B.F. Skinner would be proud of the way the media has suckered so many people into quick-fix, no effort, eat all you want weight loss products. I have been a victim to these over the years myself. It is almost a pre-requisite to be an American to try one of these fad diets. But I am here to share some truths that it took me a long time to accept, and these are truths I think everyone knows. I have just been seeing so many ads lately, I feel I must testify.

I have been struggling with my weight since I was a teen. I have done all the "company" diets, from Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, L.A. Weightloss, Weight Watchers, etc. I have done most of the TV diets from the Hollywood diet, Biometric, Green Tea, and thousands of pills. I have had success, to some degree, on just about all of them, some better than others. But it wasn't until I accepted certain truths was I able to lose 110 lbs and keep it off for many years. Let's look at them, extreme medical conditions aside.

First of all, if you are more than 30 lbs overweight, you are fat. Now that may sound harsh, but when we call it "big boned, heavy, robust, curvy, ample, etc", we give ourselves an excuse by making light of what is really going on. Being this overweight is not just a beauty thing, it is dangerous and life threatening. This is like an alcoholic calling whisky "a strong beverage". (I am a recovering alcoholic as well). Until we call it what it is and become disgusted with it, it will not truly go away.

Secondly, when it comes to weight loss, anatomy physiology is finite. This means that to lose weight, you must expend more calories than you take in. This is so simple, but hard to practice for 75% of the American population. We find solace in our friends Ben and Jerry, Sara Lee, and Jack (in the box). (This is where our friends the appetite suppressants come in). Surgery is the only way to bypass this truth.

And third, to make the weight loss last, you must get active. Ask ol' Jared Fogle of Subway fame. He did not go from those pup tents he called pants by eating sandwiches alone. He did simple things to get active, like walking to classes instead of riding the bus. You do not have to become Tony Little, but you must get off the couch! If you are disabled, there are still exercises you can do. The truth is that most of us are lazy, and admitting that is the first step to getting active.

These are such simple truths, so why the search for the easy way out? That is just human nature. But sometimes the "easier, softer way" is doing things differently, and not forking out truckloads of cash for crap that does not work, or if you do lose some weight, it will come right back. Does it take will power, you bet! Nothing good EVER comes easy! But what is really requires is acceptance. Accepting the fact that we are fat and it is dangerous. Accepting the fact that all the pills, wraps, creams, and teas will not work, at least for any amount of time. Accepting that we must get active. This is the truth, and any real doctor, psychiatrist, dietician, or person who has lost weight and kept it off for anything over a year, will back this up. I will not give my money to these P.T. Barnum's anymore. If we don't pay, they go away. I hope this helps someone keep some of their hard earned cash.

Preach on, Brother Fishman.

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Goal: 140 by my 30th b-day (8/7/07). If I make it, you are all invited to the party!

sooo true!

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33 pds gone by the start of Nursing Classes (January)

Absolutely right! Vote with your wallet or pocketbook.

What methods or strategies have you used to lose your weight and now maintain?

Was there any event in particular that caused your revelation and made you take control yourself?

John

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That is a very, very good article. I hope everyone coming to this site gives it a read, because the quick fix is never the solution, no matter how bad people want it to be.

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June '07 - SW : 117.7kg - CW: 98.7kg - GW: 90kg (70.5% done!)

Very valid - keeping more active post weightloss - long term is a must.

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Post weight-loss, now going for better fitness
Bikejoring for Fitness

Well, I hate to use the words "sick and tired of being sick and tired", so I will quote Homer Simpson: "Gotta lose weight, Won't get chest pains from answering the phone". That was one of the revelations. I had no energy. I found myself always sleepy, even after 8 hrs of rest. Luckily, I had experienced before the natural energy from working out. I knew if I stopped pounding sugar in my veins and started exercising, my energy level would improve, and even more importantly, my mood would change.

You see, I was an emotional eater. I mentioned before that I am a recovering alcoholic. The main truth about alcoholism is that it is not the booze, it is a problem within us, and we drink to escape. I did the same thing with food. I hate when people say that "junk food is addictive". The food is not addictive, it is the person who is addicted. My alcoholism changes clothes all the time. I get addicted to working out, skin products, AA meetings, sex, football, the computer, etc. Some of these could be called "healthy addictions", but if these cause imbalance in my life, they is not healthy. Balance is the key, like Mr. Miyagi said to Danielson. I had to start asking myself, "what is this cherry cheesecake really going to do for me? Is it going to make things better or worst? Sure, it taste wonderful, and I will get a short sugar high, but in the end, it will show in my gut and a*#". I found the longer I thought about the consequences, the desire began to fade. Bad behavior doesn't stop without consequences!

I listen to Dave Ramsey. For the uninitiated, he is a nationally syndicated financial talk show host. He teaches common sense finance, what he calls "Grandma's financial advice". He says "live on less than you make, budget your money, sell what you don't need and pay off debt, and have an emergency fund". Sounds really basic, but thousands get out of debt by using this common sense plan. It is the same with food. Take in less calories, (live on less), keep track of what you eat, (budget), stop being a couch potato and exercise, (pay off body debt with weight), and talk to other people in the same boat, like this message board, (emergency fund). But yet, most of the American public would rather shovel out their wallets for a miracle placebo so they don't have to take inventory of the real problem. I was guilty of this for so many years. I could have bought a small yacht for what I spent on fad diets and cheese ball exercise units.

Is losing weight a tough row to hoe? You bet your bippy! There are so many fast food pits, and even the healthy food in grocery stores is next to the junk. You have to look at the bigger picture and have realistic goals. You cannot lose 50 lbs in 4 weeks, at least not without surgery or purging. And I have had 2 friends who had their stomachs banded and they are back to the same weight as before. Nothing good ever came easy. Rome was not built in a day, month, year, or even a decade. The point is that Rome is different for everybody. The nice thing is that when you get to you desired weight and work out regularly, you can eat a filet mignon. Just add a few extra minutes to the cardio. Works for me. I hope this helps. Hang in there.

well a quick fix is just that. if you can loose it in two weeks, expect that you can put it back on in the same space.

Very well put and so true!

I was also one who always looked for the easy way. I actually sunk to the level being hopeless... the media plays up the quick fixes so much that I actually believed that the only hope for me was weight loss surgery. I know the surgery isn't an easy way by any means but I felt that it was my only hope and I couldn't do it on my own. I'm just so thankful I never had it. While I have a few friends who are doing well from the surgery not everything works for everyone and they still have to work at it. Sure it's been hard to lose and get to where I am (I exercise at least 2 hours a day on average) but it's been MUCH easier than living how I was! Being fat is hard, hard, HARD!

Everything is about making good choices... Eating right but exercise is the key, plus I do simple things like parking as far away as I can from the door at stores.

It's the little things which add up to big things.

-Angel

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SW:359 CW:227 GW:175
My weightloss journey

Two very good posts there Fishman35. I hate using the word diet - I changed my lifestyle. Unlike a diet, its not temporary, and I hope to continue my new healthy addictions (e.g. nutrition, running, strength training) into the future. Its not all hard work though. Once I had lost the weight and increased my level of fitness - all of the working out becomes almost enjoyable. I still have to make myself go for a run (although Wolfy helps me make that decision), or go down to the gym; but once I get there, or finished the exercise I feel great!.

I love being the type of person now that goes for a run, I like having a gym membership - I don't ever want to be that sort of person that I used to be: beer guzzling, burger munching sort of bloke that gets out of breath climbing the stairs, chasing the kids or making love - I prefer my new self. As the saying goes "no food tastes as good as feeling fit feels". Moving onto food, eating for me is no longer that dumb act of gulping down the nearest cheapest fatty sugary boozy food to satisfy cravings or hunger - its become a matter of using my mind to consider what nutrition my body could do with. By the time that I have consumed my daily requirements of lean protein, smart carbs, fruit / vegetables, good fats, nuts/seeds, fibre, and water - I don't have that much space or apetite for sweets, chocolate, etc

Long live healthy addictions...

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Post weight-loss, now going for better fitness
Bikejoring for Fitness

Fishman everything you say makes perfect sense. And, I know it in my head...and even my heart. But, would someone please tell my stomach to stop dreaming of a big old plate of pasta loaded with sauce!!

The secret to life is saying "no" when you have to.

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I think that all that has been said here is exceptionally true. I think one of the other culprits also has to be mentioned ... stress. When you have a dozen and one responsibilities and you're not doing enough of any of them, do you really want two more (diet and exercise)?

Isn't it so much less stressful to pop a pill? It's easy enough to swallow one thing per day then to deal with everything else, especially since food preparation and cooking seems to take me between a half hour to an hour per day. Add to it the fifty minutes of exercise - ten to get to the gym, ten to get back, thirty minutes there, and that's two hours gone. I'm a uni student, it's not so hard to me, but if you're working nine to five, with at the very least a half hour commute there and back, you might not want to lose a further two hours of what little time you have that surrounds that eight thirty to five thirty gap.

So perhaps one thing that should be covered more in fitness and diet magazines, to help lure people away from the pills, are ideas of how to incorporate such issues into one's regular responsibilities. How can fitness and family, fitness and dating, diet and financial responsibilities, be combined to make things more fun? How do we make it so that such elements of life add to things rather than take them away?

After all, how many people visit friends for a coffee, a card game or a drunken back yard party? In such cases, spending time at the gym or pounding the pavement in a jog can seem counter-intuitive when you barely see your friends already. But what activities can be brought into an unfit social circle? And how can healthy food replace the unhealthy kinds that normally occur with dates and social gatherings?

I think these are all the really hard, tricky questions that many people must face. Diet and exercise require time management - and Fitday and other calorie counters take a lot of time to fill out as well - and with so little time in our lives with those we love, it simply doesn't make sense to keep the two separate. Yet we also can't make those we love join our fitness or diet regime...

Sorry for the convoluted ranting, I'm quite tired. I just thought I'd try and give some reasons why people might turn to pills and surgery over time-consuming activities.

Thank you for those posts, FIshman.

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