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- Weight–204.4(-16.6)
- BF%–27 (-3%)
I’ve successfully lived one week of my new life without worrying about food and still managed to lose 2 pounds–that makes me really happy. My wife and I had some special occasions this week that I knew would bring me some dietary problems.
On Saturday, we cashed in my parents’ Christmas/birthday gift for a night without the kids. We checked in to a local hotel, took a 2-hour mid-afternoon nap, hit the gym together, ate out at a nice restaurant, and slept in until 9:00 Sunday morning. Then on Monday, we helped our little guy celebrate his first birthday–complete with the requisite 1-year-old cupcakes. So I decided that I wouldn’t worry about what I was eating this week. Remember now, in my new life there’s a difference between not worrying about eating and not thinking about eating. Behold! The the new Mackenzie Smith mantra for weight control. It’s OK not to worry about eating, but you still have to think about eating. So on my son’s birthday, I had a cupcake with the family. But at the restaurant on Saturday, I didn’t finish my entree and I skipped dessert because nothing on the menu appealed to me enough to eat it. I am very happy with my food choices lately.
All of my reading lately has been about fitness, and nutrition. I pick up the free health magazines at the gym and I scour the internet looking for things to write about. Last week, while reading my wife’s copy of Working Mother I found a tiny little blurb about how being obese can be contagious. According to a recent Harvard Medical School study “people were 57% more likely to become obese when a friend or relative became obese.” There was another small piece in the same magazine that illustrated how friends and relatives often have similar ideals surrounding food and body image. These two little 3-inch articles really made me think about how I got to this place in my life–on a quest for a healthier lifestyle.
Everyone knows how people get fat. My case was no different–I ate too much and didn’t move enough. But the story that differs for everyone is why they change. I already wrote about some of the major reasons why I’m changing my life. But there’s another reason too–a completely vane one. I don’t want to be the fattest guy that I know anymore. Every person that I see socially on a regular basis is thinner than me. I don’t know how fit they are, so I may be in better shape than some of them. But I am bigger than every single one of them and it bothers me. Do people look at me and feel badly for me? Do they look down on me? Do they think I’m weak? I don’t know if they do or not. But I don’t want them to. So I’ll keep working–I’ll get smaller a little bit at a time. Eventually I’ll get down to my goal weight and I’ll maintain it forever. I’ll be thin like the rest of my friends. And I’ll be happier for it.
J.D.
8 responses so far ↓
1 scott neumyer // Feb 20, 2008 at 9:11 am
Kudos, man! sometimes it’s hard to put the worry to the side. Great job!
2 Joe // Feb 20, 2008 at 10:45 am
Keep up the great work.
I feel the same way amongst my own group of friends, family, and work mates.
And doing the same thing, using the blog for progress and accountability.
Good Luck!
3 Red // Feb 20, 2008 at 11:23 am
I hope that weight loss is contagious as well. If your best friend loses weight, are you 57% more likely to lose a few pounds?
If that’s the case, I’ve been cutting my friends too much slack.
4 MS // Feb 20, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Of course, you could just find fatter friends
Seriously, keep up the good work..
5 TosaJen // Feb 20, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Very, very good post, Mac. A few thoughts provoked:
– very cool to be thinking about food, but not worrying or beating oneself up
– contagious obesity is one of the reasons I try to eat well and move enough. I don’t want my kids to “catch” it from me.
I want my kids to know that their bodies need to move, and moving is fun! I want my kids to know that healthy food can taste a lot better than junk.
I want my daughter to want to be healthy instead of skinny, or at least, not catch the idea from me that our bodies are disgusting if we have curves (and she will probably have curves). I refuse to participate in “fat talk” with other women, and I won’t do it with my daughter. “Je refuse!”
6 kazari // Feb 20, 2008 at 4:53 pm
instead of contagious obesity, i tend to think of it as contagious fitness.
if you have friends that you go to the pub and drink with, you’ll drink a lot.
if you have friends you go cycling with, or dancing or rock climbing, you’ll get a lot of exercise. without worrying about it.
7 greenman2001 // Feb 20, 2008 at 4:54 pm
You’ll be interested to learn, Mac, that in many medically-directed weight loss programs, a great deal of time is spent talking about the environment in which an overweight person lives — who they hang out with, what their hobbies are, family dynamics, and so forth. In this respect, these programs are very much like 12-step programs. If all your friends are alcoholics, if your main avenue of social engagement is a bar, if your family life is hostile and toxic or if alcoholism exists in your immediate family, you’re going to be much more likely to drink. You seem to have a great environment around you — great!
P.S: I hate the culture of the mass media. “Obesity is contagious.” Could there be anything more misleading and less helpful than this way of presenting enormously important information? A journalist needed a “hook,” and he found it. Imagine if she had said, “You’re fat, just like your father.” Not quite as benign and passive and entertaining as saying obesity is contagious, like the flu — be careful, you might catch it! Is there a shot for that? Just a pet peeve of mine.
8 AndreaR.D. // Feb 21, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Making healthy choices when dining out can seem like an overwhelming venture! Thankfully, HEALTHY DINING’S new online resource makes it easy! Just log on to the free site HealthyDiningFinder.com to find HEALTHY DINING choices — and corresponding nutrition information — at over 50,000 restaurant locations, ranging from fast food to upscale dining. You can “search” for participating restaurants by specifying zip code or location information and desired price range. The site also offers free e-newsletters, recipes, nutrition tips and more.
HEALTHY DINING’s expert staff of registered dietitians and master’s level health/nutrition professionals consult with each participating restaurant to find and/ modify menu items that meet the following nutrition criteria: Entrées (or full meals) must include at least one of the following: lean protein (skinless white meat poultry, fish/seafood (including salmon), tofu, etc.), fruits and/or vegetables and/or 100% whole grains. Entrees must also be 750 calories or less, have 25 grams of fat or less, and contain no more than 8 grams of saturated fat. Bon appétit!
Healthy Regards,
Andrea Ogden, R.D.
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