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H
I also started buying baggier
clothes
.
Not at any point did it occur
to me that maybe the problem
was not that my clothes were
getting tighter, but that I was
actually getting fatter
!
It still
amazes me how I continued
to be in denial even afer I had
to change sizes
.
Te human
brain is wonderful at making
you think there’s “nothing
wrong”
.
Tat you’re doing ok
except for the tiny belly or the
slight bloating
.
Weight gain
has a funny way of creeping
up on you, and you fnd you
are accepting it slowly as it
happens
-
it’s almost like
accepting the death of a sick
person who was getting slightly
sicker by the day
.
So, if you’re reading this and
believe that you’re weight
problem is ‘fne for now’ then
think gain, because it’s not
!
Do
not get too comfortable at an
unhealthy weight
.
Most people spend their whole
lives waiting to lose weight and
‘start living’ and before they
know it, their life is almost over
and they haven’t lived it yet
.
Once we admit that obesity is a
condition that we are causing,
then it becomes much easier to
fnd a solution for it
.
Looking for external
help for an internal
problem
Te irony of all this is that
everywhere you look, someone
seems to be ofering a weight
loss solution
.
From crazy fad
diets to pills and surgery; all
these experts are telling you
that they know what’s best for
you and that you should be
listening to them
.
Each expert
seems to be saying, “follow me,
I’ll show you how to do it best
!
Te result? Mixed messages
.
Confusion
.
And you end up
doing nothing
.
So, let me shake you into reality
for a minute
.
Your weight
problem is caused entirely by
decisions that you are making
on a daily basis
.
What that
means is that you have to look
into yourself to fnd a solution
.
But for most people, that’s too
uncomfortable
.
In my consulting ofce, one
of the frst questions I ask
people is, “when you look in
the mirror, what does the voice
inside your head tell you?”
I get answers like,
“It’s only a few kilos, why can’t
you do it
!
“Who is this ugly fellow with a
pregnant belly?”
“Who is this person
.
What
have you done to yourself?”
Do you ever catch yourself
saying things like that? Do you
notice that the voice always
speaks to you in the third
person as if it’s one of your
parents putting you down?
My point is that we can be
really harsh on ourselves
.
Tat’s why when I tell you
to look into yourself for the
answer, you’d rather not
.
One lady I saw recently told
me that I was her last stop in
her quest for weight loss
.
She
said, “I tried everything and
nothing worked, and if this
doesn’t work then I’m going
for surgery”
.
Let me tell you, there’s no
surgery in the world that can
stop the voices in your head or
improve your relationship with
yourself
.
Real Solutions
If I claim that I have the answer
to your weight problem, then
I’d be lying
.
Only one person
has the answer to your weight
problem and that person is
you
.
All I can do is help you fnd
that person again and make
sure that when you meet there
will be lots of healthy options
around
.
Stop running
.
Take charge
of your own health and stop
waiting for someone else to do
it for you
.
It doesn’t really matter what
research shows, what really
matters is what you will put
in your mouth next and what
exercise decisions you will be
making today
.
A few days ago I was fipping
through the newspaper and
saw an article about the
Mideast facing an ‘obesity
crisis’
.
I read it in silence and
then sat there pondering the
issue
.
Te article had a sense of
urgency to it
.
It reminded me
of many newspaper articles
that seem to be driven by fear
.
It seemed to say “Hurry, the
obesity monster is coming
and we’re all gonna die
!
” It
reminded me of the swine fue
hoopla that was severely blown
out of proportion
.
Well, if the obesity monster
is coming to get us, where are
our weapons? How are we
protecting ourselves and our
children?
The truth is, we’re
not.
People already know obesity
is a problem
.
Tey see it in
the mirror every day
.
Tey
understand the consequences
of eating junk food and leading
a crappy lifestyle
.
Tey know
that their choices are afecting
their health and probably their
life span
.
But why aren’t they
doing anything
about it?
Now THAT is a topic that I
would like to see discussed
in a conference
.
Te ideal
weight loss campaign would
not just have the typical ‘diet
and exercise’ push; it would
also help us understand why
educated adults continue to
self
-
destruct with bad food and
lifestyle choices
.
Adjusting to obesity
I remember when I frst went
to college, my diet went out
the window
.
Junk food, late
night eating, ice cream tubs,
you name it
(
yes, me
!).
Week
afer week I was feeling less
comfortable in my clothes
.
At
some point I stopped tucking
my shirt in
.
Ten I started
unbuttoning my pants afer a
big meal
.
And then one day,
I vividly remember thinking
“my jeans are too tight, I need
to buy new ones
.
” And I did
.
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