Reality Checks

In the course of my own journey, I’ve gotten the opportunity to observe a lot of people working on weight loss. Some have been very successful, while others fizzle out in a matter of minutes, it seems. I notice some behaviors and traits that frequently seem to precede impending doom for weight loss! Here’s a quick rundown of how to defeat yourself as you’re trying to lose weight, in my not-so-humble opinion…

People get weird sometimes going on about how they DESERVE to lose weight but it hasn’t happened. It almost seems like they’re completelhy hacked off sometimes.

As in: "Hey, I only ate 3 lettuce leaves and some chicken broth but I gained half a pound yesterday! Whyyyyyyy?"

Um…what do you say to that? How do people get THAT hyper, anyway?

If you’re here, there’s a good chance you’re looking to lose a couple pounds. Or more. And that being the case, there’s also a very high likelihood this isn’t your first trip around the weight-control block. (That sounds weird, huh? “Weight-control block.” Har!) But back to the point. We lose, we gain; we lose, we gain. It’s a yo-yo cycle for many.

I don't mean to be flip...well, ok, maybe I do. I'll cop. But that's the million dollar question, ‘eh? Maybe it's the billion dollar question, what with the diet industry being what it is. How do we get to be fatbutts, and what does one do about it?

And don't even start babbling to the Goddess about calories! You're liable to get slapped where you stand. I get flat-out angry when I hear the old calories-in-versus-calories-out-routine:

"I feel great, but I can't get my husband/ kid/ parent/ sibling/ [insert-person-you-love-here] to make the healthy changes I'm making, even though they really need to. It's vital! Their health is at stake! Why can't they understand, and how can I make them understand how important this is?"

How can you get someone else to see the light, anyway?

A common dieter's disease that you see running rampant: Scale-itis. As in: How can I lose 2 kajillion pounds in three minutes? Or something along those lines.

Now I get this. I so get it. But if you stop for a second and think about where it comes from, it may change your perspective a bit.

See, it's like this: You've seen people who have EVERY SINGLE indication of being successful at losing weight, short having the scale read what they want, and what happens? Blind panic, right?

I caved. I ate that brownie. I couldn't resist." These are not my confessions. Sometimes, this is what I hear people say when they're trying to lose weight. Be it brownies or fries or whatver. But one thing that does far more damage than the eating: the attitude!

I watch people. In particular, I watch folks with weight issues deal with them. And you can see certain attitudes, opinions, and "self-stories" that seem to have a pretty strong correlation with failure rates. Now, I'm not saying I don't think you can overcome dysfunctional attitudes. You certainly can!

Answer this question as True or False for yourself: "After I lose all this yucky extra weight, I'll feel better about myself."

“The words ‘I am…’ are potent words; be careful what you hitch them to. The thing you’re claiming has a way of reaching back and claiming you.” -A. L. Kitselman

This is quite true, you know. You decide who you are by…well, by deciding who you are. You know?

This is utterly ridiculous, and part of me knows that. But...

Originally my goal was 135-40. Got there, got happy. Woohoo & all that. Then I got on the scale one day to see 134. Whoa! I instantly changed my ideal zone to 130-135. Another Woohoo! Yeehaaaaa, I rule, I am the Atkins Queen, I am...

Disgusted. 136! What sort of a garbage disposal must I be? I am the world's biggest FAILURE and I am GROSS and must be destroyed. Now.

I sometimes hear people talk about “cheating”…how they screwed everything up, blew up, lost it, etc. etc. And it bugs the heck out of me! As in, ok, so you eat one thing that’s high carb (or high cal or high fat or whatever your drummer plays), and you’re done? Your life is over?

Ever heard chatter about people having trouble sticking to “the diet”, not being motivated, yada yada yada…? Hmmm. Anyone guess where I’m going with this? ‘Nkay. Let’s start from the beginning.

If you hang around low-carb communities for any length of time, you’ll hear the advice given emphatically to newbies: “Get the book! Get the book! Get the book!” You'd think the folks have some sort of stock in the publishing company, man.

I was thinking the other dayabout the actual process I’ve gone through to lose the weight. (And if the pop-tart queen can lose it, you can, too!)

It’s odd when you get down to it, considering how much people struggle to lose weight, because it's honestly NOT hard to lose weight. People struggle needlessly.

Many are initally attrached to low carb by promises of quick losses and want to know how they can maximize return on their efforts.

It happens. And there's not much you can do about it.

You can whine and complain, stamp your feet and scream, but it won't change a thing. ANYONE who has followed this way of eating (woe) for a while—especially with a significant amount of weight to lose—has experienced the frustration and utter exasperation of a stall. Whether it lasts a couple of weeks, a couple of months, or (yikes!) close to a year, the stall is a seemingly unavoidable and necessary part of healthy weight loss.

Um? excuse me???

NECESSARY?!?

Yep. Necessary.

I don't know about you, but I've been exceedingly annoyed lately about the continual references made by various "experts" and other interested parties to the Atkins diet in particular - and low carb in general - as a QUICK FIX.

And maybe you're new to low carb, or just kind of "checking it out", and you're wondering if this "quick fix" claim is a valid criticism.

My answer to that? YES AND NO

Before you low carb veterans dash off a shocked email to me, please let me explain.

You know those hair ads that you see on TV? You know the ones that end with the line, "because I'm worth it?"

Well, this is not one of those.

But I find myself repeating that line again and again when I am offering support to others who are struggling with their low-carb way of eating (woe). I frequently utter the phrase, "YOU ARE WORTH IT!"

And I mean that.