Once upon a time there was this non gender specific fat person who felt very ashamed. This person felt that they were flawed at times because they could not meet the “normal” weight that society seemed to dictate. This person was young and even then they knew that they needed to lose weight. Sometimes their parents worried about them and started paying more attention to what they ate. Maybe they said to the one they were worried about- No you can only have two but then did not do the same with the sibling that didn’t have an issue.
I love the triumphant weight loss stories don’t you? They are of the champion that had been knocked down a hundred times and then found the answer and never looked back. The definition of champion is just that right- get knocked down a bunch of times, walk fearlessly into the unknown and come out on top. It seems however that you remain a champion on top but in world of weight loss often that status is lost when weight comes back on. As a matter of fact the journey and not quitting may have not been what made you feel like a champion but you only recognized for it as end result right?
Truth be told weight loss for most is a journey of peaks and valleys. For some it may be 5-10 pound fluctuations, for others it could be more. I have yet to meet the person that has had a linear journey yet unfortunately I have seen the face and heard the comments that give the sad look or the words that say aw they were doing so good what happened?
For people that have reached the point where they have 100 pounds to lose the journey becomes even more complicated. So complicated that statistically on 1% of people lose that weight through motivation alone and .001% maintain it long term. There is scientific research that supports this, there is psychological research and physiological research and yet the person that experiences this simply feels like a failure. Thoughts become critical, thinking becomes black and white and consistency is compromised by self-doubt. The person who has 100 pounds to lose likely started out only needing to lose 5 or 10. They became professionals at dieting and the kept with it. Most have developed many really good healthy habits along the way that they never give up. Most care, try and are far from lazy.
There are no short cut to weight loss, there is not a linear path, it is not a single facet process. Then why do we feel the need to say I did it on my own naturally as opposed to “the easy way out of surgery” It is almost as if the method that provides the aid in the final outcome too is subject to scrutiny? Why? It makes no sense.
The surgical patient goes through a full body work up. They are required to eat protein first, vegetables second and carbs third FOR LIFE. They are required to chew and eat slow FOR LIFE, Not drink and eat FOR LIFE, they need to exercise and plan meals FOR LIFE and they need to have support and therapy to adjust to all the new changes and cope with the emotional components that food may have been masking FOR LIFE. People watch their every move and many are even just waiting to see them fail. People do not know how to adjust to them and then if they feel good about their progress they get cut down and told that you took a short cut. Hmmmm?
So what if someone finds a plan such as Weight Watchers and the plan makes it easier for them to form a healthy lifestyle are they taking the easy way out? What if meal delivery service is your method and you don’t cook is that the easy way out? With so many plans to choose from, clearly it is a personal choice as to what will make this multi-faceted, non- linear, personally exhausting issue get easier. If I could influence one person to look inward and ask themselves why they think there is an easy way out I have done my job. People are not only successful when they are the perfect weight and they are not better with the ideal method. Champions cycle in progress, they fail, they succeed and they stay in the game- the strength is in the distance nothing else.
