Saturday, April 27, 2013

Go Fish!

Picture a fish lying on the shore, its gills flaring, its mouth gasping, while well-intentioned onlookers shake their heads and wonder why the poor creature can’t seem to breathe. Someone recommends putting the animal in an oxygen tent. Others wonder what previous trauma prompted it to jump out of the lake. It is suggested that perhaps surgery to modify its gills is in order.

If you have any wits about you at all, you will ignore these morons and toss the fish back into the water.

It’s not so different for those of us who struggle with weight. We agonize over how to best motivate ourselves to eat less and exercise more. We scrutinize our screwed up psyches in the quest for a healthy weight through emotional healing. We dream of a magic pill or surgery that will provide the answer that has eluded us. And will continue to elude us because…

We are like fish out of water.

In other words, we live in a fat-and-sugar-drenched environment that is the antithesis of what would support us in maintaining a healthy weight. Yet rather than confront an eco-system so poisonous to the weight-challenged, we blame ourselves for our inability to adapt to it. Is it any wonder that so many of us fail in our battle with obesity?

The world tells us that the reason people become overweight is because they’re broken and need to be fixed. In that scenario, it’s our own fault we’re fat. But what if it’s the other way around? That people become overweight because the world is broken and needs to be fixed? That the problem is not that you ate the Baconater, but that the Baconater exists at all?

I know. Nothing but a big fish story.

6 comments:

  1. I pretty much changed my crowd. I do not feel that I live in the world you describe (anymore).

    We have a 4 1/2 year old arriving tomorrow for the weekend, her mom said - please do not give her any soda/pop. I said no problem, we do not have any, we all drink water. Her mom said - please no candy. I said - no problem we don't have any. I said we pretty much (all) only eat whole foods. I said the girls will eat noodles on occasion and we have cheese. The mom said - please no beef. I said none of us eat beef nor pork, two of us are vegetarians. The mom was relieved. This whole conversation amused me to no end.

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  2. Hi Vickie! No big plans, which is good. I've been pretty busy lately so a quiet weekend is something I really look forward to. I might even post here this weekend...

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  3. I have lost 65 lbs since last April counting calories with MFP. If I bite it, I write it. It takes constant vigilance. I am struggling to lose 12 more lbs to reach my goal. But I also struggle with seeing myself differently than the fat person I was. My husband sees a skinny wife and I don't even though Ian wearing clothes several sizes smaller. Any thoughts?

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  4. Lisa, congrats on the 65 pounds! You are smart to keep a food journal. I've done that in the past and am thinking of doing it again. It's a pain sometimes, but it does help. As for how you see yourself, I think you just need to give that time. It took me years before I really started to see myself as a non-overweight person.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the positive reinforcement.

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