Sue's Blog - Some assembly required.

Weight Issues.

There was an interesting discussion on facebook the other day.
Just a small one.

A friend of mine has been trying, unsuccessfully, to lose weight for years.
He would lose a few pounds and then put them back on...repeat again and again....always trying to find the magic formula that would melt that weight away.
Of course there isn't one.  For someone who is predisposed to being overweight it means eating less for ever. Their whole life....no going back to eating normally ever again.
I say less because there are some who think by eating different things the weight will disappear.
That is true but only to a certain extent.  To lose weight and to keep it off, still requires a great reduction in portion size.
Anyway, he was talking about his weight issue (I won't call it a problem as I don't think it is) and there was a well meaning person encouraging him to "keep going. Don't give up" etc. etc.
I have to say, in this case I don't agree with that.
This lovely friend has been doing this for YEARS....it doesn't work.  It just makes his life miserable and he probably agonises over everything he is eating for much of the time.
What happens with most people who diet is this.......lose weight, being thoroughly miserable all the time you can't eat the things you like.....stop doing it....weight goes back on....be miserable because the weight is back on.......try to lose weight.....be miserable.
Can you see what is happening?
Your whole enjoyment of life is impacted by this weight issue.  
I am not saying eat a dozen cream buns every day but what I am saying is just relax and forget about it.
Eat a reasonable diet without denying yourself the treats that make life worth living.
It is a pointless exercise to keep going through this.
The daft part is that we are brainwashed by the media to think there is a certain size everyone should be.
How ridiculous.
Take a look at your parents and grandparents.   You are what you have come from.

It would be like taking a shire horse and starving it to make it into a race horse.
Won't happen.
If the shire horse was starved until it was the same size as a race horse it would just be a very ill shire horse who would return to shire horse size as soon as it was allowed to eat normally.

My brother followed the "lose weight, be miserable, put it back on" theme for many years.
Then one day he said, "Sod it.  I enjoy eating and like a pint.  I have a miserable life all the time I am trying to lose weight so I am not doing it any more."
He didn't get any bigger.  He just stayed the same, and he is much happier.

So, to sum up.  I think that if you know someone who has been struggling with weight issues for years it is unkind to tell them to keep on trying.
If they want to accept themselves as they are and live a normal, happy life without worrying about food all the time, then good for them.

posted by Sue Banks @ 2:11 PM