100 Pounds In Three Months!?

Back in August I decided to try and get healthier. It had nothing to do with my doctor bitching at me. Okay, it did a little. It hurt my feelings but I knew she was right. I don't want to be like my parents who were suffering from illnesses that would eventually do them in after a few more years. They were the same age I am now when their health became a downward spiral. They weren't exactly health conscious in their lives. Both were smokers and kept Old Style beer in business. I never saw my mother do any exercise. She was what you call skinny fat. Women who are thin but have zero muscle. Look at movies from the 40's and 50's, you'll see what I mean. Dad got some exercise by mowing our huge lawn and tending his vegetable garden, but he smoked unfiltered Camels since he was fourteen. 

In August I decided to completely cut out sugar, which for me was like a friend dying. A bitch friend who wanted to kill me, but I loved her. It really hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be. Once off the drug, I realized how much I didn't really want it. I'm also trying to eat more fresh food and less processed crap. And... I have a new friend, the under the desk bike. It is my most favorite possession. It was a cheap buy and the counter died after two months, but I just need the pedals to go round and round. I feel loads better and have lost some weight. I remember Oprah, a million years ago, after she lost a ton of weight pulling out a kid's wagon on stage which was filled with five pound bags of potatoes. She wanted to show us a visual in potatoes how much she had lost. Well, that image hit me hard and I use it myself. So when I have lost two five pound bags of potatoes I am thrilled. It's been seven months. I feel better but I'm not pushing myself or starving myself. It will take time and this is the best way to get healthy. 

I mention all of this because of an article in the Daily Mail about a man who lost 100 pounds in three months. I can't read the story because there's a paywall and I will never pay The Daily Rag a penny. However, I did Google to see if it was possible to lose that much weight in such a short amount of time. (Yes, but not recommended) To me, that is so reckless and stupid. I've watched a few episodes of the 600 pound people who are put on very strict diets and can lose a lot of weight because they have so much to lose. Eventually, it becomes more difficult and don't ask me the whys. It just is. The body says, "F you. I want a donut." So, it quits on you. The guy in the article didn't look obese. I can only imagine he starved himself and worked out all day long. Again, it's stupid and dangerous and exactly the kind of garbage The Daily Mail publishes. I'm advising you all very strongly. Do. Not. Do. This!

The sad part about losing weight using quick weight loss schemes is that you aren't addressing the elephant in the room- the brain. Over 80% of dieters will regain it all back and then some the weight they lost within five years. Yep. I've been there and that's why I don't ever do these crazy diets of cabbage juice and maple syrup, or, whatever this guy is doing. 

I don't watch the 600 pounds series regularly, although I got invested in the Slatons, two sisters who struggled with their weight. Tammy Slaton was a mess. I truly did not think she would live, but with intervention and medical help she lost the weight. She's had a few skin removal surgeries and is continuing her journey. Sadly, I don't feel the warm fuzzies. I feel anxiety because even though she has lost the weight, her mindset is the same. I want to strangle her when she grabs a "sodie" from the fridge. The medical team aren't standing by her side anymore. She's on her own. I truly hope she tries to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The quick fix remedy is a bandaid on a shotgun blast. 

Moderation. That is a difficult thing to do for so many of us. I think one reason I craved sweets was because we rarely had them growing up to the point where it backfired and I went crazy. And now I pay for it- yet hope I haven't done irreversible damage. I witness my older sister struggling with bad knees and I don't want to see, know it, or live it.

In conclusion... don't read The Daily Mail if you are weak minded, like a maga. That's where they get their reading material. Don't do these diet scams that could kill you. It's outrageous.  But, don't deny yourself a treat now and then. What's the point of living if it's all beige?