Well kiddies, we’ve come to this year’s final installment of Do or Diet. Before everything I’ve said goes out the window on Dillo Day, I’d like to reflect on what I’ve learned in more than seven months of adopting a healthier lifestyle and losing weight:
1. People can be highly (and awkwardly) complimentary toward those who’ve lost weight
My friends and family have been awesome about noticing how my body is changing and giving me positive feedback. It’s especially fun to visit people I haven’t seen in a while and listen to them gush about how much smaller I am (this happens a lot at parties when people are drunk as well). However, I recently ran into a Northwestern guy I went to high school with but hadn’t seen lately. He told me that I looked great (without any prompting or suggesting from me, which, I admit, I’ve been known to do). But then he asked, “Do you feel better?”
While it may seem like a fair question, it implies that I just felt miserable before, when I was fatter. Not all fat people lead a pitiable existence, wishing day-in and day-out that they were thinner, and crying, “Woe is me!” I had been content enough with my body that I wasn’t willing to make any radical or potentially dangerous changes to lose weight. It’s all about economics: At what costs will the benefits be worth it?
To answer my friend’s question, yes, I feel better. But that’s not to say that I was feeling bad before.
2. There’s something so thrilling and yet so annoying about becoming too small for your clothes
I watch a lot of late-night diet and fitness infomercials, so it’s always inspiring and somewhat amusing to me when I see people holding up a pair of their old fat pants. When it came time for me to buy the next size down in jeans, I was ecstatic. I was bragging to everyone. Then I realized that I’m poor, and if I have to keep buying new clothes, yes, it will be fun, but I’ll be broke. It’s one of the few downsides of losing weight.
3. Exercise feels good
As the tests, papers and projects pile up, it’s so nice to just drop everything and sweat out your stress. Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don’t shoot their husbands… or let their insanely busy schedules get the best of them. If you have time to browse pictures of lolcats, you have time to exercise. It’s just a nice release: Almost better than sex, and definitely better than bad sex.
4. Mindless eating will get you
While writing this column, I’m currently committing one of the cardinal no-nos of weight loss: eating at the same time. When you multitask and one of those tasks happens to be eating, you aren’t thinking about what you’re putting in your mouth, and you aren’t really tasting your food. Overeating becomes that much easier. I know with college in the way, it’s hard to take a half-hour to savor your meal, but it will help you to avoid mysteriously putting on ten pounds by the end of the year.
5. I’m worth it
Our bodies are precious because they’re the only ones we’ve got. They’re going to carry us through college, graduation, our first job, meeting that special someone, finding a career we love, having kids, seeing our kids grow up, getting wrinkles, retiring and everything else that’s to come in our lives. I want to be in the best shape to experience it all, and that wasn’t happening when I was 40 pounds heavier. My life benefits from healthier living and I’m not going to give it up without a fight.
It’s been quite a year. I hope you learned some things from me and have made changes in your own life to be the healthiest you can be. Please e-mail me with tips, bits of motivation or any comments — I’d love to hear your feedback! Meanwhile, I hope when I come back next year I’ll be a little lighter. Have a great summer, and I’ll see you in September.