Obese Indignation

At the risk of being way too transparent I type this post.  I'd be the first to freely admit that eating healthy is difficult and requires diligence and discipline.  Maybe I am making excuses for my wanton, holiday behavior but I think it's extra tough for those of us that do not eat plants based on ethical/moral reasons (ie vegan) or religious (7th Day Adventist).  The plant-based diet I follow is solely based on willpower and I was sadly running on empty for quite some time.

I began following a plant-based diet in 2011 after getting negative cholesterol results.  I was diligent.  I had a re-test date etched in stone and really wanted to get that number down to a manageable level.  Before converting I read Engine 2 Diet, The China Study and You Can Reverse Heart Disease.  These three books helped me immensely and gave me some ideas on how to prepare tasty food. 

I then stumbled upon the book Eat to Live.  That gave me increased motivation to not only get and keep my lipids under control but to lose excess weight.  I followed Dr. Furhman's diet and the weight began to fall off.  To be fair I was also doing a P90x and Insanity hybrid exercise routine.  The results were remarkable but surprisingly not everyone was thrilled.

I began to get back handed compliments on a regular basis.  "Oh my God! If you lose any more weight you're going to blow away."  "Let me introduce you to my new friend, Slim Shady." Sadly, I still was about 5 pounds too heavy!! Unfortunately, the comments began to wear me down and my food choices began to deteriorate.  I didn't eat meat or dairy but began to fall into the processed food and booze trap.  The weight slowly began to reappear.

I was at the Y swimming last night and decided to weigh in after my laps were complete.  I knew I was up but wanted to quantify the number.  I'm not really big on scales but was sure I was inching to close to an area I worked to hard to flee - and I was right.

I've allowed the opinons of unhealthy people to get me off the mark of staying healthy and living a long, pain free life.  I've allowed back handed compliments to break my focus on what's really important to me.  Being healthy is one of my core values.  I don't want a spare tire, muffin top or love handles.  I don't want to be dependent upon Lipitor, Cialis, insulin, or BP medicine.  I don't want stents, back surgery, or to test my sugar daily. So I'm declaring my freedom today.

I declare my freedom from back-handed compliments.  I declare freedom from caring what people think (other than my doctor) of how much I weigh.  I've seen too many people die prematurely based on poor eating and exercise habits and I am not going to be in that statistical category. 

I'm free and will begin dropping the weight again.  Next fat person that says to me, "If you lose anymore weight you are going to blow away", I'm going to say, "No, I won't fat ass I'll just hold on to you!" 

Okay, I'm too nice but I just might be thinking it. :)