I am doing some thinking about how my body is doing out in the world, now that I am a bit thinner.  I spent the last three days at a technical conference downtown.  That means a lot of sitting in chairs in a large ballroom, listening to intermittently interesting things.  But basically a lot of sitting in chairs, usually closely spaced.  Also, I traveled to this conference and back every day, on subway trains, which also involves a lot of sitting in cramped seats, usually next to someone.  

Thinner is noticeably better.  It takes longer to get tired of sitting in the chairs.  You can also fit in the confined spaces a bit better.  Also, if you see yourself in the mirror or in the subway glass, you notice you look better.  I’ve never really put into words why being thin is good (or reasonably thin).  Obviously it is good, or I wouldn’t be trying to do it.  As a goal, getting thinner is a failure, but as a state of being it has a lot of good built into it.  (My goal is weight control maintained as a lifestyle.)  I will think some more about this. 

What makes it difficult is that so many of us who have gotten overweight try to use these good things as motivators to get thinner.  Other people also try to use the good of being thinner to try and motivate you.  That doesn’t work, as I have explained in my very first posts on how to start losing weight.  Everyone who is overweight is motivated to get thin.  Motivation isn’t the answer and if anyone asks me, “Doctor, what made you decide to lose weight?” my answer will be, “I decided to lose weight many years ago, but what changed was was my mind.  My body is the lagging indicator.”  Really, I figured out a way I could use to lose weight successfully and I have been living that out ever since. 

What changed?  Not my motivations.  I changed the way I thought about food and eating.  And I was only able to do that after realizing that being thin was achievable if I was willing to do a lot of work and keep it up forever.  In short, I figured out that thin people who stay thin are pretty obsessed about it.  I sacrificed my old self and became a new person, obsessed with my new hobby.  And it has worked so far. 

Don’t try to motivate yourself.  Has that ever worked?  Instead, see the world differently.  “Think thin” just means you have decided to put in a lot of work.  Take pride in that.  

-The Doctor