Nothing Wrong With The "V" Word

When I ask people who enter our weight loss program why they want to lose weight, the politically correct answer is usually: "I want to be healthier and I know my excessive weight puts me at risk for heart disease, diabetes, etc."

Let's be honest though. Very often the major reason we want to lose weight is so that we can look younger, look better, have others think we are more attractive and look much better in clothes that now fit again. We hesitate to admit to these reasons because they sound "VAIN".

Re-establishing a higher level of self-esteem, not feeling we have to hide from cameras, attracting more positive attention: all of these are great reasons as well as the health ramifications as to why we should lose weight. Never feel ashamed about these reasons.

On a related, but non-weight loss issue: I had a medical patient from Brazil who came in looking about 15 years younger than her age, and when I asked her what her secret was she mentioned the name of a local prominent plastic surgeon. This was defintiely not the case in its entirety because this person exercises regularly, does not smoke, eats very healthy and is very active with her chidren. Aside from weight control, clearly these other factors (and I dont mean the plastic surgery!) can play a large role in looking younger than your years.