Losing weight and being fit is a very tough, complex, emotional issue. For many of us, our childhoods are all intertwined with memories of being too fat, or finding solace in eating. And it doesn't help that the society around us is so filled with hucksterism when it comes to losing weight and getting fit.
In some ways, it's like quitting smoking. Most smokers know perfectly well that the cigs are killing them. They can visualize their black lungs, but somehow it's just an intellectual connection. Then the day comes when you get a real scare, and you decide to quit.
Same with overeating and getting fit. Some of us can do it for vanity's sake. But many of us have to get scared. We have to see the damage that overeating and lack of fitness is doing to us first hand. For me, it was a triple whammy of getting plantar fasciitis for 18 months, borderline hypertension, and pre-diabetes. That made it so it was not longer just an intellectual exercise.
And, if you've been overweight most of your life, like I have, let's face it -- a certain amount of the way you operate in the world is invested in the way you look -- the way you dress, the way you interact with people, the excuses you give yourself for letting go. When you become fit, you also lose the crutches. Sounds stupid, but that can be a scary thing.
Finally, one of the things I never fully realized is how important it is to find a support group -- whether that's in "real life" or on the internet. For me, this is too hard a battle to do alone.
