What If You're the Elephant in the Room?

Yes, there's hope. But first you have to say "hello" to the elephant....

Fat has a way of creeping on so gradually you wake up one day and you're 50 pounds heavier. Or, in my case, 35.

I'm not really sure how I gained all that weight, although cheesy quesadillas for breakfast every morning and a generally permissive attitude toward food probably had something to do with it. "I like food," I'd tell myself; and since I didn't believe in diets, I wasn't about to restrict myself.

Who let you in?

Plus, I was in my 50s, and menopause made a nice, convenient scapegoat. "It's really impossible to lose weight," I'd tell my friends, who nodded their heads knowingly.

We were all in the same sinking boat; and it was easier to cast blame and pretend the problem was out of our hands.

Only it was our hands that bought and prepared the food. And our minds that made the choices of what to eat and drink.

My previous blog post on permitters and restrictors has stuck with me the last few days. I am a permitter by nature and like to reward myself. As do many women. We have been told by L'Oréal we deserve to indulge ourselves because we're worth it, and apparently this applies to everything from hair color to haute cuisine.

But don't we also deserve to fit into our jeans? And not take pills for blood pressure or diabetes?

One of my sister's ex-boyfriends liked to joke that he drank because it was the only vacation he could afford; and for many women, just substitute food for alcohol and time for money. Eating a fun food is one of the fastest ways to escape from monotony and have a party in your mouth.

But the party's over soon enough, and we're left feeling simultaneously emptier and heavier. 

The problem is, no one can tell us we need to lose weight. When they try, we build a fence so high that even we can't climb over it. We're like cats -- it has to be out idea.

Most husbands and boyfriends
won't tell you that you look fat
after the first time

But first we have to acknowledge not only that there's a problem, but also that there's a solution.

In my case it was Medifast. It was an easy way to shed pounds quickly and prove to myself that my extra 35 pounds of fat were not super-glued to my bones as I had fantasized.

There are many other diet programs that also work, but the best ones combine permanent habit change with diet modification and lean toward low carb versus low fat.

If you are reading this and it resonates with you, just know that it is possible to lose weight if you want to. Sure 80% of the people who lose weight gain it back, and then some. But one of the women in a Facebook group to which I belong lost 348 pounds on Medifast and has kept it off for five years. And there are many more like her.

The important thing is to find a program you can stick with, and pretty soon the only elephant in the room will be the porcelain figurine you impulse bought at Pottery Barn.

You can purchase Medifast replacement meals directly from Medifast Centers, the Medifast website or -- for less cost -- through the co-branded website of a Medifast TSFL health coach. Medifast does not recommend purchasing its products from third party vendors, but if you choose to do so, you can find them on both Amazon and eBay.

Medifast Custom Order - You Choose ANY 10 Boxes



More from Diet Skeptic:

Fruck You! Fructose

Can You Drink Alcohol on Medifast

Medifast Centers Vs. Take Shape for Life

Planned Exceptions: What Is Your Pie Policy?

Wabi Sabi Dieting & Renee Zelwegger's New Face
Follow Nancy's board Low Carb Recipes on Pinterest.