Change or die!

Does this sound familiar?

You have always been the chubby kid. And then teenager. It had been always somehow manageable until… things got slowly out of hand. You have listened to too many good ideas from your friends, relatives, and at school – they were always mocking you, never picked you into the team in PE, they were looking at you, giggling, commenting on parts of your body, your clothes, how it didn’t fit right; you never had many friends, you were the chubby girl … you know what I mean. But for now, change is not on your mind…

 

The spiral starts to spin

So, as you were growing up, you had this amazing idea that a diet would fix it all. You started slowly, there were always ideas in all those teenage magazines; if they say it there, it is for us, it must work. Let’s do it! You tried and, oops, you failed. It didn’t work. Maybe it wasn’t the right diet. So, you kept trying many more of them. To no avail. Things started to get slowly worse and worse.

You lost something, you gained a little more than before. Ok, one more fad diet, and again, you lost something and gained some more. The vicious cycle started and turned into a nasty spiral that started swallowing you. Slowly but steadily. You tried it all. Name a diet and you will confirm that you have already tried it. Results? Little to none. 

 

What is more, your weight is higher than ever before. Your metabolism is completely f.cked up, you have no idea what to eat, your relationship with food is completely messed up, you see food as your archenemy, whatever you put on the plate is wrong and you know that it will only make you fatter, and fatter. Oh my god, how much you envy that slim b.tch that can eat all those sweets, pizzas, chips, you name it! And doesn’t gain a single gram. You gain five kilos a week only by breathing. 

Gym and more gym it is! Or not…

So if it all doesn’t work, you try to do things right! This time you will make it! No matter what! Do you remember Bridget Jones falling off the bike while spinning in the gym like crazy? Yes, this is you! You decided to hit the gym and literally die there. What is more, your decision is so strong that you paid a yearly subscription and classes with a private trainer for the first month.

And guess what? How long did this last? A week? Two? Congratulations! You have made it longer than our fellow weight fighters. All you can see is the monthly payment eating your money out of your bank account. You get angry every month you see it. Well, you are still trying to convince yourself that you will go back to it when things will calm down a little. You are too busy now anyway. Life happens. 

A state of deep depression sets in

As you have failed so many times, you slowly convinced yourself that you are absolutely useless and that you will never lose the stupid weight anyway. You gave up on everything. On all those clothes you would love to wear, on being able to go to the beach or pool without feeling ashamed,  on being able to run after your kids, on going to the park with them, on going on the bike that is catching dust in the garage.

It is ok, you think, you can do this. It is under control. There are so many more fat people out there, so what, you are just one of them. If you are lucky and live in the US, there are many plus-size clothes available, even nice ones, and there is Shein as the last instance, right? So, all is fine. 

First serious body complaints

But one day you realize that you kinda can’t breathe well, two flights of stairs are too much, you are out of breath, your chest hurts, your heart is racing like crazy trying to jump out of your chest, your knees are complaining, your hips are as well, and your ankles are swollen all the time. They took your blood pressure and, wow, the numbers are high. They took your blood and your sugar is borderline diabetic. Things like cholesterol are… you know where I am heading.

As time passes, and it all never improves, the body starts to complain because it is carrying way too much weight. Love your body, it can make incredible things, but come on, we can’t mistreat it. Maybe for a while, but in the long term, it is a recipe for disaster. You are very close to this. 

Now or never!

So, you try once again. The very last heroic attempt to get rid of the extra weight. Let’s call a spade a spade, it is not some extra padding here and there, it is not only overweight, you are obese. Where exactly are you now? Level one? Two? Or directly morbid obesity? Dont hide. Don’t lie to yourself. It happened and it is very real. Don’t be ashamed and step on the scales! I can hear you: Whaaaaat??? Just do it! What is the number? Ok, this is your reality… and no, you are not retaining water, it is not a side effect of those pills you are taking for X. No. This is where you are. 

And let’s be honest here. Do you really think you will be able to lose it all by yourself? Pretty please, don’t tell me you will take some miraculous pills or pinch yourself some crazy stuff in your tummy. Things like these do more harm than good. Do the homework and read around. I mean, some serious articles on the topic. Not what they say on TikTok or Instagram. They would sell you whatever. It is all money well wasted. 

Change or die

I have some very unpleasant news for you: if you want to weigh some reasonable amount of kilos/pounds, you simply won’t be able to eat the way you have been eating till now. You will have to change. Not only food you are stuffing in your mouth. You will have to change many more things. Your lifestyle, your relationship with food, what you eat, how much, where, when and who with.

Because the very basic question to ask here is: how did this all happen? Why do you see on the scales this number? Think about the reason. Why are you eating this and that? Maybe you are convinced that you don’t eat that much or that you are eating healthy. Ok! Let’s check this. It is a very easy stuff to do. 

 

Homework? Really? YES!

Your very first homework is to find a calorie counter online (you are spending too much time with your phone anyway 😀 ) and for a week keep filling in everything you eat. And I mean it. Everything. Buy a kitchen scale, the cheap digital one, and before you put it in your mouth, weigh it. And log it into the app. I swear, you will be shocked by the result. 

Note: never mind!!! For now, it is absolutely ok. No judgment here. The aim is to realize how much you are eating and what are the proportions. Protein, carbs, fats, fiber. Nothing more. How much of each of these are you getting in. Too many carbs? And what? Little protein? Most likely. Next to nothing of fiber? I can imagine. And no, fats are not your enemy.

So just find an app that you will like and keep logging in for a week. You need some information about what you’re eating. When you see it all in numbers, you will get it. And please, don’t cheat. This info is for you. Whatever you put in the app, your body knows much better what you put inside. So the only person you might be lying is to yourself. So be honest. I will be like your mom here – it is for your own good 🙂