Weight Loss and Reunions

Over the years we have had many patients come to us for weight loss in anticipation of an upcoming event..a 25th year high school reunion, a wedding of a child and other very happy occasions. At these times, we all want to look our very best as many of our friends and relatives will be seeing us, lots of pictures will be taken and we feel that there is a certain spotlight on us.

This scenario provides and incredible motivation for people to "diet", and this implies a start date of the diet and certainly the "finish line" is the night of the special event. There is no question that the success rates of these patients are 100%...but watch out for the weeks after the special event. Such motivation gives us a clear cut "end" of our efforts and then we get to go back to the "fun" eating/drinking activities again. If I was making a bet in Vegas about the chances of the person keeping the weight off long term, I would demand huge odds against this permanent weight loss.

Special events can give us a tangible motivation, but the more nebulous "being healthier", "living longer", or "looking better" long term goals are often not as powerful to sustain long term weight control efforts. The point here is that you can use an upcoming event to provide an extra "kick-start" to your weight loss efforts, but if this is the sole reason for your weight loss, there will be little to non chance of keeping the weight off.

Another note: I was reading online about a camp in Laholla California that specializes in helping adolescents with obesity lost weight in a caring, nurturing environment. Apparently the people who work there essentially get paid about 41 cents an hour for their work. I do believe prisoners get paid more than that. I think it is great that caring individuals will basically donate their time to help a group of overweight people whose lives will change dramatically for the better by losing weight and keeping the weight off.