot of fruits and vegetables).
- I'm too busy to cook healthy food.
- I don't eat vegetables (I swear to God, I have at least 5 people in the past 2 years tell me that they just do not eat vegetables, so don't bother asking them to).
What I am saying, though, is that the excuses are too easy. And it's hard for me to listen to them when I know that WW works. And when they give me the "I can't afford the meetings" excuse, I tell them to join online and that I've never been to a meeting in my life. When they give me the "i can't afford it at all" excuse, I ask them how many times a week they go out to eat dinner or lunch and how much they're spending. And I emphasize that they can start to rearrange their life and make room for healthy choices: walk up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, park further away from the store, have an apple instead of a coke at your snack, take a 10 minute walking break instead of a cigarette break. And yet, they all have the reasons why it won't work.
And I know them well, because they were my reasons for failing, too. And I know I've lost weight before (this is the weight I was early in my pregnancy) and not been able to keep it off, but I've realized that something is different this time. I think last time, I was expecting to lose weight, be thin and gorgeous and the world would be better. That the things that make me sad won't make me sad anymore. That I will be happy with who I am. And it's simply not the case. I lost weight last time and, yes, things did change. I got pregnant. And maybe that was because of the weight loss, who knows? But it didn't change the integral person who is me. I'm still me. I'm still sad and frustrated by the same things. I'm still disappointed in the same things. I'm still happy about the same things, and overjoyed at the same things as I was when I weighed nearly 300 pounds. Losing the weight didn't change me, it just changed how people viewed a part of me. But not the people who know me best: they still loved me or hated me or felt however they felt about me the same way as before the weight loss.
I'm not sure what I'm getting at, other than to express some frustration at the people who come in and claim they cannot lose weight, while I'm in the middle of my weight loss journey and having success. I guess it's just about what you want to spend to get what you really want. And I don't mean that financially. I mean, what are you willing to spend, to part with, to give up, in order to be healthy? What would you give in order to walk up the stairs without huffing and puffing? What would you sacrifice in order to feel good about yourself physically again?
Most people say they'd give anything, but they wouldn't. Because they don't have the time to exercise, and they don't have the money to buy fresh fruits and vegetables instead of McDonald's. They don't have the time to make healthy meal choices or to walk 20 minutes a day. So while people say they'd give anything, what they don't understand is that they have the tools at their hands and it's time to actually use them. And that what they'll have to give up isn't money. It's time and effort. And people would rather slap down the cash. You know? And hearing people ask me to prescribe them a "jumpstart" pill to get them going is disappointing and frustrating to me, since I never had anything like that nor required it.
I realize that I'm at the point on my own path where I feel like "if I can do it, you can too." And that's not my job. My job is to show people the tools they have, teach them how to use them and then let them make the choices. Which is what I do. And I withhold any judgment based on their inability to get past the obstacles they've thrown in their own paths, because sometimes they're harder to clear than others. Who knows? I just know that I have to really reign in how I feel about other people asking me, professionally, to help the lose weight and then have them tell me that the things that I and they know to be true about diet and exercise are not right for them, because somehow they are special. Their weight problem isn't the same as every single other weight problem I've seen walk in the door (or my own). They can't possibly just get better with diet and exercise, despite all of the evidence that points to the contrary. I guess that's what gets at me: the people who honestly believe that their weight problem is not the result of making bad food choices and not exercising enough and therefore simply encouraging them to make good food choices is somehow not enough for them. When the truth is that there are some hormonal and genetic issues that keep heavy people heavy, but a person who eats correctly and who exercises on a fairly regular basis will simply not continue to weigh 300 pounds or more.
I'm not sure what the point of this post was today, other than to say that I'm as happy as can be with my own progress. Maybe I should stick to focusing on that instead of on other people looking to do similar things.