Every so often I read something that deserves to be passed along to my audience. If you are fretting about not being able to lose the weight, please enjoy these words of wisdom adapted from Karen R. Koenig, M.Ed., LCSW. Karen is a psychotherapist and author of 7 books on eating and weight, including her latest, Helping Patients Outsmart Overeating
What If You Never Lose the Weight?
What if you are “doing everything right” and still aren’t losing weight? Weight is a highly complex subject. It’s not as easy as adding two and two and getting four. We don’t all start out on an equal playing field because genetics, trauma, abuse, neglect, stress, chronic dieting, and other factors play a big part in determining body size.
So, what can you choose to do if you are eating “right,” sleeping adequately and exercising regularly—and worry that you’re not losing weight (or losing as much as you would like to)? You can stop focusing on weight loss. Instead, enjoy and focus on what has improved in your life such as your sports performance, energy level, relationship with food and your body, self-esteem, and health. Strive to accept your body as it is and quit being dissatisfied with your weight-loss efforts and feeling like a failure.
Remember that you’re not a bad person for wanting to lose weight and you’re not wrong to want to feel thinner in our weight-obsessed society. However, also remember that this culture’s range of what’s considered normal weight is very narrow and almost impossible for most people to achieve.
If you’re taking the best care of your mind and body that you possibly can, it makes no sense to spend your whole life pining to be a weight that you need not be in order to have health and happiness. You may not be able to achieve the weight loss you desire, but you can certainly choose to enjoy your best life whatever your size or weight.
To add to what Karen Koenig has written, here are my words of wisdom: Instead of struggling on your own, you want to sit down and talk with a registered dietitian (RD). (Nutrition services often get covered by health insurance.) To find your local sports nutrition professional, use the referral network at www.SCANdpg.org. Take note: more often than not, being better fueled can help you reach your athletic goals without having lost weight.