WLW: Here's What You Do
by Scott Hardie on December 13, 2007

No kooky doctor stories this week, as I've been left to my own care, or should I say, the care of everyone around me. I don't want to sound ungrateful, because I'm sincerely glad that people care about me enough to offer advice. It's just, there's a LOT of advice, from all directions, at the drop of a hat, and much of it conflicts with other advice. Like soda: It's the hardest comfort food for me to give up, so some people say I should use it to get through the weight loss in general whenever I crave it, while others say I should instead drink tea or coffee (yuck), and others say drink eight glasses a day of water and your cravings will go away. It's what I call the "here's what you do" syndrome, because that's how people tend to introduce tips when you tell them you're trying to lose weight. But it's like tips for curing hiccups or getting a song unstuck in your head: What works for you doesn't necessarily work for me.

The truth is, I don't want the advice to stop. It's a form of encouragement, and one of the best things about this has been the wave of encouragement that I've received from friends, family, co-workers, and you folks reading this now. I didn't expect it, and it's meant a lot to me to have so many people rooting for me. At this rate I could probably divvy up the weight and say, "the next 10 pounds I lose are for [this person]." Thanks, everybody.

I'm waiting until after Kelly's holiday visit to start on a regimented meal plan, either NutriSystem or MediFast. (What company puts "fast" in the name of their product for fat people?) In the meantime, I've made best-guess adjustments to my habits, like eating crackers or fruit throughout the day and a smaller dinner. It didn't really feel that different until yesterday, when a great midday conversation at work turned into an unplanned lunch outing to the local pizza buffet so we could keep talking. I ate the two plates and salad that I normally would have eaten, and it hurt afterwards like it hadn't before, feeling swollen and stuffed when I used to feel fine. Since I have yet to notice any change in my waistline, I'll take any sign of improvement I can get.

Four Replies to WLW: Here's What You Do

Lori Lancaster | December 13, 2007
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Anna Gregoline | December 13, 2007
I hate to write anything here cause it will sound like I'm giving advice!

I don't know if you remember, but I am allergic to "dark" cola. Pepsi, Coca-cola, RC, etc. It's the coloring they put into it (I'm also allergic to some candy because of it). So in high school, when I found this out, I stopped drinking cola. (I drank Sprite for quite a while afterwards, but not anymore). After about 6 months of not having it, I tried to drink some cause I desperately wanted it - and it didn't taste good anymore. It was SO super sweet and awful. So the point I was trying to make is parallel to what you were finding out - change your habits, and often YOU change. You already felt a difference in how your stomach feels after eating once you'd made some small changes and that's encouraging! It means to me that your body can adapt to whatever you want it to adapt to. And eventually, it will reject whatever you want it to reject.

You are awesome, Scott. I know you can make positive changes for your life.

Matthew Preston | December 14, 2007
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Jackie Mason | December 15, 2007
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