Losing Weight/Keeping Sanity
Aug. 9th, 2007 01:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yelosonSo, right now I've dropped 20 pounds in a little over 2 months. I figured I'd share what/how/why.
First, when you talk about weight loss, it triggers 2 things. Either mindless agreement from a conditioned mind who has accepted Barbie-ism self hate, or shitty feelings from someone who's been on the bad end of that stick. In our society, I'd say 99% of all attempts or actual weight loss fall into either of those categories.
Never lose weight because you hate yourself. Because, if you succeed, at best, you'll have earned an eating disorder or a drug habit or both.
Lose weight because you love yourself AND there is practical reason to do so.
Me? I'm going to hit 30 next year, and that's when diabetes 2 spikes in the asian population. And diabetes causes your toes to fall off. And I love my toes.
Food becomes this strange thing in our society. It's a way of showing yourself that you love yourself, and at the same time, is the symbol of shame and guilt if you are overweight. Self hate cannot make you healthy. And you sure as hell can't feel good if you tie a basic survival need to self hate. Some people take that as the idea to not eat, but that's not the answer.
The answer is you have to say, "Fuck it" to the world and find a way to realize the world is insane and you're actually ok. When you can eat food without shame, guilt, or bad feelings, then you're mentally ready to lose weight. Now, I don't have a step by step program to do that. It took, me something like 10 years to get that straight, and I'm a guy, and guys get way less pressure about weight than women do. Your eating cannot be a source of love or hate- it has to be simply what it is, a necessity, and probably a pleasurable necessity, but not a substitute for an emotional thing. Because no matter how much you eat, you can't fill your heart.
The actual steps of what I'm doing is pretty simple though:
1. 3 square meals a day, no weird eat 8 times a day thing, because that's too much hassle.
2. Oatmeal for breakfast with raisins, 2 pieces of fruit.
3. Homemade veggie soup with lentils/split peas, either for lunch or dinner, (whatever I want otherwise)
4. No meals after 8 pm.
5. About 1/2 hour to hour of light to moderate exercise everyday.
I'm not cutting out entire food groups, or taking pills, I'm not doing a drastic new exercise program or anything. As far as calorie counting, I look at the labels and keep note of what foods I like that are more filling for less calories and try to eat those more often. I'm eating what a "serving" is, sometimes two, and then supplementing whatever else with fruit.
That's it.
First, when you talk about weight loss, it triggers 2 things. Either mindless agreement from a conditioned mind who has accepted Barbie-ism self hate, or shitty feelings from someone who's been on the bad end of that stick. In our society, I'd say 99% of all attempts or actual weight loss fall into either of those categories.
Never lose weight because you hate yourself. Because, if you succeed, at best, you'll have earned an eating disorder or a drug habit or both.
Lose weight because you love yourself AND there is practical reason to do so.
Me? I'm going to hit 30 next year, and that's when diabetes 2 spikes in the asian population. And diabetes causes your toes to fall off. And I love my toes.
Food becomes this strange thing in our society. It's a way of showing yourself that you love yourself, and at the same time, is the symbol of shame and guilt if you are overweight. Self hate cannot make you healthy. And you sure as hell can't feel good if you tie a basic survival need to self hate. Some people take that as the idea to not eat, but that's not the answer.
The answer is you have to say, "Fuck it" to the world and find a way to realize the world is insane and you're actually ok. When you can eat food without shame, guilt, or bad feelings, then you're mentally ready to lose weight. Now, I don't have a step by step program to do that. It took, me something like 10 years to get that straight, and I'm a guy, and guys get way less pressure about weight than women do. Your eating cannot be a source of love or hate- it has to be simply what it is, a necessity, and probably a pleasurable necessity, but not a substitute for an emotional thing. Because no matter how much you eat, you can't fill your heart.
The actual steps of what I'm doing is pretty simple though:
1. 3 square meals a day, no weird eat 8 times a day thing, because that's too much hassle.
2. Oatmeal for breakfast with raisins, 2 pieces of fruit.
3. Homemade veggie soup with lentils/split peas, either for lunch or dinner, (whatever I want otherwise)
4. No meals after 8 pm.
5. About 1/2 hour to hour of light to moderate exercise everyday.
I'm not cutting out entire food groups, or taking pills, I'm not doing a drastic new exercise program or anything. As far as calorie counting, I look at the labels and keep note of what foods I like that are more filling for less calories and try to eat those more often. I'm eating what a "serving" is, sometimes two, and then supplementing whatever else with fruit.
That's it.
