Why am I overweight?

Have you ever looked at all the diets that have passed your way? Have you ever dieted with a friend, trying the newest diet on the block only to find out that the weight you did lose came right back? You changed your eating habits temporarily, but then, perhaps you tired of the diet because it focused only on one or two foods, or a selection of foods that got tedious over time.

Did you change your lifestyle? That’s the crux- changing how you look at food, how you eat food, how you serve food, not how food serves you. Did you get up from the table after eating and take a brisk walk? Or, did you just plop down in front of the television or computer and figure you would exercise later?

Let’s look at the names of some of the fad diets: Atkins-Cabbage Soup Diet-Grapefruit Diet- Zone Diet-Beverly Hills Diet-South Beach Diet-Apple Cider Vinegar Diet-Chicken Soup Diet-Russian Air Force Diet-The Chocolate Diet.  If you pick up any book on these diets, you will find that they all claim the same thing- their diet WORKS. If this is so, then why are there so many out there?

Why Am I Overweight?

1. I think about food all the time.
2. I skip meals (especially breakfast)
3. I hate fiber.
4. I love to chew gum.
5. My favorite pastime is to pig-out at Burger King.
6. I have refrigerator on the brain.
7. I work close to Ms. Cinnabuns.
8. I have to have Starbucks every morning.
9. I never drink water.
10. Caffeine is my staple!
11. My kids make me eat junk food.
12. I hate to cook-we eat out a lot.
13. I use food to reward me and the people I love.
14. I never shop from a list- I am a binge shopper!
15. I only go to the grocery store on the weekends so I can get free samples.
16. I am allergic to exercise.
17. I am; therefore I eat
18. I eat in front of the television
19. My spouse says he/she loves me no matter what.

My husband has been fighting his weight all his life. He is in his 60’s now and after 40 years of bad food choices, he has Diabetes, edema in his ankles, he wheezes when he walks and it takes him four attempts before he can get up out of his recliner. Since we have been married, he has lost a bit of weight, he still has been programmed to over-eat. He tells me horror stories of when he was  younger, he got quite ill and ended up in the hospital for two weeks. When he got home, his mom made him eat everything on this plate. If he didn’t eat it, he would be punished.

One hair-raising tale occurred when he was 8 years old. His mom fixed his plate and he ate what he could. He refused to eat any more food, and so his oldest sister pushed him on the floor on his back and sat on him, while his mom shoveled food down his throat. If it came back up, they forced it back down!  So, he knows he was given unhealthy eating habits by his mother who had her own issues. But, the pattern is set and so he continues on with his unhealthy eating.

I gain weight in the winter time. This is the time period where I spend the majority of my time inside with my animals and on the computer. In the spring and summer, I am out with my horses, working our small farm and walking the dogs. So my weight fluctuates by season.

If you know why you are overweight, then you have the knowledge and capability to fix it. So what are you waiting for?