Don’t Start That Diet

There are some wise words in this article. Thanks to my big sister for sharing. 

Jennefer has been pointing out the absurd number of weight loss ads on TV, since Christmas. I didn’t even notice at first, as I am programmed to completely tune out the ads. 

I’ve always found myself so curious about what people are thinking, when they say they are “starting a diet,” and what they must’ve been doing, before they said, “that diet doesn’t work for me,“ as if there might exist the possibility that *any* diet doesn’t work. They *all* work, if we follow them, although some (most?) are not healthy for us. 

But we’re all different, and maybe I was just lucky, to be able to live the first 35 years of my life with an active lifestyle, and a body that loved to burn calories as fast as I ate them. So I had the luxury of being confused by the words and deeds of people who tried and failed to lose weight. 

Fast forward 35 years, and here’s my doctor telling me that my A1C might benefit by me losing 10% of my body weight. What? Me?? Well, yeah, thanks to our mutual plan to record our weights once a week, I realized I had been gaining roughly a pound a year, ever since I got married and started eating regular meals that were portioned out of love. And I also realized that one by one, the long list of fun physical recreational activities in which I had regularly participated, had slowly been reduced to zero. 

The one thing I had promised myself, was that if I ever decided to lose weight, it would be for life, so I would figure out what my diet and exercise needed to look like for the rest of my life, and “just” start doing that. Easy to say. But that moment did come 7 years ago, and so far, that approach is working for me. Fingers crossed, as I’ve seen a lot of people struggle with this, so I’m prepared to adapt as necessary. But for me, the approach of using a few smartphone apps to manage calories-in minus calories-out seems to be working. I was also very fortunate to fall into a relationship with a Nutrition major, who is willing to help me make better, more informed choices. Just lucky I guess. ❤️