what kind of advice…
well, I am tired of hearing women complain about cellulite and gaining weight and not being able to do anything about it… I have always been a big girl… up to 18, I was 30lbs heavier than I am now, and I am still quite far from being lean. but it’s an every day challenge anyway, and it’s not fun all the time but I feel sooooooo much better now than I did with all that weight on my body, that the sacrifice is worth it… and I don’t think we can call that a sacrifice… crappy food only tastes good a few seconds, then it’s all gone and you can see the results of ingesting it consistently… so anyway, when I ask my overweight patients if they workout, they say, "oh, you know, I live in a house on 2 floors, so I have to do the stairs everyday, it’s a lot of working out…" or "oh, I do all the cleaning in the house, and it takes a lot of energy" or "I walk to work" or " I eat healthy, I have an apple a day" or " I don’t have breakfast so I can save up calories there" and so on and so on…. it really sucks because I want to encourage them to lose weight and workout and feel great, but when you start with that kind of thinking, you can’t go very far. since they come to me for advice, I want to give them the best, but I think they are usually not ready for "the truth", so I often make it softer and kinder,,, everyone has to start somewhere, and it’s never too late, but we have to realize that working out 3 times a week is not "a lot", it’s the minimum… how can I tell people, without cheating myself with saying things like "it’s great you bike to work 14 min a day" (which IS great if you are 97, or weigh way way way too much, but not for the average person) and without being bluntly straightforward?
September 13, 2007 at 2:35 am
I would be straight up front with them. Let them know if you really want to make a change, this is what you have to do and their quality of life and health depends on it.
September 16, 2007 at 12:08 am
I don’t think the blunt approach ever works. The fact of the matter is that people will honestly make a change when they are ready. Offering front end advice seemingly only entrenches people further into their current stance on things. I prefer to let my actions instigate inquiries….Once people have queried me, and only then, do I offer health and fitness advice. Hazy thoughts from a disturbed individual, most likely…….
September 24, 2007 at 9:48 am
I have found that standing about 2 inches away from the person and yelling LARDASS