I'm obsessed. What-Evah!
This is what some friends/coworkers told me when I talked to them about this diet I started. They asked about it, so I told them. But they didn't like what they heard and they think that I look fine at my hefty 167 pounds, so that means I'm obsessed. Because I want to lose 30 more pounds, I'm obsessed. Never mind that my healthy weight range for my height ranges from 120 to 145. Even by medical standards, I'm overweight. I'm shooting for 135, and figure if I range plus or minus that by a few pounds, it will be OK.
They say, just eat healthy. Well, that hasn't been working for me. And quite honestly, it hasn't been working for them either. I've been counting calories and eating healthy for 2 years only to lose 40 pounds. Now in the grand scheme of things (I posted about this) that's not bad. It's perfectly healthy to go the slow approach. Probably even healthier than crash dieting or even what I'm doing now. But frustration has taken over, and I'm looking to push through the next few pounds a little bit more quickly.
What's interesting is this negative feedback only drives me to keep going. it's strange because I'm uber sensitive about what people think of me and I would think that negative feedback would knock me down. Instead, it's pushed me forward. I don't know if it's the message or the messenger, though. These women are on the heavy side. They have belly fat, and could stand to lose a few pounds themselves. The fact that I'm doing something to lose the weight, and they're not while they criticize me only makes me want to lose it more. It's like, tell me how obsessed I am when I lose 20 more pounds and you're still talking about "when you start losing weight".
Does anyone else ever get that? They think you're obsessed because you've been dieting for a long time, or because you choose a weight loss program that costs a lot of money or any weight loss program that they just don't like? Or maybe your methods just don't line up with theirs? Maybe you declined cake at lunch or chose salad over pizza? Does the criticism help or hinder your progress?