Everyone’s Favorite Subject

How do I know this is a very topical subject? That is easy. A very high proportion of popular magazines, books, tv programmes, movies, websites, adverts and of course all health oriented organisations; directly or indirectly, wittingly or unwittingly allude to this great conundrum that presents itself as the bane of misery for a very large proportion of the population. Having excess weight and below average level of fitness. It is now so prevalent in developed countries that even children are beginning to suffer from it in greater numbers than ever before. So first, why is this problem on the increase?

There are no shortage of experts telling us. It’s our living style, it’s the extra content of fat in our foods, it’s the amount of junk food being consumed, it’s the sedentary lifestyle we lead, it’s the amount of television we watch, it’s the computer games and so on and so forth. We’ve heard it all before. The point is that the causes of gaining weight and lacking fitness aren’t just down to one particular thing but numerous factors that influence our lives. You will hear many go on about how it can lead to heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other serious ailments. But hardly anyone talks about the immediate, everyday effect it has on people. The problem is often self-perpetuating because of how people feel right now, this minute.

If someone constantly criticised the way you look, the amount you eat, the fact that you feel tired and sleepy and constantly reminded you that you spend far too much  time in front of that nasty evil oblong shaped object in the corner of your living room, the reservoir of your self-esteem and your self-worth inevitably starts to diminish and over time, it reaches a  point where you no longer care. Who is this evil person? Well it’s you. That’s what you do all through the waking hours. Every time you go to pick something up, sit down, stand up, reach out; any motion whatsoever, the excess weight is there and you are only too conscious of it but in public you deny it even exists. However, in the privacy of your own thoughts and feelings, it eats away at your happiness and ease.

What happens next? It would be nice to think that not caring would take away the pain and the hurt. But it does not. In fact, what is actually happening is that you are on a path of exacerbating the problem because the one short bit of comfort that you allow yourself actually involves eating even more. Why? Because it doesn’t matter any more. You have passed the point of caring, so the answer is to give up, put on more weight and pretend to accept it as who you are and other people had better also accept it. If they don’t that’s their business. But in reality, the misery perpetuates even more misery.

Your only bit of actual comfort is when it is time to go to sleep. All the weight is taken by the bed and some of it is dissipated by gravity as it presses down on your abdomen. Come the morning, we’re back to square one. You are faced with what to have for breakfast. You say to yourself,  ”today is the day”. You promise yourself that it will be the start of the journey towards recovery. The resolution (one of hundreds you’ve made in the past) is kicked into action by having a very reasonable breakfast. Then comes lunch and the bustle of the day couples with your resolution and insists you only have a small lunch or miss it altogether.

Now the evening arrives. Oh the evenings are so wicked, aren’t day. Your time to relax and forget about the tasks and chores of the day. Time to reflect and enjoy the peace. If only it were so. You begin by having a small meal at the prescribed time. You finish it in say 15 minutes or less. Remembering the resolution, the meal consists of a small portion of something with some salad. You congratulate yourself on having done so well but mindful that it is only 6pm or thereabouts. So now, on to watch some tv. Somehow or rather, this triggers a thought that you must have something to eat as you watch. We seem to have a culture of accompanying visual entertainment with food. Whether it’s popcorn, chocolates, nuts, potato crisps, biscuits or a mix of snacks. It doesn’t seem to matter really. Anything will do. Even just plain yogurt. Before long, the passive nature of eating while watching tv means you don’t even know the number of calories being consumed. You are adamant it’s not that many. Just a few nuts, a few biscuits, a bag of crisps. It takes maybe a couple of minutes to finish off one small bag of crisps and combined with all this thirst provoking food, you feel like having something to drink, anything but water. Tea, fizzy drink, wine, spirit, beer; whatever it happens to be, but not water. Before the night is done, the tv has accomplished it’s mission of having you sit through a barrage of advertisements and mind-numbing soaps while you put away something like two to three thousand calories or more in addition to whatever else you had during the day. It needn’t be the tv that does it. Any setback, any argument, the slightest disturbance in your inner peace triggers a need to take in food in order to calm things down.

It is now bedtime and you know internally that the resolution has been committed to flames and there is no sign of any inclination to do the physical exercises that you promised you would. You retire with disgust at your failure to keep the resolution for even one day, never mind the weeks and months that it needs to be kept up in order to have the desired effect.

That previous paragraph is the point really. Our inability to maintain the necessary frame of mind long enough to ensure we reach the prescribed target means you are heading towards desperation. You begin to think of quick remedies that involve surgery. What about diet pills? What about miracle teas and herbs? What about all those beautiful websites that look so promising if only you can just follow the regime for the necessary length of time. What about a weight club. What about joining a gym? But you can’t, or you won’t and even if you did, any weight you manage to lose has a nasty habit of coming back with a vengeance and you put on even more than the amount you lost. Despair or what?

My friends, the answer is not in any prescribed program, regime or diet. All these “schemes” inevitably lead to the same road. The solution is to eat less and exercise. Forever. Period. There is no end to the “diet” if that’s what you want to call it,  because there is no diet. There is only lifestyle. Please do not go on a diet. Please do not kid yourself by thinking that you can go on a diet. All you need to do is the following and there is no end to it. You must keep going, not only to maintain reduced weight but also to boost your inner happiness. This is so important. Your self-esteem will go up, your confidence will soar and your entire outlook will be so much brighter than it is now. That is the prize you should be aiming for. Do not let the endless array of models,  athletes and movie stars being paraded in the media be the driving force behind your determination to succeed. Let it be your happiness and inner peace.

Oh and one more thing. Do not make resolutions at night or in the morning or 1st of January or Monday, that is, some prescribed time in the future. Make it now and only make it because you can and you will succeed. Not because you want the body of the model you saw on tv but because you want your inner happiness and self-worth to soar and I absolutely guarantee you will not be disappointed. Keep that prize as your ultimate goal. Eat less and exercise. That’s all there is to it. You can decide which foods to eat and which ones to stay away from. You already know the classifications, you know them only too well. Do not wait for experts to repeat to you what you already know. 

I leave you in peace and wish you every success in your quest to win back and retain the peace and happiness that you surely deserve. Do it now, this minute.