Dieting and the Holidays

By Ray Fitz

Thanksgiving and Christmas are the most glorious festive food days of the year. Dressing! And pie! Whipped Cream! Oh, YEAH! Another helping won't hurt! Really? Sure, that one more little helping is between you and your maker, but do you want to see him now or later? Do you want to go with or without the cranberry sauce?

You can do anything you want. I know, we have all winter to be back on the diet so we can wear the new spring fashions. Yeah. Has that ever happened? I want you to feel good about yourself, so please think for one minute on the reason for your diet. You want to look good. You want to feel good. You want to meet someone, or go somewhere. You want a different life style. It seems like every week there is some kind of a TV show talking about the supersizing of America. A few years ago they said the average American was 10 pounds overweight. Now they talk about 35 % of the population is obese. Obese. Let me get back to the Thanksgiving and Christmas example. If you are on a diet, then you are on a diet. Don't be that silly person that says you can go off for today, or tomorrow and back on the next day. Don't be that silly person that says that it won't matter because the diet doesn't work anyway. That's why they don't work!!! Your diet has to become your lifestyle. Look on the TV. You see the people that actually lost weight and changed their lives.

Life style. Two simple words, but when put together, they mean a whole lot more. First, if you're overweight and don't change the way you eat, life may be good, but it will be short. If you don't mind the jokes and snickers, if you don't mind the rudeness we get when we are overweight, then it's cool, stay that way. Did you know that every ten pounds of weight you carry increases pressure on your knees by forty pounds? But that's okay, because it's your body. If you find the craving for food to be too much, then eat. Taste, savor, enjoy. Just don't consume. A couple weeks ago I handed a really exquisite chocolate to a lady that has gone from 280 down to 140. She bit off half of it, delighted in the flavor, cherished the taste, and discarded the rest. She has changed her life from the person that would just eat and eat and eat to the person that tastes and cherishes the flavor, but doesn't CONSUME.

The second word is style. How about clothes that don't have an X or W in the size? Would that be great? If you're tired of wearing potato sacks, then stay away from the potatoes. Completely. I knowabout the nutrients in the skin, but have you ever peeled them and just eaten the skins, PLAIN? Style in a car? Sports cars are like shoes. You have to be able to get into them to wear them. A big sedan is comfortable? C'mon! We all know you need the room to get in and out. Who are we kidding? You diet for your own reasons, but you need to stick to it. Everyday. Your style has to be the person you want to be, not who you've stuck yourself with. You are not bound by mistakes. Change! Life style is when thin people invite you for dinner. Life style is knowing that there won't be an extra turkey because you are coming, and you don't hear "We cook extra because we like leftovers." Life style is running down the beach, parasailing, volleyball, and stuff like that.

The problem is, lifestyle is a total concept. The Thanksgiving dinner? Isn't it about friends and family and giving thanks for each other? Sure, there is food, but would your friends and family rather see you there next year or eat into oblivion this year? My friend that lost 140 pounds didn't just skip a meal now and then. She changed her life. She has a new lifestyle. She eats right, exercises a little, and is a thin person. She no longer binges on food. She takes the holidays for social gatherings and warmth and camaraderie, not as an opportunity to eat until she can't stand up, or drink until she can't walk.

Losing the weight has to be your choice, but what a great choice it is. Set goals and grow into those goals, not the next dress size. Become a hero to yourself. - 31997

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