We are "all over the board" with the first question aren't we?
Some of us need to lose a lot, some of us have lost a lot and are struggling to keep it off, some of us only need to lose ten pounds, some of us are stuck on a plateau, and some of us don't really need to lose anything...YET...but are worrying because the body is changing as we age.
I get all of these scenarios from people responding to my blog privately and publicly.
Sometimes I think that people feel "unworthy" of participating in the journey to health if they don't have enough to lose.
I remember I was at a WW meeting a while ago and a lady had lost something like ten pounds, and that was all she had to lose. She said she felt uncomfortable speaking at meetings because she listened to people who had lost twenty...fifty...seventy-five...and even over one hundred pounds constantly. In the scheme of things her journey, at least to her, seemed almost laughable.
I hope she knows how wrong she is.
We all have our own weird concepts of what is an "acceptable" weight loss. A friend of mine recently lost over 70 pounds...I was so happy for her but my first thought was...man I wish I could say I lost that much.
It is totally irrational and silly. I don't have seventy pounds to lose but somehow it seems like the more you can say you have lost the more successful you are. Please understand I am ECSTATIC for my friend...but I also need to learn to be ecstatic for the person who lost ten pounds ...and for the person who lost nothing but never gained. At the end of the day...it is all an incredible success. The person who stops themselves from gaining fifty pounds BEFORE it happens is no less successful than the person who lost fifty pounds.
Besides, weight is only part of the equation. Do we need to lose weight to improve our health? For many of us the answer is yes.
I think too often we ignore the other side of the equation though.
If we lose weight does that mean we are healthy? In my opinion...absolutely not.
Dont' get me wrong...we may be heathIER but not necessarily healthy. We may indeed be less prone to things like heart attack if we take the weight off, but does that mean we are less prone to other diseases? I don't think so.
I actually think there are an awful lot of thin people walking around thinking they are healthy because they are either naturally thin or because they have successfully lost weight.
In my humble opinion, most of us have two reasons for losing weight:
1) Vanity
2) Health
Most likely in that order. I am no exception. I don't like to admit it but vanity comes first. Look good...then feel good. It is just a reality. A sad reality perhaps...but a reality nonetheless.
If you can look at it in the other order...I salute you. :-)
So what the heck is my point? My point is that how much weight you are struggling with, at the end of the day, doesn't matter. What should matter is your health.
For my friend who has lost more than 70 pounds (actually more than 72) I am so very very very proud of you :-). I do not want to downplay what a huge success that us. Well done you!
Eat as healthy as you can and the weight loss will come. In the meantime...pamper the vanity in you. Go ahead and show your best qualities to the world.
We are all beautiful and we should flaunt it.
Here is to vanity!
Be healthy!
Alan
Some of us need to lose a lot, some of us have lost a lot and are struggling to keep it off, some of us only need to lose ten pounds, some of us are stuck on a plateau, and some of us don't really need to lose anything...YET...but are worrying because the body is changing as we age.
I get all of these scenarios from people responding to my blog privately and publicly.
Sometimes I think that people feel "unworthy" of participating in the journey to health if they don't have enough to lose.
I remember I was at a WW meeting a while ago and a lady had lost something like ten pounds, and that was all she had to lose. She said she felt uncomfortable speaking at meetings because she listened to people who had lost twenty...fifty...seventy-five...and even over one hundred pounds constantly. In the scheme of things her journey, at least to her, seemed almost laughable.
I hope she knows how wrong she is.
We all have our own weird concepts of what is an "acceptable" weight loss. A friend of mine recently lost over 70 pounds...I was so happy for her but my first thought was...man I wish I could say I lost that much.
It is totally irrational and silly. I don't have seventy pounds to lose but somehow it seems like the more you can say you have lost the more successful you are. Please understand I am ECSTATIC for my friend...but I also need to learn to be ecstatic for the person who lost ten pounds ...and for the person who lost nothing but never gained. At the end of the day...it is all an incredible success. The person who stops themselves from gaining fifty pounds BEFORE it happens is no less successful than the person who lost fifty pounds.
Besides, weight is only part of the equation. Do we need to lose weight to improve our health? For many of us the answer is yes.
I think too often we ignore the other side of the equation though.
If we lose weight does that mean we are healthy? In my opinion...absolutely not.
Dont' get me wrong...we may be heathIER but not necessarily healthy. We may indeed be less prone to things like heart attack if we take the weight off, but does that mean we are less prone to other diseases? I don't think so.
I actually think there are an awful lot of thin people walking around thinking they are healthy because they are either naturally thin or because they have successfully lost weight.
In my humble opinion, most of us have two reasons for losing weight:
1) Vanity
2) Health
Most likely in that order. I am no exception. I don't like to admit it but vanity comes first. Look good...then feel good. It is just a reality. A sad reality perhaps...but a reality nonetheless.
If you can look at it in the other order...I salute you. :-)
So what the heck is my point? My point is that how much weight you are struggling with, at the end of the day, doesn't matter. What should matter is your health.
For my friend who has lost more than 70 pounds (actually more than 72) I am so very very very proud of you :-). I do not want to downplay what a huge success that us. Well done you!
Eat as healthy as you can and the weight loss will come. In the meantime...pamper the vanity in you. Go ahead and show your best qualities to the world.
We are all beautiful and we should flaunt it.
Here is to vanity!
Be healthy!
Alan
1 comment:
I am more impressed with people who go to Weight Watchers with "only" 10-20 lbs to lose. They were smarter than I am, who at the 72 lbs weight loss, still has more to take off. I will get to goal.
No matter how much or little one has to lose, it is a struggle, and I salute any person who walks through that WW door to get the help we all need.
Let's all have a plan to get through Super Bowl Sunday with all the munchies hanging around the house!
Stay on track!
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