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February 18, 2009

The Importance of Accepting the Word Obese in Your Fight Against Obesity

Clients tell me constantly to take the words obese and obesity off my websites. They do not want those words attached to who they are, but until they accept obesity is part of who they are, they will never gain control of their weight.

I use the word obese freely when I describe myself, even though I lost my weight a long time ago. Many women I know, obese or not, cringe at the word, but I embrace it, as you must if you ever want to beat your obesity. After I lost my 136 pounds, I realized that I had only squelched the symptom, not cured the disease, and that is when I knew that regardless of my weight, I would always be obese.

 You may see that as a negative, but for me, it was freeing. Just like a diabetic who can control their disease with food, I too can control my obesity with food and exercise. I can never lose sight of the fact that my body tends toward obesity and if I do not monitor my caloric intake, and my energy expenditure, then obesity will once again claim my life.

 Like most obese men and women, I have lost hundreds of pounds throughout my life. Each time I reached my goal, I returned to eating like a "normal" person, and gained the weight back. This time, I swore that would not happen because I had found the perfect diet for me...until it wasn't.

 That is the problem with obesity. We look at dieting as a solution, a cure, a dream, but it is no more helpful in curing the disease than antihistamines are with allergies. Sure they mask the symptoms, even open airways so we can breath deeper, but the fact remains once the drug/diet wears off, if you don't take it again you will soon be sick/obese.

 Accepting the fact that we have slower metabolisms, instead of using them as an excuse is imperative for life-long weight management. In my business, my clients constantly talk about just wanting to eat like a normal person. They do not appreciate my telling them that they will never be able to do that, and that they must redefine what normal is based on their own metabolism, eating habits, and exercise routines. 

 If you come to terms with your obesity, if you examine it closely and learn what honestly does and does not work for you, what you can and cannot do, then you can find the right path to live on, instead of always being a tourist lost amid the hype of every diet cure out there.

Do not shy away from who you are. Accept that you are obese, and like the diabetic, stand firm in your resolve to control it by the only proven method there is: proper food and exercise.

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