| There is a new book out that says obesity is a choice. Do you really believe that? Did you choose to be obese? What being obese something you really wanted, something you strove to be? Was being obese a childhood ambition of yours? Do you know anyone who wanted to be obese? No, of course you didn’t want to be obese and neither did anyone else. The author then says that if you follow a few simple steps you can reverse obesity. Like not hanging around with other obese people and not having highly caloric foods around your house (presumably if they aren’t in your house you will never eat them) and doing some mandatory exercise. Since this book is a best seller or is going to be a best seller, let’s think about whether anything the author says is really true. Do you really think that if you don’t have foods like ice cream or cake around your house you will never eat them? Is that why you ate those foods in the first place? Because they were in your refrigerator? They didn’t get in your house by magic, you know. You put them there. If you put them there because you wanted to put them in your mouth, e.g. eat those foods. Do you think that your desire to put those foods in your mouth will magically disappear because they aren’t in your house? If you think that is the case, try it. See what your reaction is. Is it out of sight, out of mind? No, it isn’t. You will find that you will eat those foods outside of your house. No, you aren’t going to forget your need for those foods because they aren’t in your house. But don’t take my word for it, do it. If you have obese friends and you stop spending time with them that you will magically become slimmer? Why in the world would that happen? Were your friends responsible for your weight? Are they the evil influence in your life that caused you to be obese? Or did you choose your friends because you are obese and you liked to be with people who shared something with you? If you think that giving up your friends will make you stop eating the way you do, try it. See if it has any effect on you. You know it won’t, but do it anyway. Do you think that walking a mile every day is going to cause you to permanently weigh less? If that were the case why haven’t you been walking or doing other similar exercise? Why? Because you know it’s a pointless thing to do in terms of weighing less. Sure, everyone should exercise. It’s good for you. But if you think that walking a mile every day is going to enable you to permanently weigh less, do it. You will find what you already know. It’s not going to make a pound of difference. This author, like many others, is seriously misguided. They think there are a few superficial things a person can do that will permanently change his or her weight. They are all wrong. They don’t understand the real problem. There is a reason you are obese and it has nothing to do with your friends or what you have in the refrigerator or walking a mile a day. You are obese because you have been attempting to satisfy your emotional needs with food. Until you eliminate that need you will always be obese. However, you are going to eliminate that need and then you will be able to weigh whatever you want to weigh. |
