Changing your lifestyle vs. the "quick fixes"

mialsya · July 2011

I was at work the other night and talking to two other women. Both of these women are thin and gorgeous. One is maybe 5'5" and about 125 and the other is about the same height and about 135. They were both sitting around talking about how they needed to lose weight. In this discussion, the thinner of the two stated she wanted to be 110lbs and was going to start getting those HcG injections to lose it. The other stated that she needed to get down to 115lbs so she could rock out a bikini for some guy her sister was going to set her up with. This made me feel completely horrible about myself. I'm 265lbs now and trying to lose my weight the healthy way. I said to both of them that I would give anything to be at the weights they are now and they acted like I insulted them. When I said that I've lost 20lbs in the past month, they acted impressed and asked how I did it. When I said it was eating healthy and exercising, one of them actually said that she didn't have the time for that. Really? I showed them both MFP and how to use it and when the thinner of the two set up her profile, it set her calories to 1200 and that, following that intake, she would lose a pound a week. She actually got mad and said that wasn't good enough.

Now, I could understand wanting to tone up and such, but have some sensitivity. I am busting my butt to try to lose weight and getting frustrated at WATER WEIGHT. There is no quick fix to life and it just really makes me mad that someone would stand there and berate themselves for being exactly where I want to be. That just kills the motivation - if they're not happy being at where I set my goal to be, then will I?

To those of you who are on this site and living the good life in the healthy BMI range, LOVE IT! There are too many of us fighting so hard to get to where you are and we are JEALOUS of you for what you have.

joehempel · July 2011

You also gotta remember that even though they are where YOU want to be....they are not where THEY want to be.

It works on different levels.

The quick fixes aren't going to be permanent, but I understand the quick fix for the summer.

chevy88grl · July 2011

Please understand that even when you're thin - you can still have body image issues. When we look in the mirror we see the flaws in our bodies. We don't think about how someone heavier than us would KILL to have the body we are staring at in the mirror. What we are thinking is "Dang it, I wish my hips, love handles, butt, whatever was thinner, more toned or whatever".

I've weighed over 200lbs and I desperately wanted to be thinner and it really bothered me to hear thinner women complain about being fat or whatever. But, now that I AM thinner - I realize that losing the weight didn't fix all the flaws I see on my body. We are our own worst critics -- remember that.

As for them wanting to lose weight quickly and in a (likely) unhealthy way - everyone wants a quick fix when it comes to weight loss. Eventually, they will learn that you can't swallow a pill or whatever to lose weight and keep it off. It comes with eating better, eating less and working out. Plain and simple. Unfortunately, unless someone ASKS for your help - they likely aren't going to listen.

SarahofTwins · July 2011

HA! sounds like they are idiots...but hey if they want to go the short route and throw up thats always an option. They can do it the unhealthy way and just be miserable on the inside as well. I bet they think they are "fat" too. :laugh: :laugh:

You on the other hand have lost 20lbs by working hard and giving your body what it really needs. Be proud of what you've accomplished and where you will go in a week, month, etc. It's a hard journey but those who strive for it will feel that much better in the end. Good luck to you!:flowerforyou:

LeelaLosing · July 2011

I agree with @joehempel, and would add, living in LA where body image is crazy and so are the people and weight loss methods, I've been part of many of these discussions and trust me, you don't want what they have. Firstly, from my experience they aren't even being truthful or honest. It's very common for thin women to say they need to lose weight, and nitpick about their bodies but they actually have no plans or desire to change ANYTHING.

Secondly, there is such a level of self-hatred going on, I wouldn't know where to start. I had a whole serious (I'm prefacing it because it's unbelieveable) conversation with a client, who is now also a friend (we're not perfect and this is one of her blindsides)....

She was very supportive and amazed by my lifestyle changes (I lost about 30 lbs while we worked together, took hiking/fitness vacations and would bring my own healthy food when we worked together), and when she made some encouraging comment and said that I didn't need to lose anymore (LOL)....I was about 15 lbs heavier than now at the time....I said, yes, actually I do, I"m still obese and she said she was too! At 5'4 or 5'5 and 130-135 lbs. She didn't work out AT ALL mind you. She was 50, so she had a little (I mean LITTLE) flab on her tummy that a little bit of working out would have erased right away combined with a normal diet. She had the habit of living off Starbucks, Jamba Juice and WW shakes during the day and pigging out at night.
She insisted she was obese and needed to lose 10 lbs to be where she was in her 20s. I said I could understand her wanting to lose some weight, but she wasn't obese, in looks or by BMI stats. She just kept saying that she was really obese....
???? Crazy, yes?

You will meet all kinds of people and they will say all kinds of things. The only thing we can do is be clear about who we are, honest about our goals and methods and keep our eye there and not in comparison with others. It's tough sometimes, especially when someone represents our particular version of "perfect" but I think it's the only way....

auntiebabs · July 2011

Ignore nutrition and abuse your body to lose and one way or another it shows up in your health later.

The pay off comes when your 50. 60, 70 and beyond.
As they say living well is the best revenge.
Keep working to find a healthy lifestyle that you can stick with and when you are 80 you can be off kayaking the sea of cortez.

I know folks in their 70s & 80s who live in pain and are barely mobile. I'm late to the game, but I want to do everything I can to avoid that.
Our body is a vehicle that has to last our whole life there are no trade-ins.

Pretty much everyone I know who went for the "quick fix", gained back plus.
Some, who only wanted to lose some vanity pounds, repeated until they ratcheted themselves up to a point where their health became an issue.

Some never worried about their weight or nutrition.

Now I don't wish them anything bad. We all have to find our own path when it's right for us.

But when you know better you do better.
And you ARE doing better.

This isn't a race, it's an endurance exercise.
It's not who get to a certain number first, but who is healthiest the longest that wins.

Good Luck

amaodonnell · July 2011

Its very tough to ignore those quick fixes, and believe me, I know several people that have done the HCG thing, they have lost weight. I've been at points with no support and desperate to drop the weight and thought about it and my husband refuses to let me go that route because it is unhealthy.
Its frustrating when you feel like a elephant in a field of giraffes. I worked with this girl who was around 4'11 - 5 about 115/120 and she was telling me how her and a friend were going to do HCG but she ended up moving and so it didn't happen and I really wanted to ask where the weight would come off of because she was already so thin!

I am trying to keep on track and it is just hard. I pick out everything in the mirror daily and wish I was a different person. But I have lost about 10 lbs to date, give or take a few. I use to go the gym, but since I moved it's hard. I really need the motivation again to get me started.

pickenslmc · July 2011

Great job making changes to improve you health. It is hard sometimes to remember that everyone sometimes has trouble seeing themselves accurately. When I was in my teens/early twenties I was pretty sure I was very fat. Even at my lowest weight I thought I was huge, looking back I was a normal weight. As I've gotten older it has been easier for me to love and recognize my body for all it has done and can do in the future. It is frustrating sometimes when people look for quick fixes, but it is easy to see the appeal.

Changing your lifestyle vs. the "quick fixes"

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