Mar. 20: People Frustrate Me!

Another two-for-one day from Daisy! I'm really "wordy" today!

People really frustrate me. After you have been at it for a while, it's fairly obvious that you've lost weight, tightened up and just generally look healthier. Inevitably, people ask you what you've been doing. They want to know "your secret."

Initially I was the Jehovah's Witness of clean eating. I wanted to tell everyone in great detail how much better it felt to live a life free of chemicals. I wanted to knock on the neighbors doors and tell them all about my epiphany. However, their eyes tended to glaze over very quickly.

I began to edit. "I walk everyday and I don't eat processed foods."

It rarely fails that someone doesn't immediately respond with why they can't do such a revolutionary thing themselves. Some folks are defensive and others are downright snide, pointing out all the time I have on my hands since I am currently unemployed.

Other people that actually are dieting, are limiting the changes they are willing to make. It's too much trouble for them to measure their servings, there is no microwave at work, or their kids won't eat healthy food so there is no point in making it. I really do try to help, but I've begun to be able to recognize the people that are in there for the long haul and the ones for whom this is just another in a long line of "diets."

I finally figured out that no one actually wants to know it involves a personal commitment. They just hope you can give them a shortcut so there is no actual work involved. If there is work involved, they want to justify why they can't do it. They don't want to make an actual change, they just want to wake up and look different. There really aren't any reasons - only excuses.

Here are a few of the things that no one wants to know:

1.) It doesn't actually take that much more time to make things from scratch than to drive to McDonalds, place your order at the window, and drive home.
2.) Walking can be easily incorporated into your daily errands.
3.) Changing from soda pop to water takes no time at all.
4.) Cutting out refined sugar takes no time at all.
5.) Bringing and apple and almonds from home is just as easy (and cheaper) than hitting the vending machine for a Snickers bar.
6.) If an unemployed single mom can afford a healthy, semi-organic diet, someone with 2 full time incomes can definitely swing it.
7.) 30 minutes a day that you would ordinarily watch TV could be spent walking, working out to a DVD in the basement, or going to the gym. You CAN work it in if you really want to.
8.) There is no magic pill, no powerful supplement and no secret key to living a healthier lifestyle. It's simply a matter of making better choices, eating real food, and working activity into your life whenever there is an opportunity.

There are 1001 reasons people "can't" make a change, but the number one reason, and the basis for the other thousand is that they "won't" make a change.

I have a friend who is one of the most remarkable people that I have had the gift of knowing. She is quiet and humble. She is not rolling in money, and is a very busy stay-at-home mom of 2 young children. She is a lovely person inside and out. She has been battling her weight with the determination of a Spartan soldier. She is one of the few people that actually has a medical reason that makes weight loss extremely difficult. She suffers from PCOS, which causes all sorts of hormonal imbalances, insulin resistance and many more issues that are not conducive to weight loss. In two months of strict, weighing-and-measuring, calorie-counting dieting, she might lose one pound. She has literally been at this for years, plugging away with endless determination. How many people could do that?

And yet she never gives up. Sure, she gets frustrated. Yes, she falls off the wagon from time to time. But the next day, she gets up, she eats a healthy breakfast, and gives 100% to getting back on track. She spends hours researching her condition. She experiments with her macronutrients. With medical odds against her, she keeps pushing on. I know that she will meet her goal, despite anything her health can throw at her, because of her determination and her sheer will to succeed.

If my friend can do all this, despite the legitimate obstacles she faces, who are the rest of us to say we "can't" for silly reasons like convenience?

And, honey, you know who you are. My admiration for your strength is endless and it is an honor to be your friend.