Comments on: How Amazing… – A Follow Up

By: Accept » Blog Archive » How Amazing… – A Follow Up

Accept » Blog Archive » How Amazing… – A Follow Up — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 21:05:57 +0000

[...] How Amazing… – A Follow Up Is well sad and I talk a lot about how I had to accept myself, and be … happy in my skin before I made any type of physical changes. So again, [...]

By: How Amazing… - Apologies All Around | Roni’s Weigh

How Amazing… - Apologies All Around | Roni’s Weigh — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:01:26 +0000

[...] Amazing… – A Response How Amazing… – A Follow Up How Amazing… – The Saga [...]

By: Irene

Irene — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 01:42:03 +0000

First of all, I’d like to say that Roni, I love all that you write, all your recipes, your blog, etc… But I must say, that after reading Carrie’s post, I don’t think it was meant in a mean way at all. Everyone has jumped on Carrie and some people have been really cruel. Mostly just because we all love you so much and feel protective. However, she was just making an observation, and I kind of agree with her. For example, I was unhappy at my heaviest of 215 lbs and when I got down to 150, I was still unhappy. Now, after gaining 15 lbs I am looking at my pictures from 150 lbs and thinking, “I looked good then! Why was I so unhappy?” Weight has nothing to do with happiness, although many people think it does. You have to love yourself first, regardless of the weight, because just losing 20, 30, or 60 pounds will not suddenly make you happy. I am on what feels like a “forever journey” to get to some elusive weight, and I always think that I’ll feel so much better and happier once I reach it, so far, I still see a fat girl in the mirror no matter what weight I am. Self love comes from the inside, not what’s on the outside.

And YES, I wish I didn’t have to diet, or write a food journal, or count every calorie. I wish good food choices came naturally to me. I wish that at 1500 or 1800 calories a little bell would “ding” inside me and I’d say, “OK, that’s it for today.” But after years of struggling, I don’t hear a ding. I wish it was easy, but its hard. I think that’s all Carrie was saying.

Anyways, that’s all for me. Good night and good luck!

Irene :)

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:43:42 +0000

I think that what this is really about is becoming healthy- which means eating better and more responsibly. It means learning to cope with life’s struggles in other ways besides “emotional eating”. It means taking care of your body and getting yourself to a weight that does not have health implications (obesity leads to heart problems, diabetes, strain on your joints, contributes to depression, the list goes on and on). I think that Carrie needs to realize that “becoming happy with yourself regardless of your weight” is alittle careless. I am slimming down and making major lifestyle changes with my eating so that I can be around, and have the energy to live a long, happy life with my precious children. It goes so much deeper than us girls sitting around fixating on the numbers on a scale. It’s waking up and seeing that you care about yourself- you care about your longevity for the sake of your family- and you know that without your health, it’s hard to enjoy many of the other things life has to offer. It’s easy to say “why can’t you just be happy with how you are” when if you stop and think about it- you really aren’t taking the best care of yourself. Telling yourself that you are ok no matter how out of shape you are is not necessarily the healthiest mindset- however, telling yourself that makes you feel better about the fact that you really don’t want to make the effort to change.

By: How Amazing… - The Saga Continues | Roni’s Weigh

How Amazing… - The Saga Continues | Roni’s Weigh — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:39:06 +0000

[...] Have no idea what I’m talking about? Here’s the original post, and the follow up. [...]

By: Arlene

Arlene — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:37:18 +0000

I agree with the comment above. I’ve been fat, and I’ve been thinner, and I still had the same general disposition … not happy all the time, but not terribly depressed, either. I think maybe I was more confident and peppy at my lower weight … and I know I looked a heck of a lot better (there’s that confidence thing again, eh?) … but that’s not the only reason I want to lose weight.

Vanity may have gotten me through the door at WW (because I wanted to fit back into my size 8 jeans again), but I’m doing it more for my health. My mom died at age 59 due to complications from obesity, and I don’t want to go that route.

By: Baconism

Baconism — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:49:48 +0000

Great conversation!
It is really hard to be happy when you are overweight. When you are overweight, your body is screaming that something is not right … whether it be an emotional or physical issue, excess fat or pounds is indicative of health problems and who can be happy with that? Humans were meant to be lean creatures.

For me, being overweight is an emotional issue. Will I be happy when I am thin? Well, I’ve been thin and was unhappy. I’ve been fat and unhappy. I believe that finding inner happiness will eventually manifest itself into a leaner meaner me.

By: Tracey

Tracey — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:55:11 +0000

I love reading the dialogue among everyone … not just Roni and Carrie. I must confess that I did not read anything negative in Carrie’s commentary … maybe it was too early in the day and it went over my head. The important piece to me is that we are all talking, sharing, and offering many different perspectives without getting into a huff one way or the other.

Several comments were made about how to get unhappy people happier about their ____ (lives, weight, bone structure, etc.). I believe Roni has given us a forum in which to just be happier ourselves with what we’re doing. Leading by example does have a lot of pluses.

As always, Roni, many thanks for all you do.

By: Shanna

Shanna — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:21:17 +0000

I think that losing weight has totally made me a happier person. I don’t groan and moan every morning because I have nothing to wear that looks good on me. I now have a closet with clothes that make me feel confident and young. I feel my self confidence come back and I feel like I am who I was before I got fat. My husbands health problems the last 6 years had made me go into a depression that caused me to gain weight. It is something that we are going to struggle with for the rest of our lives because he can’t be cured. I decided one day that there is things I can’t change about my life, but my weight was one thing that I did have control over. Now I feel like I am 10 years younger and have a second chance. I don’t base how I feel about myself by my looks but I feel like I am not limited to life’s experiences now. I am me again.

I do not feel like I have been through the ringer. In fact I no longer feel like I am dieting. I have just changed my eating habits. My biggest motivation from the start was seeing me at the end being the way I used to be. I am not saying that you can’t be over weight and happy. But for me it changed my life for the better.

By: gottahavefaith

gottahavefaith — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:53:45 +0000

I’m glad to see Carrie clarify her comments. Kudos to you, Roni, for keeping such a cool head. We got an interesting discussion out of this, and it could have just turned into a shouting match.

Re: diets. I don’t understand the statement that Weight Watchers is not a diet. To me, this seems silly. Of course it is a diet. So is South Beach, Atkins, calorie counting, carb counting, and anything else that restricts the type or amount of food you eat. If your plan tells you you cannot eat more than X amount of points/carbs/calories/whatever, it is a diet.

I don’t think diets are necessarily unhealthy. And a diet program can be a tool to make lifestyle changes, learn how to eat properly, etc. Perhaps people are averse to the term “diet” because they think it implies that they aren’t making long term lifestyle changes. But in my mind, you can do one, both or neither. Dieting without lifestyle changes to go along with it is definitely putting yourself through the wringer. For some people, dieting at all just isn’t sustainable…small changes are the best way for them. For some of us, a structured plan helps us get a running start and gives us a framework for making healthy changes. But anything that requires following a specific set of rules, is in my mind, a diet.