I posted this somewhere else, not originally planning to post it here.  Then I changed my mind.  I suspect it might piss some people off, but it’s something I just feel I need to say.  Sometimes I just want to shake my fellow dieters and tell them to wake the hell up.

Maybe it’s because mostly I don’t feel like I’m dieting. I really do consider that I’m working on a healthier way of living. A nice side effect is that I’m losing weight. But seriously, has our society really progressed to the point where we can’t be happy with a modest weight loss? I find the diet boards quite supportive. I tend to stick to the 300+ group though. I mean, with a top weight of over 400 pounds it is sometimes good to talk to people who understand. Those who have struggled with the same issues. Someone who has never been more than 20 or 30 pounds overweight just can’t understand what it’s like to deal with being so heavy. I remember looking at home gyms more than a decade ago, and not being able to fit on the ones available locally. I mean, does that make sense, that equipment should be manufactured for people who don’t need to lose weight? Anyway, that’s a completely different rant.

I see an annoying trend lately. People who aren’t happy with losing 1 - 2 pounds a week. Completely unrealistic expectations as well as very unhealthy practices to lose weight at all costs. Posts from women who suffer mood swings based on their morning’s weigh-in. Yes, I weigh daily, but only to chart it, not to really look at it. Women who freak out if they go up .5 a pound day to day but jump for joy when they lose 4 pounds overnight. Two days later they’re depressed because they ‘gained’ 3 pounds back.

I mean, come on. Do they really believe that a 4 pound difference in 24 hours is a sustainable loss. Oh, or the ones who have the flu and lose 10 pounds in a week. Happy happy joy joy… until some of it comes back. What a shock.

I’ve seen at least a couple of posts from people recently who have probably lost 50 pounds or so… complaining that they’re only losing 1 pound or a pound and a half a week. I really want to tell them to wake the up. (Decided not to type the actual word.)

Having said all that, maybe I’m just mad at myself. When I see the women eating 1200 calories a day, losing 5 pounds every week, I’m just a little bit jealous.

Only a little.

I quickly remember that eating like that, and exercising a lot, and sleeping very little landed me in the hospital. Not specifically from those things, but it left me unable to fight off a simple infection. Also, not being willing to slow down when I knew my energy levels were dropping week to week. Oh, and ignoring the pain that started in my side and eventually traveled up to my shoulder every time I took a deep breath. (It was a pleural infection, which resulted in about 900ml of infected fluid needing to be drained, a hospital stay of almost 3 weeks, a boatload of three different kinds of antibiotics, and walking around with a drainage tube sticking out of my back for at least another month.)

Oh, and did I mention that my hair had thinned out quite a bit. Seriously, like clumps every time I washed my hair. Good thing it was so thick to start with.

So, I’m a little angry about the people who think a pound a week isn’t good enough. And I’m a little angry at myself for wanting that 5 pounds a week loss myself. I’ll settle in the end for my modest 2+ pounds a week (and be happy even if/when it slows) eating way more food than I thought I’d be able to.