There’s a reason he has a doctorate
So yesterday I had to go to the dr’s for an annoying cough- contrary to my mother’s belief, I am not actually dying, it’s just a cold. Anyway, we started chatting about exercise because I mentioned it gets worse with physical activity and he said that he has to tell so many people to exercise that it is just a waste of time. He gets frustrated about how few people that go through his practice actually exercise, or are even willing to try.
He’s a great doctor, and what I love most is that he doesn’t seem to be too concerned about my weight. For my height, I am overweight, but he doesn’t say anything about it because he knows that I run 3-4 times a week. He said his main concern is that people exercise because that is what keeps everything in working order.
So as we were chatting, I asked him if he had ever watched the biggest loser. He said he had and then said what I thought was so wise: “I think of weight management as a lifelong chronic issue that constantly needs to be kept in check with exercise. People with high blood pressure would never expect to take a medication once and be cured, so why should anyone think that there is a quick cure-all for weight control?”
I think it’s so true and wise because I think we feel like we should be able to just diet, lose weight, and never worry about it again. I think that it’s important to come to terms with the fact that MOST people do in fact have to manage their weight in some way. There are very few people who are naturally thin, and even if they are, that doesn’t mean they are healthy. In my last post, I wrote about how I’ve fallen off the wagon and intend to do better. Seeing my doctor makes me realize that it is normal that this is all cyclical, and that we do better managing sometimes than we do at others. I will NEVER be able to eat whatever I want, not exercise, and not gain weight. But, I guess I’m not supposed to- that’s normal. And for feeling so abnormal for so long, normal is a very good thing.
The “lifelong” factor is the one that keeps coming back to haunt me. That I will always need to eat healthy and exercise. Once I get that through my head, maybe i will see some success. Let’s get back on the wagon together!
Yep. I too will have to battle this for the rest of my life. I think more people do than it seems.
Yes, I came to the conclusion a long time ago that this would be a lifelong thing. I like to peek into the maintenance forum sometimes and always see them saying that maintaining is in some ways harder than losing, because you don’t get the motivation that seeing the scale drop can often bring.
I look at my best friend…she is like 125-130 lbs. I used to think she ate anything she wanted. And she does eat any THING, but not any AMOUNT. I don’t think it will ever be intuitive like it is with her, but we will get our own way of eating down , won’t we? Hang on to that wagon, I’m strapping myself down with a rope personally!
I think the hardest thing is to look at yourself realistically. I know that during my adult life my weight has floated up and down a range of 40 lbs. The weird thing is my mental image of myself is not at all what other people see, no matter where I am in the range. When my weight is down, I feel fat and bloated, and when my weight is up I am in denial about what my body looks like. This is very hard for me to understand.
Your doctor is very smart - I think it is all about being active, feeling ALIVE, and learning how to trust that feeling.
That is a great comment. Thank you for sharing it.
So wise it bears repeating: “I think of weight management as a lifelong chronic issue that constantly needs to be kept in check with exercise. People with high blood pressure would never expect to take a medication once and be cured, so why should anyone think that there is a quick cure-all for weight control?”
Great quote ~~ thanks for sharing!