It seems like it was easy to put the weight on, but think about what you really went through:
1. You stressed your joints
2. You stretched your stomach constantly
3. You weakened your heart by pumping it full of cholesterol and fat for years and years
4. You spent money on more food
5. You spent money on bigger clothes
6. You skipped things that you would enjoy because of self-consciousness (things you can never go back and do over)
7. You became emotional and cried at night when the fat jokes were too much
8. You wondered if people didn't like you/hire you/date you because of your weight
9. You deprived yourself of essential minerals because the other stuff tasted better
10. You may have set these examples to those who are impressionable, such as your kids (if you have any)
So you THINK gaining weight was easy, and maybe you didn't get the immediate, painful impact, but it has not been easy on you at all! If every donut or cake you stuck in your mouth caused you pain, or made you sick, no matter how good it tastes you would never have ate it! But more or less, each of those "treats" do cause you pain EVERY DAY. These sugary foods make you sick all the time!
I'd much rather have a few sores muscles then a lifetime of the "pain" of fat.
I wrote these words almost two years ago, but they are still so true to my life. Losing weight is NOT just about counting calories, or changing eating habits, or exercising- it's about a psychological recognition of bad habits and an active change in those habits. That's what makes it so hard, and that's why people try unsuccessfully over and over again to diet. I tell people that dieting is like quitting cigarettes, but harder. I make this comparison because smokers go through mood swings and unique trials that non-smokers don't understand when they try to quit. Your body is dependent on the buzz of nicotine, and the withdrawal is intense and overwhelming. I've been told that you never really feel free from cigarettes, that it just gets easier to resist them, but the desire never fully goes away.
I say that dieting is harder than quitting smoking for a couple of reasons. First, dieters can go through mood swings and unique trials (and victories!) that non-dieters (big or small) can't relate to. A dieter's body is dependent on the buzz of sugar, and the withdrawal is intense and overwhelming. I've been told (by science) that statistically speaking, those who are eventually successful with weight loss are very, very likely to gain some or all of the weight back. Weight maintenance, like resisting a smoke, is a life-long pursuit.
The biggest difference between quitting smoking and starting a diet is the one difference that makes it so hard to be successful- you HAVE to eat to live. No doubt about it, every human on earth has to put food in their mouths at specific intervals. If you moved to a planet where cigarettes didn't exist, you could survive and thrive there for the rest of your life. Without food, however, you will die within a few weeks. That is the sole reason why I believe dieting is harder than quitting cigarettes.
Well, with all of that out of the way, I've lost a total of 37 pounds (which I am stoked about!) since March 13th, 2012. This is me about 20 minutes ago:
(Notice the cigarette: yeah, I've done the quitting and the dieting)
I know that I am harder to see, but that's what I've got. I can really see my waist starting to cinch in. I really wish my arms would follow suit! Of course, that t-shirt and the pants are too big for me now, and all of my clothes are starting to become really unflattering.
So as I close this entry, I present this thought: what have you done for your body today?
