Well here I am hobbling along on my crutches down the corridor towards my appointment. My legs are weak and just barely hold me up. It’s a pain just to walk. I can only walk for one minute, before stopping to catch my breath.
When you’re as overweight as I am, you get a lot of criticism, such as “you don’t have any will power”, or “you eat too much”, “why don’t you at least try to lose weight”, “how many fries did you have today”, and so on…
After a while you stop hearing the remarks, you just ignore everyone. Except one… as I pass a little boy around 5 years old, he doesn’t stop staring, more like gawking. He utters in astonishment “Mister, you’re fat!”
“Mister, why are you so fat?”
Well that hurts. As impervious as I’ve become to adult remarks, I find it hard to accept the feelings of the little ones, the children who don’t know how to lie politely. And frankly we wouldn’t want them any other way.
So I spend some time asking myself what went wrong with my diet plans. Why has my motivation left me? I punish myself for a day or two, and then eventually brush it all aside. Back to living in denial.
I badly need hip surgery, as my right hip needs replacement. But the doctors refuse to operate until I lose at least 60 pounds. So my head is in turmoil, and I seesaw between a few days of motivation and a day or two of depression.
Where is the answer to my dilemma.
I just bought the latest diet book online. It’s not bad too. All I need do now is follow up by looking at the ebook more than once.
Can anyone really help me? Do you have any words of wisdom for an old man who’s desperate, yet won’t try hard enough. Maybe the answer lies with that little boy who tells it like it is. Is it enough to shame me into reality!
Leave me a comment if you can offer any advice. Even if you want to yell at me, it’s OK. I probably need it.
Hey look, I know I’m not alone with this dilemma. Is there a way to get together online, to exchange sob stories, or better yet to offer encouragement. Maybe we just need to know that we are not alone in this dreadful battle.
Fred Farah
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3 users commented in " Why Are You So Fat "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI came across your blog when searching for niche market help. I empathize with your weight battle. I’ve battled it all my life. You’re obviously intelligent and introspective. Great qualities. Weight can be lost, good character can’t be gained. I’m not trying to sound like a cliche’, but it’s true. The only advice I can offer is what people have said to me, “Don’t be so hard on yourself.” Easier said than done, I know. I’ve lost weight in the past by only slightly decreasing my food intake, so I don’t feel deprived. I lost slowly, but kept it off for awhile. Best of luck. You’re definitely not alone!!
Kids are like that, it’s the innocence of youth, such a shame that “civilised society” beats that honest approach in life out of them.
> Can anyone really help me?
Yes, The Zone Diet is the last diet you’ll ever need.
I lost 15 pounds a couple of years ago following the routine below. It was easy to phase into, and easy to add on “principles” to, as well!
1. Get contemplative about your grumbling stomach. (Learn to tame the beast!) In the moment, consider the entire experience of “being hungry” - believe me, you really aren’t as hungry as your stomach wants you to believe. It’s just used to over-eating and being indulged.
2. After contemplating your grumbling stomach for a short while, drink lemon water or a non-sugared beverage with small sips. Enjoy being really consciously involved in relearning how to eat thoughtfully. YOU are in control, not your “garden of endless desires.”
3. Graze on small portions of veggies and proteins - something to fill you but not pork you out.
4. Eat EVERYTHING with chopsticks or salad forks.
5. Eat EVERYTHING in very small portions. Get used to a grumbling stomach. You will tame it, despite its protestations.
6. Treat food with reverence - like diamonds.
7. Pretend you’re on “Survivor” (actually, you ARE!). Pretend all you get to eat is a strip of tree bark. Then be glad for a small tasty carrot.
8. I used to eat a small container of 4-bean salad with chopsticks. It’s amazing how far a couple of green beans and chick peas will go, when you’re CONSCIOUSLY eating.
9. Make vegetable soups and stews - drink the broth with or without veggies.
10. Move as much as you can. Stretch: roll your neck, bend your back and feel the vertebrae crackle, do arm twirls, touch your toes. Walk, breathe. Feel the joy of your body systems! Put on music that inspires you to move and get away from your head for a while a couple of times a day.
11. Envision the great mandala and see where you fit - SEE yourself as you really are within it.
12. Consider this as a grand journey - which begins with the first step forward, and continues with the second step forward.
13. Involve yourself in the journey and refuse to feel “deprived”. What has your indulgence gotten you, anyhow? Fat! Try things the other way!
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