Here we go again.
Yet another study has been published, saying that people would give up a job promotion to lose 10-20 pounds. Earlier studies showed that people would give up a house or a job to get thin and stay thin.
Here’s what they mean: they mean that they’d give up these things if their excess weight would go *poof* and they would be instantly thin without having to work for it, and, more important, would not have to change their eating habits or their sedentary habits.
Yes, they’d be willing to give up their house or promotion or raise, but what they’re not willing to give up is mindless eating. What they’re not willing to give up is junk food. What they’re not willing to give up is a few minutes of their time each day to write down what they eat or count calories. What they’re not willing to give up is eating whenever they want, whatever they want, in whatever quantity they want.
Hey, I’ve been there! At the time I started my ultimate weight loss effort over 30 years ago, I could not imagine going the rest of my life without drinking a six-pack of cola every day. Or a bag (a large one, not a single-size one) of chips every day. I was just going to stick to the program as long as it took to lose the weight and go back to the way I was eating before.
By the time I got to my goal weight, I realized I could never go back to the way I was eating before.
Do I get nostalgic for the old days? Sure! (Check previous blog posts on the subject.)
Do I get nostalgic about being obese? No, I do not! That’s what keeps me at a healthy weight.
Bottom line: people don’t lose weight by giving up their jobs. They don’t lose weight by giving up their houses. They lose weight and keep it off when they give up the idea that they’re going to be miserable if they don’t (over)eat the way they do now for the rest of their lives.
Life can still be fun and satisfying without consuming large quantities of food. It takes time, it takes work, it takes finding other ways to comfort and entertain oneself without using food. But it can be done, and people don’t have to give up a house or a job to do it.
