Starving yourself

I have a girlfriend that I have known for almost seven years. I consider her a good friend and you worry about good friends.  She has been talking lately about making some life changes which is great.  One worries me though. She wants to lose weight and I guess the hard way is not for her. So a friend of hers has been following this weight loss plan that makes itself sound good. But what it boils down to is the 900 calories a day starvation diet.  I saw this lady the other night.  I had heard how I had to see her, how great she looked. I was shocked when I saw her. Yes she had lost weight. But she did not look great. She looked the way you would expect someone to look if they had been starving themselves for the past 9 mths.  Because of the calorie restrictions she can't work out so you can tell she is soft and mushy.  She doesn't look healthy and vibrant.  It scared me and now my girlfriend is determined to follow the same plan because it is fast and she doesn't want to have to wait a longer time for the results. As a friend I am scared for her and frustrated. As someone who knows what is healthy and what is not and as someone who has been around the dieting world for about 14 years now I am furious that these places can legally operate and sell women these "diets".  I am also floored that you will pay someone to starve you and lie to you about how healthy it is. In my experience people can lie and starve themselves for free.  I really don't understand the mindset of losing weight in a manner that you can't maintain for the rest of your life.  If you don't learn something you will go back to where you were.  It is inevitable.

A little experiment

I am doing an experiment right now. I have a theory about something and I need lots of data before I can move forward.  So I am asking all my friends and acquantances that have lost weight whether or not they have kept it off to send me how they did it. What plan they followed, how long it took, how much they lost, whether or not they maintained.  It is going to be fun compiling all this info. 

Does it matter to you?

In January almost everyone who is overweight makes a New Years Resolution to lose it.  Why? Because its the start of the new year? We want a life change?  We want to make ourselves better? Then what happens? Reality takes over, cookies call our name and we give up.  Not all of us, but it happens.  What makes the difference?  What can make us really turn our lives around?  A decision to take responsibility.  In the end that is what matters.  If you truly want something you will work until you have it.  There are immigrants in this country who have put their children through college by collecting and recycling aluminum cans. IF you want something bad enough you will sacrifice to get it.  Weight loss is the same.  I am speaking from personal experience.  I know all the excuses and I have used most of them numerous times.  So I have no sympathy for you.  I want you to be thin as bad as you want you to be thin.  And if you want to work at it I can help.  But if you don't want to work at it stop giving it lip service and stop complaining about your weight.  You know you are lying to yourself. Don't waste my time by lying to me too. 

Accept the blame

Guess what? It isn't the foods fault you are overweight.  It isn't the manufacturers fault for adding "addictive ingredients".  It isn't the advertisers fault for putting it all over the tv and radio.  It isn't McDonalds fault for having food on their menu with so many calories and so high in fat.  THEY didn't make you go to their restaurant.  THEY did NOT make you order chicken nuggets and french fries for your young child and a big mac for yourself.  You did that.  You drove there, you ordered it, and you ate it.  Take responsibility for that.  Right now there is a movement to add more tax to "sin" foods.  The government says it is to hopefully make people think harder about buying those foods so they will get healthier.  I personally believe that it is because they know they can make money off these foods. It doesn't matter how much tax they charge people will keep buying it and the higher the tax the more money the government makes off of people who make choices every day to eat the wrong thing.  I don't care either way what you choose to eat, but I want you to take responsibility for it. Is that too much to ask?

Just eat already

So, a person who shall remain nameless and I went to dinner last night. Where they proceeded to order dinner, carefully spoon the butter off their sweet potato, and eat in maybe five minutes flat.  At the end of the day they seem in a really foul mood and when I ask why it is because they are hungry.  So we go down the list and track what they ate that day.  They get more calories on a given day for weight loss than I get for maintaining, which doesn't seem fair but that is beside the point.  So I tell said person that they have 900 calories left for the day so why dont they go get something to eat.  But they are too lazy to do that.  AND I think they think that starving themselves by eating so far under their calories means that they will lose weight even faster. Guess what? It doesn't work that way. You don't eat, chances are you won't lose. And if you do lose you are losing valuable muscle first.  SO EAT ALREADY!!!!! 

Quit lying to yourself

Ok. so my format is changing here to keep in line with what I am all about.  Let me tell you something you most likely don't want to know and don't want to hear. IF you are overweight, it is YOUR fault. No one else's.  And guess what? It most likely isn't your "low metabolism" or your "hormones being out of balance" or your age.  You are eating too much. Period.  I can say this because I was overweight for about 10 years of my life.  And I've spent the past 13 trying to keep it off. And sometimes, I lie to myself.  And when I am lying to myself I am usually either in the process of gaining weight, or have gained weight that I am not comfortable with. I do the usual "I just dont understand why I am gaining" or "I am not eating that much, I don't understand why I'm not losing".  LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE.  As soon as I admit to what I am doing, check my calories and bring them back in line I lose weight.  It isn't hard, it isn't rocket science and it hasn't changed since I started losing weight 16 years ago.  No matter what diet I follow I lose weight.  So will you.  Low carb or low fat, eat clean, vegetarian or vegan, high protein, raw. Whatever it is.  You can lose weight on Mcdonalds cheeseburgers if you stay within your calorie range.  I personally dont eat Mcdonalds but people have lost weight doing it. Google it.  And believe it. So you want to lose weight for real? Suck it up and take a good long look at yourself and what you are doing.  Admit whose fault it is and get the ball rolling.