But seriously, some great stuff has been said here. Ian, that was a fantastic honest assessment of the changes in your life.
I didn't start as heavy, probably around 165, and have lost nearly 30 lbs. But the difference it has made in my self-esteem... it's massive.
As Dana 2.0 said, image IS a sort of language that we use to tell the world who we are. It suddenly clicked that my struggles with dating, shopping, and basically anything else that required me to have self-confidence, were due to MY issues with my weight, not anyone else's issues with my weight. And the only way I realized this was by losing the weight. I never would have understood this otherwise.
I've had days that someone with wealth would on vacation: awesome settings, some of the best restaurants in the world, doing great things. But I was morbidly obese.
Hands down an average Monday in a cube is better than that day was...overall. To each his own, but at least for me the day in day out health and how I felt, no matter how awesome the thing I was doing? Nope health beats it hands down for me.
So yeah I feel like I won the lottery many times over. The best part? It was under my control. No once in a million lifetime happenstance needed.
My mind has healed along with my body. I am finding for me personally I am not as much into material things anymore. Life is just that much more fun living. I want to DO things, not get things now. Don't get me wrong, a level of comfort is a good thing. But an unhealthy dude in a Ferrari versus a healthy dude in just any old functional, somewhat comfortable, and safe car? Not even close, by a ridiculously wide margin: healthy dude in the average or below average car for me.
Last edited by diamondgeog; 10-03-2014 at 01:08 PM.
The great news is epigenetics. Look it up if you haven't heard of it. Most awesome word in the English language. For virtually all if not all chronic diseases WE are in control. No destiny is determined by your genes.
Speaking of words to look up, Paleotard is a good one to check out.
Where is your evidence to support your claim that one's diet is going to prevent them from getting virtually any chronic disease? Sure, some chronic diseases can be avoided with a healthy lifestyle but one's diet cannot change one's genes it can only change the expression of those genes. There is no magic dietary plan that can overcome all of our genetic predispositions.
For me, the initial motivation has always been vanity. I like to look good. Maybe that sounds superficial but I love to express myself with my clothes and I've never been able to do it well when I've been obese. I know some people can do it but I just can't.
Once I'm at a healthy weight, my confidence really improves and even though I still have most of the same problems, I've noticed that everything is just a little bit easier to manage.
Mostly though, it's about feeling sane. When I'm binge eating and my weight is headed up, it feels like being on a roller coaster. At first, eating whatever i want is exciting and then very soon, it just feels really out of control and I don't know how to get off the ride. I don't want to get back to that feeling.
I also don't think I'd take any amount of money in exchange for my thinner self. To use another example (instead of the car example), I'd rather wear clothes from the thrift store at a thinner weight than to buy designer clothes from the most expensive store at an obese weight.
For me, the initial motivation has always been vanity. I like to look good. Maybe that sounds superficial but I love to express myself with my clothes and I've never been able to do it well when I've been obese. I know some people can do it but I just can't.
GMTA! Because I've been overweight all my life the only way I felt I could express myself was through clothes. But when you get to a certain weight the only clothes that are an option anymore are solid color variations of t-shirts or turtle necks. I'm sick of that. I want to express my inner romantic/feminine self!
I wouldn't take money in exchange for my soon to be thin self either.
My main motivation is, frankly, to look better and to be able to wear clothes better.
But in thinking about this question, and the great responses, I also remember that after my breast reduction 10 years ago, suddenly "dealing with" my large breasts was no longer a factor in my life and, especially, thoughts. I was freed up to give my mental energy to other things.
So I'm hoping that finally losing weight will also mean that all the time and (mental) energy that I currently put into "dealing with" being overweight will be freed up for better endeavours!
You could give me a choice of winning a 300 million dollar lottery but having to eat wheat and hands down I'd say no in a second.
WOW. You'd probably have to pay me $300 million (OK, maybe $300,000) to give up wheat! Wheat-based foods not only taste delicious, but they give me energy and improve my mood. I have no medical symptoms of any kind, knock on wood. This morning I had two fresh Montreal bagels, right out of the oven, before going for a 7K run.
I'm hoping that finally losing weight will also mean that all the time and (mental) energy that I currently put into "dealing with" being overweight will be freed up for better endeavours!
What a great inspiration ThisTimeForReal!! I love that!!
