In this past season of the
Bachelorette, Emily asks one of her dates, Ryan, if he would still love her in
10 years if she got fat. Ryan famously answers, “I’d love ya, but I wouldn’t
love on ya.” I never liked Ryan, but appreciated his honesty. My friend was not
offended by Ryan’s comment, “Imagine you marry someone who has a good job and works hard, and once you get married, he quits his job, sits on the
couch all day, and collects unemployment. Would you feel lied to?”
“I would be able to sense his poor work ethic and I wouldn't be attracted to him in the first place, so that would never happen to me, but I guess I understand your
analogy,” I told him.
I work with a lot of women
who struggle with weight gain, and a lot of these women attribute it to age and
a slowing metabolism. I’ve heard variations of this story several times, “I
weighed 120 lbs when I got married, and now I weigh 180.”
This use to make me
worried, because I almost felt as if weight gain was inevitable, but the more I
talk to women, the more I realize, it is not inevitable. While counseling these
women on developing healthy lifestyles, I continuously make mental notes of
where I think they’ve gone wrong. I’ve compiled a list:
1. Develop good eating
habits now. When I was in high school I worked at Cold Stone and ate ice cream
every day, I would go to In-n-Out and get a grilled cheese sandwich with extra
sauce and French fries, and I never exercised; I was 95 lbs. I could still do
this now if I didn’t mind looking like Jabba the Hut and having a heart attack
at 45. If you eat poorly, you will get fat… it’s all about portion sizes and
healthy choices, everyday.
2. Don't stop exercising.
Use it or lose it. Muscle tone and regular cardio will keep your metabolism
going. Everyone’s excuse is that there is “no time.” Make time. Time management
is a struggle for everyone, but it’s doable. The longer you're sedentary, the
harder it is to start exercising again... But it's never too late to start :)
3. Don’t wear pants with
elastic. I’m serious. Have you been in a hospital lately? I am convinced that
if hospital workers had to wear jeans to work, their weight would drop by at
least 10%. If your job requires you to wear scrubs, when you go home, put on a
pair of jeans. It’s really easy to gain weight when you wear one size fits all
clothes 24/7. This includes leggings. It’s a slippery slope. Be careful. Wearing
dresses everyday is pretty risky too.
4. Make time to relax. Chronic
stress is the new plague. Find anything enjoyable that allows you to figure out
your s appropriately. Talk it out, hug it out, write it out, or whatever it
takes to manage whatever problems you have.
5. Have
hobbies; hobbies that don’t involve food. Everyone should do something that
makes them unique, happy, and accomplished. Being a mom is great, but it
doesn’t count as a hobby.
6. Learn
good coping mechanisms. People are taught a lot of things, coping mechanisms
aren’t one of them. I see a lot of people who eat because they’re depressed,
stressed, or anxious. If you don’t know what good coping mechanisms are, buy a
book on coping skills.
7. Get some positive thinking skills—hormonal changes never results in rational thinking. Don’t let yourself get depressed. Happiness is a choice. Laugh and smile. No one likes a scowl, and there are always things to laugh about. Life is great.
So I’m turning 25 this year and I have
nothing to worry about :)
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