WHY AM I SO FAT??

Is that a question that you’re asking yourself? The pretty obvious answer to that is that you ate too many pizzas and plates of lasagna and then followed it up with cookies dipped in tubs of ice cream, right? But wait…you didn’t do that? You don’t eat bread and pasta because THOSE things obviously, are what make you fat! And you eat little snippets of food a few times a day, and certainly you NEVER eat dessert because everyone knows dessert is EVIL. How could you possibly get fat from so little food? And why do some people eat GOOD stuff and still manage to stay pretty lean? Must be some pretty crappy genetics that were handed to you, right? You even do enough cardio each day to burn off literally everything you ate that day plus some!

So you ask again…why am I so FAT???

My guess is that you’ve spent a fair amount of time bouncing from one diet to another. Trying this and that, having a bit of success but never keeping it off for that long because, well quite frankly, dieting sucks and there are times when you just want a slice of pizza. But you can’t eat “bad” food or “bad” carbs because that’s the real culprit! Sinister carbohydrates! Or maybe you got caught up in the hype of a diet trend at one time or another. Someone told you that you should try the diet they’ve been on for 2 weeks because they feel FANTASTIC and they’ve lost weight and they have all this energy that they haven’t had in years! Or you saw the “transformation” photos and when they said you don’t even have to exercise and that you get to eat all your favorite foods that really struck a chord with you and they reeled you in like a trout on a line. But each time you dieted, you suddenly found yourself eating less and less food and yet the fat stubbornly remains.

Why am I so fat???

Were you aware that you will get fatter by not eating ENOUGH food? What? Calories in calories out, right? Cut calories, burn them off and the fat should go away! Nope, not how it works. Let’s not forget that food is fuel for your body.   Your entire system runs on food and water. Without it, you die. Period. Food is where we get nutrients and energy, those important things necessary to be active, have a sharp mind, and that keep our engine humming along. And everyone knows about metabolism and in rather simple terms, how it regulates whether you are one of those lucky people that can eat pizza and still stay lean. So you inherited a terrible metabolism? Thanks Mom and Dad! Well, it’s time to stop blaming the family tree for your fat. More likely is that you CREATED a slow metabolism by under eating.

Here’s what happened to you. Somewhere along the way you put on a bit of body fat and you wanted it gone. So, naturally you cut your calories and added some exercise. Maybe you started running because that’s what everyone does. You had some success and you lost some body fat. Yay. Fast forward a few weeks and you keep weighing but that scale isn’t changing. Must be time to cut some more calories. Bingo, a few more pounds drop. Then another plateau. This time you add more running. Works for a bit then ANOTHER PLATEAU!! WHY??? So you cut even more calories. Now you’re barely eating enough to keep a squirrel alive and you pound away at the pavement for what seems like hours and hours every week but the cellulite remains, and nothing seems to be changing for the better, in fact, you feel SOFTER. Congratulations, you just told your body that you are heading into a famine and that it better store some fat in case your squirrel food disappears altogether because something needs to keep your systems functioning! Your body, meanwhile, has been raiding your muscle for energy, further damaging your metabolism. When you finally get so sick and tired of running and eating lettuce and tilapia, then at some point you go off the deep end and actually eat some bread. And you bloat. Must be the glutens! No! Your body actually got fed with something it can work with! Finally, fuel!! And since you’ve been starving it of nutrients for so long it is left with no choice but to store that up for later when you get another crazy idea to head back to Famineville. (which is probably the next day because guilt and remorse are always just a slice of pizza away) And worse than the obvious repercussions to your physique is what it has done to your self-esteem. You feel like a failure, you can’t look at yourself in the mirror and you lament over the obvious fact that you have been dealt a pretty crappy hand in life.

It’s time to stop the madness. Stop starving yourself. Food is fuel and food is your ally, absolutely NOT your enemy! Carbohydrates are NOT your enemy. They are what drives the machine. It’s time to stop focusing on the fat and start focusing on your health. Gradually start adding food (proteins, fats, and yes, carbs!) back into your diet and stop running it all off on the treadmill. Do not go from no food to thinking that you can suddenly eat what you want. Your body has been trained to get you by on barely anything, so it’s going to take time for it to adapt to being fed again so add those calories back in slowly. Lift some weights to get some muscle back on your body that you have decimated with all of your diet shenanigans. It’s a long, slow process that requires patience and focus and determination. Rome wasn’t built in a day as the old adage states. And it’s often quite scary. Somewhere in your head it’s been ingrained in you that to stay slim you have to eat less. LET. THAT. GO. If this is your situation then you need to change your plan and you need to eat to lose. Find someone to help you through this process if it feels scary to try it alone. Trust me, you may need someone who sees the big picture to talk you down off the ledge on occasion. And that’s okay, we’ve all been there and there are days when you’ll swear it’s not working. Or you may be tempted yet again by someone trying to sell you an easier way. It’s during those times when you just need to remember that food and exercise is not optional on the path to getting and staying healthy and fit. Keep your eyes focused forward on creating a strong and healthy body and mind and stop focusing on the fat. Listen to that ONE VOICE that cares about how you feel and think about yourself throughout your whole life and not just for the short term. And if the only sane voice around you is your own, then so be it. You are the one that needs to live with YOU and you need to treat your body like the treasure it is. I recently read something that carried so much truth in it’s simplicity and sums all of this up in one phrase and it said this……

EAT LIKE YOU GIVE A DAMN ABOUT YOURSELF!!