A number of people have occupations that would be adversely impacted by weight control issues. For instance, flight attendants need to make their way down that narrow aisle with the service cart. Years ago, I think the airlines would only hire svelte people. I do believe that a number of them were sued for discriminating hiring policies and now it is quite common to see overweight people in this position. Clearly, it seems to be more difficult for the overweight attendants to perform their work. Professional sports players, most notably football players, will be called to task if their weight is higher than it should be. As a physician, especially one involved in a weight loss program, I feel pressure to be a "role model" to some extent and not be overweight. Obviously, other occupations such as modeling, personal trainers and many others would be adversely impacted by weight issues.
No matter what the occupation, I do believe we are all better perceived by our bosses, clients, co-workers when we present a healthier image. Promotions, hiring and other job-related issues although not directly mentioned, will in fact be influenced by some extent by our appearance. This may not be fair, but it is reality. Losing weight will also help us in our professional careers. Yet another bonus of losing weight.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
weight loss: Who are we doing this for?
Controversial subject for a Sunday morning: How much of our decision to lose weight is because of someone else in our lives? Do we sense that our significant other is dissasisfied with our appearnace? Do we feel less appealing to them? Are we afraid that others will capture their attention?
Most of us brazenly state that our reasons for weight loss are solely because we want to be healthier and look better for our own purposes..not to please others. But truly, deep down, most human beings do care about what others think about their looks/physique. We care about our "sex appeal", we care about how our colleagues at work perceive us in all manners, including our physical look and we care about how we look compared to others.
Losing weight does give us a much higher level of self=confidence and self-esteem....and we are perceived differently when we present a healthy look. Losing weight makes us healthier but there are many ancillary benefits!
Most of us brazenly state that our reasons for weight loss are solely because we want to be healthier and look better for our own purposes..not to please others. But truly, deep down, most human beings do care about what others think about their looks/physique. We care about our "sex appeal", we care about how our colleagues at work perceive us in all manners, including our physical look and we care about how we look compared to others.
Losing weight does give us a much higher level of self=confidence and self-esteem....and we are perceived differently when we present a healthy look. Losing weight makes us healthier but there are many ancillary benefits!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
weight loss and driving
Many of my Eurpoean patients tell me that they are amazed wuth they come to the United States to see the number of overweight prople here. With French known for their pastires, Germans known for their beer, Italians for their pasta etc., then why is it the case that the obesity epidemic is much worse here in the states?
A few insights were offered: 1- Europeans tend to walk many more places as opposed to driving their cars. They lay out and mass transit ofntheir cities is such that people get much more time to walk places. 2- Portion control: Although, the above mentioned food sources are high-caloric, Europeans tend to very much limit the portion sizes of these items, so although they are being consummed, limitd sizes are the usual.
Perhaps we can all learn from these experiences to alter our approaches and certainly if we can walk somewere as opposed to driving, make that happen.
A few insights were offered: 1- Europeans tend to walk many more places as opposed to driving their cars. They lay out and mass transit ofntheir cities is such that people get much more time to walk places. 2- Portion control: Although, the above mentioned food sources are high-caloric, Europeans tend to very much limit the portion sizes of these items, so although they are being consummed, limitd sizes are the usual.
Perhaps we can all learn from these experiences to alter our approaches and certainly if we can walk somewere as opposed to driving, make that happen.
Friday, June 4, 2010
weight loss and maintenance
I know you have read this before, but I think the point is worthy of another go round: The concept of not perceiving a "finish line" when you are in a mode to lose weight and keep that weight off. As mentioned before, the word we do NOT like to use is the "D" word...DIET....A "diet" implies a start date and an END date...and when we finiish the diet we go back to old behavior patterns. Of course, the old patterns result in weight gain.
Continuing to lose weight past your program visits or the maintenance of your weight if you have achieved your goal weight requires constant vigilance and monitoring. You MUST write that weight down once a week and have a PLAN if you see that number go up. If we have no plan or do not monitor the weight, it is incredibly easy to put back on every pound you lost.
We are certainly here as a resource for you...if the weight goes up a small amount, come in for one visit...we will provide you with the medical jumpstart, refocus you and get you back on track. Many people come back to us having gained back many pounds...they come in embarrassed, which they should NOT be, because we do understand these issues and know how easy it is to slip back into old behaviors.
Keep the awareness and vigilance...and if things slip a bit, come back to us for a quick "tuneup"
Continuing to lose weight past your program visits or the maintenance of your weight if you have achieved your goal weight requires constant vigilance and monitoring. You MUST write that weight down once a week and have a PLAN if you see that number go up. If we have no plan or do not monitor the weight, it is incredibly easy to put back on every pound you lost.
We are certainly here as a resource for you...if the weight goes up a small amount, come in for one visit...we will provide you with the medical jumpstart, refocus you and get you back on track. Many people come back to us having gained back many pounds...they come in embarrassed, which they should NOT be, because we do understand these issues and know how easy it is to slip back into old behaviors.
Keep the awareness and vigilance...and if things slip a bit, come back to us for a quick "tuneup"
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Weight Loss and teh Summer
Good morning....in answer to the question posted by "anonymous" yesterday, please call Jennifer Johns at: 703-866-4144 and she will fill you in on all the details concerning the logistics of the fashion show. We GREATLY appreciate your willingness to participate and you will receive a FREE visit to our program as well as a FREE autographed book that day! Anyone else interested? PLEASE CALL!!! This will be soooo much fun.
Summertime...more daylight, less time in the house, great opportunity to take advantage of this seasonal change by getting in lots more exercise. The warm, more daylight scenario provides the right environment to really kick up the caloric burnoff part of the equation. Always remember that to lose weight, there are two ends of this equation...calories coming in/calories burning off. Most people will also notice that during the warm/hot seasons, appetite is not as high.
In the winter after work, it is dark anmd cold outside. When you get home, the last thing you would think about after dinner is to exercise outside. The inside treadmill is not a fun event. However, going outside with the sun still shining and warm temps provide a great ambient environment and mental state to burn off some of those calories. Taks advantage of this time to enhance your weight loss efforts.
Summertime...more daylight, less time in the house, great opportunity to take advantage of this seasonal change by getting in lots more exercise. The warm, more daylight scenario provides the right environment to really kick up the caloric burnoff part of the equation. Always remember that to lose weight, there are two ends of this equation...calories coming in/calories burning off. Most people will also notice that during the warm/hot seasons, appetite is not as high.
In the winter after work, it is dark anmd cold outside. When you get home, the last thing you would think about after dinner is to exercise outside. The inside treadmill is not a fun event. However, going outside with the sun still shining and warm temps provide a great ambient environment and mental state to burn off some of those calories. Taks advantage of this time to enhance your weight loss efforts.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
weight loss and self-esteem
Last night I attended the organizational meeting for our Fashion Show scheduled for June 19, 3PM at Bobby McKeys piano bar at the National Harbor.
Over the past several months we have "talked up" the show/charity event to our patients imploring them to be a part of it. Certainly, this is incredibly outside everyone's box....getting up in front of other people and "being seen" on stage. Thoughts of giving a speech in front of a group terrorize many people even with a subject matter that the speaker is familiar with...getting up in front of people as a "model"? No one has experience at this.
When we do not feel that we look our best, probably the last thing we would want to do is get up in front of other people for fear of negative judgement. Additionally, we are also concerned that we do not "measure up" to others. Losing weight gives us renewed confidence and as a show of this, I really want to applaud the people who have agreed to be a part of our show. I see this as incredibly inspirational to others: "Look at me...even though I may not be at my ideal weight, I am still proud to be seen." Thank you once again to everyone who has agreed to be a part of our show and I want to encourage everyone to attend the show as the cause we are supporting is a great one. Also, perhaps your attendance will work to motivate you even further to keep on track with your efforts to lose weight, become healthier, happier and regain lots of self-esteem.
Over the past several months we have "talked up" the show/charity event to our patients imploring them to be a part of it. Certainly, this is incredibly outside everyone's box....getting up in front of other people and "being seen" on stage. Thoughts of giving a speech in front of a group terrorize many people even with a subject matter that the speaker is familiar with...getting up in front of people as a "model"? No one has experience at this.
When we do not feel that we look our best, probably the last thing we would want to do is get up in front of other people for fear of negative judgement. Additionally, we are also concerned that we do not "measure up" to others. Losing weight gives us renewed confidence and as a show of this, I really want to applaud the people who have agreed to be a part of our show. I see this as incredibly inspirational to others: "Look at me...even though I may not be at my ideal weight, I am still proud to be seen." Thank you once again to everyone who has agreed to be a part of our show and I want to encourage everyone to attend the show as the cause we are supporting is a great one. Also, perhaps your attendance will work to motivate you even further to keep on track with your efforts to lose weight, become healthier, happier and regain lots of self-esteem.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
I have never done this before but there is a first for everything...I saw a very insightful comment written yesterday and I thought the subject matter and the comment was so interesting, I just copied and pasted it for everyone to see. I want to thank "Anonymous" for taking the time tom write something so insightful..I look forward to hearing others' comments in response to this entry.....
Anonymous said...
Doctor Posner I have a suggestion for a topic: The connection between weight loss and emotional over eating. This is a real problem for losing weight and keeping it of after the weight is lost. Many overweight people have one common character trait – we do not know how to express our anger and frustration. Emotional overeaters are incapable of channeling those emotions toward the appropriate source of the problem. This is very common with women who are raised to be nice – not to get into fights. So we play nice and polite when inside we are raging. Many times I have come out of situations calm as a cucumber and congratulating myself on how cool I was but was I? I refuse to feel my anger and grab a bag of chips instead – and let me explain it is automatic and completely unconscious. I usually become conscious when I am at the bottom of the bag. And then the anger I felt towards that person or that situation now turns into anger and disappointment toward myself. That becomes another reason why I cannot express my anger at other people because in my mind now, what right do I have to be mad at others when I cannot even control what I put in my mouth. So it becomes a vicious circle. That was the first thing I noticed when I started reading your blog. You rage against the diet industry, evil TV shows, etc. etc. I thought to myself…wow tell us how you really feel doc. Some things you say sometimes make me really, really mad too. Like sometimes you seem to imply that all people have to do is say no and control themselves. But you know something lately I have been able to catch myself. That is because I have been reading and doing a lot of research about this problem. And one day when I was particularly mad about some comment you made implying that it was as simple as choosing what you wear in the morning…I realized that I haven’t eaten anything in response to how I was feeling in sometime because I had decided that I was not going to do that anymore. (I decided) As a matter of fact, I had let myself feel pain, sadness, hurt, anger and rage and the world had not come tumbling down. So what was I really defending? The belief that I had no control over eating when I was in emotional upheaval or that there is a possibility that I can develop new skills on how to cope with uncomfortable emotions? That has opened a brand new world of possibility for me. So thank you for challenging and not enabling.
Anonymous said...
Doctor Posner I have a suggestion for a topic: The connection between weight loss and emotional over eating. This is a real problem for losing weight and keeping it of after the weight is lost. Many overweight people have one common character trait – we do not know how to express our anger and frustration. Emotional overeaters are incapable of channeling those emotions toward the appropriate source of the problem. This is very common with women who are raised to be nice – not to get into fights. So we play nice and polite when inside we are raging. Many times I have come out of situations calm as a cucumber and congratulating myself on how cool I was but was I? I refuse to feel my anger and grab a bag of chips instead – and let me explain it is automatic and completely unconscious. I usually become conscious when I am at the bottom of the bag. And then the anger I felt towards that person or that situation now turns into anger and disappointment toward myself. That becomes another reason why I cannot express my anger at other people because in my mind now, what right do I have to be mad at others when I cannot even control what I put in my mouth. So it becomes a vicious circle. That was the first thing I noticed when I started reading your blog. You rage against the diet industry, evil TV shows, etc. etc. I thought to myself…wow tell us how you really feel doc. Some things you say sometimes make me really, really mad too. Like sometimes you seem to imply that all people have to do is say no and control themselves. But you know something lately I have been able to catch myself. That is because I have been reading and doing a lot of research about this problem. And one day when I was particularly mad about some comment you made implying that it was as simple as choosing what you wear in the morning…I realized that I haven’t eaten anything in response to how I was feeling in sometime because I had decided that I was not going to do that anymore. (I decided) As a matter of fact, I had let myself feel pain, sadness, hurt, anger and rage and the world had not come tumbling down. So what was I really defending? The belief that I had no control over eating when I was in emotional upheaval or that there is a possibility that I can develop new skills on how to cope with uncomfortable emotions? That has opened a brand new world of possibility for me. So thank you for challenging and not enabling.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
