Why Do We Obsess Over Weight?

Why do so many of us obsess over our weight loss? I have spent most of my life watching the scale, and spending a lot of my time, finances, and energy trying to control my weight. I have been on all the popular weight loss programs that you see advertised. All were successful for me in getting the weight off, but most did not have long lasting effects on me. I was able after the last big weight loss on Jenny Craig to keep my weight  down for about 8 years. It did go up and down, but I was able to keep my weight between 175 and about 225lbs for all that time. But suddenly I got on the scale and I was over 250lbs and the failure was on again and I got all the way up to over 345lbs but lost down to a little over 307 on the day I was approved for weight loss surgery.  I think one of the reasons or maybe it is just rationalization is that I hurt my knees running up to 6 miles a day on a road and track and had to have surgery. I just kind of gave up as I had so many times before. People would say to me things like, “you are not THAT fat” and I think comments like that kept me going on that trail. I would also see guys much heaver than I was and think, well I am a little over weight but that guy is fat, I am just big. NO I was fat. 

I am trying my best now to just develop a life style that will become a habit to eat the way I am supposed to eat. I measuer everything so a slow creep on the amounts I eat will not happen and the modification of my body will mean that I will have pain if I over eat at any one meal. I could still eat all day long and gain weight, but I have never done that so I really think I can avoid that big problem for me. The experts say I will be able to eat more later on, but they are talking about maybe a cup of food at a meal not a pig trough at a time like I used to eat. 

I am exercising now in a more moderate way. I know my body limits now at my age and will not push my joints and bones like I did before. I ride my new bike up to 15 miles a day. I swim or do water aerobics 3 times a week. I also take walks with Jackie. All these things are not that hard on my body but do give me exercise and the fact is that I don’t do them just to lose weight, but I enjoy doing them.

I really think that one of the ways you have to keep your mind off the scale and weight loss in general is to do other things every day. When I worked I was busy and did not think about food then, except when the people around me were eating all the time. Now that I am retired it is just Jackie and me most of the time, so that is not a problem. But unless I find something to do, I can have my mind go to thinking about food and thinking, am I going to lose weight this week. So I have to do things like work on the computer or do other hobbies that I do like ham radio and genealogy. When I get involved in those things I never really think about food. I may need to drink something but food is not even a problem during those times.  

Well anyway I do set goals for myself and I have a big one coming up soon. I am close to losing 100lbs from this past April. I will let you all know when I get there and I hope it is this next weigh-in.