![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Weight-loss saboteurs
Jun. 16th, 2004 10:27 pmOne of those things that diet books warn about are diet saboteurs, people who insist on pushing food at you that is off your diet, or who encourage you to go eat the hot-fudge sundae, or who tell you you look fine as you are when you've already decided to lose weight. This may have been a topic at a Weight Watchers meeting, even--I certainly remember thinking about it as I've been dieting, and reflecting that I really hadn't had a problem with saboteurs. Family and friends have asked about my progress, complimented me as the results started to show, and been willing to work around my diet as necessary when we are eating together.
But now that I'm getting close to my target "healthy weight" (5 pounds or so to go), a couple of saboteurs have emerged, both co-workers. One spent a great deal of time recently telling me about how I was perhaps getting too thin, that being fit but fat was just fine (and I've certainly seen some studies that show this--but I'm trying to be fit and not-fat, thank you), and generally airing all sorts of doubts about me continuing to diet. And then this morning, co-worker #2 stopped me in the parking lot to tell me I was getting too thin and looked haggard. Oh, gee, thanks.
Rationally, I know not to let these comments worry me. I'm in no danger of getting too thin--my goal weight is the top of the range for a 5' 3" woman of more than 45 years. I'm eating plenty of food (pretty well-balanced diet, too), I'm not bulimic, nor overly obsessed about my weight. I'm following 2 different doctors' recommendations in losing the weight, one on general health principles, and the other because of the heart disease risk. I read lots of articles about how arbitrary the BMI/standard weight range charts are, and that's fine too. But the goal I've picked in no way seems extreme, so it's annoying when I have these people telling me to stop before I've gotten there.
And that "haggard" comment: OK, when I was nice and plump, with the double chins to boot, I probably looked younger than my age--the fat makes the wrinkles less apparent. And now that skin that covered all that fat can shrink up and the wrinkles certainly show. Yeah, yeah, if only I'd listened when I was 25 and people told me to use moisturizer every day. Excuse me while I go put some on now...
But now that I'm getting close to my target "healthy weight" (5 pounds or so to go), a couple of saboteurs have emerged, both co-workers. One spent a great deal of time recently telling me about how I was perhaps getting too thin, that being fit but fat was just fine (and I've certainly seen some studies that show this--but I'm trying to be fit and not-fat, thank you), and generally airing all sorts of doubts about me continuing to diet. And then this morning, co-worker #2 stopped me in the parking lot to tell me I was getting too thin and looked haggard. Oh, gee, thanks.
Rationally, I know not to let these comments worry me. I'm in no danger of getting too thin--my goal weight is the top of the range for a 5' 3" woman of more than 45 years. I'm eating plenty of food (pretty well-balanced diet, too), I'm not bulimic, nor overly obsessed about my weight. I'm following 2 different doctors' recommendations in losing the weight, one on general health principles, and the other because of the heart disease risk. I read lots of articles about how arbitrary the BMI/standard weight range charts are, and that's fine too. But the goal I've picked in no way seems extreme, so it's annoying when I have these people telling me to stop before I've gotten there.
And that "haggard" comment: OK, when I was nice and plump, with the double chins to boot, I probably looked younger than my age--the fat makes the wrinkles less apparent. And now that skin that covered all that fat can shrink up and the wrinkles certainly show. Yeah, yeah, if only I'd listened when I was 25 and people told me to use moisturizer every day. Excuse me while I go put some on now...
