Diet Denial

I was looking at one of the many message boards or forums, if you'd rather call them that, last night. It's amazing their specificity. You name the diet and you'll find a message board for it. Low carb, low fat, low calorie, low salt, the list is endless.

I have noticed one thing, at least, that they all share and that is denial. It comes in many forms, but it is always there. Case in point:

I spent the evening reading the posts on one dieters thread. Her journey to success. It was a journal of sorts that she posted to every few days and then her online friends would answer her posts with rousing cheers for your successes and heartfelt sorrow for her failures.

I read all seventeen pages which covered a thirteen month period. I know, I need a life. Anyway, she started this journey at about 177 pounds. Within this thirteen month period she went up the same twelve pounds to end up thirteen months later back at 177 pounds.

This isn't news. Many people, myself included, lose and gain the same pounds over and over again. What I found interesting were her posts, and this is where the denial comes into play.

Her posts came in two fashions. One were posts where she had lost weight, a pound or less. The other posts, which made up 95% of the posts were complaints about not losing weight and how the diet just simply was not working for her.

In all of her misery, her online pals gave her virtual hugs and admired her stick with it attitude. They weeped and moaned about her fate and how difficult she had it while trying too hard for so long to lose weight.

What no one seemed to mention or perhaps not even notice, as they did not have the perspective of looking over a year at once, was that those 95% of posts that complained of no weight loss also contained the confession of the extra sugar, bits and bites, and days of eating off her plan.

That bit of information seemed to be pushed aside as far as possible and ignored. Of course, here was the true reason she wasn't losing weight. It was right there in black and white if she or any of her buddies wanted to take the time to look and acknowledge the hard cold facts. With all the cheats and days off plan, she was never really truly on plan.

Instead, it was easier for her and everyone else to deny the obvious and sit back and pretend that she and they were helpless. For if they were to admit her faults, then they would have to admit their own.

From personal experience, I know that denial tastes much better when shared with company.

Time

I wonder when motivation kicks in. What does it take? My father died a week ago. He had been ill, but the timing seems off. We assumed he had time left. That got me to thinking about time. We always think that we'll have tomorrow to do what we just didn't get to today, but maybe we won't. I think about the life I'd like to have. It includes more friends, more freedom to do the thinks I keep myself from doing because of my weight. It also includes companionship and dare I say love. Being overweight is isolating. I do it to myself, and it is done to me by others. People don't seem to want to take the time to get to know who I am as a person. They don't like what they see on the outside, so I guess, they figure they won't like what's on the inside.

I'm not silly enough to believe that being thin solves all of a person's problems, but it doesn't hurt. Maybe there is a whole other list out there of problems just waiting for the day I finally lose the weight. Honestly, I'd welcome them. At least, they would be a change of pace.

So, back to time. It is so easy to say, "I'll start tomorrow. I'll worry about that on Monday. This isn't a good time, maybe next week." I just have to wonder, how much time is left?

Still Fat, Still Flying

Well, here it is, over two years since I started this blog. At that time, I was concerned that being over weight would make flying to England difficult. Since then, I have flown to England twice. In fact, I just got back a couple of weeks ago. Guess what? Being over weight made flying to England difficult. The seats were small, the tray table wouldn't lay flat across my lap, and let's not even mention the bathrooms. Let's face it, airplane bathrooms are a nightmare on a good day! Try stuffing 240 lbs into one and, well, it doesn't even stand talking about.

So, the $100,000 dollar question is why am I still over weight? I know the simple answer - I eat too much and don't exercise. Why do I eat too much and why don't I exercise? Now there's the rub. I think, I could even come up with an answer for that. Having said that, it still doesn't explain why I can't seem to get myself off the sofa for more than a trip to the ice box.

I'm a terribly smart person. If I want something, I go after it and usually get it. I don't stop or back down. That is unless we're talking about losing weight and getting into shape.

I'm back on the blog because I really want to get this all in hand. A new decade has started, and I'd like to see what I can do to change the direction of my life.

If nothing else, it should be interesting!

a moment is the answer to all of lifes mysteries!

Introductions

I read an article yesterday that talked about over-weight people and the size of airline seats. The bottom line, no pun intended, was whether or not larger people should pay for two seats. The truth of the matter is airlines are not going to give their customer's more room without higher costs. The population is not going to get smaller. The seats are not going to get larger. People's views on the heavy are not going to change.

Regardless on which side you may fall on this issue my problem is, I have a fat butt and I am flying to England in three months time.

My options are limited. One seat is about $1200 Economy class. Business class starts at around $2,600 a seat. Forget about First class.

I can't afford two seats let alone Business or First Class.

It's not that I can't fit into one seat. I can. The arm rest goes down. I lean towards the window and hold my breath and I don't touch anyone else. Of course, after eight hours in this position, I have cramps in my whole body and most likely have turned blue.

I live in terror the entire flight that the person next to me will make a snide comment, that I'll have to go the bathroom, or that my legs will have to be amputated from lack of blood flow due to the arm rest digging into them.

I'm afraid the only option I see available to me is to have a much smaller butt three months from now.

But how?