weight loss and celebrities

So yesterday afternoon I am escorting out a patient I had just seen to the front desk area and I have three staff members up front juggling phone calls coming in as a barrage. I mean literally the phones were ringing off the hook. We have 7 lines, and usually at the most 3 will be in use at one time, but all 7 were lighting up, and as soon as one call was finished, that open line would ring immediately. As I hate to have my patients sit on hold or not have their calls answered promptly, I started answering the phones as well. EVERY phone call was from someone wanting more info about our weight loss program. I finally asked a caller if a commercial had just run on TV and sure enough, our comercial had just run on Channel 7 during the Oprah show. Turns out Oprah's guest yesterday was Kirstie Alley and their discussion of course was about their weight loss struggles. What timing for our commercial!

Anyway, to the point: Here are two women, one of whom can buy the world and the other has companies throwing her tons of money to lose weight using their horribly tasting prepackaged meals and these women cannot keep their weight off. Both can afford personal chefs, personal food shoppers, errand runners, daily personal trainers, etc and both have zero success in long term weight loss. This points 0ut the complexity of the psychological factors and genetic factors that contribute to weight problems. So, if you have difficult keeping your weight off after our program, do not feel ashamed, embarrassed or a like a "loser"...it is INCREDIBLY difficult to lose weight and maintain that loss and often help is needed. WE ARE YOUR SUPPORT!!! Look at our chat room and blog daily..come in to use our scale...all of these cost NOTHING. We are here for YOU and many of you have already shown Oprah and Kirstie that despite your relative lack of resources compared to them, you have shown the strength and fortitude to succeed !!! (oops...I guess now I never will be booked as a guest on Oprah....and, by he way, here is a bit of a rant: What made "Dr" Phil some weight loss guru??? At one point he had supplements and foods bearing his name on the shelves for weight loss. What are his credentials to advise someone about weight loss??? He sure didn't have success with his friend!!!)

Academy Awards and Weight

Was it just me or was the show last night really boring???

Actresses and actors on the red carpet....the cameras are flashing and clothes and looks are being scrutinized. Lots of pressure on these actresses to look fabulous. These people make their livings by having a certain "look". There is especially more pressure on the females to not be overweight. Some of these actresses look waif thin...at times almost sickly. As you watch the "aging" of certain actresses that were well known for their beauty, many resort to multiple plastic surgeries in the quest to look younger. The puffed lips and stretched faces are a distortion in many cases and what was once a beautiful woman is now a caricature.

Okay, let's leave Hollywood and return to "normal" people. We are not paid millions of dollars to be in pictures and our work performance is judged not by how thin or how beautiful we are, but rather on our professional contribution to the company. We want to be at an improved weight not because we want to look better than the other people around us, but rather, to be healthier and happier with ourselves. Our reasons for wanting to be at a healthier weight are much more grounded than the Hollywood stars we see on the big screen.

Losing weight will allow you to live longer, be happier and have a higher self-esteem. You are losing weight for "you" ...not for your "fans".