Your Best Weight!

Your Best Weight

Posted: 20 Sep 2012 02:04 AM PDT

What's the difference between your best weight and the BMI or "ideal weight"?

Happiness and contentment with your life.  Period.  Done.

For a while, I've had the growing suspicion that weight is killing us because we stress about it so much -- if that's true, it's not the weight that's killing us, it's the stress we put on ourselves doing all that damage.

While that may not capture the whole story, in terms of our eating choices leading diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc, I think it's a really important point to underscore Yoni Freehoff's idea of  "best weight".  Your best weight is going to be the one that you can live the life you love at. 

If you're able to eat the foods you love, participate in the activities you enjoy, feel comfortable in your own skin  -- that is your best weight.  And that has very little to do with the "ideal" weight a health professional may give you -- or a range on the BMI scale.....don't even get me started on the 600 ways that scale's value has been misrepresented to the public!!! 

Like Yoni says:

 "....  why do we place such a premium on the notion of that perfect, healthy weight? Why isn't "trying our best" enough when it comes to weight loss?

....

We aim to suffer and sacrifice and restrict far beyond what's comfortable, and then try to convince ourselves that somehow results won by under-eating and over-exercising will last—that, "nothing tastes as good as thin feels."

But of course extremes don't last. As a species, we're simply not built to endure unnecessary suffering for the long haul. And yet each year spawns a new crop of books claiming to have found the latest, greatest (and, of course, highly restrictive) route to weight loss.

Well here are two long-term weight management truisms for you.

If you can't happily eat less, you're not going to eat less. And if you can't happily exercise more, you're not going to exercise more.

Next time you're considering a new diet or other weight-loss technique, ask yourself a simple question: "Could I happily continue living this way?" If the answer is no, you're just wasting your time. Ultimately, weight lost through suffering almost always finds its way back. You need to like your life."

If you only take away one thing from this post, let it be Yoni's closing line:

You need to like your life!!!! 

If you don't, what's the point of all this hard work??

Debbie....you are so right.....I need to like my life.

I am still struggling with weight issues.....but I am paying much closer attention and am eating more healthy meals. I will get things back on track!

HUGS....connie d

Thats all we can do Connie. We will always struggle with weight or at least I will.
Today was a good day for me with a great homemade salad and good fresh veggies from my garden. Love tomatoes! We will just keep trucking!

THANKS!!!!  Great post and it says pretty much everything I've been struggling with the past two years.  I never had WLS to be "skinny" though I did hope that it would help me get into size clothes that I only ever dreamed of. . .  I had WLS surgery to be a life participant instead of a life spectator and now I am a participator, only creaky old bones keep me otherwise and that, well can't do much about the aging process and the damages I did in youth.  So acceptance is the theme of this post and just for today, I will love and accept my healthier self as is!!!

Thanks again Debbie, this is one I will use at my support group and on the PA Forum!!!

Me too Laureen, I did WLS for my health and I knew I wasn't a Barbie Doll!! Nor was that my goal.
I can play with my grandkids, walk, my BP is in control, no more Reflux, Gerd and my knees don't hurt and my back is much better. Score one for us!

Liking ourselves is the key. Liking where we are today is a must! Hugs Debbie