We are inundated by exhortations to lose weight - from the media, from our friends, from our family. As the richest, fattest, nation on earth, we idealize the impossibly thin supermodels who smile (or smirk?) at us from every magazine cover. We spend a fortune on trying to lose weight and despair when we don't.
Enough of the diet gurus, the nutritionists, and the weight loss experts (including me), let's enjoy ourselves for a while. The diabetes and clogged arteries will overtake us all too quickly. For today, let's feast freely at the banquet of life.
1.Ordering in a restaurant is incredible fun.
Your dining companions may be limiting their selections, counting carbs and fats and calories but you are free of all that. You can pick the creamiest, juiciest item on the menu without a single twinge of guilt. Go ahead, have the baked potato with extra butter and sour cream. Chew the divine crispy bread with your creamed soup or artichoke dip appetizer. Go exotic with beef Wellington in its flaky crust shell or dive into that impeccably marbled steak. And while your companions sip coffee, order peach pie - a la mode, no less. Now, weren't you the one who made the most of the evening?
2.Enjoy the company picnic.
Let your coworkers make fools of themselves running three-legged races and playing very bad touch football. They will have sore muscles and bruises for a week. While they are moaning and groaning on Monday morning, you'll be comfortable and serene, enjoying your memories of being the first, and the last, in line at the buffet table and how much fun it was to graze uninterrupted on those marvelous desserts.
3.Appreciate your daughter's school play.
All those skinny, active mothers have been working for weeks to get everything prepared. The benefits of obesity became crystal clear when you were not even asked to paint scenery, hang curtains, set up chairs, or walk the neighborhood to solicit contributions. You can limit your involvement to showing up for the performance, fresh and unstressed, gratefully eying the tasty snacks set out for afterwards.
4.Make the amusement park comfortable.
The wheelchairs provided for the disabled and the obese are a heavenly way to see the entire park. Every other adult becomes exhausted as the day wears on, tired of waiting in lines and walking miles to get to the rides the kids want. You are cool and comfortable as they wheel you around. As the others get grumpier, the kids flock to you and lament that their parents don't maintain your interest and encouragement of everything they want to do. And on the long drive home, when others are too tired to eat, you still have energy left for a burger and fries.
5.Make your vacation complete.
No one even considered suggesting a camping trip or a week at the beach, did they? No, they knew your idea of a treat was a short road trip with stays at deluxe hotels with soft beds, room service, and a concierge at your beck and call. Let the others take a walk around town while you lie down with a good book or television show. When they return and, over dinner, tell you of the sights they've seen, you can listen intently while mentally rating the local cuisine based on your vast gastronomic expertise.
Ah, life's good!
P. S. If you take this seriously, get yourself to a therapist, tout suite.
Virginia Bola is a licensed psychologist and an admitted diet fanatic. She specializes in therapeutic reframing and the effects of attitudes and motivation on individual goals. The author of The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual, and a free ezine, The Worker's Edge, she recently published a psychologically-based weight control e-workbook, "Diet with an Attitude" which develops mental skills towards the goal of permanent weight control. She can be reached at http://www.dietwithanattitude.com. She provides support and guidance in use of the workbook through her regular blog, http://www.dietwithanattitude.com
I have had some e-mails come in and everyone is... Read More
A pound of fat represents approximately 3500 calories of stored... Read More
Running For Weight Loss??.Slow DownYou may be out running your... Read More
It is much safer to your long term health to... Read More
From the book Spider's Big CatchLike many people, I've decided... Read More
It has been 15 years since I was diagnosed with... Read More
Curb Hunger and Avoid The Costly BingeEveryone's been there -... Read More
There's nothing more fun then being creative with food and... Read More
If you've been on a low carb diet for any... Read More
Your blood cholesterol level is affected not only by what... Read More
Name a diet...any diet. It doesn't work. Try to name... Read More
Low carb beer and lite beer are two different animals.... Read More
My last article, Make Diets Work, concluded that dieting the... Read More
Weight loss specialists will tell you that attitude has a... Read More
Have you ever received those tempting ads that seem to... Read More
Fat Loss Tip #1) Train With WeightsWorking out with weights... Read More
Diet is a dreadful word for most of us because... Read More
More than any other time in history, people are all... Read More
It's a sad comment on human nature that prejudice and... Read More
Have you ever wished for a diet where you ate... Read More
Most men and women put on weight differently. But on... Read More
In the early nineties I had the opportunity to work... Read More
I am Greg Ryan, a high profile fitness expert with... Read More
Burn fat while you sleep! Eat whatever you want and... Read More
Your health is affected not only by how much body... Read More
According to a recent survey by the National Health Institute,... Read More
If you have been eating as usual and the pounds... Read More
So your neighbor, office mate, best friend, whoever just lost... Read More
AND SAVE MONEY IN THE PROCESS. The secret is simple... Read More
Today I stopped by my favorite coffee shop in Berkeley,... Read More
The problem isn't that you don't have enough will power... Read More
If you want any weight loss program to work you... Read More
A healthy pregnancy almost always involves weight gain. But now... Read More
Hold the onions! Let's talk "liver". No, not beef liver,... Read More
Any weight loss or diet plan, including low-carb plans like... Read More
Include in your diet things that contain more water like... Read More
Barriers to healthy diets are placed into four broad categories:... Read More
The difference between weight loss, and steady or weight gain,... Read More
In December 2003, the FDA incorporated an ephedra ban making... Read More
Cut the Calories, Bring Out the BikiniSummer's almost here and... Read More
One thing I really must say at the outset of... Read More
You step on the scale and groan at the number... Read More
Browsing one of the Russian websites I have recently found... Read More
In our quest to get that "perfect" body, we actually... Read More
Losing weight can make a significant and life altering change... Read More
Stop Weight From Creeping Up By Staying AwareEveryone has small... Read More
Axiom Number FourTo have a great selling diet plan encourage... Read More
I recently received the following email:Q. Five weeks ago, I... Read More
The only way you will ever follow through on an... Read More
WEIGHT LOSS:Nutrition and weight-loss researchers say that some supplements can... Read More
Weight Loss |