I have great news. I believe I have found the best personal trainer (for me) in the city (at least). I am exchanging a significant sum I’ve made contracting earlier this year to up my game big time. Up until I this point, I felt like I’ve hit a frustrating plateau. Some things improve, some things get worse, I felt like I’ve made good use of the summer, but I need to do a lot more to start actually making a dent on my size.
This is less about compiling a list of excuses, but more about giving a sober look at what years of bad habits can build up to. My intention writing about this is to help others who may know obese people empathize with their troubles. Additionally, I hope that those who are obese to benefit from my retrospection, and can use it to help reverse their own situation.
You’re obviously not supposed to stop eating entirely. “Just stop eating!” is mostly terrible advice for somebody who is already obese, and can often push others into over-correcting in the wrong direction. While there are ‘starvation diets’ these are an extreme circumstance not worth considering without serious medical supervision. The real question is “why can’t I stop eating so much?” Or in some circumstances, “why can’t I stop eating so badly?”.
Thankfully I’ve resumed swimming twice weekly. I have the ambition to increase this to three times weekly which is what I believe to be an important step to actually begin making measurable progress in losing weight. My primary goal for the winter and start of the new year was to maintain and enhance mobility. I believe I have achieved this, walking is still challenging but no longer insurmountable. I still have a long way to to when it comes to basic activities, but I’m gaining the ability to do more things easier.
One of the things I’m trying to do here is illustrate my challenges of getting better from this point in hopes of helping other far-gone individuals. Undoing damage is not gratifying at all, at least not in the early stages I’m in. It’s very easy for me to focus on recent mistakes and get demoralized with the process. It’s very easy for me to beat myself up over mistakes and allow the self-hatred to derial other improvements. I have been given help tracking improvements which has helped contextualize failures and successes.
This is more about me than I would usually share. I’m choosing to share this in an attempt to be more accountable to myself, but also to point back to as I try to go into more detail about the journey moving forward. If you know someone who’s struggling with their weight, please be as patient and compassionate as you can. If you’re struggling with your weight, please try not to project your own self-loathing on other people. In all situations, being proactive can go a long way.