Don't be single-minded when fighting your own obesity!

This isn’t to anybody in particular nor is it in response to anything anybody posted. Just a thought.

 

Obesity is a dynamic thing. It draws on many different factors. It is emotional (for those of us who eat in reaction to stress, sadness, boredom or even to celebrate). It is physical, both in terms of our mobility/fitness and co-morbidities. It is mental. Our brains build WHOLE thought processes around our eating lives. And for food addicts like me, changing that is like putting the proverbial “twig in front of the ant." It took me a long time to even figure out how to get around that thinking and even now it is NOT second nature.

So…considering all these things, it concerns me when I see post-ops ONLY addressing the food part of why they became obese. And I see it a lot.

 

If only you could stop craving x, y, z. If only you could eat less.

 

Or if I don’t eat carbs I’ll be ok. If I eat lots of protein I’ll always lose weight. If I stay under (insert number here) calories, I don’t have to fear regain!

 

Well, I am here to tell you. If you stop craving x, y and z you’ll crave a, b and c. And you need carbs to…not die. And even if you eat lots of protein you can gain weight. Life is sort of unstable that way. This process, taken by itself, is not fair and it is not universal. There are some who will follow all the rules and be successful. There will be some who follow none the rules and are UNsuccessful. And then there are some who never followed the rules who achieve success and failure too.

 

But let’s not talk about everybody. Let’s talk about YOU.

 

YOU are (mostly likely) NOT simply fat because of the food you ate or even the amount you ate. I have a 6’7, 18% body fat HORRIBLY EATING stepfather who proves that. He could out-eat me as an obese person and NEVER gain weight. So it’s more than what we eat.

 

For many of us, it’s how we feel about ourselves, it’s how we react in situations, it’s our genetics and it’s our lifestyle. So when you go through this process focused SOLELY on the food thing, my opinion is that you do yourself a disservice in many other areas of life. In the long-term your eating needs will likely change. Your weight may fluctuate. Life cir****tances certainly change. But none of that HAS to be the end of the world.

 

If you are attacking obesity from all sides: working on changing your habits (more than just eating habits), your attitude, your motivation, your self-esteem…those improvements put together with your weight loss can feel great. And even IF your weight fluctuates…those aspects can make it possible for you to feel good about yourself despite that fact.

 

Bottom line: it isn’t JUST about the food. Watching what we eat is important, make no mistake. But it’s equally important to pay attention to how we think, react and feel.

 

 

 I have to say "Amen" to that!

This is so true.  I'm still struggling with this even with my success.  I know that I have to deal with my brain, not just food.  Thank you for bringing this to the forefronts of our minds!

I just have to say....I think you are the best!   Clear headed...sympathetic but honest and truly the most caring person I think I have come across in a VERY long time!  Thank you for sharing with all of us!
JoDonna

This is very true. I have been struggling with the mental aspect this last 2 weeks (since going to the hospital), and it has been tough. I am trying so hard to become more in tune with my body and listen to what makes it feel better. But I also don't TRUST my body just yet. I am getting conflicting messages from myself and it's tough to figure it all out.

Doesn't help that with everything going on i've missed my last support group meeting.

Great Post! I have to say that it was not food alone that made me obese, it was stress, boredom, and emotional eating. But, as I am on this awesome journey to become a healthy weight, I am trying to do other things when I am stressed, bored, or emotional. For example I was very stressed on day not too long ago and rather than going to find something to eat I went to the gym and found that I felt so much better after I worked out, had I ate instead I would have been full of self loathing. As many on here have said I am not trying to eat to live not live to eat!!!

Pedicures...they work.

And if your hubby complains about the cost point out that the pedicure kept you from murdering him in his sleep last night for the bag of Doritos he brought in the house last week! (LOL...kidding...sorta)

I'll say it again.................

to quote Elle-Legally Blonde

"when you exercise you have more endorphins, and happy people don't kill their husbands...they just don't..............

Halelu-yer..............(think Madea)

Food really is just a piece of the puzzle.  We have to have a 360 degree view of obesity as it RELATES TO EACH OF US INDIVIDUALLY to really find the right answers for our issues.

There is no one size fits all approach to success.  The roots of the issues are too complex and different.  For instance, I am not an addict.  Therefore I cannot employ techniques an addict uses-that wont work for me.

But I do think in the 3+ years since surgery I've at least identified what does work for me....and I continually to grow and learn more each day.

Hugs.

 YES! Thanks for pointing that out. I’ve been given lots of advice from non-addicts and I am.

 

So it does not work to simply:

 

-go to support group

-throw food away if you don’t want it (some addicts are not above going back in that mofo to get it!)

-Dumping water on your food

 

And for me as an addict:

 

-I am not disgusted simply by the thought of what I used to eat and how much. Hell, on particularly tough days I MISS being able to gorge

 

So it’s important to know where you’re coming from and start there.