Vanity is less of a sin than martyrdom
British TV presenter Fern Britton is one of the rare celebrities whom it is difficult not to like. That said, I don’t believe for a second that she had weight loss surgery out of fear of being a “bad role model”.
For one thing, making major life changes for the sake of others rarely works. With incredibly few exceptions, you have to be motivated by your own enlightened self-interest or it won’t stick. For another thing, is it really so shameful to indulge in good old vanity these days? Would any of us really think less of a woman for saying, “Well, I just didn’t feel good looking like a beach ball and having to wear enormous tents all the time”?
I’ve lost a lot of weight in the last few years, without having any operations, but I don’t look down on anyone who’s gone the surgical route. I really don’t care whether you exhausted all of the natural options first, either. Contrary to what almost everybody seems to believe, there’s no moral high ground in losing weight by adjusting diet and exercise alone (though I do suspect the sense of achievement one gets from that method is much higher). And knowing a few people who have slimmed down through surgery, I’m also not convinced that it’s that much easier to lose weight that way. Afterward, your diet is severely restricted and the side-effects can be horrendous. (Robyn’s blog is a great resource if you’re interested in a weight loss surgery success story which is also very plain and truthful about what the aftermath is like.)
My only worry for myself now is to keep losing, and not to gain back what I have lost. No matter how you drop weight, that’s always a concern, and I am convinced that the secret to that is centered in the mind. More on that when I’m feeling more self-righteous about it.
Filed under: Life
Jackie, the secret to any weight loss really is not in the mind. In fact it in unclear which way the causal arrow points when it comes to weight loss and the link with mental happiness (depression, anxiety or excessive joy). The secret to why weight loss plateaus is in how the body’s homeostasis works. With constant dieting, naturally, it comes under pressure and starts to find a different set point. Beyond a point of undereating, the body loses lean mass and not fat mass. Beyond a point of exercising, cortisol secretion starts which actually does not help weight loss. That ideal mix of diet and exercise - without drugs or surgery, weight loss through which also has been shown to plateau - is the holy grail of all weight research.
Meanwhile I think it helps to keep focus on the fact that as we age, our basal metabolism reduces even as our ability to afford good (= often rich) food increases. For many, that coupled by the biology of how we gain girth and fat with age, is a key problem.
Through the 4 years of researching all this, I was astounded to find how many adults with relatively sedentary regularly eat much more than their BMR. But then again, if we all had so much self-control, what employment would remain for obesity researchers? :-)
Jackie, the secret to any weight loss really is not in the mind.
Why do you think that?
What is called for is a completely different mindset and attitude. There is no way to lose weight - and keep it off - without that. If you know of an alternative, I’d love to learn more about it.
With regard to Fern Britton, I think it’s great that she’s managed to lose the weight, but it’s a shame that she didn’t just tell the truth to start with, rather than claiming it was all about the diet and exercise. Some people can manage to lose weight that way, others need a little more help. No shame in that, but it’s never great to be dishonest.
And I totally agree about the self-interest element being required when it comes to diet issues. We talk about ‘eating healthily’ like it’s a really easy think to do, but if you get some kind of emotional support from eating it’s pretty difficult to give that up, I suspect. Apparently there are studies which demonstrate just how difficult it is - people who have been told that they could easily die from heart disease or whatever if they don’t change their diet still struggle to do so.
A little closer to home, my husband’s recently learned that there is some interesting stuff to suggest a fish-eating vegan diet is a very effective way of keeping his particular health issues in check. The stakes are high for him - better to eat a restrictive diet than end up in a wheelchair or worse, after all - but I wonder how we’ll both cope with such a drastic change. It’s like like we’re particularly bad eaters now, but giving up diary products and any meat will be very hard indeed…
Jackie, that is what the evidence overwhelmingly points to. In spite of a different mindset and attitude, people cannot keep weight off on a permanent basis. Weight loss plateaus after some time irrespective of the path taken (which is why it is worth watching Fern Britton and her trajectory with weight).
This plateauing happens because the body works homeostatically. So whatever adjustments we may make in diet/ exercise/ lifestyle terms, the body adjusts too. That equilibrium or set point, if you will, is determined by the interaction of the genetic and the environmental factors. The mindset helps with the latter, but sadly not the former. That is why overweight people who eat very little still and even very properly, find themselves unable to lose weight. Their body has effectively started working at a different efficiency (output/ input) and many are predisposed to gaining weight.
So it is in how the body reacts to the choices made through sheer determination - choices of the mind if you will.
I think for an individual, the better idea is to focus on not just weight, but how it is distributed and whether it contributes to a higher risk for diseases that will make a person function sub-optimally. Central obesity is high risk as is fluctuating weight which often results from yo-yo dieting.
In my ethnicity, for instance, the ideal BMI before the risks go up is 23 and at 25, we are deemed obese (the latter is 30 for Caucasians). This makes a vast majority of my type obese; Indians also top many league tables for diabetes, cardiac disease and other joys of being overweight. Awareness is very poor but luckily showing a positive change.
Sorry, long answer to a precise question. Can’t help it. Immersion does weird things to the brain.
Thanks.
Shefaly, I know the body adapts, but I think a person who is informed and determined, who is aware of the nature of their relationship with food and is willing to go hungry (in more than a physical sense) can keep weight off. I know plenty of people who have done it.
A bit surprised to see you citing BMI as a reliable measure, though…
Thanks for the comments - very interesting!
Jackie:
Before citing BMI, I said this: “..but how it is distributed and whether it contributes to a higher risk for diseases that will make a person function sub-optimally..”. :-)
For those, who track nothing at all, the BMI would be a good start. It only starts to be a problem when applied to highly athletic people whose muscle mass far exceeds normal levels.
Thanks.
I’ve been thinking about this further, and I suppose the real question is:
Can any person make significant changes to their lifestyle, and maintain them, without undergoing a shift in mindset (at the minimum)?
I think “necessary” but not “sufficient” especially in this context.