The Problem With Losing Weight in America
Friday, July 2, 2021
Okay, to be fair, there are many, but let’s look at a few…
As someone who has been overweight since elementary school, someone who has struggled, gone up and down, had some phenomenal successes and some equally stunning disappointments, I can tell you that the ideas of weight, weight control, and weight acceptance (or rejection) are top of mind to a large percentage of the population. For any of us who are trying to lose weight and be healthy here in the U.S., there are multiple problems to contend with.
Mixed Messages
Okay, first of all, let’s consider the messages we (mostly women, but men, too) get about out weight every day:
Body Positivity. Love the skin you’re in. Be happy and love yourself no matter what you look like and fuck anyone who says you shouldn’t.
Hey, you. You might be a bit overweight, but as long as you’re taking steps to be healthy, who cares what your weight is?
It’s okay to be 350 lbs.—as long as it’s a shapely 350 lbs. Carry the weight in the right places. Do porn! There are plenty of “chubby chasers” out there.
Oh, no! Sweetie! Honey! What are you doing to yourself? You’re only hurting yourself! I mean, my momma taught me to have a little self-control. I’m sorry yours didn’t.
Jeez, you must be some kinda lazy fat-ass. Why would I give you this job that requires you to sit at a desk and be smart? You must be dumb if you let yourself look like this.
Diet! Weight loss! Try our amazing new product and reach your goal weight in THREE MONTHS no matter how much you have to lose. Only $850 for the first month!
The US Department of Health & Human Services advises you keep a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 18.5 to 24.9. This means that a woman who is 5’ 6” tall (regardless of any other factors) should weigh between 114 and 155 pounds. Of course, we’d like you to be lower on that scale. The current average for all women in the United States (as of 2016, according to this website) is 170.
Come buy our clothes! Sure, they’re the size of a tent, but they’re listed as size 10 or 12 so you feel better about yourself.
Come buy our clothes! Sure, you bought a 6x (because it’s coming from China), but when you get it, it won’t even fit your much smaller teenage daughter.
No one fat could possibly be healthy at that weight or enjoy things like dancing or biking or sex—unless it’s some kind of weird kink.
You simply must do something about your weight to conform to our standards. Never mind that those standards change every 5th Thursday—comply!
Need to lose weight? (Of course you do; everyone does.) Try Keto—South Beach—Paleo—Liquid—Vegan—Cabbage Soup—Intermittent Fasting—Calorie Counting—Portion Control—Drugs—etc.
The list could go on and on. The main point here is that on one hand, we’re told that our mental health depends on loving and accepting ourselves as we are today, but our physical health requires that we lose weight and conform. Then, we’re not told what we should conform to. Or rather, we are told, but what we’re told changes so often we can’t keep up. One week, chocolate is bad for you, and the next it’s not; one week, you should cut out fat, the next, it’s needed. No one knows!
For me, personally, I know that I need to be healthier. I don’t really have a goal weight in mind so much as a goal list of activities. I need to be able to do certain things without it being an effort to do them. That’s it for me, really, at the core of it all.
Servings & Samoleans
The next point of contention I have is with serving sizes and the money we spend on food. See, I come from the “clear your plate” upbringing, where I need to be sure to finish what I put on my plate. That’s all well and good, but what if I wasn’t the one who put it there?
In my time of mindful eating, I’ve been trying to think about not only whether or not I’m actually hungry, but also to eat more slowly, allow food to settle, and question myself between each bite as to whether I’m full or not. The problem is that this often leaves food behind. I have taken to ordering smaller portions when I can: a kids’ burger instead of a full-size one or one taco instead of three. But sometimes, this is not an option, and I feel awful for throwing away something I (or worse, someone else) paid for. Most places now have way too much food for even a child-size portion. And honestly, getting the child size usually doesn’t save you much money over getting the full-size.
Portions in this country are out of control! I mean, don’t ever go to Jack in the Box and make the mistake of upgrading your drink to a large! That’s 40 ounces! No one needs 40 ounces of soda! McDonald’s large is 32 ounces, but hey, it’s only a dollar—the same price as the small—so go for it! No! It’s crazy. We are rapidly approaching the nonsense satirized in Parks and Rec. If I want just a taste of something, I either have to pay full price and only eat a small portion or decide it’s not worth it and skip it. It becomes a financial decision or one based on 40 years of psychological conditioning that it’s rude to not finish.
Brainwashing & Boredom
The other big issue I personally face is the “right in front of me” syndrome. Because one of my biggest triggers to overeating is that I’m bored or doing nothing important and not paying attention, if it’s in front of me, I don’t even think about it before popping it in my mouth. Now, I’m getting better about this, but I’m still just as guilty. For example, I had a sandwich and a small bag of chips the other day. I was probably full about halfway through both, and I could have left half the sandwich and half the chips for later or given them to the dog or whatever, but I didn’t. I kept going. I kept eating because it was right there, in front of me, and I was either bored or distracted. This is my pattern, and I have to break it.
I am not hungry. In fact, I feel quite full. I don’t need anything right now, except maybe water. I have to keep that at the forefront of my thoughts. I have to know that it’s not insulting to anyone and it’s not rude and it’s not wasteful. It is taking care of me, and that is something I must do if real, positive change is going to happen in my life.