A good friend of mine and fellow fat activist Sonya wrote an article over at Lip. I left a comment on it due to some of the other comments completely missing the point of her article. Since the comment was a little TL;DR I thought I would post it here as well, since it is probably more of a blog post/rant than a comment. You should probably check out theoriginal post first for context.
Are you all serious? (ok most, not all)
Think back about all of the weight loss products you or your friends have tried over the years. Have any of them helped you lose weight and then keep it off for ever? A small percentage of you will say yes, and good luck to you. For the large percentage of people the answer is no, No, NO!
Scientific studies that have been done in recent years show that short term weight loss is achievable through all sorts of diets but that long term weight loss is very much a pipe dream. Those who achieve short term weight loss and then gain end up gaining more weight than when they started.
I’m a prime example. I used to weigh around 120kg in my 20s. I went on weight watches and got below the ‘magic’ 100kg mark. I then ballooned up to 135kg. I did that TWICE. That left me around the 150-160kg mark. Perhaps if I had not dieted, I’d still be around the 120kg mark.
That isn’t the point though. The point is that what you feel about your body is about what is in your head. I read an excellent article this morning which talked about a lady who was a size 10, who wouldn’t be happy until she was a size 8. When she was a size 8, size 6 was where she had to be.
You have to make a conscious decision to realise that most people stuffer from some form of body dysmorphia. You will always feel fatter or uglier or than you are until you realise that.
It isn’t easy. You have to work at it. I have some awful days. I have some brilliant days. But life goes on regardless. I eat well and exercise. I’m healthy, give or take. That’s what life is about. Not unattainable goals.
Thanks to Sonya for trying to point this out. It is a shame that the point was missed on most of you.
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